Chocolate & Irish Cream Bread Pudding

Ingredients:
10 slices bread, cubed (6 cups) 
2 (12-ounce) cans NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk 
2 cups (12-ounce package) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels - divided use
8 large egg yolks, beaten 
3/4 cup granulated sugar 
1/2 cup Irish cream liqueur 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
Whipped cream (optional) 
NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Grease 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Place bread cubes in prepared baking dish.
2. Heat evaporated milk in medium saucepan over medium-high heat; bring just to a boil. Remove from heat. Add 1 1/2 cups morsels; whisk until smooth.
3. Combine egg yolks, sugar, liqueur and salt in large bowl. Slowly add milk mixture; whisk until smooth. Pour over bread; pressing bread into milk mixture.
4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Top with remaining 1/2 cup morsels. Serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream and dusting of cocoa, if desired.

Best Chili Cheese Dip

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup chunky salsa
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese - divided use
1 (16-ounce) can BUSH'S® BEST Chili Beans, undrained
3 tablespoons sliced green onions
3 tablespoons pitted sliced black olives (optional)
Tortilla Chips


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Combine cream cheese and salsa and spread in bottom of 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese. Spread chili beans over shredded cheese. Top with remaining shredded cheese, sliced green onions and olives.
3. Bake for 15 minutes until mixture is thoroughly heated and cheese is melted. Serve with tortilla chips.

Cranberry- Brie

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups canned whole berry cranberry sauce
2 sheets of Puff Pastry, thawed
1 large wedge of brie, chilled


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Unfold puff pastry sheets (roll out a little to smooth, if necessary). Cut into approximately 3-inch squares. Place them into mini muffin tins, pressing them into the shape of the muffin hole.
3. Place 1" slice of brie in the center of each puff pastry and then top it with approximately 1 Tablespoon of cranberry sauce.
4. Bake 10 minutes, or until puff pastry corners are toasted light brown. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Beer Puffs With Corned Beef Filling

Ingredients:
Puffs:
1 cup beer
1/4 pound butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
Filling:
2 cups finely chopped deli corned beef
2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon prepared horseradish
2 Tablespoons spicy brown mustard
2 teaspoons mayonnaise

Directions:

1. Prepare puffs ahead: Bring beer and butter to a boil. When butter is melted, add flour and salt. Cook this over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
3. Beat in eggs to the beer batter mixture one at a time until dough is shiny. Drop by teaspoonfuls 1 inch apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet (or use a small cookie scoop). Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 and bake an additional 10 minutes. Let cool. Split with scissors and refrigerate until ready to fill.
4. Prepare filling: Combine all filling ingredients and chill.
5. When ready to serve, spoon filling into puffs. Cover and refrigerate.

New York Cheesecake

 

Ingredients:
Crust:

2 cups (200 grams) of graham cracker crumbs or finely crushed Digestive biscuits

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 cup (114 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

32 ounces (1 kg) cream cheese, room temperature(use full fat, not reduced or fat free cream cheese)

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

3 tablespoons (35 grams) all purpose flour

5 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy whipping cream (double cream)

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping:

1 cup (240 ml) sour cream(not low fat or fat free)

2 tablespoons (30 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Cheesecake:    
Grease, or spray with Pam, a 9 inch (23 cm) springform pan. Place the springform pan on a larger baking pan to catch any leakage while the cheesecake is baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) with rack in center of oven.
For Crust:        
In a medium sized bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) up the sides of the springform pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.
For Filling:     
In bowl of your electric mixer place the cream cheese, sugar, and flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (about 30 seconds) after each addition.Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the whipping cream, lemon zest, vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour in the filling. Place the cheesecake pan on a larger baking pan and place in the oven.
Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) and continue to bake for about another 60 -90 minutes or until firm and only the center of the cheesecake looks a little wet and wobbly. (The baking time can vary due to the differences in ovens, so make sure to check that the cheesecake is firm with only the center being a little wet and wobbly.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Spread the topping over the warm cheesecake and return to oven to bake for 15 more minutes.  Remove from oven and carefully run a knife or spatula around the inside edge of pan to loosen the cheesecake (helps prevent the surface from cracking as it cools).
Let cool completely before covering with plastic wrap. Refrigerate several hours,preferably overnight. Serve with fresh fruit or fruit sauces.
Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm) cheesecake.

To freeze:      
Place the cooled cheesecake on a baking pan and freeze, uncovered, until firm. Then wrap in aluminum foil and place in a freezer bag. Seal and return to freezer. Can be frozen for several months. Thaw uncovered cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight.

Meringue Cookies

Ingredients:

3 large egg whites (3 ounces or 90 grams)

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4 cup (150 grams) superfine or caster sugar (if you don't have superfine sugar simply take granulated white sugar and process it for about 30-60 seconds in a food processor)

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnish:

1/4 cup shaved Almonds

Directions:

Meringue Cookies:         

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can form the cookies with a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) plain tip, or I often just use two spoons to make the cookies. 

In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on low-medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat, on medium-high speed, until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla extract.  

Note: 

The meringue is done when it holds stiff peaks and when you rub a little between your thumb and index finger it does not feel gritty. If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers.

Before placing the cookies on the cookie sheet, place a little of the meringue on the underside of each corner of the parchment paper. This will prevent the paper from sliding.  Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) tip. Pipe 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) rounds of meringue in rows on the prepared baking sheet. Alternatively, spoon mounds of meringue, using two spoons, onto the prepared sheets. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a few shaved almonds, if desired.

Bake the meringues for approximately 1 1/2 to1 3/4 hours, rotating the baking sheet from front to back (about half way through) to ensure even baking. The meringues are done when they are pale in color and fairly crisp. (The meringues will release easily from the parchment paper.)Turn off the oven, open the door a crack, and leave the meringues in the oven to finish drying several hours or overnight.The meringues can be covered and stored at room temperature for several days.

Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt

1 cup (2 sticks) (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (60 grams) powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar 

1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract

For Chocolate Dipped Shortbreads:

6 ounces (180 grams) semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions:

In a separate bowl whisk the flour with the salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until smooth (about 2 minutes).  Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated.  Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour or until firm.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) with the rack in the middle of the oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a 1/4 inch (.6 cm) thick circle.  Cut into rounds or other shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter.  Place on the prepared baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. (This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked.) Bake for 8 -10 minutes, or until cookies are very lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

For Chocolate Dipped Shortbreads:   

Place 3 ounces (90 grams) of the finely chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place it over a saucepan of simmering water. Once the chocolate has melted, remove it from the heat. Add the remaining chocolate and stir with a wooden spoon until it has completely melted and is smooth and glossy. Taking one cookie at a time, dip one end of each cookie in the melted chocolate and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet. Once all the cookies have been dipped in the chocolate, place the baking sheets in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, or until the chocolate has hardened.

Shortbread cookies with keep in an airtight container for about a week or they can be frozen.