A Little Something

Hot Fudge Sauce

The problem with wonderful thing about this luscious hot fudge sauce is that it's quick and easy to make from simple ingredients that I always have on hand. It makes ice cream time into something special and is a quick trick to keep in mind if you have unexpected visitors drop by in the evening for a little something.

 

This is my adaptation of a recipe out of an old Penzey's catalog.

5 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup cocoa

1 cup half and half

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the cocoa. Gradually pour in the half and half, whisking well after each addition so you don't get any lumps. After you have mixed in all of the half and half return the pan to the burner. Whisk in the sugar and the mixture will become smooth and shiny. Bring the sauce to a simmer, whisking frequently and scraping the edges of the pan once or twice with a spatula if you need to.

Once it has started to boil I let it simmer for about three or four minutes, whisking almost constantly - it will be nice and thick. Be careful not to let it burn. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla.

Serve over ice cream or pound cake or use for dipping strawberries...(like I need to tell anyone what to do with fudge sauce). Hide Store any leftovers in the refrigerator, where it will be found and snitched with spoons. It also can be reheated nicely in the microwave.

Pizza Rolls

We sometimes make pizza rolls for lunch using the pizza dough recipe off of my cheat sheet. They bake a lot faster than a regular pizza, the girls think they are fun to make, and since they are a bit of a novelty they are also fun to eat.

Preheat oven to 425. After the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it into two pieces. On a lightly floured surface roll each piece out into an approximate circle as for regular pizza. Spread lightly (use less than for regular pizza) with sauce and sprinkle with cheese - a dusting of parmesan before the mozzarella is nice.

 Cut into wedges using a pastry wheel or pizza cutter. Roll each piece up starting at the center point. Place rolls on cookie sheet (I use nonstick cookie sheets and don't grease them) and bake for about ten minutes until nicely golden brown.

Pretty tasty for a 'school lunch'! 

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberries are certainly one of the most delicious treats of spring. Tonight we enjoyed the first shortcakes of the season. The sliced strawberries just need a generous sprinkling of sugar; stir them up and let them sit and get juicy while the cakes bake. I used my plain scone recipe off of my Cheat Sheet, decreasing the amount of buttermilk to make a roll out dough. I then used a round cookie cutter and they were done in about 11 minutes. Baking time would of course depend on how thick you roll them and how soft you like them. I baked the second tray a bit longer and let them get a bit brown on top. Tomorrow I will serve them for our elevenses and call them 'teacakes' for alas we will have to eat them sans strawberries.

Drop scones are also fine for shortcakes if you are in a hurry. Another alternative is to follow the biscuit recipe from the Cheat Sheet, adding in a bit of sugar with the flour.

My children scoffed at the parby dollop of whipped cream shown in the photo. After I took the photo a Certain Someone properly doused the berries and cake with a right covering. But I didn't take another picture. :-)