Chocolate Mint Oreo Trifles

 

My initial plan was to make this as a dessert for St. Patrick’s Day, because it’s green. As usual, holidays just fly by, generally with me chasing after them, so it had come and gone before I even purchased a package of mint Oreos. But, because it’s spring, and everything is starting to turn green, I decided to make it and share it with my number one son and his family. I made a bit of a mistake by doing this. This serves four, and no more. I stretched this out to serve five, and that completely threw off the pudding-to-whipped-cream ratio. Don’t be tempted to do that; learn from my mistakes. This can be made up to 24 hours ahead of serving it, thanks to the stabilized whipped cream. If you prefer not to stabilize the whipped cream, as I have done here, you’re going to want to serve it fairly quickly.Chocolate Mint Oreo Trifles

Adapted from The Slow Roasted Italian

12 Oreo Mint Cookies, chopped

1 3.9-oz. pkg. Instant JELL-O Chocolate Pudding

2 c. whole milk

2 c. heavy whipping cream

2 t. unflavored gelatin (Knox recommended)

½ c. powdered sugar

1½ t. peppermint extract

6-8 drops green food coloring

20 Andes Mints, chopped

In a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat  pudding mix and milk for 2 minutes until thickened. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Into a small bowl or ramekin, place 8 teaspoons of cold water. Sprinkle gelatin on top, and let it set on the counter until firm. Meanwhile whip heavy cream with an electric mixer. Start the mixer on low while you put the ramekin with the water and gel mixture into the microwave for 10 seconds to melt. As the cream is whipping, slowly add the melted gel mixture. Add powdered sugar, food coloring, and peppermint extract. Increase speed to high and whip cream until stiff peaks form. You have just stabilized your rib cream, so that it won’t collapse on itself while your trifles are in the refrigerator waiting to be served.

 To assemble: Add 1/4 of the Oreos to the bottom of each of the four individual trifle dishes. Spoon 1/4 of pudding directly on top of Oreos. Reserve a tablespoon of chopped mints. Add ¼ of remaining mints to trifle, directly on top of pudding. Top with whipped cream. Sprinkle with reserved mints. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with an Andes mint, if desired.

Serves 4.

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Easy Baked Rum Raisin Rice Pudding

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It used to make me giggle when my grandmother could predict the weather on the basis of whether or whether or not her “rheumatism was acting up.” Well, I’m not laughing now. Our fluctuating temperatures and barometric pressure has both my sinuses and arthritis giving me grief, so the last thing I want to do is cook. But, a girl’s gotta eat, and this girl wanted comfort food. Thank goodness the freezer is full of individual containers of my homemade chicken noodle soup. That, a buttery crusty roll, and a heaping scoop of rice pudding may not have made me feel better physically, but it soothed my soul.

If you like rice pudding like I do, but don’t want to have to stand over the stove and stir endlessly, then I think you will enjoy this baked version. It goes together in a snap, all you have to do is allow it to bake, and then reap the reward of creamy deliciousness. If you don’t like raisins, leave them out, but I encourage you to include the rum no matter what.

Easy Baked Rum Raisin Rice Pudding

 
1/3 c. basmati rice
¼ c. granulated sugar
½ c. golden raisins
2 T. dark rum
2 c. heavy cream
2 c. whole milk
½ T. butter, plus more for greasing pan
Few gratings fresh nutmeg
1 T. vanilla extract
1/8 T. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 1 1/2-quart, deep baking dish with butter.  Sprinkle rice, sugar, raisins, rum, cream, and milk, into the bottom of the prepared dish and stir to combine. Bake for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes are up, remove from oven, and add vanilla and cinnamon, stirring to combine.  Return to the oven to bake for an additional 60 minutes. After 60 minutes, remove from the oven and stir. If the pudding is still soupy, bake an additional 5-15 minutes until it becomes thick and creamy. Allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving. This is good both warm and cold, so refrigerate any leftovers to enjoy the next day. Serves six people amply.

Peanut Butter Pudding

I have no idea as to the origin of this recipe.  I stumbled upon it, quite by accident, crumpled in the back of my recipe box.  My guess is that it harkens (just hearing “harken” should tell you it’s old) from the early '80s).  A baseball-watching friend of ours has dinner with us once a week to either praise or bemoan the Cardinals (if you’re a sports fan, you know that we are currently bemoaning).  He loves peanut butter.  He used to bring a peanut butter pie almost weekly until finally we just couldn’t take it anymore.  It’s been a year since we’ve had any sort of peanut butter dessert.  Finding this recipe, I thought, was a stroke of fate, indicating that it was time to try peanut butter again.

This is a very easy pudding to make.  Because of the cornstarch there is absolutely no guesswork involved as far as cooking time is concerned.  I like that in a pudding.  It is nicely peanut buttery without being overly so, and the level of sweetness is just right, not cloying.

Peanut Butter Pudding

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup half-and-half

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a saucepan. Stream milk and half-and-half into the saucepan while whisking constantly to dissolve the sugar mixture.

Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring continually, for 2 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat; stir peanut butter and vanilla extract into the milk mixture until smooth.

Divide the mixture into 4 small serving dishes and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Top with dollops of whipped cream and roasted peanuts.

This post is linked to:

Create It or Bake It

Full Plate Thursday

Be Inspired Friday

Foodie Friday

Show and Tell Friday 

Basmati Rice Pudding with Vanilla Bean

Is there anything more comforting than pudding?  I ask you.  Isn’t this the hunker down, get cozy time of the year?  With the weather getting cooler (and, after our scorching summer, even 80s are welcome) it's time for serious baking, soup and stew making, along with warm custards and puddings for dessert.

Today we’re going to talk pudding, the most comforting of which has to be rice pudding.  Now I know there are tapioca aficionados out there, but there is just something about those spongy little balls that makes my hair stand on end, but I digress.

This soothing dessert is fragrant and flavorful.  It can be made a day ahead and warmed in the microwave for about 45 seconds per serving to return it to its delicious creaminess.  As this was a component of yet another meal delivered to my dad, I used small canning jars for easy transport, plus, it’s just so darned cute!

Basmati Rice Pudding with Vanilla Bean

2-1/2 cups whole milk

½ cup coconut milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup basmati rice

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

Pinch of cinnamon

¼ teaspoon orange zest

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 Melissa's vanilla bean, split lengthwise

1 teaspoon butter

Melissa’s Canela Cinnamon sticks*, for garnish (optional)

In a large saucepan, combine milk, coconut milk, cream, sugar, rice, cardamom, cinnamon, zest and salt.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.  Be sure to keep a close watch on your mixture as it can boil over very quickly.  Reduce heat.  Scrape seeds from vanilla bean and add the seeds and bean to the mixture.  Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender and mixture is thick and creamy, approximately 50 minutes.  Remove vanilla bean.  Stir in butter.

Divide pudding among four small serving dishes and garnish with chopped almonds, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a cinnamon stick.

*If you use cinnamon sticks with any regularity these are the ones that you want to buy.  This is REAL cinnamon from Sri Lanka, not the Chinese variety sold under different names.  My family is always worth the very best, and I’m sure yours is as well.

This post is linked to:

Sunday Sweeties

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Sweets for a Saturday