Desserts - What's Cookin' Good Lookin' 2025
- Haven Magazine
- 47 minutes ago
- 7 min read
OATCAKES
Makes 12 yummy oatcakes
3 cups (300 grams) rolled oats
2 cups (225 grams) spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour (I used All-Purpose Flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup (45 grams) flax seeds
3/4 cup (85 grams) walnuts, chopped
1/3cup (70 grams) extra virgin coconut oil
1/3 cup (85 grams) unsalted butter
3/4 cup (180 milliliters) maple syrup
1/2 cup (70 grams) natural cane sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray or oil a 12-cup muffin pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking powder, salt, flax seeds and walnuts.
3. In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the coconut oil, butter, maple syrup and sugar. Stir just until the butter melts and the sugar has dissolved, but do not let the mixture get too hot. You don’t want to cook the eggs on contact in the next step.
4. Pour the coconut oil mixture over the oat mixture. Stir a bit with a fork, add the eggs and stir again until everything comes together into a wet dough. Spoon the dough into the muffin cups, nearly filling them.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges of each oatcake are deeply golden. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for a couple of minutes before transferring cakes to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Submitted by Vic King from Strong Sites. “These oatcakes are a staple in our household of five. They’re dense and delicious … and they’re not half bad for you!”
LUCIOUS LEMON CHIFFON PIE
16 ounces Camellia Groves Lemon Curd
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
1 9-inch pie crust (graham or regular)
1 quart container Cool Whip
1. Soften cream cheese and with an immersion blender (or by hand), then blend cheese and lemon curd together until smooth.
2. Pour into room temperature pie crust and top with Cool Whip. Refrigerate 4 hours.
Submitted by Martha Burke, Camellia Groves, Winter Haven. “This takes 10 minutes!! So easy, anyone can make this and be proud. Order your lemon curd by Thursday and pick it up on a Sunday at noon. Curd can be frozen to save for later.” camelliagroves.com
ARROZ CON LECHE COLOMBIANO
2 cups white jasmine rice
3 cups water
1 (14-ounce) can condensed milk
5 cups whole milk
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)
1. Rinse the rice in a fine mesh strainer until the water is on the clearer side, only slightly cloudy. Add the rinsed rice to a Dutch oven with water and cook on low heat.
2. Once the water has evaporated, the rice will be partially cooked. Add the whole, condensed, and evaporated milk to the cooked rice. Add the cinnamon and vanilla extract, stir, and cover. Cook for 30 minutes on low heat.
3. After 30 minutes, remove the cover and stir well. Increase the heat slightly to get the milk to come to a quick boil, stir, and turn the heat off. (Note: don’t worry if the milk still seems a little runny at first – the rice will keep absorbing it and thicken everything up even after it’s off the heat.)
4. To serve, pour the rice pudding into a bowl or small mug. Sprinkle cinnamon on top and enjoy the creamy goodness (warm or cold)!
Tips:
Cook on low heat to prevent the rice from burning or sticking to the bottom of the pot.
It’s important to keep an eye on it and give it a stir using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
The sugar in the milk, especially the condensed milk, can crystallize and burn much quicker, so it’s best to be cautious. By stirring it regularly, you’ll get a delicious and creamy dessert without any burnt bits.
I prefer to use a silicone spatula to stir the mixture; it helps to remove any pieces that have started sticking to the bottom.
Add raisins in step 3 if desired.
Recipe by Carolina Suarez from The Blind Shack of Central Florida. “This creamy Colombian arroz con leche (rice pudding) is one of my favorite desserts to make. I love the way the rice, milk, and sugar come together—it’s so simple but so good. It’s perfect warm or chilled, and I always make it when I want to share something special with my family.”
DATE BREAD
1/2 pound dates, pits removed
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup boiling water poured over dates and allowed to cool
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup walnut meats, chopped
1 egg white, beaten stiff
Mix together and bake in a slow oven – about one hour.
Submitted by Jane McGinnis. “I am sharing a recipe from my mother’s cookbook. I loved it every Christmas when Mom would bake this delicious bread. She noted the recipe ‘Date Bread 6-18-33 Mary Perry.’ Mary Perry owned the Cottage House Inn in Readsboro, VT for more than forty years. In the early 1920s, after my mother graduated from Bliss Business College, she accepted a position as secretary to A. B. Clark, President of the Readsboro Chair Company, and boarded at Mrs. Perry’s inn. Mary Perry passed away in 1971 and was Readsboro’s oldest resident at ninetyone. Coincidentally, Mrs. Perry was also the great-grandmother of the late actor Matthew Perry.”
IMPERIAL BROWNIES
4 squares Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate
2 sticks Imperial Margarine
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1. Melt chocolate and margarine together in a 200 F oven. Let cool slightly.
2. Hand stir ingredients in this order: sugar, milk, eggs, flour, vanilla, and finally the salt.
3. Bake in a greased pan for 45 minutes at 350 F, until your toothpick comes out clean.
4. When cool, dust with powdered sugar and add seasonal sprinkles.
Submitted by Susan Mayrant. “These rival Mrs. Field’s brownies and I have made them since I was a kid. You don’t even need a mixer as I just mix together with a fork!”
STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE TORTE
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Filling (recipe below)
1 pint cleaned, fresh strawberries, sliced
1. In a small saucepan, bring milk to a boil. Add butter. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, blend sugar, vanilla and eggs. Beat at high speed for 3 minutes until thick and lemon colored.
3. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Beat 1 minute at low speed. Add milk-butter mixture. Beat 1 minute more at low speed.
4. Pour into well-buttered and floured 10-inch springform pan.* Bake at 350 F for 55 to 65 minutes or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool thoroughly. Remove from pan.
5. Split cooled cake into 3 layers. Fill between layers with about 3/4 cup filling, placing sliced strawberries on top of filling before stacking cake.
6. Frost stacked cake with Cream Cheese Filling. Press about 1 cup through pastry bag to decorate top. Garnish with more berries. Chill until ready to serve.
CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
Whip 1 pound (2 8-ounce packages) room temperature cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1 pint whipping cream until mixture is very light and fluffy.
TIP: Cake can be made several hours before serving or the day before, but should be covered and refrigerated so it will not absorb odors from other foods.
*Submitted by Carolee Cheney. “This is a favorite of many! I use 2 round cake pans rather than a springform pan, slicing each cake in two making a 4-layered cake instead of 3. The cake weighs a ton, but a slice is light as a feather.”
SOFT CANNOLI COOKIES
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
10 ounces chocolate chips
powdered sugar (for the drizzle on top)
cocoa powder (for the drizzle on top)
ground cinnamon (for the drizzle on top)
1. In a bowl, mix butter and sugar until fluffy.
2. Add eggs and ricotta and mix until well combined. Next, mix in vanilla, cinnamon and orange zest.
3. Mix in flour baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 F.
5. On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, use a small cookie scoop and drop the cookie dough, leaving some space between cookies. Bake for about 10-15 minutes.
6. After they cool, mix together cocoa powder, cinnamon and powdered sugar, and slowly add a little bit of water until it’s creamy enough to be drizzled on top of cookies.
7. Let the glaze set and enjoy them!
Submitted by Maria Grazia Lutricusi. “I’m Italian and I bake all kinds of Italian desserts. My company name is Sugar Ribbon by Mary. I’m usually at the makers market at Lakeside Village every second Sunday of the month. I would like to share one of my favorite cookie recipes that brings in one bite, all of the Italian cannoli flavors.”
PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 sticks butter (room temperature)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) can organic pumpkin
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 325 F and butter two loaf pans.
2. In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin spice.
3. In a second bowl, add softened butter and sugar. Beat the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until combined. (1-2 minutes)
4. Add the eggs one at a time and continue beating until smooth.
5. Add the pumpkin and blend on medium.
6. On low speed, add in the flour mixture and chocolate chips until combined.
7. Pour the batter into the two loaf pans and bake on the middle rack, checking at one hour.
8. Allow the pumpkin bread to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from the pans. (the hardest part!)
9. Enjoy!!
Submitted by Bailey Hill from Captivate Digital Creative.
