The Charmed Kitchen

Black Forest Mini Cheesecakes

I had some cherry pie filling left over from making Danish and wanted to use it up. I also needed a dessert for dinner with a friend. I came up with these. This is a great recipe for a number of reasons. To start with it’s cheesecake, which is always a good thing. This is also a really quick recipe and simple to make. It also just makes 6 little cheesecakes. Perfect for when you don’t need a lot of something. You can just make extra batches when more is needed. Also fun for when you are craving cheesecake but don’t have the time to make a large one.

Black Forest Mini Cheesecakes

6 vanilla wafers

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/3 c. sugar

1 t. vanilla

1 egg

chocolate syrup or sauce

cherry pie filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper liners in 6 muffin tins and place a vanilla wafer in each one. Set aside. In medium mixing bowl beat together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Beat in egg until just mixed. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.  Bake for 15- 20 minutes. Cheesecakes will puff up and then deflates a little when cooled. Once cooled top each cheesecake with a little chocolate syrup and a spoonful of cherry pie filling. Chill. Makes 6. Serves 2-3.

Place vanilla wafers in lined muffin tins

Fill with prepared batter

Bake until filling is just set

Top with chocolate syrup or sauce

Finish with cherry pie filling

Cherry Chocolate Blintzes

We made the Cherry Danish in class the other day and had some leftover cherry pie filling. I didn’t want to waste it. I also had some flour tortillas so I combined the 2 for what I think is a pretty nice dessert. Easy to make, too. First I softened the tortillas in milk for about 10 minutes. This makes them more pliable- like a slightly thicker crepe. I wanted to dress them up a little so I melted some semi-sweet (bittersweet) chocolate with a little half-and-half.  Two parts chocolate to one part of the half-and-half. I melted them in the microwave for half a minute or so then stirred until they were smooth. I put the melted chocolate in a squeeze bottle and put a nice swirl of it in the center of a tortilla. Then I added a couple of spoonfuls of the cherry pie filling. I folded up the sides a little and then folded it over- like making an egg roll.  Then I melted some butter in a pan and cooked them over medium heat until golden on both sides. I put a drizzle of the chocolate on a plate, dusted the blintz with powdered sugar and placed it on top of the chocolate. Simple and kind of elegant, too. Would be nice served with whipped cream or ice cream.

Put some melted chocolate in the center of the tortilla

Add cherry pie filling

Fold into a bundle

Brown in butter

Drizzle plate with chocolate sauce before placing blintz on top

Ready to serve

Easy Cherry Danish

If you are a baker you might balk at calling these Danish. They are not the traditional Danish we are used to. They are tasty, though, and easy to make. My Mom used to make a batch whenever she had unexpected guests. Ready in no time. I used cherry pie filling in these but you can use other fruit fillings or even make cheese Danish.

Easy Danish

 2 c. biscuit mix, like Bisquick or Jiffy Mix- I make my own.

2 T. sugar

1/2 c. butter

2/3 c. milk

assorted preserves or pie fillings or even sweetened cream cheese or ricotta for cheese Danish

1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar

milk

Combine biscuit mix and sugar. Cut in butter. Stir in milk. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls on lightly greased baking sheet. Indent middle using spoon. Leave 2-3 inches in between as they grow. Spoon preserves, or pie filling, into indents. Bake in 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Combine confectioner’s sugar with enough milk to make a runny glaze. Drizzle over cooled Danish. Makes 12.

Freshly drizzled with glaze

Turkey Rueben Loaf

Whether you are using leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or sliced deli turkey this is a fun and easy bread to make. By using quick-rising yeast you can make this sandwich loaf in about 1 hour. Quick enough for any day of the week. I made mine with turkey and Swiss cheese but you can make all kinds of variations, including using corned beef in place of the turkey for a traditional Rueben.

Turkey Rueben Loaf

3 ¼ c. flour

1 T. sugar

1 t. salt

1 package quick-rising yeast

1 c. hot water

1 T. oil

¼ c. thousand island dressing*

6-8 oz. thin sliced turkey- regular or smoked

4 oz. sliced Swiss cheese

1 c. sauerkraut, rinsed and squeezed dry

1 egg white, beaten

Caraway seeds

Set aside 1 cup of the flour. Combine remaining flour with the other dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in water and oil and gradually stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Roll dough into a rectangle about 16 x 8. Spread dressing down center middle of dough. Top with meat slices, cheese and sauerkraut. Cut one-inch wide strips of dough from filling to edge on both sides. It will sort of look like fringe.  Alternating sides, fold strips up and over the filling at an angle.  Carefully lift loaf onto greased baking sheet and place at an angle. Cover with a towel and place sheet on top of a roasting pan half-filled with simmering water for 15 minutes. Brush with egg white and top with seeds. Bake in a preheated 400-degree for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly before slicing. Serve warm and refrigerate leftovers.

* You can make your own Thousand Island Dressing by combining equal parts of ketchup, mayo and sweet pickle relish.

Note: The variations for this bread are almost endless. Some favorite combinations are ham and Swiss with mustard, roast beef and cheddar, chicken, broccoli and cheese, Spinach with ricotta or feta and onions, pizza, assorted fillings. You get the idea. Use your imagination and have fun. Just be careful not to overfill, or the bread will be hard to move, use fillings that aren’t too runny and always use cold fillings.

If you want to use regular yeast use warm, rather than hot water. Also, don’t let dough rise over boiling water. After kneading cover dough and let rise 45 minutes. Punch down and assemble as in original recipe. Cover with a towel and let rise until dough looks puffy, about 40 minutes. Bake as directed above. These breads can also be frozen. 

Roll out dough and spread dressing down the center

After adding remaining fillings cut strips along both sides of the dough

Ready for folding

Pull strips over the filling overlapping them as you go

Let rise before baking

Brush with egg white and sprinkle with caraway seeds- then bake

Fresh from the oven

Challah Bread

I posted pictures yesterday of the bread in progress. Here is the recipe. Pretty basic and a really easy bread to make. This is the recipe my Mom always made. I must admit to sometimes adding some raisins to the dough- about a cup added in near the end of the kneading. This time I just did the classic recipe. Crunchy crust. Great sandwich bread and a nice texture for French toast, too.

Challah

2 c. hot water

1 T. each sugar, salt and oil

1 package active dry yeast

¼ c. warm water

About 8 cups flour

2 beaten eggs

Poppy or sesame seeds, optional

In large bowl combine hot water, salt, sugar and oil. Dissolve yeast in warm water in small bowl and add to oil/water mix. Stir in 1 cup of the flour and eggs, reserving 2 tablespoons of the eggs for later. Gradually stir in enough of the flour to make soft dough. When dough pulls away from sides of bowl remove to floured surface. Knead dough, adding flour as necessary about 8-10 minutes. Dough should be smooth and elastic. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to grease top, cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm, draft free place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll three of the pieces into 12- inch ropes. Place in a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan. Take one of the remaining pieces of dough and divide into thirds. Roll the pieces into 3-nine inch ropes and place on top of the braid already in the pan. Repeat with remaining dough and cover. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush loaves with reserved eggs and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds, if desired. Bake 40-45 minutes. When done loaves will be nicely browned and sound hollow when tapped. Makes 2 loaves.       

Note: Bread dough can also be placed on greased baking sheets instead of in loaf pans. The result will be longer and flatter, but very pretty.

Starting to rise

Brush with egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds right before baking

Warm from the oven

Spelt Bread

Since I was already baking bread I decided to make a batch of spelt bread. Spelt is related to wheat but handles quite easily and makes light loaves of bread that are still whole grain. If you haven’t tried it you might want to. I have a bread baking class tomorrow night and with only 2 hours for class had to make some ahead of time.

Spelt Bread

 3 ¼ c. whole spelt flour

1 pkt. Active dry yeast

1 c. water

1/3 c. honey

¼ c. oil

1 t. salt

1 egg

Place 2 c. flour, yeast and salt in a medium bowl. Heat together water, honey and oil until warm (120-130 degrees) Add water mixture to spelt mixture and beat on low speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds, or until moistened. Add egg and beat on high 3 minutes. Stir in enough spelt to make a soft dough. Cover bowl with towel and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan and use a rubber scraper to transfer dough into prepared pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, another hour. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Cover top with foil during last 10 minutes of baking. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf. I brushed them with a little melted butter.

Pumpernickel Bread

There are few aromas I like more than freshly baked bread. I like to bake all sorts of bread. I tend to bake less during the hot summer months and look forward to cool Autumn days and fresh baked bread. Today I made Pumpernickel Bread. The dark color comes from a mixture of rye flour, strong coffee, cocoa powder and molasses. These ingredients also give this bread a richness and texture I adore. It’s hard for me to find a store bought Pumpernickel bread that comes close to this one. Many rely on caramel coloring for the color in the bread. For real flavor you need the real ingredients.

Pumpernickel Bread

2 Packages active dry yeast

½ c. warm water

2 c. lukewarm strong coffee

¼ c. each molasses and unsweetened cocoa

2 T. Caraway seeds

2 t. salt

5-6 c. flour- I use bread flour

2 c. rye flour

Cornmeal

1 egg white, slightly beaten

In large bowl dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in coffee, molasses, cocoa, seeds, salt and 3 cups of flour.  Beat with wooden spoon about 2 minutes. Stir in rye flour and enough of the remaining regular flour to make soft dough. Turn onto floured surface and knead until dough is smooth, about 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top, cover and let rest until doubled, about 1 hour.  Grease large baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Set aside.   

Punch down dough, divide in 2, and form into balls. Place on baking sheet and cover. Let rise until double, brush with egg whites, slash tops and bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes. Makes 2 loaves. 

Dough rising

40 minutes later

Brush with egg white and slash the loaves before baking

Fresh out of the oven

Broccoli Dip

This was a big hit at the dinner at St. John’s Church Friday night. The dip is something I call “Broccomoli”. Basically similar ingredients of guacamole- except I use broccoli instead of avocados. Don’t get me wrong.  I love avocados, but “timing” them to be ripe when I needed them for parties makes me crazy. The broccoli dip is also easy to make and tastes good. Holidays are coming up. Its always nice to have more appetizer recipes.

Broccoli Dip – Broccomoli

2 c. broccoli, cooked and drained

2 T. chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

½ c. sour cream or Greek (strained) yogurt

3 T. mayonnaise

2 t. lemon juice

½ t. each paprika and cumin

Dash of hot sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tomato, seeded and chopped, optional

Combine all ingredients in blender, except tomato, and blend until smooth. Chill. Stir tomato in before serving. Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.

Maple Pecan Candied Bacon

I did a class all about bacon and I have been posting recipes and pictures. I have also gotten some lovely feedback. Had to do at least one sweet recipe with bacon. You knew it was coming. This one is only 3 ingredients- bacon- maple syrup (no fake stuff, please) and pecans. The end result is amazing. The looks on people’s faces in class that night were priceless. Try some and let me know what you think.

                                         Candied Bacon
1 lb bacon
3/4 c – 1 c maple syrup
3/4 c – 1 c crushed pecans (or any nuts you like! I like to leave some
larger pieces and then mix in some more finely ground)

Preheat oven to 350. Put bacon in baking pan and bake about halfway through (about 5-7 minutes or so). Drain most of the grease and allow to cool slightly. Coat each piece in syrup, roll in nuts and put back on pan. You may need more nuts as you go along, though it’s up to you how much to cover them. Bake another 7-9 minutes, until desired crispness.  If you do like crisper bacon, just be sure to move the cooked bacon quickly off the baking sheet onto parchment paper, since the syrup will harden. Allow longer cooking times with thicker bacon.

Partially cook bacon

Coat with maple syrup 

Roll in crushed pecans

Bake until crisp

Bacon and Egg Wraps

This is a fun twist on bacon and eggs for breakfast. A cheesy bacon omelet wrapped in a soft tortilla.  For a crowd you can make them up ahead of time and keep warm in the oven.  Fun for brunch, too.

Bacon and Eggs Wraps

1 medium onion, chopped

¾ cup chopped sweet pepper

1 tablespoon butter

5 eggs

1 tablespoon milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled

4 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed

Salsa

In skillet sauté onion and pepper in butter until tender. In a bowl, beat the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour over vegetables in the skillet. Sprinkle with cheese and bacon. Cook and stir gently over medium heat until the eggs are completely set. Spoon 1/2 cup down the center of each tortilla; fold sides over filling. Serve with salsa if desired.