Mary Younkin - The Weeknight Dessert Cookbook: 80 Irresistible Recipes With Only 5 to 15 Minutes of Prep

80 Irresistible Recipes with

Only 5 to 15 Minutes of Prep

Author of The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook
and creator of BarefeetInTheKitchen.com

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For My Boys:

Sean, Sam, Ben, and Nate

You hold in your hands my forever favorite dessert recipes. These are the recipes I reach for time and time again, whether for a quick dessert after dinner or a fancier dessert for guests. With these recipes, you can pull together an amazing dessert in very little time at all.

The Weeknight Dessert Cookbook is filled with something for every craving: from cakes to cobblers, cookies to crisps, puddings to ice creams, no-bake treats, cookies, and more. This is where Ive collected my tried-and-true dessert recipes for you.

Every recipe in this cookbook has been tested by me, of course, but theyve also been tested by multiple volunteer home cooks just like you in a variety of kitchens. They are all reliable, delicious ways to satisfy your sweet tooth with approximately five to fifteen minutes of hands-on prep time.

What that five-to-fifteen-minute timeframe means is that all of your ingredients are ready and on the counter in front of you when you start the recipe. For example, the canisters of dry ingredients are on the counter, but not yet measured. The eggs, butter, and any additional ingredients are available at your fingertips as well.

That said, for most of these recipes, the five-to-fifteen-minute timeframe easily includes the moments required to assemble the ingredients. Over the years, Ive found that measuring dry ingredients beforehand is unnecessary. While there are recipes that benefit from combining and sifting the dry ingredients first, those arent the recipes in this book. Ive streamlined the process here to eliminate that step.

Prepping the work area is key to making sure these really are quick and easy dessert recipes. Cleaning up along the way, dropping used tools in the sink, and wiping down the counter once the dessert is in the oven all help make sure that cleanup wont be a hassle.

BAKING TALK

Gas, electric, and convection ovens will all bake differently. I recommend using an oven thermometer to make sure youre actually baking at the recommended temperatures. Always test a cake before removing it from the oven.

To test for doneness, insert a bamboo skewer, toothpick, or butter knife straight into the center of the cake and lift it back out. If it comes out mostly clean with no wet batter sticking to it, the cake is done. If you can see wet batter clinging to the knife, the cake needs a few more minutes. Your patience will be rewarded.

Here are some constants to help you get consistent baking results for these recipes:

Butter in my kitchen is always salted. Feel free to use unsalted if it is your preference. If you do prefer unsalted butter, just add a tiny pinch of salt to the recipe to replicate my results.

Eggs are always large. This is a USDA regulated size. If youre in Europe or (lucky you!) have access to home-raised eggs, youre looking for 2-ounce (57-g) eggs.

Measure carefully. Scoop flour and level with a knife.

No liquor cabinet? No problem! You can find tiny bottles of different alcohols in most liquor stores. That is typically enough for most baking recipes.

To get the job done right, you need the right tools. Never fear, though, the tools for baking are, for the most part, ones you already have on hand or can get your hands on very inexpensively and easily. Heres a list of the most commonly used tools in The Weeknight Dessert Cookbook:

First, youll want an 8-inch (20-cm) pan, square or round. This is the perfect size to make just enough of a simple, everyday dessert. However, almost all the recipes in the book that use an 8-inch (20-cm) pan can be doubled for a 9 x 13inch (23 x 33cm) pan.

A Bundt pan is also useful. Most of the recipes in this book use a half-size or 6-cup (1.4-L) Bundt pan, which is just enough dessert for one meal. The recipes can all be doubled for a standard-size Bundt pan.

A loaf pan, typically about 6 cups (1.4 L) in size or approximately 5 x 8 inches (12 x 20 cm), is helpful, but if you have a half-size Bundt pan, it will do double duty for almost any recipe that calls for a loaf pan. That said, a loaf pan will not always work for the Bundt pan recipes.

A baking sheet pan, half-sheet size, approximately 18 x 13 inches (46 x 33 cm), is a rimmed cookie sheet, and youll use it endlessly.

I use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat for almost everything I bake. Not only will parchment help with even cookie baking, but it also aids when lifting bars and bakes from the pan after baking. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, will stick to parchment.

Last but not least, cookie scoops are indispensable in my kitchen. The convenience of scooping an entire tray of cookies in just a minute or two cannot be rated highly enough.

With the right tools and ingredients prepped, youll be baking quickly in no time at all. None of these recipes are complicated or require hard-to-find ingredients, and all of them are guaranteed to end your meal on a lovely sweet note. Sharing my love of food and cooking for others are two of my favorite things. My hope is that this book brings you more joy in the kitchen and many happy memories shared with family and friends.

If you love cake, andeven bettera fresh cake that requires little effort and provides big payoff, you will love that every one of the cakes in this book comes together with minimal hands-on time. The take barely five minutes to stir together, and theyre a showstopper of a dessert.

Craving chocolate? The is a cake like nothing else Ive ever tasted. I love it even more than I love my morning cup of coffee.

Want a dessert that looks like you spent some serious time in the kitchen, but truthfully requires no extra effort? might make you their best friend.

Unless a recipe says differently, a toothpick inserted into a finished cake should come out with wet crumbs on it. If there is liquid or cake batter on the toothpick, its not quite done, so bake for five to ten minutes longer and test again. These cakes can be stored at room temperature, loosely covered, preferably not in an airtight container.