Chocolate Eclair Desert> Skinny Food; really!

I found this recipe on a cooking site some time ago I cut and pasted it into a word document and saved it. So if you are the original poster Thank you !
As I have stated before I am a self diagnosed Doughnut Junkie. You wave a Chocolate Eclair in front of me and I guarantee I will be "your new best friend". After all I ask you what is better than fried sweet dough filled with vanilla pastry cream and covered in chocolate icing.May be two, one for each hand! 
 With the holidays fast approaching it seems as everybody gets stressed with more on the ToDo list then there are hours in the day. Coupled with the trend toward heavy comfort food in the cooler weather and shorter days.  You can get to feeling a little guilty when it is time for desert and so many sweet treats tempting you. So the thought of a rich Chocolate Eclair while tempting may make the little person with the Halo that whispers in your ear say "No don't eat that!" But what if you could with no guilt? Interested??
Enter the Chocolate Eclair desert, Now this is not the original recipe That I have living in my hard drive recipe file. I Lightened it up but you would never no it.
Easy and  to prepare with off the shelf items that you could probably find in a convenience store. It is so good that folks will think you spent hours preparing it, while you smile keeping the little secret that it is a low calorie/fat desert. They will never now. Enjoy!

Perp time: 10 min                           Refrigerator time: 2 hrs min

Tools: 13x 9 " pan


Ingredients:

1 box Graham crackers
2 boxes sugarfree French vanilla pudding
2 cups Shim milk                                       
1 tub sugar free Chocolate fudge frosting


Directuons:

Mix the two boxes of pudding with the two cups of Skim Milk ( I know the box says 2 cups per box) We are making pastry cream not pudding.

Open the grahams and lay a layer on the bottom of the  of the *pan

 Spread 1/2 of the pudding/pastry cream over the grahams then follow with another layer of grahams. Change
the direction of the layer. It makes for neater slices.

Cover this layer with the other 1/2 of the pastry cream and top with another layer of grahams


Remove the plastic lid from the Frosting and the safety seal. Microwave 30 sec on high give it a srir and heat 20 sec more.

Pour the Frosting from the tub over the top layer of grahams evenly smooth it out with the back of a spoon.  Cover the pan plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours minimum over night is better.

* the pan in the picture is 8X8 I made a half batch.

Gingerbread

It seems the older I get the more I look to those childhood memories to get me into the "Spirit of the Holidays". The one thing that never fails to give me that nudge is the spicy warmth, rich and deep flavor of gingerbread. This year for some reason I started to get slight cravings in like July that I had to put down with Ginger Snaps and lemon icing.( Some day I will go there with you but this is Gingerbread today.) 
  For me the aroma of Gingerbread fresh from the oven brings to life in my mind a Norman Rockwell winter scene from the bank calender that used to hang by the telephone near my Mom's kitchen. She would always give me a piece, still warm  from the oven with a spoon of whipped cream paired with a mug a of Hot Chocolate into which she would place a peppermint stick. Life was good !!
Not being able to contain my cravings and not quite in the holiday spirit it was time to make this favorite treat to get me fired up. I hope that you will create some memories too. Enjoy!

Pep time: 30 min                    cook time: 30 min


Tools: 8x8" pan, mixer


Ingredients:
1 cup of  *butter milk
1cup molasses
1stick unsalted butter
2 1/13 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 salt
* If you do not have buttermilk you can add 2 tsp of lemon juice to a cup of milk and wait for 10 min, or you can substitute 1 cup of either sour cream  or plain yogurt.

Directions:
Grease and lightly flour  the 8x8" pan, line the bottom with parchment . Preheat your oven to 350 º F

In a small sauce pan over med heat warm the molasses and add the butter to the warm molasses. Whisk together the molasses and the melted butter and pour into the bowl of your mixer and mix for 3 min on low. Slowly add the butter milk. Continue to mix on low 1 min..


Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Slowly introduce the dry ingredients to the to wet in the mixer bowl until it is all incorporated. As soon as everything is blended stop mixing and transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 30 - 35 min until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

No bake Italian Cheese Cake >Ricotta Cream Pie

I first had this in a little Cafe in Taormina Sicily and was lucky enough to come away with a much appreciated recipe. Cheese cakes come sweet and savory, the most popular being the Philly Cheese cake thick, rich, heavy and very good. It also takes hours to prepare. This version uses Ricotta Cheese and is just as rich but not as heavy studded with chocolate bits and nuts it comes together rather quickly and best of all it is a no bake recipe. I modified this from the original recipe only  as I have a slightly difficult time getting some of the ingredients that where in the original where I live ( namely; Hazelnuts and Frangelica). So it is a little Texified but just as delicious. Enjoy!


Prep time: 20 min                   Cooking time: 4 hrs ( refrigerator)          Serves : 8

Tools: 9 " Pyrex pie plate

Ingredients:

Cookie crust

1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker crumbs (1 pkg from the box)
2 tbl sugar
1 tbl Cocoa powder
1 stick Unsalted butter 1/2 cup

Filling

1 lb Ricotta Cheese
3/4 cup Powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped Pecans
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
*the original recipe:
sub 1 tbl Frangelica  for the Vanilla and Hazelnuts for the Pecans in the filling
The cookie crust sub crushed Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti  for the Graham Crackers


Directions:
 Place in the refrigerator  a mixing bowl and the beaters of your mixer to chill.

Prepare the cookie crust  by smashing the graham crackers  place them in a  zip bag  and rolling them with a rolling pin ( or use  a food  processor ). Empty the cookie crumbs in to the pie plate add the 2 tbl  sugar and the cocoa powder mix well to thoroughly  combine. In a small bowl melt the butter in the microwave 20 - 45 sec.

 With a fork mix the  melted butter with the cookie crumb mixture. Using the back of a spoon starting in the center working to the outside and up the sides on the pie plate press the crumbs in to the pan forming the crust.
Place in the microwave and cook 2-3 min (bake in conventional oven 9 min at 325 º F ) remove to a cooling rack.

In a large mixing bowl add the ricotta cheese vanilla and powdered sugar mix well, set aside.
Remove the beaters and bowl from the refrigerator pour the cold heavy cream into the cold bowl and whip the cream to stiff peaks.

By hand fold 1/2 of the whipped cream into the ricotta add the nuts and the chocolate chips then fold in the rest of the whipped cream.

Spoon the filling into the cooled crust and chill 4 hours prior to serving.

To serve drizzle with chocolate sauce and a few crushed nuts.  

Butterscotch Pudding>Heaven on a spoon

I can not think of one thing that brings back those special memories of childhood and my Granddaddy like flavor of butterscotch. Like all good Granddads he always had those individually wrapped discs of hard candy in his vest pocket for sharing with me. Sweet and buttery with the slightest hint of caramel it quickly became a favorite flavor.
Like all kids young and old a favorite desert was and still is pudding, rich silky smooth custardy goodness that feels like velvet on your tongue. Its cool creaminess when combined with the flavor of butterscotch is pure heaven on a spoon. Enjoy!


Prep time: 10 min                                  Cook time: 50 - 60 min


Ingredients:

3 egg yokes
2tbl unsalted butter
1/4 tsp  Kosher salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup  milk  (2% or whole)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract


Tools: 4 ramekins, 9X13" baking dish, whisk



Directions:

Place the ramekins in the 13 X 9 baking dish and and place it on the center rack of your oven. Fill the dish until the water comes 2/3 the way up the side of the ramekins Remove the ramekins from the baking dish. Close the oven and preheat to 325 º F.

Set a 2 quart sauce pan on a med lo burner add the butter. Once it has melted add the brown sugar, molasses and salt. Allow the brown sugar to melt whisk in the heavy cream and the milk to combine. Heat this mixture until small bubbles appear at the edge of the pan. Remove from the heat.

In a med sized mixing bowl whisk the egg yokes and the vanilla. Slowly in a thin stream introduce the hot milk/sugar mixture whisking constantly to keep the eggs moving so they do not cook. continue to whisk in the rest of the dairy
.
Ladle into the ramekins and place them into the water bath. Bake for 50 - 60 min until it is just set at the edge and jiggly in the center. Remove the ramekins from the water bath  and place on a cooling rack for 1 hour cover with kling wrap and transfer to the refrigerator chill 3 hrs.
Serve with a dollop of whip cream and or gingersnap cookies.

A Peach of Cake

I was sitting in the front porch the other night enjoying the cool stillness of the evening and a little of "Granny's Recipe"(Peach Bandy). Listening to the cows mooing in the north pasture I let myself drift into another place and time remembering the first time I had tasted this peachy libation... I was a boy back at  my Grannies ranch, the first taste did not come in a glass but in a cake prepared by her loving hands.
I swear besides chicken, peaches where at top of her favorites list and mine to. She would go over to Fredricksburg during peach season and come home with 5 or 6 bushels. We would sit on the front porch steps tasting their sweet and slightly tart pulpy flesh with the sweet sticky juice dripping off our chins and laugh at each other... there would be pies and jam, pickled peaches, cobbler, and the wonderful peach brandy that this recipe is based on.
With a smile on my face and a powerful craving for a piece of the cake I went in the house an dug out the recipe from its hiding place. With a quick check of my pantry I set about baking up this tasty treat. Enjoy!

Prep time: 8 hrs                          Cook time: 40 -45 min          

Ingredients:

1 pt of sliced peaches with their juice
2 cups of sugar divided = 1/4 cup
2/3 cup Peach brandy
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
3 tbs cornstarch
3 tsp baking powder
4 lg eggs+ 2 yokes
3/4 cup oil
1 box vanilla instant pudding
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

Tools: mixer, bowls, measuring cup and spoons, bundt pan, spoon, knife, cutting board, pastry brush, wooden skewer.

Directions:

Cut peach slices in half and place in a large bowl with the juice. 1 cup of the sugar and the brandy. Cover bowl and leave on counter over night.to macerate.

Drain the peaches reserve the liquid

Preheat oven to 350º F

Prepare the bundt pan by brushing the inside lightly with shortening and coat with the 1/4 cup sugar discard and excess.

Sift together; flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and instant pudding mix. Stir in the pecan pieces.

In the bowl of your mixer add the eggs, yokes, oil, vanilla extract. Using the paddle attachment beat on med speed 2 min. Add the sugar and 1/3 cup of the reserved liquid beat 1 min reduce mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in 3 additions mixing to combine after each addition. After the first addition add  the peaches.

Spoon into prepared bundt pan. Bake at 350º F 40-45 min until a wooden skewer inserted midway between the center tube and the outside of the pan comes out clean.

 Allow to cool in the pan, with wooden skewer or a long tined meat fork poke a series of holes around the perimeter of the cake and spoon 1/4 cup of the reserved liquid on to the cake's bottom. Invert the pan onto a serving plate.
 Refrigerate 4 hours prior to serving.

Serving suggestions: garnish with peach slices and whipped cream or *sweetened creme fresh

*whisk together 1 cup creme fresh  2 tbs powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla