Dried Fruit and Nut Cake

The other day, I was in the mood for something a little different. And I had various containers of dried fruit in my pantry that I really wanted to use up, ‘cause, um, yeah, I needed to clear some space to accommodate my latest Costco run. (Ever been to Costco? That place is wonderful and evil at the same time—especially because whenever I go there, I just seem to get into this mode where I start thinking “yes, it is a good idea to buy three different types of chocolate chips in bulk.”) Anyway, the dried fruit (among other things) had to go, so I took the opportunity to tackle a recipe I’d seen awhile back.

This cake is really more like a giant granola bar. And I’ll warn that it’s fairly dense—you need a pretty solid knife to cut through it. But it’s also super tasty, and incredibly quick and easy to make. The most time-consuming part was chopping up all the dried fruit, and even that only took a few minutes. And the result was an interesting concoction that I’ll happily be eating all week long.

Dried Fruit and Nut Cake
Recipe from David Leibowitz

Ingredients:
7 tablespoons AP flour
7 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I like nutmeg, so I used a bit more, but not quite a half teaspoon)
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
Pinch of ground cloves (I omitted this)
Pinch of salt
1 and 1/2 cups of chopped up dried fruit (I used dried cranberries, apricots, dates, and prunes)
1 and 1/2 cups of chopped nuts, lightly toasted (I used walnuts and pecans)

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 9-inch loaf pan.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, eggs, salt, and spices in a large bowl.
3. Stir in the dried fruits and nuts.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 90 minutes. Cool the cake in its pan. When ready to slice, you’ll definitely want to bust out the cutting board and a sharp knife.

Feb 4

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

It seems like every year around this time, I start to get a little stir crazy…and more than a little tired of winter. I’m just one of those people who really, really doesn’t like being cold. Now I can deal with December. For some reason, I’m a total sucker for all that holiday spirit jazz, and it helps keep my mind off the dropping temps. And I’m usually okay with January, mostly ‘cause at that point we haven’t been dealing with winter for too long. But come February, I’m usually ready to either escape to someplace warm (which is not going to happen with a baby) or otherwise resign myself to hibernation until the cold subsides.

This weekend, I opted for the latter and decided to spend as much time as possible curled up on the couch with a warm blanket and a book. Of course, a night much like the one I had planned for Saturday (when the forecast warned of a winter weather advisory complete with ample amounts of snow) wouldn’t be complete without some killer dessert to accompany the couch-blanket-book extravaganza, and so I decided to make a chocolate chip cookie pie.

Now I’m not usually the biggest fan of chocolate chip cookies. Sure, they’re a classic dessert, but they’re also kind of on the boring side. But take the chocolate chip cookie and serve it up to me in pie form, and I’m golden.

This pie is exceptionally delectable when served warm, though room temperature also works. I especially love the way the chocolate chips form their own gooey layer of deliciousness. For those of you who are just as tired of winter as I am, I recommend baking this super easy pie, carving out a nice, fresh-out-of-the-oven slice, scooping up a generous serving of vanilla ice cream on the side, curling up on the couch with your favorite book/movie/form of entertainment, and letting each sweet bite help whisk away those winter blues.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
Slightly adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients:

For The Crust:
1 and 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted

For The Filling:
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) AP flour
1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 and ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Butter 9-inch pie or tart plate.
2. Make the crust by combining your flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter until moist crumbs form. Press the mixture into bottom and sides of the pan.
3. Make the filling by whisking together your brown sugar, sugar, salt, and butter. Once combined, whisk in the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour and baking soda until combined. Then stir the flour mixture into the egg/sugar mixture until well-combined.
5. Stir in chocolate chips, and pour the mixture into the crust.
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the top of the pie turns a nice golden brown. Cool for 45 minutes on a wire rack before serving—the pie will still be nice and warm, but it’ll be a lot easier to slice. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired, and try not to eat the whole in one sitting.

Jan 31

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread

My obsession with sweets can sometimes get out of hand. There are days where I could seriously take down half a dozen sugary frosted cupcakes in a single sitting…and then there are those days where all I want is something mildly sweet to accompany my morning coffee.

I discovered this recipe awhile back and decided to finally give it a try. It was super easy, and the result was a yummy chocolate loaf cake that’s perfect for breakfast (in other words, not too sweet). The recipe yields two loaves, so feel free to cut it in half. Or you can do what I did—make one classic chocolate chocolate chip loaf, and use the second half of the batter to get creative. I’ll explain.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread

From Barbara Bakes

Ingredients:
2 and 1/2 cups AP flour, plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup of softened butter
2 cups of granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 and 1/2 cups applesauce
1 and 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Optional: 1/3 cup dried cherries, cranberries, peanut butter chips, or anything else you feel like throwing into the mix that goes well with chocolate

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease two medium loaf pans (I used cooking spray).
2. Mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder, and set aside.
3. Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and the sugar until it gets fluffy (about two minutes).
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
5. Add the vanilla and applesauce, and mix until combined.
6. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
7. Coat the chocolate chips with two tablespoons of flour and stir into the batter.
8. Spoon half of the batter into one of the prepared loaf pans; add your mix-in of choice to the remaining batter, stir, and pour into the second prepared pan.
9. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.