Tasty Kitchen Blog » DessertForTwo

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pie

DessertForTwo — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 07:38:08 +0000

I love oatmeal. I love a warm bowl of it in the morning topped with dried figs and honey. I love a cinnamon oatmeal applesauce muffin as a snack in the afternoon. And do I even have to talk about how much I love oatmeal cookies? We all love oatmeal cookies. So, when I saw Heather’s recipe for Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pie, I was immediately intrigued. I had never heard of such a concoction. But I trusted Heather’s Texas roots, so I jumped right in.

Even after reading the ingredient list, I still couldn’t wrap my mind around what type of pie this would be. It was big mystery to me, one I tried to unravel as I whisked the ingredients together, anxiously anticipating my first bite of pie.

Oatmeal pie doesn’t have many ingredients. It’s simply made of pie crust, rolled oats, sugar, eggs, vanilla, butter, chocolate chips and corn syrup. So simple. I had everything in my pantry to make this pie.

First, I unrolled the pie crust. I used a store-bought pie crust, like Heather’s recipe calls for. Then, I spent a good 15 minutes wondering why I have been forcing myself to make pie crust all these years. Store-bought crusts are great! Plus, all I had to do was unwrap, unroll and bake. I was even closer to pie time than I thought!

I sprinkled 1/3 cup of chocolate chips on top of the pie crust. I used milk chocolate chips, because they’re sweeter than semisweet or dark chocolate chips. I’m just waiting for milk chocolate to make its big comeback.

Then, I got to work on the pie filling. I whisked the butter and sugar together. I actually had a hard time with this step, so I melted it in the microwave. The recipe calls for softened butter, not melted, but it worked better for me to melt it.

Next, all other ingredients are stirred in: corn syrup, eggs, vanilla.

And finally, the oatmeal! The star ingredient!

Pour all ingredients over the chocolate chips in the crust and bake for 30–40 minutes, keeping an eye on the middle of the pie for jiggliness. That’s a technical term when it comes to custard-pie-making, by the way. A little jiggle in the center is good; it will set when it cools.

Isn’t she beautiful? Heather said to wait until it cools to cut. Even though it was hard to do, I dutifully obeyed.

After one bite, I figured out what this pie is—it’s like pecan pie, but with oatmeal! And it’s so dang good! The corn syrup should have tipped me off that it would be like pecan pie, but I didn’t realize it until that first bite. Which led to many more bites. I’m hooked on this pie!

Next time you’re craving pecan pie and spy a container of rolled oats in your pantry, make this pie. It should go right into your recipe box!

Thanks for a new classic pie recipe, Heather! Check out her blog, Heather’s Dish, for more of her creations.

Printable Recipe

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pie

by Heather Disarro on January 2, 2013 in Desserts, Pies

See post on Heather Disarro’s site!

4.86 Mitt(s) 7 Rating(s)

Description

This pie is literally the easiest and most delicious pie you’ll make. Plus it has oatmeal in it, which clearly makes it health food!

Ingredients

1 whole Prepared (not Baked) 9-inch Pie Crust
⅓ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
⅓ cups Softened Butter
⅔ cups Granulated Sugar
1 cup Light Corn Syrup
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
3 whole Eggs
1-¼ cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Press the prepared and rolled pie dough into a 9-inch pie pan and fix the edges however you like. Pour the chocolate chips evenly into the bottom of the pie crust. Set it aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Whisk in the corn syrup, vanilla, and eggs until smooth. Fold in the oats.

Pour the entire mixture evenly over the chocolate chips. Bake at 350 F for 45-60 minutes or until the pie is just set in the center. Keep an eye on it and make sure to tent the edges of the crust with a strip of foil if you need to keep it from browning too much.

When done remove pie from the oven and let it cool completely before serving!

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Growing up in a food-obsessed family and spending a lot of time in her Aunt Rose’s restaurant as a child, Christina was destined to be a fantastic cook. She’s a private chef during the day, but cooks for two at home. Like all of us, she has a sweet tooth that needs indulging after dinner. After becoming frustrated with the lack of recipes made for two, especially in the dessert category, she took matters into her own hands and started her blog, Dessert for Two, to share how she takes Southern classics (and a few surprises) and turns them into recipes that are perfect for just a few people. Her first cookbook, Dessert for Two, is now available at your favorite bookstore.

Whole Wheat Clementine Yogurt Cake

DessertForTwo — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 14:25:31 +0000

When someone says “healthy dessert,” I immediately grab two forks. To me, a healthy dessert means I can eat double the servings! Wait, is that not the point? It’s funny what a little whole wheat flour and yogurt in a cake will make you do.

This Whole Wheat Clementine Yogurt Cake by Tasty Kitchen member Stephanie was a must-make for me. I think I grabbed the last bag of clementines for the season last week, and I saved 4 little clementines for this cake. It was so worth it, too!

First up, our simple, couldn’t-be-easier ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry: whole wheat flour, regular all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, Greek yogurt, vanilla, vegetable oil, eggs, salt and baking powder. Oh, and clementines! Pretty standard cake stuff, right?

Stephanie recommends spraying and lining your pan with parchment paper. I say good call, Steph. When a recipe calls for the extra step of lining the pan, don’t ignore it. It could be the difference between a pretty cake that releases perfectly from the pan and a cake that comes out in pieces!

Now we can get to work on the cake. First, we combine the dry ingredients: both flours, salt, and baking powder. Whisking it together helps break up the clumps and eliminates the pesky step of sifting.

Once the dry ingredients are combined, it’s time to mix the wet ingredients together: combine the sugar, eggs, clementine zest, and vegetable oil. Anytime a recipe calls for citrus zest I get excited, because I know it’s going to be delicious. The zest is where all the flavors of the fruit hide. It’s full of oils that will perfume your whole cake.

I use a microplane grater to get as much zest off each clementine as possible. I only scraped my knuckles twice doing this. Totally worth it, though.

After folding together the wet and dry ingredients until no streaks of flour remain, I scraped the batter into the pan. Off it went into a 350ºF oven for 45 minutes. Steph recommends 40-50 minutes, which means you should start checking on the cake at 40 minutes. Increase the baking time by a few minutes until the cake starts to pull away from the edges of the pan, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean with only moist crumbs clinging to it. For me, 45 minutes was the magic number, but every oven is different, so be patient!

Now we’re getting to the good part: after a 10 minute cool-off session, the cake comes out of the pan. Remember those clementines that we scraped bald for their zest? It’s time to juice them into a pan with some sugar! We’re going to poke holes all over the cake and pour this warm, sugary juice on top. Yep. It’s exactly as good as it sounds.

I ate a slice of this cake warm, and then another slice cool. And then another slice warm again just to figure out my preference. Before I could have another slice cool, the cake was gone. I guess we’ll never know the best way to serve it, but one thing is for sure: this cake is delicious! Thanks for a great lightened-up cake recipe that I can feel good about eating at snack time, Steph! Check out her TK recipe box and visit her beautiful blog, Girl Versus Dough, for more of her masterpieces!

Printable Recipe

Whole Wheat Clementine Yogurt Cake

by Stephanie | Girl Versus Dough on January 9, 2014 in Cakes, Desserts

See post on Stephanie | Girl Versus Dough’s site!

4.00 Mitt(s) 1 Rating(s)

Description

A tangy, sweet, moist and citrus-y cake for breakfast, dessert, snacking or all of the above.

Ingredients

¾ cups Unbleached All-purpose Flour
¾ cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Salt
1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1-⅓ cup Granulated Sugar, Divided
3 Eggs
2 teaspoons Grated Clementine Zest (from About 2 Clementines)
½ teaspoons Vanilla
½ cups Vegetable Oil
⅓ cups Fresh-Squeezed Clementine Juice
Powdered Sugar, For Sprinkling (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Heat oven to 350F. Grease bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray with flour; line bottom with parchment paper and spray paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder and salt until combined. In a separate large bowl, whisk together yogurt, 1 cup sugar, eggs, clementine zest and vanilla until combined.

Slowly stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in oil. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then carefully remove from cake pan and transfer to a cooling rack with a rimmed baking sheet or clean sheet of parchment or wax paper underneath.

Meanwhile, cook the clementine juice and remaining ⅓ cup sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Carefully pour evenly over warm cake on cooling rack. Cool completely.

Sprinkle top with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten.

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Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

DessertForTwo — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 09:00:25 +0000

I just now noticed that this is the second recipe I’ve pulled from Sarah’s recipe box to share here on the Tasty Kitchen Blog. It was pure coincidence, but after these Fudgy Black Bean Brownies, I’ll be pulling from her TK recipe box even more. Sarah knows her chocolate desserts, and these brownies are no exception.

These brownies are made in the bowl of the food processor entirely (no cleanup!), and they’re also relatively healthy with a gluten-free option. I didn’t think all of my chocolate dreams were going to come true with this recipe, but they really did. You might be discouraged by the recipe title, but don’t be. If the black beans are pureed very, very well, they are completely indistinguishable. I promise. Cross my heart. I wouldn’t tell a lie here on the Tasty Kitchen Blog!

So yes, we’re really making brownies with black beans. Embrace it. They’re good for you!

Let’s start with our lineup of ingredients: black beans, cocoa powder, applesauce, sugar, vanilla, salt, almond flour, an egg, baking soda, and cooking spray. I used regular flour in place of the almond flour successfully, but Sarah’s original recipe is gluten-free with almond flour.

You’re going to need a food processor for this recipe. I’m worried if you just hand-mashed the beans, you would have bean skins in the final product. I don’t think you want that, so use a food processor, my dears.

Into the bowl of the food processor goes the beans first. Puree them very, very well. Stop and scrape the sides several times to ensure everything is well blended.

Next, Sarah says to add all the dry ingredients: cocoa powder, baking soda, almond flour, and salt.

Add the wet ingredients: sugar, applesauce …

… egg, and vanilla.

Spray a mini muffin pan with 24 cups with cooking spray very well. This is something originally omitted in the recipe, but when I reached out to Sarah, she definitely recommended it.

Then, use a cookie scoop to make quick work of the batter. You will get 24 mini fudgy brownies. That’s a lot of brownies for not a lot of work. Sarah makes me one happy pregnant lady!

Here’s what it looks like before baking.

And this is after the brownies have baked.

Thanks again, Ms. Sarah! Your blog Simple and Sweets continues to inspire me in the kitchen, and keeps me very well fed!

Printable Recipe

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

by Sarah on January 7, 2015 in Brownies and Bars, Desserts

See post on Sarah’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 2 Rating(s)

Description

Obviously, using black beans makes these brownies way healthier, but I’m not even focusing on that fact right now.

These are probably some of the best brownies I have ever made. They are thick, with soft centers, a crunchy top, and fudgy. They melt in your mouth.

Ingredients

15 ounces, fluid Canned Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed
9 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
¼ cups Almond Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
⅛ teaspoons Salt
1 cup Sugar
1 whole Egg
4 ounces, fluid Applesauce
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a food processor, blend black beans until they form into a smooth paste. You don’t want any chunks of black beans in your brownies.

Add in cocoa powder, almond flour, baking soda, and salt. Pulse the food process a couple more times to combine.

Add in sugar, egg, applesauce and vanilla. Run the food processor until everything is completely mixed together.

Spoon mixture into a mini muffin pan, filling each ¾ full. Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the brownies are set, pull away from the side of the pan, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

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Slow Cooker Thai Chicken

DessertForTwo — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 10:00:26 +0000

After our recent slow cooker chat here at the Tasty Kitchen Blog, I decided to pull my slow cooker down off the top shelf and dust it off. It really is such a workhouse in the kitchen for me, and yet I don’t utilize it enough. After a quick search on Tasty Kitchen for slow cooker recipes, I had a hard time choosing! There are so many great-looking ones out there!

My favorite kind of slow cooker recipes are those that are literally chop-and-drop. I’m not entirely against recipes that require a little browning of the meat or aromatics first, but there are days when I just don’t have the time. This Slow Cooker Thai Chicken recipe by Tasty Kitchen member Erin is a two-in-one for me: not only is it chop-and-drop, it’s also a homemade version of take-out. Anytime I see a recipe for a healthier version of take-out, I save it!

This recipe is chock full of vegetables in a creamy coconut-peanut butter sauce that I could just slurp with a straw—it is so good! The Thai flavors come from Thai red curry paste, fish sauce, lime and cilantro. I actually didn’t use the fish sauce because I had a bad experience with it in the past (I dropped it on my kitchen floor, and the smell, well, you know). Erin tells us that it doesn’t taste fishy, but it provides savoriness and depth of flavor. I totally trust her but my husband won’t let me bring another bottle in the house yet.

In the vegetable department, you’ll need chopped butternut squash, sliced mixed peppers, onions, peas. The sauce is made up of canned light coconut milk, a touch of brown sugar, peanut butter, chicken broth, red curry paste, crushed red pepper flakes, ginger, garlic, lime and cilantro. If that sounds like all your favorite Thai flavors, you’re right!

First, whisk together the sauce ingredients: coconut milk, chicken stock, peanut butter, curry paste, fish sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes. Whisk very well to dissolve the peanut butter and curry paste. I used a natural-style peanut butter that really didn’t want to dissolve, so I had to mash it with a fork first.

Next, stir in the chicken, squash, peppers, and onion. I used a bag of frozen sliced mixed peppers for ease.

Stir it all together. We’re almost done!

Cover and cook on low for 6–8 hours. About 30 minutes before serving, add the peas and lime juice. When serving, top with cilantro. I served mine with hot, cooked brown rice.

Thanks, Erin, for curing my take-out craving and making it super simple, too. Visit her beautiful blog, Well Plated, for more great and healthy recipes like this!

Printable Recipe

Slow Cooker Thai Chicken

by Erin | Well Plated on March 8, 2014 in Main Courses, Slow Cooker

See post on Erin | Well Plated’s site!

4.50 Mitt(s) 2 Rating(s)

Description

A healthy slow cooker chicken recipe made with a simple, delicious Thai peanut and coconut milk sauce. Easily adapts to whatever vegetables you have on hand. This version is loaded with creamy butternut squash, red and green bell peppers, and peas for a beautiful, wholesome dish.

Ingredients

2 cans (14 Oz. Size) Light Coconut Milk
1 cup Low Sodium Chicken Stock
¼ cups Peanut Butter Creamy Or Crunchy
3 Tablespoons Red Curry Paste
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Ginger
1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
¼ teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
2 pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into 1 1/2 Inch Pieces
3 cups Peeled And 1/2-inch Cubed Butternut Squash
2 whole Red Bell Peppers, Cored And Sliced
2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Cored And Sliced
1 whole Yellow Onion, Thinly Sliced
2 cups Frozen Peas, Thawed
2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
½ cups Chopped Fresh Cilantro, For Serving
3 cups Prepared Brown Rice, For Serving

Preparation Instructions

In a 5-quart or larger slow cooker, stir together the coconut milk, chicken stock, peanut butter, curry paste, fish sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Place the chicken breast, squash, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and onion in the slow cooker and stir gently to coat with sauce. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.

Thirty minutes before you are ready to serve, stir in the peas and finish cooking. Immediately before serving, stir in lime juice. Serve garnished with cilantro, atop brown rice.

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World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

DessertForTwo — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 16:08:57 +0000

Please join us in welcoming Tina from Dessert for Two to the Tasty Kitchen Blog! She’s tempted us for years with all kinds of sweet and savory creations, and what better way to start things off than with these cookies from Sarah. They look perfect! Welcome to the TK Blog, Tina, and thanks for the recipe, Sarah!

When Sarah submitted this recipe to Tasty Kitchen and called it World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies, you know I’m going to check her. I just appointed myself the official tester of all “world’s best recipes.” Life is pretty sweet.

So, girlfriend claimed world’s best, and I claim she’s right. Sarah’s chocolate chip cookie recipe has a few unusual ingredients, and it has very specific instructions. I love a recipe with very strict instructions. It doesn’t mean I always follow them, but it does mean that I try it exactly as written the first time around. In this case, I tested the recipe with a 2-hour freezing period, like Sarah recommends, and without a freezing period. Sarah was right, again. Girlfriend knows her cookies! Let’s all tip our hats to Sarah for bringing the world dense, thick chocolate chip cookies the size of scones!

  Here’s your lineup of ingredients. Pretty standard for CCC (chocolate chip cookies, if you didn’t know), but that corn starch is catching your eye isn’t it? Are we making pudding or cookies? Definitely cookies. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.

It all starts out innocently enough (doesn’t it always?)—cream the butter, shortening and two types of sugar together. After about 2 minutes, the mixture is fluffy and has slightly lightened in color. That’s how you know it’s time to add the eggs. Don’t skimp on creaming!

These cookies have quite a bit more brown sugar than granulated white sugar. I think this is key to their soft, chewy flavor. I’m not complaining one bit!

After the eggs and 1 whole tablespoon of vanilla (definitely not a typo!) are incorporated, it’s time to add the dry ingredients, which includes flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and coarse salt. What does cornstarch do for cookies? I’m so glad you asked! Cornstarch makes cookies chewy. It softens the cookies and allows for that soft and chewy inside while the edges of the cookie stay crisp. Good call, Sarah. Good call.

Sarah calls for mini chocolate chips. At first, I had my doubts. But I soon realized that mini chocolate chips mean I’m guaranteed a chocolate chunk in every single bite. I love the way this girl thinks!

The most important part of this recipe is to make 1/4 cup scoops of the dough and freeze them for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight. The first time I made this recipe, I wanted cookies right away. So, I baked off 6 real quick without freezing. The cookies worked just fine, but the ones I baked the following day that had a nap in the freezer held together better and had a denser crumb. My best advice when making this recipe is to make the full batch for the freezer, but it’s okay to make just a few cookies right away, too. I’m the last person to tell you to hold off on your cookie craving.

There you have it! The world’s best chocolate chip cookies, if you like thick, large and dense cookies chock full of chocolate. Thanks for a great recipe, Sarah! Check out her blog, Simple & Sweets. I’m sure it’s packed with more great recipes like this.

Recipe notes: The original recipe calls for salted butter, but I almost always bake with unsalted butter. I used it out of habit. Next time I bake these, I’ll use salted butter, and I’m sure they’ll be just as delicious.

Printable Recipe

World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Sarah on June 17, 2014 in Cookies, Desserts

See post on Sarah’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 2 Rating(s)

Description

The thickest and chewiest chocolate chip cookies. Hands down the best chocolate chip cookie I have ever had! This is my most requested recipe!

Ingredients

4-½ cups All-purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Coarse Sea Salt
2 sticks Butter, Softened
½ cups Shortening
1-½ cup Brown Sugar
½ cups Granulated Sugar
2 whole Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1 bag Mini Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips, 10-12 Ounce Bag

Preparation Instructions

1. In a large bowl mix together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, shortening, and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and stir to combine.

3. Add your dry ingredients into the wet ones and stir just until everything is combined. Do not over mix. Mix in the mini chocolate chips.

4. Using a ¼ cup measuring cup, scoop dough into rounded discs and place on a plate that’s small enough to fit into your freezer. Freeze for at least 2 hours or up to 3 months.

5. If you’re not going to use the dough right away, transfer the frozen dough to a freezer bag to keep them fresh.

6. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

7. Place frozen dough directly onto a greased cookie sheet leaving about 2 inches between each.

8. Bake for about 15 minutes or until you see golden brown spots form on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit before serving.

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Tasty Kitchen Blog » DessertForTwo

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pie

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Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pie

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Whole Wheat Clementine Yogurt Cake

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Whole Wheat Clementine Yogurt Cake

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Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

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Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

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Slow Cooker Thai Chicken

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Slow Cooker Thai Chicken

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World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

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World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

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