Day One: Huckleberry Dark Chocolate Truffles paired with Leave Her Wild
Ingredients:
10 oz fresh or frozen (thawed) huckleberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
16 oz bittersweet chocolate, at least 70%, chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
optional toppings: cacao powder, cocoa powder, cacao nibs, chopped nuts, put rainbow sprinkles on them for all I care!
Directions:
First we need to blend and strain the berries. Toss them in a blender or food processor and then pour the liquid through a tight mesh strainer, or cheesecloth if you wanna get fancy.
Next we make a compote. Heat the berries and the 1/4 cup granulated sugar over medium-high heat, stirring consistently, until it’s thick and reduced by about half. How long will this take? It depends on your stove and your pot and the thing you’re stirring with, but somewhere in between 15 and 35 minutes. Ish. Once it’s the consistency of jam, take it off the heat and set it aside.
Put the chopped chocolate in a heat-safe bowl. Pour the heavy cream into a saucepan and heat until just under boiling - but don’t let it boil! Pour it over the chocolate and let it sit there for 6-8 minutes so it starts to melt the chocolate. Then stir it up so it’s smooth and goodness in a bowl. Add a tsp of vanilla. Stir in the huckleberry compote. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, until the mixture is scoopable.
When you take out the bowl, you have lots of options. You can scoop them into balls and call it a day if you’re a minimalist. If you want to dust them with cocoa or cacao powder, put the powder in a bowl and toss each truffle ball around in the powder with two forks, like you’re playing a way-more-delicious game of table tennis with forks.
If you want to go really crazy, you could melt more chocolate and dip them in chocolate. Or you could drizzle them with white or red chocolate. You could get some of that crazy edible glitter and throw a party. You could bake some brownies and stick some bites of truffle in them. The sky’s the limit!
Day Two: Fried Peaches paired with The Officer’s Wife
Ingredients:
4-5 fresh peaches, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional, but as long as you’re not allergic, highly recommended)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 stick of butter
Directions:
Combine brown sugar and flour in a small bowl; set aside.
In another bowl, combine the peaches, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and cinnamon, if you’re using it.
Heat the butter in a skillet until it’s bubbly and just starting to brown, but don’t let it boil.
Use two forks and the table-tennis method we learned from the truffles yesterday to coat each peach slice with the brown sugar-flour mixture, and transfer straight to the pan with the butter. Repeat with all the slices, flipping the slices after a couple minutes in the pan.
You could eat them plain and be quite happy, but why be happy when you can be joyful? Serve with vanilla ice cream!
Day Three: Yonkers Cheesecake Bites paired with Last Clean Shirt
Ingredients:
24 round vanilla wafers (you could crush up graham crackers instead if you like making extra work for yourself)
16 oz cream cheese
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Optional: pie filling of your choice, or you could top it with the peaches we made for Day 2!
A mini muffin tin + 24 liners, or 24 of those nifty silicone liners that stand by themselves on a baking sheet
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C.
Place a wafer into the bottom of each liner, or crumble a good layer of graham cracker into the bottom and press it down firmly.
Beat eggs, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until well-mixed, but don’t over-beat them.
Pour mixture on top of the wafers/graham crackers.
Bake for 20 minutes, but take a peak after 18 min because ovens are ovens. They should be just set.
Let cool and freeze for later, or top with your pie filling of choice and they’ll keep in the fridge for several days.
Day Four: The Priscilla (Mocktail) paired with “Priscilla”
Ingredients:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
3-4 sprigs of fresh mint
2 fresh lemons
sparkling water of your choice
Directions:
First, make the simple syrup by heating the sugar and water over medium heat until the sugar dissolves (you don’t want it to boil so be patient). Let it cool to room temp. Pick or strain out the mint sprigs. You can use the sprigs for garnish if you’d like.
Juice the lemons by hand or by whatever fancy contraption you may have. I like doing it by hand, just watch out for any unsuspecting paper cuts.
Mix equal parts lemon juice and simple syrup, then top off with sparkling water. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and lemon slices (or not).
If you have leftover simple syrup, you can store it in an airtight glass container for a couple weeks in the fridge. You can make just about any kind of homemade simple your heart desires; once you start, you’ll probably never go back to the store-bought corn syrupy kinds.
Obviously, you could add a light liquor like gin to this drink, if you so desire!
Day Five: Ohio Buckeyes paired with “Throw Down My Heart”
Ingredients:
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips
1 tbsp coconut oil
Directions:
Let the butter come to room temp or zap it in the microwave for about 20 sec to soften it up. Cream the peanut butter, butter, and vanilla, then add the powdered sugar little by little. Mix until fully combined.
Use your hands to make roll small balls of the peanut butter mixture. Set on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet.
Use a double boiler (or make your own by nesting a heat-safe bowl on top of a slightly smaller saucepan with water boiling in it (don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water)) to melt the chocolate chips and the coconut oil.
Use a toothpick to dip each peanut butter ball into the chocolate, leaving a little bit uncovered (this is the “buckeye). Place back on parchment paper to cool and use a spoon to smooth over the toothpick hole. Voila!
Day Six: Tira-Bri-Su paired with “The Best Thing”
This is my take on the classic Italian dessert, nixing the eggs and making the whole shebang just a bit easier.
Ingredients:
1 package of lady fingers (look in the baking section for these)
I cup of instant coffee, cooled (use instant - the coffee flavor will be stronger!)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp dark rum or Kahlua
Cocoa powder
9 x 13 baking pan or really any kind of pan with deep-ish sides
Directions:
Beat heavy whipping cream and sloooowly (very slowly!) add the sugar and vanilla. Stiff peaks will form eventually - hang in there. Mix in the mascarpone, but JUST barely get it mixed. Don’t loose the stiffness of the mixture.
Combine room-temp instant coffee (seriously, trust me on the instant) and rum (or other coffee/dark liqueur) in a shallow bowl. Quickly dip both sides of the lady fingers (don’t soak them!) in the mixture and line the bottom of your pan.
Add a layer of the whipping cream/mascarpone mixture. Dip more lady fingers and add a layer of those. Repeat until you fill the pan; cream/mascarpone should be the last layer. Dust very generously with cocoa powder. Try not to eat it all in one sitting.
Day Seven: Cream Puffs paired with “Belief”
If you thought I had my own choux recipe, you’re giving me far too much credit. Use this one and thank me later. Photo credit goes to the recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
For the filling, slowly add 1/2 cup granulated sugar to heavy whipping cream with a mixer.
Remember those stiff peaks? You’ll get there. I “Belief” in you.
Day Eight: Banana “Pudding” paired with “Let It Be”
Ingredients:
2 very ripe bananas
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp cornstarch
Directions:
Y’all, gelatin has always weirded me out, so this is a non-gelatin “pudding” that you can also easily make vegan by using a vegan milk.
Mash the bananas. Heat over medium-low in a saucepan and add the coconut oil, 3/4 cup milk, vanilla, and maple syrup. Stir until coconut oil is melted and everything is combined.
Remove from heat and put in a bowl; you’re gonna blend it in a sec, but first whisk together the remaining milk with cornstarch and add it to the banana mixture. Then blend with a hand blender or an immersion blender.
Eat plain or add some graham crackers or vanilla wafers for texture.
Day Nine: Saltwater Taffy paired with “Stay Faithful”
I’d never made saltwater taffy before and I must admit I haven’t developed my own recipe, but I highly recommend this one from Tasty!
Day Ten: Baked Apple Cider Donuts paired with Where the Ocean Meets the Bay
Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh apple cider
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 large egg
3 tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Topping: 1 stick of melted butter; 1 cup granulated sugar; optional 1 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl; set aside. In another bowl, whisk together egg, butter, milk, and sugar. Add the apple cider. Slowly mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
Either use a donut pan to form the donuts, or spoon the batter into a ziploc back and snip one of the corners so you can “pipe” it out in a donut shape onto a well-greased baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. After the donuts cool, melt the stick of butter for the topping in one bowl, and in another bowl mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Dip the donuts in the butter first, and then the sugar mixture. Voila! You could also use melted coconut oil instead of butter, but this can get kind of chunky when it cools. Still tastes great tho. Three cheers for fall in New England…in your belly.
Day Eleven: Italian (or French) Sodas paired with Mary’s Home
Ingredients:
Flavored syrup of your choice (i.e. Torani) OR make your own berry syrup
Carbonated water
Half and half
Directions:
If you’re making your own syrup from berries, you’ll need about 2 cups of berries and 3/4 cup granulated sugar. Heat over medium with 1 cup of water and let it simmer until it’s mushy. Then strain it. You can use the berry mush for something else (mix it in yogurt or use it as a jam substitute). Let the berry juice cool before you use it for this recipe.
Otherwise, pretty much everything is to taste here. Add some crushed ice to a glass and pour the syrup over the ice first (at least a good two fingers’ worth of syrup, but find what you like). Add the carbonated water over the syrup, and top it off with half and half (probably about 2 tablespoons, but again, find what you like!).
If you’re feeling extra fancy, top it all off with some whipped cream.
Day Twelve: Blueberry Pie paired with “The Pines”
Ingredients:
Pie crust for top and bottom of pie (store bought, or your own if you’re feeling ambitious)
5 cups fresh blueberries (not frozen!)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 cup cornstarch
1 tbsp lemon zest, freshly grated
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon, optional
1 egg
1 tbsp water, room temp
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix together sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, salt, and cinnamon (if desired), then stir the blueberries in to coat them with the sugar mixture.
Put one pie crust in the bottom of a pie pan, then dump the blueberry mixture in. If you’re making a lattice top crust, stick it in the fridge for a sec. If not, then place the other pie crust over the top of the pie mixture, crimping the edges and making 3-5 slits in the top of the pie crust.
For the egg wash, whisk together one large room temp egg with 1 tbsp water. Whisk it well! Then use a pastry brush to “paint” it on the top of the pie.
Place pie in the oven and bake. Check after 25-30 minutes to make sure it’s not browning too quickly. If it is, place tin foil over the pie. Bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the juices inside are nice and bubbly.
Did I mention serving it with ice cream? Serve it with ice cream.
Day Thirteen: Zoe’s Cake Pops paired with “Zoe’s Song”
Ingredients:
Cake mix of your flavor preference
Buttercream frosting (for homemade, highly recommended, it’s so easy, use this recipe)
Candy melts, white chocolate, or milk chocolate (again, your choice!)
Toppings of…drumroll please…your choice! They can be sprinkles, crushed nuts, confectionary glitter, crushed candy bars…choose your own sweet adventure.
Lollipop sticks (you can find them online or at a store like Michael’s) or something similar
Directions:
Bake the cake according to the directions on the box. Let it cool completely, probably overnight. Then scoop the cake out into a bowl and crumble it all up with your (clean, please) hands.
Add a cup of buttercream frosting to the cake crumbles and mix it all up with a hand mixer.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and roll the cake/frosting mixture into balls. Spacing doesn’t have to be anything special; you’re just popping them in the freezer for an hour, so make sure there’s room in the freezer for them.
After an hour, melt your chocolate of choice. Working with 3-4 balls at a time, insert a lollipop stick and use a fork to guide the cake ball into the melted chocolate. Roll in topping/s of choice and place on parchment paper (or little single-serving cups if you're feeling fancy). Allow chocolate to harden. Store in the fridge!
To save fridge space, you can also use two forks to coat the cake balls and then store them without the lollipop sticks. Insert the sticks before you’re ready to serve them. They should go in without too much fuss, but this can also depend on how the chocolate was tempered.
We’re not going to worry about chocolate tempering for this recipe, but if you want to learn more about it, check out this article from Ecole Chocolat.