Girl Scout Cookies All Grown Up In A Thin Mint Cheesecake Parfait

My daughter, lives and teaches in Seoul, South Korea. She loves being there and has bonded with her students and the culture. Six months have passed since her departure, and I'm ready to send her another Care package. Since the shipping half way around the world is fairly dear, I wanted to make sure what I sent was something she really wanted versus a surprise. It is a little like the question of what familiar items you'd take to a deserted island (Seoul is far from a deserted island, but you know what I mean). Well, Girl Scout cookies were at the top of her list! She chose her favorite cookies along with a box of Cheese-its and some other treasures. I guess a girl can only eat so much kimchi and raw fish and count it as comfort food. I gave a call to my neighbor who has two Girl Scout daughters and was lucky enough to get the three boxes I wanted. Three boxes.....do the math at $4 a box plus shipping to Seoul (don't forget the other treats)......what a mother won't do! Inspired by the possibilities of the cookies, I bought an extra box of Thin Mints. In 1-2-3, I turned it into a Thin Mint Cheesecake Parfait that I'll have to make for my daughter when she comes back stateside.

This couldn't be easier to make in 3 steps. No baking involved!
Thin Mint Cheesecake Parfait

18 Thin Mint cookies or Keebler Grasshopper cookies
16 ounces low fat cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 ounce plain powdered gelatine (1 packet)
2 tablespoons hot water
1 cup heavy cream

1. Prepare 6-1cup containers by coarsely breaking 1 cookie into the bottom.2. Put cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl and using a mixer, whip until light. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon juice and continue beating until mixture is smooth and light. In a small bowl mix gelatine and hot water. Stir until it has fully dissolved and has no lumps. Add this to the cream cheese mixture and beat until incorporated. Add the heavy cream and beat on high until the mixture is light and fluffy.3. Scoop mixture into prepared cups, filling half way. Coarsely break one more cookie on top of mixture and then scoop more filling on top. Refrigerate for about 3 hours. Just before serving, crush one cookie on top, and garnish with a strawberry and fresh mint leaf.

Makes 6-2/3 cup servings.


Written and photographed by Diane.

Download recipe Thin Mint Cheesecake Parfait (pdf)

Welcome Spring Salad

Sipping on my cappuccino this morning, I decided I am ready for spring, and the good news is that it is here....on the calendar anyway. Sunny temperate days are starting to become common as they coax the buds from their deep winters sleep. Bicyclers are everywhere, as well as families with baby carriages. The beach has joggers and kids with kites. Before we know it, the roar of lawnmowers will fill the air....(moan).....Instead of craving heavy food, I want light and sunny salads. I made a salad of arugula and basil with grilled chicken, and topped it with a cherry orange vinaigrette. Toss on a few toasted pine nuts and you have Spring on a plate. The garnish of bright orange and star fruit let my mind drift to the warmer climate to come.

Arugula Basil Salad With Chicken and Cherry Orange Vinaigrette

6 ounces arugula, rinsed
1/2 cup thinly sliced basil leaves
1 boneless chicken breast, grilled and sliced into strips
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
For the garnish, you'll need 1/2 orange, sliced and star fruit slices.

Place arugula and thinly sliced basil in a salad bowl.Divide salad onto four plates and top with the grilled chicken and toasted pine nuts. Arrange star fruit and orange slices along the side of salad. Top with Cherry Orange Vinaigrette salad dressing and serve.
Makes 4 servings.

Cherry Orange Vinaigrette

1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup dried cherries
zest of 1/2 orange
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
pinch of sugar to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper to taste
sea salt to taste

Peel the zest from 1/2 orange using a vegetable peeler, avoiding any white pith. Cut the zest into very thin strips and set aside. Put orange juice and dried cherries in a small saucepan. Gently simmer on medium heat until the orange juice has reduced to 1/8 cup. Add sliced orange zest, sugar, salt and cayenne and then let cool to room temperature. Stir in the vinegar and then whisk in the olive oil to emulsify.
Makes 1/2 cup vinaigrette.

Written and photographed by Diane.

Download Recipe Arugula Basil Salad With Chicken and Cherry Orange Vinaigrette (pdf)
Download Recipe Cherry Orange Vinaigrette (pdf)

Call It Pudding, But It's Really Pots De Creme

When life gives you lemons you make lemonade, right? Well, after making my Paper Doll Cupcakes, life gave me 6 egg yolks. What do I make? Custard? Lemon curd? How about Pots de Creme (pronounced poh duh krehm), or as my son just calls it, "pudding". Many flavors of this dessert came to mind and in the end, they circled back to chocolate. So chocolate it was, and I gave it a kick with cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Both subtly intermingle with the bittersweet chocolate. I prefer a harmonic balance of spices and flavors. Usually American desserts are screaming with sugar so that the purity and goodness of flavor are hiding behind its skirt. We are left not feeling satisfied with anything but sweetness. I had never made Pots de Creme, but have had it in Paris often. I played with proportions and was delighted with the outcome. It has a rich, creamy and fudge like texture with a waltz of spices dancing through. It is so easy to make with its custard base. It is baked in a water bath to keep the texture velvety smooth. I didn't have traditional lidded Pot de Creme cups, so I used one half cup ramekins and some small vintage diner bowls. After a little research about whether the diner bowls were oven safe, I learned to slowly heat them in the oven as it preheats. They didn't crack or break and looked great with the chocolate. I had fun and garnished them differently. Since it is rich, use containers no larger than for half cup servings. Less is more here. A little whipped cream dolloped on top goes great with the chocolate. I melted some cherry hard candy in the oven for just a few minutes on aluminum foil, to add a colorful translucent accent. Pure folly!

Chocolate Cinnamon Pots de Creme

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
6 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons raw sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Chop the chocolate coarsely and put into a heatproof large bowl. Place a fine meshed strainer on top of the bowl. Whisk egg yolks until frothy and then add the heavy cream and milk. Continue beating while adding the sugars, cinnamon and vanilla, until fully mixed. Put this mixture into a heavy medium pot and heat on medium heat, stirring constantly. Do not allow it to boil. Heat until it just starts to thicken and then remove from heat and pour through strainer into the bowl of chopped chocolate. Add cayenne pepper. Stir to mix fully and then pour into 1/2 cup ramekins. Place ramekins, evenly spaced and not touching, in a 2 inch deep roasting pan. Place in preheated oven and fill the roasting pan 1/2 inch deep with boiling water. Loosely cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 40 minutes. You want them to be cooked gently until they jiggle uniformly when shaken. Once done, remove from oven and let cool. Take out of pan and refrigerate covered until ready to serve. These are best served room temperature, or even just barely warm from the oven. Serve with freshly whipped cream with a dusting of unsweetened cocoa.
Makes 6 one half cup servings.

Variations:
*For a pure chocolate flavor, do not add cinnamon and cayenne pepper.
*Add 2 teaspoons instant coffee to the hot cream mixture for a mocha flavor.
*Or add a tablespoon of your favorite liqueur to the hot cream mixture instead of the cinnamon and cayenne pepper.

Written and photographed by Diane.

Download recipe Chocolate Cinnamon Pots de Creme (pdf)

Paper Doll Cupcakes

Cupcakes are the cuties of the cake world. Take a basic chocolate (my favorite) cupcake and dress her in different outfits just like paper dolls. Then she can go anywhere from a romantic dessert for two, to a child's birthday party. Put a white petticoat on her and a pink crinoline and you have a real charmer. Primp her with some fancy colored sugar and she is getting ready to go out.Wow, she's getting bold!I think she has a date..........
He wants to take her to the circus tomorrow and get her some peanuts,
and then fly her to the moon.
You get the picture......change the frosting and decoration to create a cupcake for every occasion. They can have filling or be left plain. I made a surprise Peanut Truffle filling for the chocolate cupcake and topped it with a Meringue Frosting and sugar sprinkles. What a knockout! I left some plain and topped them with a Peanut Butter Frosting and chopped peanuts. On another one, I sliced off the top evenly and spread the truffle on, replaced the top, frosted it and sprinkled on silver dragees. Mix and match to create your own combination.

Chocolate Peanut Truffle Cupcakes

Chocolate Cake
(Adapted from Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake)

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with cupcake baking cups.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour into lined muffin tin. Bake 20-25 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.Makes 30 cupcakes or 2 9 inch layer cakes.

Peanut Milk Chocolate Truffle Filling

1/3 cup peanuts
8 ounces milk chocolate
1 tablespoon cocoa, plus 1/4 cup for rolling
1/2 cup heavy cream

Add peanuts, broken chocolate or chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon cocoa to food processor bowl and process until small and coarsely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl. Heat cream until the boiling point and add to the chocolate peanut mixture. Stir until smooth and then refrigerate until firm. Once firm, scoop out 1 tablespoon pieces and put on a parchment lined baking sheet. Dust generously with the reserved cocoa and roll into balls. Freeze until ready to use.
Makes 30.

To make filled cupcakes, just before frosting, scoop out about a 3/4-1 inch plug from the top of the cupcake, using an apple corer. Stuff a Chocolate Peanut Truffle into opening. They are now ready to frost.

Meringue Frosting

2 cups sugar
2/3 cups water
6 egg whites
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
(optional 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature)

Combine the sugar and water in a heavy medium saucepan and bring to a boil without stirring. Boil until it reaches the soft ball stage, 240 degrees on a candy thermometer.

While the syrup is cooking, beat the egg whites with the salt and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. When the syrup reaches 240 degrees, pour 1/4 cup of the syrup into the stiffly beaten egg whites, drop by drop, beating at high speed. Gradually add the rest of the syrup in a fine stream and beat for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the mixture is cool. It should be glossy and thick, but not dry. At this point, add the vanilla and optional butter and beat until smooth. The mixture must be thoroughly cool or it will melt the butter. The added butter will make this frosting much looser. If you are piping it or want a firmer frosting, do not add the butter.
Makes about 6 cups.

Fit a pastry bag with desired tip. Fill pastry bag with frosting and pipe frosting onto filled cupcakes.
As an alternative, Peanut Butter Frosting is delicious on unfilled chocolate cupcakes.

Peanut Butter Frosting
(Adapted from Ina Garten)

1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix on medium-low speed with an electric mixer until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Have fun and pipe, sprinkle and decorate with abandon!

Download Chocolate cake with Peanut Truffle Filling recipe (pdf)
Download Meringue Frosting recipe (pdf)
Download Peanut Butter Frosting recipe (pdf)

Written and photographed by Diane.