Ingredients:

• 1 piece of Styrofoam
• 8 apples
• 8 ice cream sticks
• 12 packages (14 oz each) creamy caramels
• 2 tbs. water
• 3/4 cup pistachios, chopped
• 8 foil cupcake liners
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate

Method:

Place Styrofoam on a flat surface. Lightly coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Remove stems from apples. Insert wooden stick into stem of each apple. Place caramels in saucepan. Add water, heat on low, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted.

Working quickly with one apple at a time, and keeping caramel over low heat, dip apples into the caramel, turning to coat the apples, remove apple from caramel and gently shake. Pat pistachios onto top of apple, place on prepared sheet. Refrigerate until caramel is cool.

Heat chocolate in top of double boiler until melted. Drizzle chocolate over apples. Press apple sticks into Styrofoam. Refrigerate until the chocolate hardens. Remove from Styrofoam and place in foil cupcake liners.

Share and Enjoy!

Makes 8 apples

Popularity: 1% [?]

If you’re looking for a bit of “wow” factor at your next dinner or dessert party, give these little guys a go.  They’re number one in a series of three white chocolate tartlets that will have anyone you serve them to thinking you are a pastry chef extraordinaire, even though they are quite simple to make.

Not only are these little tartlets simple, elegant and, of course extremely tasty, they’re the perfect dessert for a larger gathering, since prep can be done on sheet pans or directly on serving platters.  Just lay them out and let your guests, friends or family dive in.  The taste is something like vanilla bean ice cream drizzled with caramel, but a bit subtler, so these should appeal to just about anyone!

Read more…

Popularity: 3% [?]

Who doesn’t love cheesecake? If made properly it is decadent, creamy, fluffy and just sweet enough to satisfy the cravings of any sweet tooth. It can be made in a variety of flavors, and toppings are always welcome. It plays well with others and finds its place easily as the star dessert at back yard barbecues and five star restaurants.  It’s just that good. The only problem with it is that I have a tendency to eat way too much of one kind and don’t have room to sample others. This little recipe solves all that.

These mini cheesecakes are tiny.  They are perfect for appetizers or if served in all of their possible variations, as a perfect dessert sampling menu. Go crazy with toppings and you could serve a seven course dessert without breaking a sweat. Trust me, the Oooh’s and Ahhhs you’ll get will be worth the effort.

The inspiration for them came from a recipe by Giada DeLaurentis, but as usual, I found Giada’s original version somewhat uninspired.  Oh, they were good, but they weren’t jaw dropping, and they were more labor intensive than this variation. The original called for orange zest, but for my tastes it just didn’t work as well as I’d hoped, so i swapped out for vanilla.  The results were superb.

Read more…

Popularity: 5% [?]