Blond Butterscotch Toffee Brownies

Back in the summer, I hit up Walmart and brought back some mini chocolates for a friend. Well, that friend never claimed them so I figured I'd bring them to my soldiers. They'd never say no to American chocolates. But then I had a better idea... Bake with them! I brought back Butterfingers, Crunch Bars and Heath bars and decided that the Heath candies would be the best candidate for a bar cookie. I found a simple recipe in A Taste of Home's Church Supper Desserts book and quickly threw them together. Humble and unassuming as they are, these were the first to run off the plate when I brought them to my soldiers. These come together really quickly with just a bowl and a whisk. Next time you have chocolate bars just hanging around, you'll know just what to do!

Dutch Apple Pie

Things have been nuts here. I've been opening course after course which has left me no time, and now that the situation is precarious and less than ideal, posting hasn't happened, although I've really wanted to. Two courses ago, I baked a ton for my soldiers and this pie was the favorite. It was devoured in minutes. I've since made it again, a rare phenomenon, and it was a hit. This recipe comes from A Taste of Home Church Supper Desserts and I must say, that book doesnt disappoint. It's my go to for soldier-friendly recipes that are sure to please. Sure, there are plenty of recipes that call for convenience products but nothing that some homemade replacements cant fix. The recipe is pretty simple. You make one streusel like crust recipe, press most of it into a pie plate. In goes the filling and then the rest of the crust serves as its topping. The filling also is made interestingly. You boil water, sugar and cornstarch and when it's thickened add some chopped apples, some cinnamon and some vanilla. Bake and voila! A perfect fall dessert. It doesnt hurt to serve a la mode, either. Just saying.

Chocolate Honey Cake

What would the holidays be without honey cake? Well, I didn't exactly make honey cake but when I was asked to make dessert for lunch last weekend, I made something like it. Honey cakes are usually hit or miss. Either you love them or you hate them. I decided to play it safe but still tip my hat to the season by making a chocolate honey cake. This cake comes from the masterful Marcy Goldman's A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking. Moist with a depth of flavor added from the honey, my guests really loved it. The topping couldn't be simpler, just toss some chocolate chips on top of the hot cake and allow the heat to melt the chips the spread! Love that trick!

Lemon Cream Pie

For my sister's Shabbat sheva brachot, (way back in August, when I was in New York!) I put myself in charge of making dessert. I went a bit crazy, makings two different types of truffles, two different types of biscotti and two different types of frozen pies. (Having just received a copy of Icebox Pies, it was clear they would be of the cold variety. Also helped break the heat!!) The first pie to catch my eye was none other than the Lemon Cream Pie, also the first pie recipe in the book. The idea is a familiar one, whipped cream folded into homemade lemon curd and poured into a graham cracker crust. Yum. I don't know anyone who can resist the delightful tang of lemon curd especially when mellowed by cream. Even my father, who is one picky dessert eater, stealthily went back for seconds. I used store bought graham cracker crust because that's what I had on hand, but I encourage you to make your own, it is so much better that way. As far as the lemon curd goes, it is quite easy but since it is made with whole eggs, you'll have a lot of straining to do to get all the cooked egg white out. Don't be lazy, strain as many times as you can. It makes all the difference.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Delight

Not too long ago, my vegetarian roommate hosted a dairy meal and she asked me to make dessert. I happily obliged and took the opportunity to make a dairy dessert. Thumbing through one of my latest additions, A Taste of Home Church Supper Desserts, I came across a recipe that seemed yummy and would feed a crowd. The recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Delight had a layer of cookie, a cheesecake layer, a chocolate pudding layer and was topped with whipped cream. Real decadence. Many of the recipes in the book use convenience products but as a compromise, I made my own cookie dough and used real whipping cream, so feel free to do the same. As you can see in the above photo, the guests of the lunch only managed to eat one row of the cake. What to do? I brought it into my soldiers the next day and they quickly demolished it. That's what soldiers are for. ;) I really like this cookbook because it is filled with down-home, crowd pleasing desserts that are tried and true winners. This is the second recipe I made and they were both winners. I am posting the recipe as written in the book, but as mentioned, feel free to substitute for the packaged products.