Easy & amp; elegant

Delicious sweets that put store-bought 'treats' to shame.
By TENNY TATUSIAN
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Recall a scene from "The Matrix" in which Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) is eating steak. He knows the steak doesn't exist, but he prefers that falseness to reality.
"I know when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious," he says. "After nine years, do you know what I've realized? Ignorance is bliss."
For years, I would recall that image at barbecues or dinner parties as I watched people eat dry supermarket cookies or those perfectly cubed brownies right out of plastic bins.
I would look around to see friends and family enjoying "treats" that didn't have the depth of real chocolate or the creaminess of butter or the perfumed pleasures of vanilla all because somebody didn't want to bother with making dessert. All around me, people were eating phantom foods and telling themselves they enjoyed it.
In this case, ignorance is not bliss.
Those brownies taste like chemicals, and I'm convinced the only reason they pass for brownies is because bakeries have managed to get the color right. (Honestly, if they were any other color, I don't know that we would believe that they contain chocolate.) And the cookies aren't much better -- mass-produced bites that keep us thinking we're tasting real sugar and butter.
Crisis intervention
I'm happy to say, those days no longer exist among my circle because I saw the crisis and took action. Now, it is almost with no cognitive association that when invited to a party I answer, "Excellent, and I'll bring dessert."
It's not a sign of generosity, consideration or kindness that I make the offer. (And I suppose "offer" isn't accurate, because that implies that I can be turned down.) It's a selfish reflex after meeting up with one too many of those horrible desserts at the end of otherwise lovely evenings.
What I've compiled here are recipes I've collected over the years of desserts that are so easy to make that you owe it to yourself and your friends and family to take them on.
In one case, all you have to do is toss strawberries with sugar, pour on a little red wine and let the mixture sit for an hour or two. The most effort involved is slicing berries. Easy peasy.
I offer two extremely easy recipes for cookies. One is mixed entirely in a food processor, and then dropped by spoonfuls on cookie sheets; the other has all of two ingredients.
Easy elegance
For more upscale affairs, try the lemon custards or chocolate molten cakes. Both are divvied up into individual ramekins. The batter for the lemon custard comes together in a single bowl and should be made a day in advance. The only trick to the chocolate molten cakes is pulling them out of the oven before they cook all the way through -- the undercooked batter at the center is the dessert's own sauce that's particularly heavenly with ice cream.
I highly encourage you to try the blueberry crisp. You could spend hours in the kitchen on a much more complicated dessert and not please your guests half as much. The blueberries are tossed with sugar and then topped with a flour-sugar-butter combination. For this dessert, I often measure out my ingredients at home, put them individually in plastic baggies, nestle them into my pie dish and throw it all together very quickly in my host's kitchen.
I can't blame anyone for not wanting to spend an hour in front of a hot oven. But I can hold a grudge if you'd rather eat industrial brownies than the ones I've included here. I timed myself recently with this brownie recipe: I measured, mixed and slid them into the oven in less than 15 minutes (and that included time to clean the floor after an egg slipped out of my hands).
LEMON CUSTARDS
6 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
21/2 cups heavy whipping cream
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Put egg yolks, eggs and sugar in stainless-steel bowl and whisk until smooth.
Stir in lemon juice and cream. Strain custard base and skim off any air bubbles.
Meanwhile, heat large saucepan of water on stove.
Pour custard into 8 (6-ounce) ovenproof ramekins. Put ramekins in ovenproof pan and put pan with ramekins in preheated oven. Fill pan 1/3 to 1/2 full with hot water. (It is easier to fill pan with water when it is already in oven.)
Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake custards about 50 minutes. Custards, when gently shaken, will be set around edges yet have middle area, about size of a quarter, not completely firm.
Refrigerate custards several hours to overnight. Before serving, let custards sit at room temperature 15 minutes.
Yield: 8 servings.
Nutritional information (per serving): Calories 461, (92 percent from fat), fat 47.1 g, protein 4.5 g, carbohydrates 4.3 g, fiber 0.2 g, sodium 86 g, calcium 14 g
Source: "Stars Desserts" by Emily Luchetti (Quill, $22.50)
MJ'S MISTAKEN BROWNIES
These are cakey brownies that come from a California family originally from Nebraska.
Butter to grease pan, plus 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla
6 heaping tablespoons cocoa
11/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 11-by-17-inch pan.
In bowl, blend sugar and 3/4 cup butter until well-combined and smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time.
Add vanilla, scraping down batter to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
Sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix only until mixture comes together and there are no longer any yellow streaks.
Add batter to prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes in preheated oven, checking after 28 minutes. Remove from oven once a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. (If you wait for toothpick to come out clean, you will have overbaked brownies.)
Yield: About 12 brownies.
Nutritional information (per serving, assuming 1 brownie): Calories 375 (58 percent from fat), fat 24.1 g, protein 8.2 g, carbohydrates 31.1 g, fiber 0.2 g, sodium 344 g, calcium 10 g.
Source: Mary Jo Griffith Smet, Costa Mesa, Calif.
MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKES
5 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
11/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Butter 6 (3/4-cup) ramekins or custard cups.
Stir chocolate and 10 tablespoons butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted. Cool slightly.
Whisk eggs and egg yolks in large bowl to blend. Whisk in sugar, then chocolate mixture and flour. Pour batter into in equal portions into prepared cups. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)
Bake cakes until sides are set but center remains soft and runny, about 11 minutes or up to 14 minutes for batter that was refrigerated. Run small knife around cakes to loosen. Immediately turn cakes out onto plates. Serve with ice cream.
Yield: 6 cakes.
Nutritional information (per serving, assuming 6 servings): Calories 435, (95 percent from fat), fat 45.9 g, protein 2.2 g, carbohydrates 3.0 g, fiber 0.3 g, sodium 21 g, calcium 19 g
Source: Bon Appetit, January 2001
TWO-BIT WONDERS
Butter to grease
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 cups shredded coconut, preferably unsweetened
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease or line with parchment 1 large or 2 small baking sheets.
In medium-sized bowl, combine condensed milk and coconut.
Drop mixture by tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake 13-14 minutes in preheated oven, until cookies are set and coconut is golden brown.
Remove from oven and transfer to rack to cool.
Yield: 15 cookies.
Nutritional information (per serving, assuming 1 cookie): Calories 250, (87 percent from fat), fat 24.1 g, protein 5.2 g, carbohydrates 3.1 g, fiber 0.5 g, sodium 220 g, calcium 15 g
Source: "The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion" (The Countryman Press, $29.95)
BLUEBERRY CRISP
Butter, flour to prepare pan
For filling:
2 pints (4 generous cups, about 24 ounces) blueberries, cleaned and stemmed; see cook's notes
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice, or 2 drops lemon oil
For topping:
11/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
10 tablespoons butter, melted
Cook's notes: You may use any mixture of fruit; peach slices combined with blueberries are wonderful.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9-inch pie pan.
Prepare filling: Put berries in prepare pan. Mix sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice together, and sprinkle mixture over berries.
Prepare topping: In medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together flour, salt, sugar and melted butter. Sprinkle topping over fruit.
Bake crisp 45-50 minutes in preheated oven, until top is golden and filling is bubbly. Cool slightly, then serve warm, with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Yield: 10 servings.
Nutritional information (per serving): Calories 320, (48 percent from fat), fat 17 g, protein 11.7 g, carbohydrates 31.1 g, fiber 1.2 g, sodium 112 g, calcium 15 g
Source: "The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion" (The Countryman Press, $29.95)
STRAWBERRIES IN RED WINE
You can serve these strawberries with ice cream, whipped cream or crisp cookies.
2 pints strawberries, rinsed, stemmed and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/4 cup sugar, plus more as needed
1 cup dry, fruity red wine, such as light-bodied Zinfandel or Sangiovese
In deep, nonreactive bowl, toss strawberries with sugar. If berries are hard and not very sweet, you may need to add a little more sugar.
Add wine, making sure berries are covered.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let berries sit at room temperature at least 1 hour, but no longer than 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve berries with juices.
Yield: 4 cups.
Nutritional information (per serving, assuming 1/2 cup serving): Calories 297, (12 percent from fat), fat 3.9 g, protein 5 g, carbohydrates 60.1 g, fiber 2.1 g, sodium 56 g, calcium 8 g
Source: Fine Cooking, July 2000
ROASTED STRAWBERRIES
This is a child-friendly version of the Strawberries in Red Wine recipe. As the strawberries roast, their juice thickens into a beautiful sweet sauce that's perfect with ice cream or whipped cream.
1 quart (about 1 pound) ripe, fresh strawberries, hulled
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Position rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Toss strawberries in bowl with sugar. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet and roast, stirring every 5 minutes, until they're soft and fragrant, about 15 minutes total.
Transfer baking sheet to rack to cook 5 minutes, then scrape berries with sauce into small bowl.
Refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours or up to a day. Spoon over ice cream or drizzle with whipping cream.
Yield: About 13/4 cups.
Nutritional information (per serving, assuming 3 servings): Calories 211 (8 percent from fat), fat 1.8 g, protein 4.7 g, carbohydrates 44.2 g, fiber 2.1 g, sodium 48 g, calcium 9 g
Source: Fine Cooking, June/July 2005
YOUR FAVORITE JAMMIES
These are wonderfully buttery shortbread "cookies" spread with a layer of jam. You'll want to use a stiff jam, not anything runny. And this would be a great place to use a package of European-style butter because its flavor will really come through.
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
Optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
21/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
11/4 cups jam or preserves
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans.
In medium-sized bowl, cream together 1 cup butter, salt, sugar and vanilla, then beat in flour.
Divide dough in half and press it into prepared pans, smoothing surface with your fingers. Prick dough with fork.
Bake shortbread 35-40 minutes, until golden brown around edges. Remove from oven and loosen edges with knife. Wait 5 minutes, then carefully turn shortbread out onto clean work surface, all in 1 piece.
With sharp knife or pizza wheel, cut each round into 12 wedges. (Do this while shortbread is still warm; if you wait until it's cool, it won't cut easily.) Transfer wedges to rack to cool completely.
Crumble 2 shortbread wedges into small bowl and set aside. Spread remaining wedges with thick layer of jam. Sprinkle reserved crumbs lightly over jam.
Yield: 22 wedges.
Nutritional information (per serving, assuming 1 wedge): Calories 283, (60 percent from fat), fat 18.8 g, protein 7 g, carbohydrates 21.3 g, fiber 0.3 g, sodium 47 g, calcium 11 g
Source: "The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion" (The Countryman Press, $29.95)
HARRIS RANCH PECAN DROPS
Butter to grease
21/2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
11/2 pounds coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup (about 3-4) egg whites
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 baking sheets or line them with foil or parchment paper.
In large bowl, beat together brown sugar, salt, vanilla and pecans on low speed. (I like to use paddle attachment of my stand mixer.)
Once ingredients are well-incorporated, increase speed to medium-low and add egg whites in slow stream. Beat 4-5 minutes.
Drop batter by rounded tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes in preheated oven, until edges are lightly browned. Remove immediately to cool on racks.
Yield: 2 dozen cookies.
Nutritional information (per serving, assuming 1 cookie): Calories 220, (60 percent from fat), fat 14.6 g, protein 8.7 g, carbohydrates 8.2 g, fiber 0.5 g, sodium 187 g, calcium 8 g
Source: Harris Ranch Inn & amp; Restaurant, Coalinga