Desserts

Cleanse-worthy Vegan Ginger Cookies

• 1 cup coconut sugar

• 3/4 cup organic coconut oil

• 1/4 cup organic molasses

• 3 tablespoons chunky organic applesauce

• 2 3/4 cups gluten free flour (or reg flour if you don't care)

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice blend

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1/4 cup coconut or demarara sugar for rolling dough in

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare 3 half sheet baking pans lined with parchment paper, set aside.
In a small shallow bowl add cane sugar for rolling.
In a small bowl, whisk to combine flour, spices, baking soda, set aside.
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a bowl using a hand mixer, combine coconut sugar, coconut oil, molasses, and applesauce. Set on low speed at first to avoid splatter then up to medium speed for 2 minutes, or until fully incorporated.
Add the flour mixture slowly, only a third of the mixture at a time to ensure proper blend of ingredients. Don't over mix.
Lay out a piece of wax paper or parchment paper, about 1 foot wide to put the rolled cookies before coating with sugar.
Roll into 1 inch balls with light pressure, like a meatball.
When all have been made into balls transfer to the bowl with sugar (as many as you can fit at a time) then lightly cover with sugar. Make sure to get all sides. Repeat until all cookie dough has been shaped.
Place sugared cookie dough onto baking sheets.
Press down gently just to dent the top a bit.
Bake for 9-11 minutes.
Let cool on the baking sheets for 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Can be stored in the refrigerator for a week, or frozen for a month in an airtight container.

Multi-layered Verrines

(for Jesse)

Ali's note: This makes a beautiful presentation. Jose and I made these for one of Aunt Joyce's dinner parties-- using fairly tall thin glasses. You can layer them all differently, using 4 or 5 different elements. And they look like edible versions of those stunning, undulating layered colored sand bottles. It can be tricky to pour the layers in without mucking up the sides of the glass. Use a piping bag or ziplock with the corner cut off if necessary. And have a wet paper towel handy. Although this is a time consuming recipe, you can make the separate elements over several days and then assemble at the last minute.

I love to use Rose Levy Berenbaum's raspberry purée as one element:

RASPBERRY PURÉE:

24 ounces raspberries; frozen with no sugar added
2 tsp lemon juice
2/3 cups sugar

In a strainer suspended over a deep bowl thaw the raspberries completely. (Ruth’s note – I usually nuke the raspberries in their bag for a minute or two to hasten the process.) Press the berries to force out all the juice. There should be 1 cup.

In a saucepan (or in a microwave on high power) boil the juice until reduced to ¼ cup. Pour it from the saucepan into a lightly oiled heatproof cup.

Puree the raspberries and sieve them, using a firm spatula to scrape and press the raspberries through a fine-mesh strainer. The pulp passes through the sieve and the seeds stay in the strainer. You should have 1 liquid cup puree. Stir in the raspberry syrup and lemon juice. To make a lightly sweetened sauce, measure again. There should be 1 1/3 liquid cups. If you have less, add less sugar. The correct amount of sugar is ½ the volume of the puree (that's Rose's guideline -- I find that you can even use less - R). Stir until sugar dissolves.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE:

This recipe from epicurious is easy and good. I do tend to use a bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona.

Ingredients:

2 cups chilled heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

Garnish: lightly sweetened whipped cream

Special equipment: an instant-read thermometer

Preparation:

Heat 3/4 cup cream in a 1-quart heavy saucepan until hot. Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a metal bowl until combined well, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until it registers 160°F on thermometer. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and stir in vanilla.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or in a glass bowl in a microwave at 50 percent power 3 to 5 minutes), stirring frequently. Whisk custard into chocolate until smooth, then cool.

Beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Whisk one fourth of cream into chocolate custard to lighten, then fold in remaining cream gently but thoroughly.

Spoon mousse into 8 (6-ounce) stemmed glasses or ramekins and chill, covered, at least 6 hours. Let stand at room temperature about 20 minutes before serving.

Cooks' notes:

• Mousse can be chilled up to 1 day.

• To vary the flavor, you can replace the 1 teaspoon vanilla with 2 teaspoons instant-espresso powder (dissolve it in the hot cream) or 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier or 2 tablespoons Cognac (either one whisked into strained custard).

CHOCOLATE SHAVINGS:

Take a vegetable peeler and shave some chocolate from a block to use as a layer.

PASSION FRUIT MOUSSE:

Courtesy of Jose Fonseca. This is a Brazilian specialty. I couldn't believe how simple and delicious it is. Combine 1 cup whipping cream, 1 cup sweetened condensed milk and 1/2 cup frozen passion fruit juice concentrate in a blender and blend fine. Then refrigerate tip needed, at least 2 hours.

CRUMBLED MERINGUE:

Make meringues from the other recipe in this book and crumble them for a layer. Or use any cookie or cake you make. I like when they absorb the nearby layers. They don't have to remain crispy.

NUTS:

If nobody has allergies, a layer of lightly salted toasted, crumbled hazelnuts is delicious in here -- toasted with honey or not.

CHOCOLATE SAUCE:

Always nice because it bleeds through all the layers. Heat 1 cup milk in microwave or saucepan until just before it boils. Add 7 oz high quality chocolate chips or discs, stirring until smooth and silky.

POPCORN:

Use one of my popcorns as a layer, but add it only just before serving to avoid sogginess.

BROWN BUTTER SALTY CARAMEL SAUCE:

Also gives a beautiful cascading effect. Brown 1/2 cup butter in small saucepan by melting butter slowly, waiting for it to foam up, then subside and turn into a nutty smelling amber liquid. If flecks turn black, toss and start again.

Whisk in:

1 cup sugar
1/2 Tbsp molasses
1/4 cup Golden Syrup (or honey)
And bring to a boil, boiling until you reach 250 on candy thermometer, or about 5 minutes if you don't have one. Turn off heat and whisk in
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Maldon sea salt (or other nice course sea salt)

For a little variation, also add a tiny pinch of smoky chile powder.

Giant Passover Chocolate-Pine Nut Meringue Smooches

These meringue kisses are like no other. Huge, filled with chocolate and nuts, they're a big hit any time of year.

You'll need to line your baking sheets with cooking parchment or silicone liners. Don't make meringues on a damp or rainy day; they don't like humidity.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup pine nuts
4 large egg whites
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 ounces (2 squares) bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

Preparation:

Toast the pine nuts in a small heavy skillet over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.
Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat oven to 250F. Line a baking sheet with cooking parchment or a silicone liner; set aside.
Beat the egg whites and and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until the whites form soft peaks when the beaters are lifted. Beat in the sugar about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating for 15 to 30 seconds after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, then increase the speed to high and beat for 3 to 4 minutes, until the meringue forms very stiff, shiny peaks when the beaters are raised. Gently fold in the pine nuts and chocolate.
Working quickly, drop the mixture by large spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 1 to 2 inches apart and making 16 mounds.
Bake for 1 hour, or until the surfaces of the meringues feel dry and you can pick one off the liner without it sticking.
Turn off the oven, prop the door open slightly with the handle of a wooden spoon, and let the meringues sit in the oven for another 30 minutes. Transfer them to a large serving platter. These are best when very fresh.

Mocha Butter Balls

Ali's note: Always use all the basic butter cookie dough and double accordingly. These cookies freeze extremely well. Mocha butter balls - no nuts but big Valhrona feves or big chocolate chip or even some other surprise tucked inside. And don't overcook. I think they take no more than 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

1/2 recipe prepared Basic Butter Cookie Dough (see recipe below) at room temperature
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans, if desired
about 2 cups confectioners' sugar

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In bowl of a standing electric mixer beat together all ingredients except confectioners' sugar until just combined well. Form dough into 1-inch balls and arrange about 3/4 inch apart on baking sheets.
Bake cookies in batches in middle of oven until just firm and beginning to brown, about 18 minutes, and cool on baking sheets 5 minutes.
Sift confectioners' sugar into a bowl. After the 5 minutes cooling, toss balls, a few at a time, in confectioners' sugar, coating them well and transferring them as coated to trays to cool completely. (Before balls are stored or frozen, they can be coated lightly again in confectioners' sugar to keep them from sticking to each other.) Cookies may be stored between layers of wax paper in airtight containers up to 6 weeks frozen.

Basic Butter Cookie Dough

Makes about 3 pounds dough

Ingredients:

4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
preparation

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

It might seem odd to describe something cold—ice cream—as sultry, but there is no denying genuine come-hither appeal. Based on a traditional candy from Brittany (and a favorite flavor pairing among French and American chefs), the combination of salty and sweet exerts an almost primordial pull, and cream, milk, and eggs provide lush, luxurious texture.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 1/4 cups heavy cream, divided
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt such as Maldon
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
3 large eggs
Equipment: an ice cream maker

Preparation:

Heat 1 cup sugar in a dry 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is dark amber.

Add 1 1/4 cups cream (mixture will spatter) and cook, stirring, until all of caramel has dissolved. Transfer to a bowl and stir in sea salt and vanilla. Cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, bring milk, remaining cup cream, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally.

Lightly whisk eggs in a medium bowl, then add half of hot milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard coats back of spoon and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer (do not let boil). Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then stir in cooled caramel.

Chill custard, stirring occasionally, until very cold, 3 to 6 hours. Freeze custard in ice cream maker (it will still be quite soft), then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to firm up.

Cooks' note: Ice cream keeps 1 week.

New Year's Cleanse Guilt-Free Protein-Packed Avocado Brownies

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 cup sugar
8 oz. dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup cacao powder
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 tsp good sea salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 ripe avocados, mashed smooth

Preparation:

Using an electric mixer whip the eggs and sugar until fluffy.

Melt the chocolate chips gently in the microwave on low power in 20 second increments. When they just barely hold shape, they're done. And then stir hem until smooth.

Go back to your fluffy eggs and sugar mix and start mixing again, slowly adding the melted chocolate.

Once all is well combined, put away the electric mixer and start using a wooden spoon to blend in the cacao powder, almond meal, salt and vanilla extract.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mash up the avocados. After mashing by hand, use an electric mixer to get it as smooth as possible. If you have chunks of avocado, they will definitely show up in your brownies. And get rid of all strings.

Now fold in the avocados to your thick chocolate mix. You can use the electric mixer again if you want.

Pour into an 8x8 baking pan and bake for about 30 minutes. Use a wooden toothpick or chopstick to test the middle. When it comes out clean, you are done

Power Bars

Ali's note: Throw in chocolate chunks and forget about melting chocolate on top. Use oats instead of coconut flakes. If you are not making for Nate, use dried cherries instead of chocolate chunks.

Ingredients:

2 cups almonds (raw)
½ cup golden flaxmeal
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ cup creamy roasted almond butter
½ teaspoon course sea salt
½ cup coconut oil
1.5 Tbsp honey (preferably raw)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chunks (at least 70%)

Preparation:

Place almonds, flax meal, shredded coconut, almond butter and salt in a food processor. Pulse briefly, about 10 seconds.

Melt coconut oil over very low heat or in microwave until it's liquid. Stir honey and vanilla into coconut oil.

Add oil mixture to food processor and pulse until ingredients form a coarse paste.

Press mixture into an 8 x 8 inch baking dish. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour, until mixture hardens.

In a small saucepan or in 30-second increments on low power in microwave, melt chocolate until it just keeps its shape, but can be stirred smooth.

Spread melted chocolate over bars, return to fridge for 30 minutes, until chocolate hardens.

Remove from refrigerator, cut into bars and serve.