Jan D'Atri

Jan D'Atri > butter, softened

butter, softened

Peppermint Patty Brownies

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I’m the odd woman out when it comes to the combination of chocolate and peppermint.

I know, I know. They go together like chips and dip. Like bread and butter. Like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a side of dill pickle. (If that last example throws you off, I get it. I couldn’t imagine how a dill pickle can possible partner with a P,B & J, but it really does work! That combination of sweet, salty and sour really wakes up the ol’ taste buds!) But I do understand the obsession with chocolate and mint. The combo just never won me over with three delicious exceptions. Andes Mints, Cerreta’s Famous French Mint Truffles and this recipe for York Peppermint Patty Brownies. It’s a recipe I discovered around 2010 and have loved it ever since! I think I Iike it so much because it’s not just a treat with mint flavoring. You get to sink your teeth into a rich and chewy brownie and along the way you bite into a York Peppermint Patty smack dab in the middle of the tasty chocolaty square.

The Iconic Tunnel of Fudge Bundt Cake

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Passion, romance or chocolate. Which do you prefer for Valentine’s Day? It’s not that we don’t love Love. But dang it if chocolate doesn’t steal the ol’ heart, right? So just in time for Valentine’s Day, I’m featuring an iconic dessert that actually put the Bundt Cake on the culinary map. It was 1966 at the 17th Annual Pillsbury Bake Off Content. She wasn’t even the first place winner, but Ella Rita Helfrich set the world on molten chocolate fire with her second place winning Tunnel of Fudge Cake. Up until Ella pulled her cake out of the oven, the Nordic Ware company was not having great success with their unusual invention, the Bundt Pan. In fact, they were about to discontinue the line due to lack of sales. What a difference one day and one cake can make! The recipe was such a smash hit nationwide, that the company had to make 30 thousand pans a day just to keep up with the demand! So this fudgy cake is not just a lavish, chocolately gooey-centered yummy work of art, but it was actually responsible for the whole Bundt Pan craze! The cake itself proved just as popular as the pan. But then! Pillsbury discontinued the crucial ingredient to the cake’s success, Double Dutch Frosting Mix, and angry fans of the cake deluged the company with complaints, prompting Pillsbury to adapt the recipe, replacing the frosting mix with cocoa powder and confectioners’ sugar. Ella won $5,000 for her creation, but its unique mysterious chocolate tunnel, brownie-like consistency and silken chocolate topping makes is worth a million bucks which, incidentally, is what the winner takes home today! So, again, let me ask you. Passion, romance or chocolate? Read on!

Pumpkin Tiramisu

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There’s always room for another dessert with pumpkin spice around this time of the year, right? If you love pumpkin pie or tiramisu, this is a fun and delicious recipe to try! My favorite part of the process was making the lady fingers. (They’re also a tasty snack and great for dunking in your pumpkin-spiced latte!) If you’re looking to change up your tradition Thanksgiving feast or just want to celebrate the season, Pumpkin Tiramisu will be a fun way to spend time filling your kitchen with delicious aromas and flavors of fall!

Blackberry Clafoutis

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I hardly expected such a gourmet French dessert to come from a small, tattered booklet called “Grandma’s Cooking.” Cherry Pie, Blueberry Cobbler or Apple Brown Betty, perhaps. But not something called Clafoutis. (Pronounced “Claw-foo-TEE”). Never did I expect a few simple ingredients would produce such a rich, delicate baked dessert that is now one of my very favorite go-to recipes. (To think that I found Grandma’s Cooking at a thrift store for a buck!) Yes, it’s hot outside, and we don’t want anything heavy for dessert. Clafoutis is the answer! This simple treat begins with fresh fruit topped with a very basic combination of eggs, cream and sugar with a slight amount of flour and lemon juice. It’s a bit of a cross between cake, pudding and flan, and it’s remarkably delicious and light! Clafoutis, a local favorite dessert from the Limousin region of France, is traditionally made with black cherries. But most fruits in season, like plums, pears, apples and berries work just as well. This week blackberries were large and sweet, so that’s what I used. What I love about Clafoutis is that it is pretty much foolproof. Spread the fresh fruit on the bottom of an oven proof dish, pour the egg and cream mixture over the top and bake. That’s it. When done, Clafoutis get sprinkled with a light mist of powdered sugar and served warm, room temperature of cooled with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream! Wow! What a winner. So here you go. From the area of France that gave us the world-renowned Limoges porcelain, I give you another regional treasure, Clafoutis!

Swig Sugar Cookies

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If you don’t want another cookie addiction, then maybe you’ll want to bypass this week’s column. If, however, you want to jump on America’s latest cookie craze, then you’ve come to the right place! Swig cookies, with their scrumptious pink frosting and craggy edges, are somewhere between a soft sugar cookie and shortbread, and they have certainly won our hearts! (To date, there are about 41 million search results for Swig Cookies on Pinterest. I’d say we are obsessed with these sweet treats!) The Swig cookie originated in Saint George, Utah in 2010 at the Swig Drive-by Drink Shop. Known for their signature frosty drinks and sweets, Swig has now expanded to multiple locations in Utah and several other states. The minute I heard about them I employed “The Niece Factor.” That’s when I make a big batch of cookies and drive them over to my nieces and wait for their response. With these Swig Cookies I got a text about 20 minutes later (before I even got home!) that the entire batch has been devoured. That’s good enough for me! I think you’re going to like these cookies. They’re fun to make and may even be worthy of a spot on your holiday cookie exchange platter this year.