I’ve never been much of a baker. You typically need a chemical reaction with heat to make something fabulous. To make that reaction, many ingredients need to be exact.  Often, that’s why to confining. (I hate measuring.)

I often rely on others’ kindness to bake me some goodies. Or a trip to the farmer’s market or a bakery. There’s more instant gratification that way too!

But with 2020 and another official lockdown in California, I’m stuck without sweet treats for the holidays. And I want the girls, who really aren’t ready for practical oven use, to join in.

Luckily, there is an easy solution: no-bake recipes with all the sweetness and none of the preheating the oven b.s.

I’m sharing a few of our favorites that are simple to make, but pack a nice wow factor.

Semifreddo

You can’t go wrong with this chilled Italian dessert.  I like using raspberries and pistachios for a holiday look, but feel free to substitute.

Here’s what you will need:

• 1/4 c. cold sour cream
• 1/2 c. confectioners’ sugar
• 1 c. cold heavy cream
• 1/4 c. pistachios, chopped, plus some extra for topping
• 2 pt. raspberries, divided
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 2 tbsp. fresh mint leaves

Here’s what you need to do with it:

1. Line an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving an overhang on all four sides.
2. Beat sour cream with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, 1 minute. Add sugar and beat to combine.
3. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in heavy cream. Increase speed to medium and beat until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Fold in pistachios and 1-pint raspberries; transfer to prepared pan. Freeze until set, at least 4 hours or up to 1 week.
5. Whisk together lemon juice and honey in a bowl until dissolved. Add remaining raspberries and toss to combine. Let sit, tossing occasionally, 18 to 20 minutes. Invert semifreddo onto a platter; discard plastic. Top with raspberries, pistachios, and mint leaves.

Buckeyes

My best friend’s mom made these every holiday season (along with trays and trays of baklava).  My girls LOVE them. I’ve had these without the rice Krispies cereal and it’s just not the same.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 c. (2 sticks) butter, melted
• 2 c. smooth peanut butter
• 5 c. confectioners’ sugar
• 2 1/2 c. Rice Krispies cereal
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 12 oz. ( 2 c.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 tsp. shortening (such as Crisco)

Here’s what you need to do with it:

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together melted butter, peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla until well combined. Stir in Rice Krispies (by hand).
2. Line a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with wax paper. Roll the peanut butter dough into 1-inch balls and place the balls on the lined pan.
3. Place pan in the freezer and chill the peanut butter balls until firm, about 30 minutes.
4. After the 30, minutes, combine chocolate chips and shortening in the top of a double boiler or small shallow mixing bowl set over simmering water.
5. Stir frequently until chocolate chips are melted and smooth.
6. Remove melted chocolate from the pot of simmering water. Remove peanut butter balls from the freezer.
7. Working with one peanut butter ball at a time, stick a wooden pick into the ball – inserting it about 3/4 of the way in & making sure to not poke through the bottom of the ball.
8. Hold onto the wooden pick as a “handle;” dip the bottom portion of the peanut butter ball into the melted chocolate, leaving some of the peanut butter exposed at the top. Let any excess chocolate drip off back into the melted chocolate.
9. Place on the wax paper-lined pan and gently remove the wooden pick.
10. Repeat until all peanut butter balls have been dipped in chocolate.
11. Chill the dipped crunchy buckeyes until the chocolate is set, about 15 minutes. Then use your finger to gently smooth over and fix the hole in each from the wooden pick.
12. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator (or freezer) until serving.

Chocolate Cinnamon Bites

These are made quickly (sort of like a crisped rice treat) and disappear just as fast.

Here’s what you need:

• 4 cups cinnamon toast cereal
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 4 cups of mini marshmallows
• 1 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Place butter & marshmallows in an oversized microwave-safe bowl
2. Microwave in 30-second increments until marshmallows are soft & you can mix together the butter and marshmallows together
3.  Mix cereal into marshmallow mixture
4. Add in your chocolate chips
5. Shape into evenly sized balls & place onto wax paper (Try using an ice cream scoop for easy sizing!)

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It’s autumn in California.  Unlike where I grew up in upstate NY, there’s not a lot of apple picking. But, there is one gem I pick as much as I can: persimmons.

I honestly had never seen a persimmon until I moved to California. And I certainly didn’t know there are two kinds available here: Hachiya and Fuyu. Both arrived on the shores of California when Asians, mainly Chinese, began settling here in the 1800s. Fuyu persimmons are squat and round. This type of persimmon stays fresh for up to three weeks when stored at room temperature. Hachiya persimmons are soft to the touch when ripe and tend to be elongated. This astringent variety only stays fresh for a few days.

Most people prefer to cook with Hachiya, but there is no reason not to use Fuyu! To prove that, I had a bunch on hand and decided to make a family favorite with them: sticky toffee pudding. This dessert is not what Americans consider pudding, but a cake that has its origins in the UK. This dense cake is crowned with a warm toffee/caramel sauce. It’s divine. And perfect for the cooler weather of Autumn. (And a great substitute for a Thanksgiving pie!)

Typically made with dates, I changed the recipe to use with persimmons. And the result has become a tradition in our family as soon as we can get our hands on some persimmons.

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Persimmon Sticky Toffee Pudding

A delish dessert perfect for fall

Course: Dessert

Keyword: autumn, fall, persimmons, salted caramel sauce, sticky toffee pudding

Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

The cake

• 3-5 persimmons (to make about 1 cup of pulp)
• 1/3 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I use vanilla paste instead)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/3 tsp sea salt

Salted Caramel/Toffee Sauce

• 6 tbsp butter
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (I use vanilla paste)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 6 tbsp heavy cream

Instructions

Make the cake

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Peel the Fuyu persimmons. Chop the fruit up and add to medium-sized bowl. (If using Hachiya, carefully remove the top and squeeze the pulp into the bowl.
• Puree the pulp. (I use a stick blender for this. If you don't have one, a blender can do!)
• Stir in the baking soda, sugars, butter, egg, and vanilla.
• In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix only until combined.
• Pour the batter into an 8" cake pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes.

Make the salted caramel/toffee sauce

• Melt the butter in a saucepan.
• Add the brown sugar and the salt to the pan. Whisk until melted and blended.
• Add the heavy cream and whisk.
• Warm until near bubbling.

To serve

• Cut slices of cake when warm and place on plate. Top with sauce.

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Our lemon tree is prolific.  No, seriously. It drops at least one lemon a day. So much so, we have given hundreds away in the six months we’ve lived here. Lemon season has supposedly ended, and we still have tons of lemons we harvest every weekend.  Plus, our tree is so fragrant with flowers, we know there will be more and more… and more to come.

It’s almost a burden. But coming from the frigid upstate New York area, good citrus of any type was more of a luxury. I can’t let something like that go to waste!

Besides always having a couple of lemons on hand for Matt’s G&Ts, and cooking, I have a few recipes I often use to use mass quantities. Sure, I can make lemonade. (Actually, that’s my girls’ job.) I can freeze the lemon juice in cubes for later use. But with so many lemons, I don’t need to freeze them.

I make limoncello, which is great for sitting on the patio, or as gifts. I make persevered lemons, which is a much better use than freezing lemon juice, and is also a great gift. (I promise, a recipe for this will be coming soon.) And I make lemon curd, which can be frozen or given as gifts as well!

The double whammy!

I often make limoncello, which only uses the lemon zest, then use the juice to make the curd. So a two-for-one combo.

Lemon curd is originally English in origin dating back to the early 1800’s. Unlike what we know today, the recipe was literal: lemon lemon acidulating (curdling slightly) cream to form curds then separated from the whey through a cheesecloth. Today’s curd is more a pudding with a velvety texture, rather than clumps of lemony cream.

All lemon curd recipe has four basic ingredients: lemon juice, sugar, butter and eggs. Often people use a double boiler to make this. I don’t even have a double boiler! So I use my microwave.

In less time than actually juicing the lemons, I have a delicious, smooth lemon goody to use any way I like. (More on that later in the post.)

I used my already peeled lemons from limoncello, but you can use fresh lemons and juice them with the peel on. (Or better yet, zest the lemons and hold on to that zest for this recipe. Then juice them.) If you don’t have fresh lemons, you can always use bottled lemon juice.

First, melt the butter in a small microwave safe bowl, then let cool a bit as you work on the other ingredients.

Whisk the sugar, 3 whole eggs, and one egg yolk in a medium-sized microwave safe bowl. (Discard the extra white, or freeze it to make meringues at a later time, which pair perfectly with this curd, by the way.) Whisk in the lemon juice, and the zest of the lemons, if you have it, to the sugar/egg mixture. Then, finally whisk in the melted, cooled slightly butter.  Save the whisk. You are still going to need it while it’s cooking.

Then cook the mixture in the microwave: first, for  one minute and 30 seconds at 50% power, then whisk.  From this point, cook it for one minute at full-power, then whisk.  Continue cooking on high power at one minute intervals, whisking in between until the curd gets thick and coats the back of a spoon. (Think soft-set pudding.) It will thicken more as it cools.  Place in container and store in refrigerator or freezer up to one year. (It lasts in the fridge for about six months.)

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Microwave Lemon Curd

An easy way to make delicious lemon curd within a few minutes - and with only four ingredients.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time8 mins

Total Time18 mins

Keyword: dessert,, lemons, microwave,

Author: ABowlofCherrys.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup lemon juice
• 3 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1-1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest (OPTIONAL)

Instructions

• Melt the butter in a small microwave safe bowl in the microwave. Let cool slightly.
• Whisk the sugar, eggs and egg yolk together in a medium sized microwave bowl.
• Whisk in the lemon juice and optional lemon zest to the sugar and egg mixture.
• Whisk in the melted butter.
• Put bowl with mixture in microwave.  Cook on 50% power for 90 seconds.
• Whisk mixture. Microwave on high for 1 minute.  
• Keep repeating the last step until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
• Put in container and refrigerate. It will thicken more as it cools.

Notes

This curd will last up to six months in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the curd for up to a year.

So how do you use lemon curd?

Of course, it’s a classic on scones, or even toast. But there are several ways we use it in our home:

• Add to plain yogurt for a tangy-sweet flavor.  (I make my own yogurt, with some vanilla flavoring. The combination with the lemon curd is heavenly.)
• Top on meringues for a tasty pavlova.
• Make a layered parfait, with the curd, berries, granola and whipped cream.
• Top on pancakes, waffles or french toast.
• Skip the frosting and add between layers of a cake. Then sprinkle the cake with confectionery sugar.
• Fill in pre-baked mini puff pastry or filo tarts and top with whipped cream.

Or you can just eat it with a spoon. Whatever works, right?!?