Okay, the word “lazy” might be too harsh. It’s more like “busy” – as in I’m-so-busy-I-can’t-even-see straight. Though each and every day between now and December 26th is jam packed with activity, it’s a must for me to prepare a huge holiday meal. I’ve finalized my side dishes (mixed greens with fennel and oranges, potatoes Dauphinoise) and my main course (beef short ribs) but I always leave dessert until the last minute. The fact that I work for a dessert company might have something to do with it. The rest of the meal takes so much time – and we do make the best desserts in the world – so why would I prepare one from scratch? I try to mix things up a bit each year. We bake over 60 different flavors, but sometimes you just want a piece of good ol’ Original Plain Cheesecake. For the holidays, it needs a little dressing up, so here are three easy as can be sauce/topping recipes. They’re quick and simple to prepare, and two out of three greatly benefit from the addition of a little liqueur (if you’re serving adults) like raspberry, coffee, chocolate or any of your favorite liqueur flavors. Which makes everything a bit merrier. Raspberry Sauce
1 pound frozen raspberries (unsweetened), thawed
1) Combine first three ingredients; blend mixture in blender or food processor until liquid. You could also put it into an unbreakable and use brute force to beat it to a pulp with a potato masher, but since the seeds are strained out your end result might be a bit less sauce. *mixing the cornstarch with water (called a “slurry”) before adding to the raspberry mixture helps prevent lumps! Apple Topping
6 Medium Baking Apples (like Michigan Ida Red or Granny Smith)
1) Peel and core apples then slice each into 8 wedges. Toss with sugar and cinnamon. Chocolate Sauce
11/2 cups heavy cream 1) Combine cream, sugar, and butter in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. |