Sweet Raspberry Sauce

This Raspberry balsamic reduction works great with puddings, chocolate cakes and Ice cream. Serve it warm or cold. It's hard to forget this one!!!

When I was making a Chocolate pudding one day I decided to make this to pour on top. I wasn't so sure if it would work at first because I was going off of pure experimentation, and it turned out pretty good. 

Yields: 1/2 cup of sauce
Prep time: 1 minute
cook time: 4 minutes
Total time: 1 minute

Ingredients
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tsp sugar

Directions
1. Combine all of the ingredients in to the pot you will be using.
2. Cook on medium low heat for 4 minutes.
3. Let cool or serve warm.
4. Pair with your favourite dessert, how about this Rich Chocolate Pudding!

Rich Chocolate Pudding (microwave)

This tasty pudding is quick and easy. It tastes great and will never let you down. 

 I made this for my family one night, we had all decided on something chocolaty. So I made this, it was a big hit and it took no time at all! It's smooth  and delicious and very rich! The perfect pudding!

Yields: 4 serving (1/2 cup)
Prep time: 2 minutes
Total time: 6 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 cups milk 
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions 

1. Combine cornstarch, sugar and cocoa powder in 4 cup microwave safe glass bowl, whisk together until combined.
2. Add the milk and vanilla and whisk again.
3. Microwave for 2 minutes on high in your microwave then whisk.
4. Microwave again for 1 minute and whisk then another minute and whisk. (add more or take away microwave time depending on the power of your microwave)
5.Pour into 4 serving cups immediately after you take out of the microwave.
6.Top with bananas or other fruit, how about this Sweet Raspberry Sauce!

  Inspired by: http://www.food.com/recipe/super-fast-and-easy-microwave-chocolate-pudding-335601?oc=linkback

Chocolate Salted Almonds

These sweet chocolate covered almonds are a great ice cream topper or a treat on their own. They make a great gift and that kick of salt make them hard to forget.

 I made this dessert out of pure creativity and some leftover chocolate sauce from a macaroon recipe. I had extras on a chocolate drizzle and decided to put it to good use. I was craving some chocolate covered almonds and figured i would make some! I felt like a real chocolatier when i was making these, even though they were super duper simple!

Yields: 2 dozen
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil
• Cracked sea salt 
• Your favourite vanilla ice cream

Note: If you want to make more or less of the sauce you can adjust the ratios of the chocolate chips and oil to fit the amount of sauce that you need.

Directions

1. Combine the chocolate chips and oil in a microwave safe bowl
microwave for 3 sets of 20 second intervals. Stirring in between intervals.

2. Take the almonds and roll them in the bowl. Take out and rest on a sheet of wax paper on a plate.

3. Crack a small amount of sea salt on the tops of the chocolate covered almond.

4. Refrigerate for 15 minutes then store in a cool place.

5. Get a scoop of your favourite vanilla ice cream and top it with these delicious treats.

Coconut Macaroons

These sweet and chewy morsels are great from entertaining, or if you are at home looking for a sweet indulgence. These macaroons are just the yummiest things ever.

Great with a nice chocolate drizzle!

I made these one day when my family and I had been invited to a dinner party, everybody loved them and were so shocked when I told them how easy they were. Let's just say these didn't last very long!

Yields: 2 dozen 
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes (with chocolate sauce)
            40 minutes (without chocolate sauce)

Ingredients

• 1 (14 oz.) package of sweetened coconut flakes
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoon flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Combine coconut, sugar, flour and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixture to beat the egg whites until white and fluffy (about 3 minutes) the whites should look foamy and be stiff enough to stay on the whisk when help upside down.

4. Gently fold in the egg whites to the dry ingredients  Be very careful when mixing so you won't deflate the egg whites. Mix in a folding motion.

5. Drop mounds of the coconut mixture onto the cookie sheet (about 5 cm in diameter). 

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

7. While the coconut macaroons are cooking you can prepare the chocolate drizzle. take 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 tbsp. of canola oil and mix together in a microwave safe bowl. heat in intervals of 20 seconds 3 times for a total of 60 seconds. stir in between intervals.(The chocolate sauce is optional)

8. When the macaroons come out of the oven, immediately lift off of the sheet and onto a cooling rack. wait about 30 minutes until cool. 

9. When the macaroons are fully cooled you can drizzle the chocolate sauce on them. 

Tip: To keep the chocolate sauce warm, let it stay in the microwave until the macaroons are ready. This will preserve the heat.

10. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then store in a cool place and enjoy.  

Note: Don't just throw out that extra chocolate sauce! Check out this simple recipe for chocolate salted almonds!! 

Inspiration: 

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/bakers-one-bowl-coconut-52586.aspx

Nutella and Banana Crackers

This snack takes only 2 minutes to make and tastes great! The best part is eating them. This snack packs a protein punch and is a great healthy snack when you're in a pinch for time.

Yummy!

It was just another lazy afternoon and I was feeling for a quick snack, so this is what I whipped up. It instantly gave me a huge boost of energy, and satisfied my sweet tooth while still keeping healthy. Enjoy

Yields: 6 

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Total time: 2 minutes

Ingredients 

• 6 of your favourite crackers (I used Carr's Table Water Crackers but graham crackers are great too)
• Nutella for spreading
• 1 banana, peeled and sliced
• 6 almonds

Directions

1. Lay out all 6 of your crackers

2. Spread nutella over the crackers

3. Peel and slice up up a banana and place the desired amount of slices on each cracker

4. take 1 almond and place it on top of each cracker

Two-Bite Tea Muffins

This sweet treat hits the spot when you are about to settle down for a warm cup of tea. A great addition to your afternoon snack.

When I first made these, they were for a project I was doing on Jamaica. The project covered Jamaican music, but also asked for food from the country to be brought in for the class. I decided to use some foods that come to mind when I thought of Jamaica (which were pineapple and coconut) In the end this simple muffin recipe was a big crowd pleaser and they tasted great. I hope you enjoy making this recipe! 

Yields: about 4 dozen (mini muffin pan)
Prep time: 15 minutes  
Total time: 40 minutes


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 2 cups flour
• 1 (14 ounce) can pineapple (including the juice)
• some brown sugar and extra coconut to sprinkle on-top 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line 2 mini muffins pans with paper liners (or spray the pans)

2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy; add eggs and vanilla, and beat well.

3. Combine salt, baking powder, coconut, and flour.

4. Drain and chop pineapple, reserving juice (about 7 ounces).

5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the reserved juice

6. Fold in pineapple, and fill muffin cups 2/3 full. 

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Note: Sprinkle sugar on top of muffins for crunchy muffin tops.



Inspiration: http://www.evernewrecipes.com/dessert-recipes/pineapple-coconut-muffins-recipe.html  

Welcome to the kiss cookbook blog

some of my favourite cookbooks.

Some people like to eat dessert, some people like to make desserts, some people like to make and eat their desserts. I happen to fall under the last category and if you’re like me then you will love this cookbook blog. I’m not embarrassed to consider myself a beginner when it comes to baking. Now that I have reached an age where I can be more independent in the kitchen, I have developed a sweet tooth and a love for baking.

As I have learned, when you can find a recipe that tastes great and happens to be simple too, you have found the perfect recipe. This blog is all about the marriage of simple recipes and that have a great taste. That's right. Welcome to desserts central.

 There is a natural attraction to doing things that are simple. Simplicity is easier when you are a beginner and for desserts, if it tastes good and it's simple then you have a winner. This cookbook blog is made for people who love to bake but don’t necessarily have the time to go crazy, or to go shopping for unusual ingredients. If there is one thing I have learned when it comes to making desserts, it is this: the simpler the better.

The reason for my title "kiss" is because of the well-known acronym; Keep It Simple Stupid. However, in my case, I like to see it as "keeping it super simple". I have always admired this acronym and while I was coming up with a name I realized that KISS applies to baking almost as much as it applies to life itself. Over my past years of experience with baking, this is one of the most important lessons I have learned. When you try to get all fancy and ambitious with recipes, things can get messy. So I thought it would be fantastic if I could make a cookbook with recipes that are easy, and taste good too!

A painting I did a while ago.