dessert

If you've never cooked, tried, or had anything to do with rhubarb, then this is the perfect introduction. Rhubarb is a pink-hued fruit that looks similar to celery stalks. It's incredibly tart, so many cooks opt to tone it down by mixing it with sweet fruits like strawberries.

However, this rhubarb galette does not try to hide its identity. A sprinkling of sugar and a buttery crust are all that is needed to complement and soften rhubarb's mouth-puckering tendencies.

Wrap the rhubarb filling in a pure butter pie crust, then bake the galette until the crust turns golden brown and the tips of the rhubarb begin to char.

The hardest part is allowing the galette to cool once it's out of the oven. Like letting steak rest after cooking it, the same applies to the galette. Cooling it enables the juices to seep back into the fruit and lets those fruit juices thicken slightly.

The galette's beautiful, swirled pattern makes it an eye-popping centerpiece for breakfast or brunch. Serve it at the table so everyone can watch the pink, gelatinous juices seep out from the center. The crumbly crust yields to a tender, tart filling that many described as tasting like the "essence of rhubarb."

Keep reading for the recipe.

The change of seasons may bring to mind shorter hemlines and a rededication to the gym, but it also means that the opportunity to indulge in a favorite balmy-weather treat — s'mores — is just around the corner. Sadly, it's not quite prime bonfire and grilling weather yet, even in Northern California, so I've come up with a fix to tide us over till then: a s'mores-inspired snack (OK, dessert) mix.

Now, I'd like to take credit for this rather clever idea, but that would be disingenuous; inspiration first struck after tasting a sample of Mama Mellace S'mores Snack Mix at the Fancy Food Show. Tasty, but a hair too sweet, and lacking the salty-sweet punch I so crave, this snack mix was on the right track but not quite as delightful as it could be. So, like any good test cook, I set out to re-create it the way my taste buds intended.

Keep reading for the dangerous — I warned you! — recipe.

While making another one of my favorite smoothies, seeing a bunch of ripe bananas in the kitchen gave me the urge to bake some banana bread. Then a light went off — why not combine a smoothie recipe with banana bread to make banana smoothie muffins?

Made with pureed banana, spinach, and strawberries, these muffins came out even more deliciously sweet and moist than anticipated. Skeptics might be turned off by the greenish hue, but just like green eggs and ham, "try them, try them," and this might become your new favorite banana bread recipe.

From Jenny Sugar, POPSUGAR Fitness

Banana Smoothie Muffins

Recipe Notes

These muffins taste best freshly baked, with the edges slightly crispy. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Ingredients

3 ripe bananas
2 cups packed baby spinach
8 strawberries
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Puree the bananas, spinach, and strawberries in a blender.
3. In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, sugar, egg, oil, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
4. Pour the smoothie mixture into the bowl and mix well.
5. Put paper or silicone muffin cups in a muffin pan (you'll need two pans for 14 muffins).
6. Spoon the batter, filling each cup about three quarters full.
7. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
8. Allow muffins to cool on a rack and enjoy!

Makes 14 muffins. Here's the nutritional information for one muffin.

Source: Calorie Count

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We've got a new partnership with the recipe, equipment, and product testing gurus at America's Test Kitchen. They'll be sharing some of their time-tested recipes and technical expertise with us weekly. Today, a classic dessert recipe, chocolate mousse, gets a makeover.

April 3 may be National Chocolate Mousse Day, but our recipe makeover for this rich, chocolaty, elegant dessert is tasty enough to make any day.

What's the secret to cutting fat and calories without compromising taste and texture? An Italian meringue, which is made by whipping egg whites with a sugar syrup. It gives our chocolate mousse a creamy lushness without adding any fat.

Test Kitchen Tip: To make an Italian meringue, pour hot sugar syrup into the whipped egg whites, but avoid touching either the beater or the sides of the bowl. If the syrup hits the beater or bowl, it will stick to them rather than be incorporated into the eggs.

See the recipe when you keep reading.

What happens when you combine tangy cream-cheese-flecked pastry dough with a dollop of cherry-almond filling? Magic — pure magic. Rolled together into a charming shape reminiscent of a crescent roll, these addictive pastries are almost like a doughier handheld cherry pie, though really they're in a class all by themselves.

Two warnings: first off, these are not the sort of treat you whip up at a moment's notice. Make certain to devote a lazy afternoon to the process, though they're hardly as involved as homemade petit fours or a laminated-dough pastry like a danish. Secondly, make more than you think you'll need, even if that means doubling the recipe, as it's near-impossible to devour just one. (If doubling, make two separate batches of the dough, though the filling can be doubled to no ill effect.) Otherwise, enjoy!

Get the irresistible recipe.

This salty-sweet, Passover-friendly treat is colloquially referred to as chocolate matzo crack, and for good reason. In the process of making this batch, my roommates and I kept coming back for bite after indulgent, snappy bite, despite our best intentions toward moderation. Delighted as they were to share in this addictive toffee, by round four of "just one more bite," they were cursing my name. So proceed with the recipe at your own risk: you've been warned.

Dangerously buttery, salty, sweet, and crisp, this candy requires no candy thermometer or other special equipment, unlike the majority of toffee- and brittle-like creations. Yet somehow it magically mimics the best toffee, thanks to the light texture and snap the matzo imparts. So if you're feeling daring, and particularly if you have a crowd to share it with, whip up a batch.

Keep reading for the utterly addictive, simple-to-prepare dessert.