Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

I've made this twice- once for Marc's birthday and once for our 4th year anniversary dinner.  So I guess you can say it's our "special occasion" dessert.  Except it's really easy and the great thing about this recipe is that it's made with low fat milk.  Most of the recipes I found were packed with tons of egg yolks and heavy cream.  We could not even tell the difference!

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee from this recipe from Cooking Light

4 large egg yolks

• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup nonfat dry milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 300°.

• Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl.  Whisk and set aside.
• Pour milk into a medium saucepan. Add vanilla, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, and dry milk to pan. Heat mixture over medium heat to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around the edge, stirring occasionally with a whisk. Do not boil.
• Gradually add hot milk mixture to egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Divide milk mixture evenly among 6 (4-ounce) ramekins. Place ramekins in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Fill pan with hot water up to about an inch. Bake at 300° for 1 hour or until center barely moves. Remove ramekins from pan and cool completely. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Sprinkle the tops of ramekins with granulated sugar.  Using a torch, brown the tops.
• ***If you don't have a torch, the original recipe is as follows:  Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar and water.  Microwave at HIGH 30 seconds; stir until sugar dissolves. Pour evenly over each dessert, quickly tipping ramekins to coat tops of brûlées. (There will be a thin layer of melted sugar.) Let harden.

Mom's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Can you believe this is my first post in 2011??  It's now July!  I am officially a slacker. 

My mom's oatmeal raisin cookies were an old standby in my childhood.  I could eat them for every meal.They have oatmeal in them, so they are suitable for breakfast, right?

Mom's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Preheat oven to 350.

Dry Ingredients-

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. each baking soda, baking powder, salt

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 cup old fashion oats

1 cup each, walnuts, raisins, chocolate chips

Add to dry ingredients:

1 cup melted butter (Wait until it cools a little and don't pour directly over the chocolate chips, like I did!)

3 lg eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix well and use a tablespoon to drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for around 15-18 min.  Bake only until very lightly brown.

Bake longer for harder cookies.

Pumpkin Dip

I made this to go with apples for dessert.  It was really good!  The original recipe calls for 6 oz. of reduced fat cream cheese.  I used 8oz.  If you want it sweeter, I would just use the 6 oz.

Pumpkin Dip from this recipe from Cooking Light

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup canned pumpkin

2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cut up apple slices

Put all ingredients in a small bowl and beat at medium speed until well mixed.  Cover and chill at least 30 minutes.  Serve with apple slices or grahm crackers.

Banana Bread Cookies

I was tired of making my usual banana chocolate chip muffins so I wanted to try something new.  These were delicious!  The original recipe called for sliced bananas, but I used mashed because I had them in the freezer.  I loved how soft and moist these came out.

Banana Bread Cookies (original recipe here from With a Cherry on Top)

1 1/4 cups Flour
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Cinnamon
6 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 Egg
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 cup Old Fashioned Oats
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
3 Bananas, chopped (I used mashed.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar for around 1 minute, until it starts to have a crumbly texture. Add in the egg and vanilla and continue beating for about another minute, until mixture becomes smooth and creamy. Add in half of the flour mixture and blend in at a low speed. Add in the remaining flour mixture and continue blending in on low. Add in the oatmeal and chocolate chips. Mix until evenly distributed throughout the mixture. Mix in the mashed banana.

Using a tablespoon, drop the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until the edges are lightly browned (about 15 minutes). Cool on a cooling rack.

Store in an air-tight container or resealable bag for up to 4 days (or longer if kept refrigerated).

Bittersweet Chocolate Souffles

I made these for a special dinner and they came out fabulous!  I really liked the chocolate flavor and texture.  They were also pretty simple and didn't take too much time.

Bittersweet Chocolate Souffles from Cooking Light

Prep:  20 min.  Cook:  20 min.

Cooking spray

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided

1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large egg yolks

4 large egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2.  Coat 8 (4 oz.) ramekins with cooking spray, and sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.  Place ramekins on a baking sheet.

3.  Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cocoa, flour, and salt in a small saucepan.  Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Cook until thick (about 3 min.), stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and let stand for 3 min.  Gradually stir in vanilla and egg yolks.  Spoon chocolate mixture into a large bowl and cool.

4.  Place egg whites in a large bowl;  beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy.  Gradually add 1/4 cup granulated sugar and cream of tartar, beating until stiff peaks form.  Gently stir 1/4 of egg white mixture into chocolate mixture.  Gently fold in remaining egg white mixture and chopped chocolate.  Spoon into prepared ramekins.

5.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until puffy and set.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Serve immediately.  Yield:  8 servings  Serving size:  1 souffle

CALORIES:  206   FAT:  5.5 g  FIBER:  2.3 g