Now this is my kind of candy!  This Chocolate Dipped Fruit has got to be one of the easiest recipes on this site.  From start to finish, you can be done in about 10 minutes – not bad at all for a treat that’s this delicious.  As you can see from the photos, I chose to use one of my favorite dried fruits – apricots, but it also tastes great on dried papaya, mango or even fresh strawberries.

Ingredients

• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
• dried fruit (apricot, mango, papaya) or fresh strawberries

Directions

To make tempered chocolate – chop the chocolate into pieces and place 4 oz. in a small glass bowl and microwave for 20 seconds.  Stir the chocolate and continue to microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until the chocolate is smooth and shiny (it took me about 80 seconds total).  Add the remaining 2 oz. of the chocolate and stir until smooth.  The chocolate should register 87° F to 89° F on a candy thermometer.

Dip each piece of fruit into the tempered chocolate and place on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper.  Refrigerate for 2 minutes to set.

adapted from a recipe found here

Serves 12-14

Ingredients

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour, sifted, plus more for the pan
• 1  1/3 cups dark corn syrup
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1  1/2 tablespoons orange marmalade
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1  1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• confectioners’ sugar, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325°F.  Grease the bottom and sides of an 8 x 8 metal baking pan with butter and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.  Grease the parchment paper with butter and dust the paper and sides of the pan with a little cake flour.

Heat 8 tablespoons butter, dark corn syrup, brown sugar, and marmalade in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring often, until syrup thins and sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes.  Whisk in the milk and eggs; set syrup mixture aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together cake flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and salt.  Add reserved syrup mixture and whisk until just combined.  Pour batter into baking pan.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 50 minutes.

Transfer the cake to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, heat remaining butter along with sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring often until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes.  Using a pastry brush – brush half the lemon syrup over the top of the cake.  Invert the cake onto a cooling rack, discard parchment, and brush the remaining lemon syrup on the bottom and sides of the cake.  Invert the cake onto a serving stand and wrap in plastic wrap; let cool completely.  The cake tastes better the day after baking and will keep for up to 4 days.

To serve, cut cake into squares and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

Makes 8-10 individual tarts (4 inches) or a single 11-inch tart

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 13-14 crackers)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1 can pumpkin (15 oz.)
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)

Topping:

• 1 cup cold heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter in a bowl and mix well.  Pour into the tart pans and press evenly into the sides and then the bottom.  Bake for 10 minutes and then cool to room temperature.

For the filling, combine the sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a small bowl, set aside.  In a large bowl, beat the eggs and stir in the pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture.  Gradually stir in the condensed milk.  Pour the filling into the cooled tart shells and bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the filling is set (25-30 minutes for the 11-inch tart).

For the topping, whip the heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form.  Add the sugar and vanilla and continue to whisk until you have firm peaks.  Pipe or spoon the whipped cream onto the tart.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for baking dishes
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• coarse salt, to taste
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup coarsely grated Gruyere cheese
• 1 cup sweet-potato puree (recipe here)
• 3 extra-large eggs, separated

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Butter four 3/4 cup ramekins; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat.  Add onion, garlic and thyme; season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring often, until onion is softened, about 8 minutes.  Stir in flour – cook, stirring, about 3 minutes.

Gradually whisk in heavy cream; simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, and stir in 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Whisk in sweet-potato puree, then egg yolks, one at a time.

In a clean mixing bowl, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Whisk about 1/4 of the whites into cheese mixture.  Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the rest.

Place ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet.  Pour mixture into ramekins, sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake until puffed and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes (25 to 30 minutes, if making one large souffle).

Remember, when choosing cranberries, look for fleshy, firm, shiny berries and only wash them when you ready to use.

Makes about 2  1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh cranberries, washed and dried
• 1  cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 navel orange, zested and juiced

Directions

In a medium pot, combine the cranberries, sugar and water.  Stir to blend.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce to a simmer and add the cinnamon stick, allspice and nutmeg.  Stir and simmer for an additional 5 minutes – some of the cranberries will burst and some will remain whole.  Add the orange juice and zest, stir and allow to cool before serving.

What are your favorite variations on traditional cranberry sauce?