Desserts

Submitted by Kylie Cook
Sunday Bell Farm
North Danville, VT

This ice cream is easy to make and a quick surefire way to land yourself in heaven for a few frozen moments. It is a great way to use up extra milk, eggs, and maple on the farm. It does require an ice cream maker (hand crank or electric). Although I would be lying if I said I have never just slurped the custard straight out of the fridge! Note that the milk and cream ratio can be played with depending on how rich you like your ice cream, I usually go for half milk and half cream. The vanilla and sugar ratios can be played with as well depending on how sweet you like it. Feel free to add in nuts, frozen fruit, or any other delightful addition you can dream up to make it your own.

Maple Vanilla Ice Cream:
2 and 1/3 c whole milk
2 and 1/3c heavy cream
3 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
2 tbsp. vanilla extract
¾ c sugar
½ c maple syrup

1. Combine milk and cream in a saucepan and heat on low stirring occasionally
2. Combine eggs, yolks, and sugar in a medium bowl, use a hand mixer or mix by hand until thick, smooth, similar to mayo. Around 2 minutes.
3. Measure out one cup of hot milk from the saucepan. While continuing to mix, slooowly add the milk to the egg mixture.
4. Once fully combined, slooowly pour the egg/milk mixture into the saucepan while stirring.
5. It is important to mix the eggs and milk slowly to avoid over cooking or burning the eggs. If done too fast or too hot, it can lead to small chunks of scrambled eggs in the final ice cream. The ice cream will still be edible, but texturally it may feel off.
6. Cook the mixture on medium low while stirring constantly. Continue cooking and stirring until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. This can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes.
7. Transfer the mixture from the saucepan to a bowl and stir in the vanilla extract. Cover the top with a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard to prevent a skin from forming.
8. Chill completely for a couple hours or overnight. Churn in the ice cream maker. Follow the instructions of your particular ice cream maker for churning. Enjoy!

Submitted by Connie Jackson of Colebrook, NH

First: cook (winter) squash (I bake mine until soft, scoop it out and mash it with a potato masher). Butternut, buttercup, Red Kuri, any sweet-tasting winter squash works.

When cooled, put
2 cups mashed squash in the blender with
1-2/3 cup (one can) evaporated milk or light cream, and purée. Add:
Scant 1/2 cup Aprils Maple* sugar,
1/2 tsp salt,
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice**, OR 1 tsp cinnamon,1/2 tsp ginger & 1/4 tsp cloves, and blend.
Add 2 eggs, and blend.

Put in 9” unbaked pie shell***, set into a 2nd (glass) pie pan, for stability.

Preheat oven to 425; reduce heat to 350 when you put the pie in, and bake 45-60 minutes, or just until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Best served with whipped cream.

*April is my niece, so I’m partial…her sugar house is located in the Northeast corner of the NEK, in Canaan, VT.

**Stockwells organic pumpkin pie spice is available at North Country Marketplace in Colebrook, NH.

***I like Immaculate Ready-to-Bake pie crusts, available at the Littleton Co-op.

Sugar On Snow (for about 4 people)

Boil 2 cups of pure maple syrup until it spins a thread (233° F on candy thermometer). Pour over hard packed fresh snow. The snow is arranged either in pie plates or in large pans for everyone to dig in. Sour pickles and raised doughnuts are served to cut the sweetness. If snow is not available, crushed or shaved ice will do.

Measure into mixing bowl:

• ½ cup warm water (about 115 F),
• Add 2 packages dry yeast
• 1 ½ cup lukewarm water
• ½ cup sugar
• Stir in:
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup soft shortening
  • Half of 7 to 7 ½ cups flour

Mix with a spoon until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to handle easily; mix with hands. Keep dough as soft as possible, almost sticky – just so you’re able to handle it.

Turn out onto lightly floured board; knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Round up in greased bowl. Cover with damp cloth. Let rise in warm place (85 F) until double (about 1 ½ hr).

Roll out dough 1/3” thick. Cut with floured 3” doughnut cutter. Let rise on board until very light (30 t45 minutes) Leave uncovered so a crust will form on dough. Drop into deep hot fat (375) Turn. Drain on absorbent paper. Makes 3 ½ dozen doughnuts.

Serve with maple syrup and sour pickles.

I got this recipe from my Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook, 1988, and have been making it every Christmas for about 25 years. I tried to change, to make something else several years ago, but my family put a stop to that! It is quite a show stopper, and yet very easy to make.

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 c sugar
1/3 c water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar

Filling:
1 c whipping cream
2 tbsp sugar
Instant coffee (optional)

Cocoa Frosting (see below)
Meringue Mushrooms (see below)

Heat oven to 375. Line jelly roll pan 15 ½ x10 ½ x1 inch with aluminum foil or waxed paper; grease. Beat eggs in small mixing bowl on high speed until very thick and lemon colored, about 5 minutes. Pour eggs into large mixer bowl; gradually beat in 1 c. sugar. Beat in water and vanilla on low speed. Gradually add flour, baking powder and salt, beating just until batter is smooth. Pour into pan spreading batter to corners. Bake til wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes.

Loosen cake from edges of pan; immediately invert on towel generously sprinkled with powdered sugar. Remove foil; trim stiff edges of cake if necessary. While hot, roll cake and towel from narrow end. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes.

Beat whipping cream, 2 T. sugar and the coffee in chilled bowl until stiff. Unroll cake; remove towel. Spread whipped cream mixture over cake. Roll up; frost with Cocoa Frosting. Make strokes with tines of fork to resemble bark. Decorate with Meringue Mushrooms. Store in refrigerator.

Makes 10 servings.

Cocoa Frosting

1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 – 2 tbsp hot water

Mix cocoa and butter. Stir in powdered sugar. Beat in vanilla and water until smooth and of spreading consistency.

Meringue Mushrooms

2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 c sugar
cocoa

Cover 2 cookie sheets with baking paper. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in small mixing bowl until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy, about 5 minutes. Do not underbeat.

Heat oven to 200. Fit decorators’ tube with plain tip with ¼ inch opening (#10 or 11). Fill tube with meringue and fold over top of bag. Hold bag upright and pipe out mushroom caps, each one 1 to 1 ¼ inches in diameter. Save enough meringue to pipe out stems for the caps, which should fit into the caps. Put on the 2nd cookie sheet. Sift cocoa over caps. Put in oven and bake until firm 40 – 45 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately turn caps over and make a soft indentation in the bottom. Let all cool.

To assemble mushrooms; spread small amount of frosting in indentation in each mushroom cap. Insert stem and place upside down to dry. Store meringue mushrooms uncovered at room temperature.

Decorators’ Frosting

Heat one square (1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate and 1 teaspoon butter until melted; remove from heat. Beat in 1 c powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon hot water until smooth and of spreading consistency. If necessary, stir in additional hot water, 1 teaspoon at a time.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
2 cups quick oats
1 cup shortening
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
12oz pkg. Chocolate chips

Cream shortening and brown sugar. Add vanilla and eggs. Beat thoroughly. Mix flour, salt and oats. Add to the above. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake in a greased 9×13 pan 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Easy dessert. One pear could be enough for 2 mouths… It stays lovely in the fridge for a couple of days.

Cut a bosc pear into 4 pieces, peel, and remove the seed section. Place in a saucepan with just enough water to cover. Add sugar to taste.

Throw in one cinnamon stick, four cloves, and one star anise.

Bring the simple syrup to a boil, then simmer for a while until the pear pieces are soft…the syrup turns color. Let cool…dish out with enough syrup to please…top with whipped sweet cream…yum yum… so easy, so delish. I drink whatever is left when the pears have been eaten.

This is a recipe my mother made for very special occasions circa 1940/1950. [The original recipe calls for an ingredient] referred to as “special cheese”. That may have been something unique from the dairy. I have made it using a combo of Ricotta cheese and cottage cheese. My advice is to use the very best organic eggs and pure cream! This is a real treat.

Filling:
2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 lb combination of ricotta and cottage cheese
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 egg whites
1 pint of heavy cream

Pour the cold water in a bowl and sprinkle in the gelatin. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks slightly and add the sugar, salt, and milk. Cook using a double boiler, stirring occasionally, until it begins to look like custard. Add the gelatin to the hot custard mixture and stir until well dissolved. Cool until mixture begins to thicken, then add cheese and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Whip the cream in two batches- be sure the cream and the bowl are both cold. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they are stiff and dry. carefully fold the egg whites and cream into the custard mixture.

Graham Cracker Crust:
18 graham cracker crumbs, crushed fine
1/3 cup of sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine crust ingredients and set aside one cup for sprinkling on top of the filling. Press the remainder of the crust mixture into a springform pan.

Fill with the custard mixture and sprinkle with the remaining crust mixture. Refrigerate for 12 hours before serving.

Make an angel food cake from a boxed cake mix. Duncan Hines brand is good, try the ‘confetti’ type if available. Use an angel food cake pan. Bake according to directions and let it cool. Take it out of the pan, put it upside down on a big plate.

Frosting:
About 12 ounces of Hershey Chocolate bars, with almonds. (My Mom’s recipe says to use eight 5-cent Hershey bars.)
25 marshmallows, about 6-7 ounces
2/3 cup milk

Combine and melt in a double boiler. Cool

Fold in: 1 cup heavy cream, whipped.

Cut cake into layers and spread filling between layers and on the sides.

Chill at least 8 hours.

These cookies benefit from very dark chocolate and the Italian orange flavoring, fiori di Sicilia (available from King Arthur Baking Company).

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour (sifted, then measured)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt (you can get away with omitting this, if you’re avoiding salt)
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon fiori di Sicilia
2 eggs
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Stir together flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. You will use that later.
In an electric mixer beat the butter until light.
Add sugars and vanilla. Beat 20 to 30 seconds.
Add eggs one at a time and beat until well combined.
Add flour mix slowly until blended.
Very slowly add the chocolate chips for just a few seconds.
Remove the mixing bowl from its base and stir the chocolate chips more evenly into the batter with a heavy spoon.

Place 12 separate tablespoons of dough on a baking sheet with a nice space between blobs. The batter will spread, so don’t try to get more cookie dough on one sheet.

Use three clean fingers to press down on each cookie so it’s not so high in the middle. This process promotes a crispy edge and a tender but not doughy middle.

Set the baking sheet on a rack in the middle of the preheated oven. The cookies are more consistent if you bake one sheet at a time in this way.

Bake 9 to 11 minutes or a little more if you’re a fan of crispier cookies.

Take the cookies out of the oven and let them sit for a few seconds on the baking sheet while you find your cooling rack. Remove the cookies to the cooling rack.

For the next batch, make sure your baking sheet has cooled.

A modern touch is to sprinkle just a little bit of sea salt on top of each cookie after you’ve done the three-finger bit. Salt and chocolate are delicious together.

You can make the dough for the cookies the day before you plan to cook them and simply refrigerate the dough until it’s needed. These cookies also freeze amazingly well. Bake your cookies as directed. Place them in one layer inside a plastic storage bag, removing as much air as you can before sealing. Place on a plate or small baking sheet and freeze. The key is to let the cookies thaw at their own pace at room temperature. Some people adore frozen chocolate chip cookies, so watch out if you’ve removed the cookies from the freezer for a party.

This past summer, we had a bountiful harvest of butternut squash. I tried, for the first time, making a squash pie and discovered I preferred the texture and delicious taste of the butternut squash over my traditional pumpkin pie.

INGREDIENTS:

Pastry: (one crust)
1 1/4 cup flour
1 T of sugar
1/2 tsp salt (kosher preferred)
1/2 c. butter (very cold; cut in cubes)

Filling:
3 large eggs rm. temp
1/2 c.light brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ginger
pinch of cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 c cream at rm. temp (1/2&1/2 or light cream)
2 c cooked butternut squash at rm. temp.
1/4 c crushed ginger snaps to sprinkle over crust before filling

DIRECTIONS:

Cooking the squash (can be done ahead, but must be at room temperature when mixed in filling)
Preheat oven for squash 375-400 degrees.
Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds, rub oil and butter on cut surface, place squash cut side down in long pyrex dish.
Bake for 45 minutes to one hour. The scooped out end may need to be cut off and removed because it cooks more quickly. Make sure the solid end of squash is fully cooked.

Making the pastry:
To Mix use food processor or cut in by hand
Mix flour, sugar, salt and very cold cubed butter to coarse crumbs. With food processor pulse 10 seconds or so.
Add gradually 3 to 4 T of ice water to mix. Pulse until dough is barely damp, enough to hold together when pressed by hand.
Pat the dough into a disc shape, wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and chill for, at least, an hour

Rolling out the pie crust:
Take chilled dough out of frig and put on floured surface
As it begins to warm up, roll your dough to fit pie plate
Roll the dough under on the edge of the pie plate and crimp
Sprinkle the crushed ginger snaps over the bottom of the pie, coming up the side 1/4”
(The ginger snaps help bind the filling to the crust edge.)
Cover pie plate with plastic wrap and chill for 1/2 hour

Making the filling. Pre-heat oven to 375
Whisk 3 large eggs at rm. temp.
Add: brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, nutmeg, vanilla extract, 2/3 c. cream, 2 c. room. temp. smooth squash. (Do not over mix; can cause cracking of filling)

Cooking the pie
Take chilled pie crust with crushed ginger snaps on bottom and place on a cookie sheet
Pour filling onto pie crust
Bake 45 to 50 minutes at 375. Half way through, cover the crimped edge of pie with a strip of tin foil or a pie-crust ring.

As far back as I can remember this was a staple at almost every family birthday celebration. It’s a white layer cake topped or covered with mocha frosting.

Cake:
2 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
dash of salt
½ c. boiling milk with 1 tsp. butter melted

Beat eggs well and gradually add sugar. Add dry ingredients and then milk to sugar and eggs. Bake as two layers at 350° for 35 minutes. Cool and add frosting.

Frosting:
1/2 c. butter
2 heaping c. confectioner’s sugar
4 Tbsp. strong coffee
4 tsp. dry cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla

Ingredients:
4 cups chopped rhubarb
1 cup of sugar
1, 3oz box of strawberry flavored gelatin
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup of water
1 stick of butter

In a 13×9 inch pan, layer in order:
Rhubarb
Sugar
Gelatin
Cake mix

Pour the water over the layers and dot with butter. Bake at 350F for 1 hour.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup of sugar
1 egg
¼ cup light corn syrup
2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda

Mix together and set aside:
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream sugar, shortening, and egg. Stir in melted chocolate and corn syrup. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Cream dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe for Soft & Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies on the Sally’s Baking Addiction site. This one swaps molasses for sugar, uses five-spice powder instead of cinnamon, and calls for golden raisins. Prefer cranberries to raisins, or pumpkin pie spice to five spice? Change things up to suit your taste!

Dry ingredients:
1 ½1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon five-spice powder (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup golden raisins

Wet ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses (coat the measuring cup with oil before measuring the molasses, for best results)
2 large eggs

In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and stir. Using a mixer or the strength of your arms, and a fresh (large) mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar, and then add the molasses and eggs. Beat until uniform in color and texture.

Add the dry ingredient to the wet ingredients, and mix until combined, but no longer (stirring develops gluten, which makes dough more stretchy and less tender…good for bread, less good for cookies, cakes, and the like). Cover the dough and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350, and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough using an ice cream scoop, or a pair of spoons, or any other method you prefer. (You can use your hands, lightly coated in oil, but it will definitely get messy!) Use around 3 tablespoons of dough for each cookie, and place them 4-inches apart on the cookie sheets. Garnish with additional salt — I like using smoked salt.

Put the cookies in the oven, and check them after 6 minutes. If they are cooking unevenly, swap which pan is on which rack, and also rotate the pans back to front. After another six minutes, start checking for doneness. The cookies will still be soft in the center when fully cooked. Remove from the oven, and let cool.

Instructions:
1. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, or spray with non-stick baking spray.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Beat sugar and butter with a mixer on medium high speed, then blend in pumpkin, egg and vanilla until incorporated.
4. Gradually mix in flour and dry ingredients. Refrigerate dough for 3-4 hours (or overnight).
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
6. Scoop dough into one-inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar, place dough balls on baking sheet.
7. Bake for 11-13 minutes.
8. Remove from baking sheet to cooling rack.
9. Store cookies in an airtight container.

Great with coffee or tea!

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup Grandma’s Original (Yellow Label) Molasses
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs, well beaten
3 cups flour
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
½ tsp nutmeg
1 cup sour milk or light cream
1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350F

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and molasses and mix well. Sift together flour and spices. Add alternately with the milk to the wet ingredients. Stir in the dissolved baking soda. Pour into a greased, 13×9 cake pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Note: This tastes just like pumpkin pie but it is quick to make and saves the task of creating a separate pie crust.

Ingredients:
2 cups nuts, chopped pecans (Optional)
2 cups brown sugar, light or dark brown
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
2/3 cup evaporated skim milk
1/2 cup and 1/4 cup margarine, separated, at room temperature
1, 28 oz. can pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 cake mix, two-layer yellow

Remove 1 cup of the cake mix and reserve it for the topping.

Crust:
In mixer bowl, beat together the remaining cake mix, 1/2 cup margarine, and 1 egg (beaten lightly) until it is evenly mixed. Press this mixture into the bottom of a greased and floured 13 X 9 inch baking pan.

Filling:
Combine pumpkin, the remaining 3 eggs, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, evaporated milk, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour this mixture over the crust.

Topping:
Crumble with your fingers or use a pastry cutter, the 1 cup of saved cake mix, ½ cup granulated sugar, nuts (if desired), and 1/4 cup margarine. Sprinkle this over the pumpkin filling.

Bake in a pre-heated 350̊ oven for 1 hour, or until set and lightly brown.