A few months ago we hosted a family gathering/dinner in our new kitchen. (Yes, a dozen of us spent pretty much the whole evening in or around the kitchen.) We were having El Paso-style enchiladas for dinner, and Barb wanted a dessert (other than flan) that fit the theme. She came up with apple enchiladas which we modified thusly:
- 8 granny smith apples (or any tart apple)
- 1½ c white sugar, divided
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 6 flour tortillas (~8″ size)
- 3 Tbsp butter
- ½ c water
- ½ c packed brown sugar
- Set the oven at 350°F.
- Core and chop the apples, place in a bowl. Add 1 cup of the white sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Mix well.
- Lay out all the tortillas and divide the fruit filling among them. Roll up the tortillas and place in a baking dish.
- In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter. Add the water, brown sugar, and the rest of the white sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly. (You’re trying for a slightly runny caramel consistency.)
- Pour the caramel sauce over the “enchiladas” and bake for 20 minutes.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream for maximum decadence!
They’re surprisingly filling, so you may want to cut them in half. Enjoy!
Hooray! Holly posted the recipe for the dish she was cooking with a blowtorch on Thanksgiving. Sounds like it would warm up the kitchen, a welcome bonus considering that we have no heat right now. 
The coconut creme brule recipe is available on epicurious, and copyrighted, so I won’t be posting it here. But once I figure out some improvements, I’ll post my own version of it.
We celebrated our extended family’s November birthdays last weekend, and my mom made this brutally delicious “cake” for dessert. It’s pretty easy and doesn’t take much time to prepare, (although it does have to sit in the refrigerator for several hours in the middle, plus a whole day at the end).
Chocolate Eclair Cake
- 1 lb graham crackers (appx)
- 3½ c milk
- 2 small pkg vanilla instant pudding
- 9 oz ctn Cool Whip
Frosting:
- 6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
- 5 Tbsp butter, melted
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ c confectioners sugar
- 3 Tbsp milk
Butter a 9″ x 13″ pan and layer the bottom with graham crackers (whole, not crushed!)
Combine instant pudding and milk and beat for 2 minutes. Fold in Cool Whip.
Cover graham crackers with half of the pudding mixture. Add another layer of graham crackers and the rest of the pudding mixture. Top with another layer of graham crackers.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Mix all frosting ingredients and spread on the cake.
Refrigerate for 24 hours.
Enjoy!
My wife and daughter just made this recipe from “Sacramento Magazine”, July 2005 issue. It was excellent, especially as it was still warm from the oven!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 c butter, softened
- 2 c sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp almond or vanilla extract (we used vanilla)
- 2 c flour
- 3 c fresh blueberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ baking pan. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. With the mixer running, add the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the extract and the flour. Finally, gently stir in the blueberries by hand.
Spread the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until top is a light-golden brown. Cool and slice. Yields 24 small bars.
Thoughts and suggestions: we got 15 dessert-sized pieces out of this. They’re on the big side, but so good that you’ll find room for them. I found this recipe to be a little too sweet, so maybe a bit less sugar next time? The dough seemed a little “heavy” also, perhaps once the sugar is adjusted we can try adding some baking soda and salt.
