Cuisine Eric

These are perhaps the best cookies I have ever made. What could be better than peanut butter cookies? Peanut butter cookies dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with honey roasted peanuts, that's what! 2 sticks butter (1 cup), room temperature 1 cup chunky peanut butter 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1-1/2 cups brown sugar 3/4 cup white granulated sugar 2 eggs, room temperature Dry Ingredients 2-3/4 cup all purpose flour 3/4 tsp baking soda 1-1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp kosher salt 12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 tsp coconut oil 1 cup honey roasted peanuts, finely chopped Beat the butter and peanut butter together until smooth.  Add the vanilla the sugars and beat together until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Now whisk together the dry ingredients. Add to the sugar mixture and mix together into a stiff even dough. Refrigerate dough for an hour. Preheat oven to 350F. Scoop out or form golf-ball sized balls onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Fl...

This buttery delicious ice cream uses a custard base with cream and eggs to give it an unbelievably unctuous consistency. The salted pecans toasted in butter add richness and depth and give it that famous 'butter pecan' flavor, punctuated with that dash of salt. 2 cups heavy cream 1 cup milk 4 egg yokes 1/3 cup cane sugar 1/4 cup dark brown sugar 1/8 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup pecans (I used roasted, salted) chopped into 1/4-inch pieces   1/4 cup butter   The day before churning, freeze churn bowl of the ice cream maker for 18-24 hours. The day of churning, heat milk and cream to 180F, whisking often. Remove from heat. Meanwhile, whisk sugar into egg yokes in a separate medium bowl.  Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup of hot cream to yokes whisking continuously. Do the same with two more 1/2 cups cream.  Return yoke mixture to remaining cream in pot. Stir in the vanilla and salt. Your cream mixture will fall down to something like 140F. Over low heat, bring the cream ...

I used this ice cream to make a red, white and blue 250th anniversary 4th of July celebration ice cream pie for a July 4th family gathering. I topped a shortbread base in a springform pan with the ice cream and then topped it with macerated raspberries and blueberries. A dollop of whipped cream adorned the berries. So many people complimented the ice cream. A simple, but big hit. 1½ cups whole milk ¾ cup granulated sugar 2 Tbsp honey ¼ tsp fine salt Zest of 1 lemon 2 cups heavy cream 2 tsp vanilla extract 3 Tbsp lemon juice (about 1 lemon) The day before churning the ice cream, freeze the ice cream maker churning bowl for at least 12 hours. Warm the milk with the sugar, honey, salt and lemon zest in a small pot to about 125F, stirring often. Remove from heat and let the zest steep for half an hour. Pour milk mixture into a bowl and whisk in the cream and vanilla. Refrigerate until fully chilled, at least 2-3 hours. Install the turning bowl onto the ice cream maker. Stir the lemon juice...

These delicious cheesecake squares are a riff off of Natasha's Kitchen (check out that great food blog!). I've tweaked the ingredients to my liking; they're rich, flavorful and just a bit decadent. All great for the Memorial Day BBQ we attended! Make sure you make then enough in advance to chill in the refrigeerator for at least several hours. Graham Crust: 7 oz graham crackers 1/4 tsp salt 1 Tbsp sugar 1 stick butter (1/2 cup), melted Cheesecake: 4 bars cream cheese (32 oz), softened to room temperature (important!) 1-1/4 cup sugar 5 large eggs, room temperature (important!) Zest of 1 lemon 2 Tbsp sour cream Juice of 1 Lemon (2-3 Tbsp) 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp salt 12 oz fresh raspberries Preheat oven to 350F.   Oil a 9x13-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper for easier removal of cooked & cooled cheesecake. Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until grainy. Pour into a 4 cup measuring cup. You should have 2 cups. Adjust accordingly. Stir in the ...

This is a crowd pleaser and a relatively healthful dessert chock full of apples and raspberries. It goes wonderfully with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for a tad more decadence! Dry Ingredients: 3/4 cup flour 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt Wet Ingredients: 2 large eggs 3/4 cup granular sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted 4 large apples, cored, peeled and cut into 1/2-3/4 inch pieced (I used 2 Honeycrisp and 2 Granny Smith) juice of 1 lemon zest of 1 lemon 1 pint raspberries 2 Tbsp coarse brown Turbinado sugar Preheat oven to 350F. Generously butter a 10-inch springform pan. Toss the cut apples with the lemon juice and zest in a bowl. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.   Whisk the eggs in another bowl until frothy. Add the other wet ingredients and mix well. Now mix half the butter with the wet ingredients. Stir in half the dry ingredients and mix well. Repeat with the remaining butter and then remaining dry ingredients. Fold in the apple...

Need a quick refreshing dessert? This comes together in minutes and always pleases. It holds in the refrigerator well so you can prepare well before mealtime or guests arrive. I'm usually not a fan of fruited yogurts because they usually have far too much sugar. You could use plain yogurt, but the fruited yogurt works very well for a dessert. I have also served the berries over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 2 cups peach yogurt (or favorite fruit yogurt) 1 pint fresh raspberries 1 cup fresh blueberries Sprigs of fresh mint Divide yogurt in four Ramekins.  Distribute fruit evenly on top of yogurt beds. Garnish with mint. Serves 4.