desserts — pleasure in simple things

Tag: desserts

just desserts

March

For me, the rock star of any good hotel is the pastry chef!

I have a passion for baking and baking shows and I love to see every variety of dessert provided at a hotel. I always check out every dessert possible in every hotel I happen to visit!

And, of course, I need to taste every one as well!

At the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, I discovered a new dessert this trip that ended up my favorite – a baklava cookie! It tasted much like baklava but more in a cookie format. It had a shortbread crust and all the flavors of a traditional baklava. Heavenly!

I hope today’s Friday field trip inspires you to try making a new dessert…or maybe just tasting one!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things- like trying a new dessert! Jackie

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peanut butter chocolate cereal bites

June

I recently wanted to make a dessert as a gift for a person celebrating a new job. I know he likes peanut butter and chocolate candies and I know he likes cereal treats, so I decided to combine the two and come up with a special treat! Making a bar like a cereal treat didn’t seem ‘fancy’ enough for the occasion though, so I made the sweet as individual little cups!

I simply varied the recipe I use for a basic cereal treat to come up with a yummy peanut butter/chocolate version. They required a little more work than a bar, but I think you will agree the results were great! If you’d like to try, I am sharing the recipe. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cereal Bites

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1, 10 oz. package of marshmallows
½ cup peanut butter
6 cups crispy rice cereal
1, 12 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate pieces
peanuts and sea salt flakes for garnish

Coat a mini muffin(s) pan with cooking spray. (I used a pan for 24 and had extra ingredients that I used to make bars in a coated 8” x 8” baking pan.)

In a large saucepan, melt butter on the stove over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter until melted. Add cereal and stir until well coated and all ingredients are evenly incorporated.

Press about a Tablespoon of the cereal mixture into the bottom of each well. There will be a little bit of room left to add some chocolate.

Melt the chocolate over low heat in a double boiler, stirring frequently. Remove from heat when just melted. Spoon about a teaspoon of chocolate into each well, smoothing the top with the spoon.

Finish with peanuts and flakes of sea salt. Set in the fridge. Store in an air tight container. These are best fresh, but there shouldn’t be any problem with them hanging around too long!

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Comments Off on peanut butter chocolate cereal bites | diy, food & festivities, recipe

holiday cookies

November

2017 has been a good year for cookbooks. There have been a wide variety of new books published. This selection includes cookbooks by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Zac Posen – as well as cookbooks by famous chefs like Bobby Flay, Wylie Dufresne, Jacques Pepin and Richard Blais.

But, for recipes to use for holiday gifting, I have a favorite cookbook release this year and I would like to share the title with you today on Friday field trip.

The book? Holiday Cookies: Showstopping Recipes to Sweeten the Season by Elisabet der Nederlanden. With some intriguing new dessert recipes accompanied by fabulous photos, I am really enamored with this book! Can you tell why based on the few photos here?!

The holidays are a time when most people succumb to food temptations and I am no different! For me, it is definitely a new sweet that will do me in! On Thanksgiving it is all about Eileen’s lemon meringue pie…as far as Christmas is concerned? You never know!

Because baking is my favorite, I add some new recipes to my holiday repertoire each year – adding some new treats to include with my old standbys! Making something new to gift to others is a special part of my holiday routine. This year, the new recipes I try are definitely coming out of Nederlanden’s book!

I can’t wait to share my creations with you on future Friday field trips!

Browse through some of this year’s new cookbooks at your local library! I hope you are inspired to try at least one new dessert recipe this holiday season! ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Comments Off on holiday cookies | food & festivities, good reads, holiday, inspiration

november book giveaway!

November

When something sparks my interest, I get caught up in exploring it. Most recently, this is happening with salt. I started investigating different types of salts, created a DIY salt cellar, and I have plans to visit a salt-themed restaurant.

The November book giveaway highlights this current interest of mine. More specifically, the book is about using salt in desserts. Sea Salt Sweet: The Art of Using Salts for the Ultimate Dessert Experience by Heather Baird demonstrates the tasty relationship between sweets and salt. With the holiday season almost upon us, this selection is perfect for creating a delicious and unique dessert for your celebrations!

More than just a recipe book, master baker, Heather Baird teaches how to use fine artisan salt to make mouthwatering desserts for any occasion. Leave a comment to be entered to win this wonderful book. A winner will be chosen at random from the comments received.

Congratulations to Deborah, winner of The 52 Lists Project by Moorea Seal, last month’s giveaway selection. Enjoy! (Click here to read more about the book.)

Instagram users, please read on! In keeping with the salt theme, let’s share photos “all things salt.” Your cool salt cellar, a photo of your latest artisan salt find, or a great culinary creation using salt are all great subjects! Use hashtag #pleasuregram to share!

Thank you for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

P.S. Click here if you missed the salt cellar DIY.

Comments Off on november book giveaway! | good reads, monthly book giveaway

october book giveaway!

September

This month’s giveaway book is a favorite of mine. When I need a quick dessert for guests and don’t want to spend a lot of time in the grocery store in preparation, this is the recipe book I grab! Every dessert in it uses just four ingredients!

Desserts 4 Today by Abigail Johnson Dodge is a wonderful collection of recipes for flavorful desserts with just four ingredients. It is from this book that I adapted a meringue recipe to create my rosewater meringues. I know you will enjoy this recipe book as much as I do. It makes a special dessert as easy as four ingredients!

To be entered to win a copy, simply add a comment to this post. The winner will be chosen at random from the comments received during the month – my way of saying thank you for sharing pleasure in simple things with me! Good luck!

The winner of last month’s selection is Heather. Congratulations to you! A lovely book Sea Glass Treasures from the Tide by Cindy Bilbao is on its way to you to remind you of summer all year long!

For Instagram followers, this month’s challenge is to post photos of white pumpkins! You know white pumpkins are one of my fall obsessions…let’s share! Post a photo of one you have decorated – like I did here – or, one you admire. Use hashtag #pleasuregram to share your favorite white pumpkin photos. Happy fall!

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

2 comments » | food & festivities, good reads, monthly book giveaway

cookies ‘n’ creme strawberries

April

My assignment for the family Easter dinner was desserts. I love making the desserts and every year I try to make a nice variety. To make sure fruit was well represented, I chose to make chocolate covered strawberries as one of the dessert choices.

Typically, I dip the strawberries in a good quality semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate and pipe some white chocolate as an accent.

This year, I added an additional variety – cookies ‘n’ creme dipped strawberries! They were extremely easy to make. I simply melted a couple of large Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme chocolate bars, and that is what I used to dip the strawberries in! No added ingredients – just the melted candy bars. Simple.

And, you know what? They were really good! The white chocolate went so well with the strawberries and there was a nice little crunch factor!

So, this year the chocolate covered strawberry contingency was well represented. Give the cookies ‘n’ creme a try – I think you will be pleasantly surprised! Or, try using another favorite candy bar. I think a chocolate mint candy bar would be a nice option! :)

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing with Sand & Sisal, Elizabeth & Co., and Coastal Charm.

3 comments » | food & festivities, holiday, inspiration

book giveaway for may!

April

April is already coming to a close and that means it is time to announce the winner of the April book and to let you know the book selection for May! I am happy to announce that Lindsay from Pennsylvania is the winner of a copy of Ecobeauty by Lauren Cox with Janice Cox. Congratulations! This book is sure to come in handy to create some Mother’s Day surprises! I will be sharing a couple of the natural beauty product recipes from the book in the days ahead to help all my friends create some beautiful gifts!

I am excited about May’s book selection! Have you heard of the Beekman Boys? You may have seen them on the Cooking Channel. I had the opportunity to see them in person recently when I attended the Philadelphia Flower Show. At the show, I picked up a copy of their book The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Dessert Cookbook. I love this book! I am so excited by it, that I had to pick up another copy to include as a monthly giveaway to send to one lucky follower!

The book is so beautifully put together and the photos are truly inspiring. Since I am a ‘farm to table’ kind of gal, I love the way the recipes are organized by season. The most recent recipe I tried from the book was one using fresh mint – one of the first spring selections from the garden. The mint bars were so yummy and fresh tasting!

Trying a spring recipe for mint bars from The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Dessert Cookbook.

I know you will enjoy this marvelous dessert recipe book. Just leave a comment here or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram or send me an email message during the month of May for a chance to win a free copy of this month’s selection. The winner will be announced at the end of the month. Good luck!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Instagram users, please read on for the pleasure in simple things May Instagram Challenge!

For May, we are sharing our flower photos…it can be a flower from your garden, from a garden you visit, or even a patch of beautiful wildflowers you spot along the side of the road! Please share your inspiring flower photos for the whole month of May using the hashtag #pleasuregram. Enjoy!

6 comments » | food & festivities, good reads, monthly book giveaway, nostalgia

essence of roses

June

I am working on a menu for a charity garden tour, so I have been experimenting with recipes for both sweet and savory items that utilize flower and herb components. I fell in love with the combination of the Middle Eastern flavors of rosewater and pistachios when I made a Persian Love Cake. Thinking about the flavors of that wonderful cake and still having roses in my thoughts, I decided to try and create a rosewater meringue.

I was very happy with the result and wanted to share the recipe with you. This light and airy cookie has a wonderful essence of roses…perfect for my garden tour menu!

Recipe for Rosewater Meringues

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 whites from large eggs
¼ teaspoon rosewater (you can purchase bottled rosewater…if you make your own, be sure to use organic rose petals!)
1/3 cup finely chopped unsalted natural pistachios

Preheat oven to 175 degrees F. Line 1 large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Sift the confectioners’ sugar twice to remove all lumps and divide into two equal portions.

Put the egg whites in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until the whites hold soft peaks. Continue beating while gradually adding one portion of confectioners’ sugar. Beat until firm, glossy peaks form. Add the rosewater and mix briefly. Sift the remaining confectioners’ sugar over the meringue and gently fold in until blended.

Scoop the meringue into a large pastry bag fitting with a large star tip. Pipe swirls (about 1 ½” wide and 2″ high) about 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheet. (If not using a pastry bag, just drop the meringue by 2 Tablespoonfuls). Sprinkle the finely chopped pistachios over the meringues.

Bake until dry and crisp, about 3 hours. Turn the oven off and let the meringues cool in the oven for 1 hour. Serve immediately or cover and store at room temperature for up to 1 week. (And since I don’t have air conditioning, I can strongly recommend from experience to store your cookies in a cool place until you are ready to serve.)

This recipe was adapted from a meringue recipe in a wonderful book called Desserts 4 Today by Abigail Johnson Dodge that contains recipes for flavorful desserts using just four ingredients.

I hope you enjoyed sharing my rosewater meringues recipe. Thank you so much for stopping by.

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at Timewashed and Mona’s Picturesque.

4 comments » | food & festivities, garden, recipe

little cakes with big attitudes

June

Do you like cupcakes? For the second time, a Connecticut team won the top prize on the Food Network show Cupcake Wars.

SuzieCakes of Milford won the top prize of $1,000 and the opportunity to make 1,000 cupcakes for a Hollywood inspired poker party!

The bestselling “All About Ethel” cupcake at SuzieCakes in Milford, Connecticut, winners of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars.

Cousins Sue Schowerer and Darlene Delaney are the owners that create “little cakes with big attitudes” at the newly opened shop on River Street and I ~~wanted~~ needed to check it out!

After seeing the episode featuring the Connecticut store, I knew I had to feature it on a Friday field trip. Of course, this required tasting some of the products!

I sampled five different varieties, including the top seller inspired by the show I Love Lucy. Seeing themselves as a modern day Lucy and Ethel, Sue and Darlene named their bestselling cupcake “All About Ethel.” This tribute to Ethel Mertz is a chocolate cake filled with peanut butter mousse, topped with chocolate mascarpone frosting, and finished off with a mini peanut butter cup. Intense!

But, my favorite was a different chocolate and peanut butter creation called “Mail Guy.” A chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and caramel drizzle garnished with a chocolate dipped pretzel and crunchy pretzel salt.

The shop features some of their most popular flavors on a daily basis, but also rotates additional flavors each day. I decided I need to go back on a Wednesday to try a “Rosie.” This is a pistachio and rosewater cupcake with rosewater buttercream, custard filling, dark honey/vanilla buttercream and crushed pistachios on top. Sounds wonderful! If you find yourself in the vicinity of Milford, the shop is definitely worth an exploratory visit. ;) Bet you can’t try just one!