Lesson #60: Apple Brown Betty

I've never had apple brown betty, so when I saw this recipe in my America's Test Kitchen cookbook, I thought I would give it a shot. From what I understand, this dessert was pretty popular years ago. When I asked my mom about this, she said that my grandma used to make it all the time.

As far as desserts go, this is a relatively healthy dessert. There's not too much added sugar or butter. My husband described it as an applesauce with a crunchy topping  and I think that's pretty accurate. This would be amazing as an ice cream (less healthy) or yogurt (more healthy) topping. In any case, it was pretty simple to make since you sauce the apples in a skillet on the stove top. I was feeling super speedy the day I made it and finished under 20 minutes :)

LESSON LEARNED: This recipe is a blast from the past!

Recipe for Apple Brown Betty

Lesson #59: Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake

I made up this cheesecake recipe on a whim this week. Blueberries were on sale in the grocery store and I thought they would be perfect in a cheesecake.

I first decided to make cupcake sized cheesecakes so they were in single portions and less messy to cut. I whipped up a standard cheesecake base, swirled blueberry puree on top, baked, and cooled the cheesecakes. To top off the cheesecakes, I made a blueberry compote! YUM!

LESSON LEARNED: Make small size cheesecakes for easy serving (no cutting involved!).

Recipe for Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake

Lesson #58: Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies

A few people gave me suggestions about variations in the recipe for chocolate chip cookies. One suggestion was using a mixture of butter and shortening. I also made the cookies considerably smaller than my previous post.

These little cookies are super ADDICTIVE! They are crunchy, yet gooey in the center. YUM! It's very easy to eat a few of these at a time. This recipe also makes  A LOT of cookies....I gave some to a class, my brother, and a bunch for our house.

LESSON LEARNED: Chocolate chip cookies have a ton of variations!

Recipe for Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Lesson #57: Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Justin has been asking me to try new ice cream flavors! BTW, I'm planning on having an ice cream tasting party next summer, so everyone will be able to try all the flavors I invent. :)

I thought peanut butter ice cream sounded interesting, and I've never had peanut ice cream before, so I used my favorite ice cream base and added peanut butter.

This flavor of ice cream is definitely a keeper! It's super YUMMY! I added some marshmallow fluff during the last minutes of churning and I'm sure chocolate chips would be a great addition as well.

LESSON LEARNED: Thinking creatively about ice cream flavors has delicious results.

Recipe for Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Lesson #56: Blondie with Peanut-Pretzel Caramel

These cookie bars slowly grew on me after I made them yesterday. They are pretty messy to try cut, and at first, I was turned off by this. I would describe them as breaking apart better than evenly cutting apart. Even though they aren't the prettiest dessert I've made, these bars are surprisingly ADDICTIVE.

First, there is a layer of gooey brown sugar blondie. Then, peanuts are roasted in the oven, mixed in with pretzels and tossed with a homemade caramel. This mixture is generously poured over the blondies. The result is a salty & sweet dessert with multiple textures from the blondies, peanuts, and pretzels.

LESSON LEARNED: Messy desserts taste good too!

Recipe for Blondie with Peanut-Pretzel Caramel

Lesson #55: Hot Chocolate Cookies

Even though it's been unseasonably warm the past few days, I've been getting into the holiday spirit. I saw these cute cookies in a magazine this month and I knew right away I had to try them.

Yes, they definitely taste like hot chocolate in the form of a cookie! A sweet chocolate cookie is partially baked and then topped with a piece of milk chocolate topped off with a marshmallow. The result is a crunchy cookie topped with melted chocolate and a gooey marshmallow. DELICIOUS! In case you weren't already convinced of the deliciousness, the pictures will convince you. In fact, I may go get one out of my freezer right now :)

LESSON LEARNED: Be careful when you take a bite of these cookies, the marshmallow might come off in the first bite!

Recipe for Hot Chocolate Cookies

Lesson #54: Peppermint Twist Cupcakes

Happy December! I thought I would start off the month with these festive cupcakes to get in the holiday spirit.

The cupcakes have a white cake base which is swirled with a mint flavored batter. To mix up the flavors, I made a few different icings. One was a mint flavored meringue and a chocolate butter cream. These cupcakes are just minty enough without being too overwhelming.

LESSON LEARNED: These cupcakes look pretty and taste good too!

Recipe for Peppermint Twist Cupcakes