Using Nuts ... in Desserts
Reading edition
Coconut cream pudding
6 servings, ⅓ cup each
Cornstarch 3 tablespoons
Sugar ¼ cup
Salt ½ teaspoon
Milk 2 cups
Egg yolks, beaten 2
Butter or margarine 2 tablespoons
Vanilla 1 teaspoon
Shredded or flaked coconut ½ cup
Whipped topping If desired
Mix cornstarch, sugar, and salt in heavy saucepan.
Gradually blend in milk.
Stir over moderate heat about 7 minutes or until mixture thickens.
Stir a little of the hot mixture into egg yolks; then stir yolks into remaining hot mixture. Cook 1 minute longer, stirring constantly.
Mix in fat, vanilla, and coconut.
Serve warm or chilled. Add whipped topping, if desired.
Note: For this recipe, use only clean eggs with no cracks in shells.
Calories per serving: About 190 without topping.
EASY METHOD
Combine egg yolks with milk before stirring into cornstarch mixture. Pudding will not be quite as creamy.
VARIATION
Coconut cream pie.—Fill a baked 8-inch pastry shell with pudding. 10 Add whipped topping and sprinkle with toasted coconut. Cut into six servings. About 308 calories per serving without topping.
Toasted coconut pie shell
8-inch pie shell, 6 servings
Coconut (less moist type) 1½ cups
Butter or margarine 3 tablespoons
Stir coconut in a large frypan over low heat until toasted.
Stir fat into toasted coconut.
Press mixture evenly into 8-inch piepan. Chill.
Note: Fill pie shell with a cooled pudding-type filling. Or fill with ice cream and place in freezer for a few minutes until set.
Calories per serving of pie shell: About 160.
VARIATION
Baked coconut pie shell.—Melt fat and mix with untoasted coconut. Press into piepan. Bake at 300° F. for 30 minutes or until browned.
Pecan chess pie
9-inch pie, 8 servings
Brown sugar, packed 1 cup
Granulated sugar ½ cup
Flour 1 tablespoon
Eggs 2
Milk ¼ cup
Butter or margarine, melted ½ cup
Vanilla 1 teaspoon
Pecans, chopped ¾ or 1 cup, as desired
Pastry shell, unbaked 9-inch
Preheat oven to 375° F. (moderate).
Mix sugars and flour.
Beat in eggs and milk.
Stir in fat, vanilla, and nuts.
Pour mixture into pastry shell.
Bake 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool before serving.
Calories per serving: About 475 with ¾ cup nuts; 500 with 1 cup nuts.
VARIATIONS
Pecan tarts.—Divide dough for 9-inch pie into 12 parts. Roll into thin circles and fit into 2½-inch muffin tins. Add filling. Baking time will be slightly less than for pie. About 315 calories each with ¾ cup nuts; 330 with 1 cup nuts.
Peanut pie or tarts.—Use roasted peanuts for the nuts. Calories will be about the same.
Peanut butter cookies
4½ dozen cookies
Shortening 1 cup
Peanut butter 1 cup
Granulated sugar 1 cup
Brown sugar, packed 1 cup
Eggs 2
Vanilla 1 teaspoon
Flour, unsifted 2½ cups
Salt ½ teaspoon
Baking soda ¾ teaspoon
Baking powder ½ teaspoon
Preheat oven to 375° F. (moderate).
Beat shortening and peanut butter together until creamy.
Gradually add sugars, beating thoroughly.
Beat in eggs and vanilla.
Mix remaining ingredients and stir into peanut butter mixture.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
Flatten each by pressing criss-cross with a fork.
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Bake 10 to 15 minutes until lightly browned.
Remove from baking sheet while warm.
Calories per cookie: About 110.
Sundae nut sirup
About ¾ cup, 6 servings
Butter or margarine 2 tablespoons
Pecans or English walnuts, chopped ½ cup
Brown sugar, packed ¼ cup
Water 2 tablespoons
Light corn sirup 2 tablespoons
Melt fat in a small frypan.
Add nuts and cook over low heat, stirring as needed, until nuts are lightly browned.
Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer 2 minutes.
Note: Serve warm over ice cream.
Calories per serving of sirup: About 150.
Nut meringue shells
6 large or 12 small shells
Cream of tartar ¼ teaspoon
Egg whites 3
Salt ¼ teaspoon
Sugar ¾ cup
Pecans, chopped 1 cup
Preheat oven to 250° F. (very slow).
Add cream of tartar to egg whites and beat until foamy.
Add salt and continue beating until soft peaks form.
Add sugar gradually, beating constantly, until very stiff peaks form.
Fold in chopped nuts.
Drop meringue in 6 or 12 mounds, as desired, onto heavy brown paper or aluminum foil on a baking sheet.
Using the back of a spoon, form a hollow in the center of each mound.
Bake 1 hour. Turn off heat and let meringues cool in oven (1 to 1½ hours).
Note: Serve filled with ice cream or a cooled pudding.
Calories per meringue shell: Large, about 240; small, about 120.
Fruit and nut sauce
About 1½ cups, 6 servings
Sweetened frozen fruit (strawberries, red raspberries or mixed fruit), thawed, drained 10-ounce package
Liquid from frozen fruit plus water 1 cup
Sugar ¼ cup
Cornstarch 1 tablespoon
Raisins, chopped 1 tablespoon, if desired
Lemon juice 2 tablespoons
Rum extract ¼ teaspoon, if desired
Pecans, toasted, chopped ¼ cup
Cut large pieces of fruit into bite-size pieces.
Stir fruit liquid gradually into sugar, cornstarch, and raisins in a saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until clear and thickened.
Add lemon juice, rum extract, pecans, and fruit.
Note: Serve over ice cream or warm cake.
Calories per serving of sauce: About 125.
VARIATION
Coconut-fruit sauce.—Omit raisins and pecans. Toast ¼ cup flaked coconut; sprinkle over the fruit sauce. About 105 calories per serving.
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