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The Basics: Graham Cracker Crust

partysugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 05:50:42 -0700

Hey you. Yeah, you. In the baking aisle with a premade graham cracker pie crust in your arms. Stop! Put down the pie crust. Did you know it's easy to make a homemade graham cracker crust? It's seriously the most simple pie crust around - if you have a food processor. All you have to do is pulse the crackers with butter and sugar until the mixture is fine and moist. Then you press into a pie pan, bake, and voila! Pie crust is ready for any type of filling. This recipe is quite versatile. Don't limit yourself to just graham crackers. Wafer cookies, oreos, gingersnaps: These ingredients can be used to make a quick and delicious pie crust. Now the only thing you have to worry about is what to fill it with. To check out the recipe please keep reading.

Give Me a S'more Popsicle

YumSugar — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:00:23 -0700

Summer is coming to an end! I don't want it to, but there's no way to fight it, so instead, I celebrated by creating a frozen treat inspired by the great camping tradition of s'mores. Only a few days ago, PartySugar made homemade smores, and I decided to try my hand at s'mores popsicles. These easy popsicles only require five ingredients: vanilla ice cream, marshmallows, chocolate chips, graham crackers, and vegetable oil.To mimic the shape of a marshmallow, I made the pops in small juice glasses, although any pop mold or dixie cup would work. While these popsicles are not gooey and warm like the original s'more, they have the same great flavor. The first bite of roasted marshmallow ice cream, crisp chocolate, and crunchy graham crackers will cool down anyone who is basking in the last fiery days of Summer. These popsicles are irresistible to kids and adults, so if you want chilly s'mores, keep reading.

Come Party With Me: End of Summer BBQ - Desserts

partysugar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:30:18 -0700

I just realized that the entire Summer has almost passed and I have not enjoyed one s'more! Before the long warm nights are replaced with Fall's cool evenings, I must make s'mores. What better time to do it than at my end of Summer barbecue?! After all s'mores, the gooey, finger-licking good combination of graham crackers, melted chocolate, and toasted marshmallows, are a classic American dessert. While I could simply purchase the ingredients at the store, I'm taking the nostalgic campfire treat to a whole new level with homemade marshmallows and graham crackers. To look at the recipe I'll be using - thanks Martha! - read more.

S'mores
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

For graham crackers:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for working
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup untoasted wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 tablespoons high-quality honey
For marshmallows:
Vegetable oil, for brushing
4 envelopes unflavored gelatin (3 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons)
3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
For s'mores:
20 ounces bittersweet or milk chocolate bars, broken into 2-ounce pieces

Directions

Make graham crackers: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flours, wheat germ, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside.
Put butter, brown sugar, and honey into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture, and mix until combined.
Turn out dough onto a floured surface, and divide into quarters. Roll out each piece between 2 sheets of floured parchment paper into rectangles a bit larger than 9 by 6 inches, about 1/8 inch thick.
Using a fluted pastry wheel, trip the outermost edges or each rectangle, and divide into three 6 by 3-inch rectangles. Pressing lightly, so as not to cut all the way through, score each piece in half lengthwise and crosswise, to form four 3 by 1 1/2-inch crackers. Stack parchment and dough on a baking sheet and chill in freezer until firm, about 20 minutes.
Remove two sheets of dough from freezer. Pierce crackers using the tines of a fork. Transfer to large baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake, rotating halfway through, until dark golden brown, 8 to 9 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. Let cool on sheet 5 minutes; transfer crackers to wire racks to cool completely. Crackers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
Make marshmallows: Brush a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with oil. Line with parchment, allowing a 2-inch overhang on the long sides. Brush parchment with oil; set aside.
Put granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 3/4 cup water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook, without stirring, until mixture registers 238 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 9 minutes.
Meanwhile, put 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of an electric mixer; sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften 5 minutes.
Attach bowl with gelatin to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. With mixer on low speed, beat hot syrup into gelatin mixture. Gradually raise speed to high; beat until mixture is very stiff, about 12 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Pour into prepared dish, and smooth with an offset spatula. Set aside, uncovered, until firm, about 3 hours.
Sift 1 cup confectioners' sugar onto a work surface. Unmold marshmallow onto confectioners' sugar; remove parchment. Lightly brush a sharp knife with oil, then cut marshmallow into 2-inch squares. Sift remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar into a small bowl, and roll each marshmallow in the sugar to coat. Marshmallows can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.
For s'mores: Preheat a grill to medium (if you are using a charcoal grill, coals are ready when you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill for just 5 to 6 seconds).
Place a piece of chocolate on each of 10 graham crackers; set aside. Press each marshmallow onto the tip of a skewer. Cook marshmallows, turning occasionally, until toasted to desired doneness.
Using a fork, push each marshmallow onto a chocolate-covered graham cracker. Sandwich with remaining graham crackers. Serve immediately.

Makes 10.

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A Spring Pie For Any Season

YumSugar — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:15:43 -0700

As you all know, I have a problem with pie crusts. I'm terrible with them, they're my baking Achilles' heel. Yet, I absolutely adore them. So when I found this pie on MyRecipes.com, I was over the moon. This springtime pie has a crushed-graham-cracker crust and is filled with a mixture of strawberries splashed with balsamic vinegar. There's no crust to mess up and the filling sounds amazing. If it sounds delectable to you, get the recipe when you read more.

Spring Strawberry Pie
From Cooking Light, May 2001

Ingredients

CRUST:
1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
Cooking spray

FILLING:
2 cups sliced strawberries
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 cups small strawberries

TOPPING:
3 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon chopped hazelnuts or almonds
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons butter, melted
1/2 cup frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed

Get more recipes at MyRecipes.com

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl, tossing with a fork until moist.

Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes; cool on a wire rack.
To prepare the filling, combine strawberry slices and vinegar in a medium nonstick skillet.
Place the berry mixture over medium-high heat; cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in 1/4 cup sugar.
Combine the water and cornstarch in a small bowl.
Add to pan, and bring to a boil.
Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat; stir in juice.
Cool completely.
Arrange whole strawberries, stem sides down, in crust.
Pour cooled strawberry mixture over whole strawberries.
Cover loosely, and chill 4 hours.
To prepare the topping, combine 3 tablespoons cracker crumbs, nuts, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons melted butter in a small bowl.
Place crumb mixture in a small skillet over medium heat.
Cook 2 minutes or until golden brown; cool.
Sprinkle crumb mixture over pie.
Top each serving with whipped topping.

Serves 8.

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 229(35% from fat); FAT 8.8g (sat 4.1g,mono 2.8g,poly 1.4g); PROTEIN 2.3g; CHOLESTEROL 14mg; CALCIUM 34mg; SODIUM 176mg; FIBER 3.5g; IRON 1.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 37g

Like the recipe above? Try out some of these other ones:
- Sensational Strawberry Desserts
- Our Best of Desserts Recipe Collection
- Summer's Best Bounty at CookingLight.com
- Get More Pie Recipes

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Alumnae Bars = Easy Delicious Dessert

partysugar — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:21:31 -0700

Recently my family and I had a dessert so delicious that my parents started acting funny: my mom insisted we eat the bars before dinner and my dad took an entire plateful for himself! What was the dessert? A simple, yet scrumptious chocolate butterscotch bar. Dubbed Alumnae Bars by my great aunt, these bite-sized treats are easy to make and are delightful crowd pleasers. They are completely portable making them perfect for a potluck, picnic, or bake sale. To take a look at the recipe - it's great for using up the "odds and ends" of chocolate chips - read more.

Alumnae Bars
From PartySugar's Great Aunt Anne Desler

Ingredients

1 stick butter
18 graham crackers
1 bag shredded coconut, optional
1 bag butterscotch morsels
1 bag chocolate chips*
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1-1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 inch pan with aluminum foil.
Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove.
Meanwhile crush the graham crackers until small but not fine.
Combine the graham crackers and the melted butter and press, covering the bottom, into the prepared baking sheet.
If using the coconut, spread over the top graham crackers evenly. Repeat with the butterscotch morsels and chocolate chips.
Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top evenly.
Sprinkle the walnuts evenly over the pan.
Press down with a large spoon or spatula compacting the layers together.
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes and cut into small bars.
Cover with foil and place in the freezer until ready to serve.

Makes 16-24 bars depending on the size.

*Use your favorite type of morsels: chocolate, milk chocolate, semi-sweet, peanut butter, or a combination of several

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Happy Birthday Mr. Graham Cracker

partysugar — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 01:38:39 -0700

On today's date, 212 years ago, Sylvester Graham was born in West Suffield, Connecticut. Throughout his 58 years of life, Graham developed a highly ridiculed lifestyle and diet with a tremendous cult following. Referred to as the Grahamites, they believed that plain and simple foods were the key to a long and developed life. Graham was a nutrition guru who advocated temperance, vegetarianism, and the use/consumption of coarse ground wheat flour and bran. He invented the Graham cracker in 1829 and his 1837 Treatise on Bread & Bread Making condemned those who ate white bread:

There is, in reality, almost a total and universal carelessness about the character of bread. Thousands in civic life will, for years, and perhaps as long as they live, eat the most miserable trash that can be imagined, and never seem to think that they can possibly have anything better, nor even that it is an evil to eat such stuff as they do.

Although his harsh words bring Gordon Ramsay to mind, his importance to the snack world - not to mention the pie baking world - is highly significant. A pioneer of the natural foods movement, Sylvester would most likely fit right in today's super health conscious world.

Source
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Graham Cracker Crust

partysugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:22:50 -0700

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Taste Test: Brown Sugar Cinnamon Ritz Crackers

YumSugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:15:15 -0800

With holiday parties looming on the horizon, I've had killer apps and hors d'oeuvres in the back of my mind. Since no party is complete without a meat, cheese, and crackers platter, it's only appropriate that Nabisco has come out with a new variety of Ritz cracker, Brown Sugar Cinnamon, that's sure to be popular come Christmastime. Ritz crackers were an after-school pastime for me growing up, so I couldn't wait to try the new flavor. Did it live up to its highly-regarded name? Find out when you read more.

Summer Of Sandwiches: Dulce De Leche Ice Cream & Choco Covered Graham Cracker Sandwiches

partysugar — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 12:27:31 -0700

Ever since I ripped the recipe out of Gourmet magazine back in April, I've been dying to make dulce de leche ice cream. Dulce de leche is a South American treat similar to a thick creamy version of caramel. I talked about making it for months and I finally made it this weekend!! It tastes super delicious alone (I had homemade dulce de leche ice cream for dinner 2 nights this week) or smashed between two chocolate covered graham crackers. I took the time to make the ice cream and dulce de leche, but Starbucks helped me out by making the chocolate covered graham crackers. Don't have time or an ice cream maker? Purchase dulce de leche ice cream and serve these as dessert after a Mexican inspired meal. For the recipe and my flipbook style pics, read more

Dulce De Leche Ice Cream & Choco Covered Graham Cracker Sandwiches
From Emeril Lagasse

Dulce de Leche, recipe follows or you can purchase it
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
6 large egg yolks
chocolate covered graham crackers, 2 per person

In a medium heavy saucepan, combine 3/4 cup of the dulce de leche, the cream, milk, and sugar. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat.

Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl.

Whisk 1 cup of the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks. Gradually add the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream, to the hot cream.

Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to keep a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours.

Remove from the refrigerator and pour into the bowl of an ice cream machine. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

When the ice cream is nearly completely thickened, pour in the remaining 1/4 cup dulce de leche to create a swirl in the ice cream. Transfer to a flat airtight container and freeze for several hours.

Line up chocolate covered graham crackers.

Remove ice cream from freezer and slice into small squares.

Top one chocolate covered graham cracker with a slice of ice cream and cover with another cracker. Serve or freeze until ready to serve.

Makes about 24 sandwiches.

Dulce De Leche
From Emeril Lagasse

1 quart milk
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split in half and seeds scraped
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons water

In a large heavy saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the milk begins to get foamy on top, stir to incorporate the foam.
In a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the water, and add to the milk mixture.
Reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered at a bare simmer. Let cook, stirring occasionally without working the foam into the milk. After 1 hour remove the vanilla bean.
Continue cooking, skimming occasionally, until tan, very thick, and reduced to about 1 cup, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (The milk will continue to darken as it cooks.)
Strain into a clean container and let cool. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. (The dulce de leche will thicken as it cools, and will keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.)

Makes about 1 cup.

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S'more Popsicles

YumSugar — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:17:57 -0700

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