Fresh Easy Gnocchi

Guh...Juh... what's that you say? Pinocchio? No, it's Gnocchi! If you've never heard of it don't worry, its not exactly a standard household staple just yet. (Not in the US anyway.) Gnocchi (pronounced 'Nyo-kee') is an Italian potato pasta that is quickly gaining popularity for it's delicious flavor and unusual shape. It can be sauteed, baked or added to soup. Basically anything you can do with pasta you can do with gnocchi!

Fresh pasta always starts out as a dough and gnocchi is no different. Gnocchi dough is made by kneading mashed potato with egg, olive oil, salt and flour. The finished dough should not be sticky but very silky and smooth. I use instant mashed potatoes made from potato pearls, as they the perfect consistency. I save myself the work of mashing, and I don't have a ricer to make super smooth mashed potatoes. The traditionalist would boil a couple russets until super soft, and peel then mash while still hot. The mashed potato needs to be very warm/hot to help absorb the flour and other ingredients.

Then comes the fun! It's play dough time. The little kid deep down inside gets to come out as you roll the dough into long 'snakes' and then cut it into small pieces.

Here's a fun fact about pasta: It's different shapes are mean to 'hold' different types of sauces. For example, long thin strand pasta like spaghetti or fettuccine is for silky, thin sauces with small bits of food. Tubular or shelled pastas are shaped to hold chunkier, thicker sauces.

Gnocchi have 'ribs' or 'grooves' pressed into them so that they too can hold pasta sauce. They are very versatile and can be used for thin or thick sauce (ragu).  If you find you really like to make gnocchi at home, you can be super authentic and get a gnocchi board (a small hand-held wooden board with grooves that run the length). I'm all about saving money and prefer to use something we all have in the kitchen: a dinner fork.

Something I really love about making gnocchi at home is that I can make a huge batch and freeze them for

later. After rolling ridges into the gnocchi, skip the boiling step and simply lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Pop then in the freezer for about an hour. Scoop them into freezer bags by the handful and you've got a great versatile pasta ready to become a fast weeknight meal! When you're ready to use them, plop them strait into a boiling pot of water, or even spread them out on a baking sheet and cook them in a 350 degree oven for about 8 to 10 minutes for a crispy exterior (which is my favorite way to eat them). I hope you have fun creating these cuties at home. I'll be sharing my favorite recipe for baked gnocchi in my next post, so make sure you follow my blog so you don't miss it :0)

Homemade Gnocchi

by The Goldilocks Kitchen

Prep Time: 45 minuts

Cook Time: 5 minutes

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Ingredients (2 servings)

• 2 cups prepared instant mashed potatoes
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup flour
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt

Instructions

1.Place the very warm mashed potato on a heavily floured surface. Sprinkle 1/2 cup flour around the edges of the mashed potato. Add the egg yolk, salt and oil in a small depression or 'well' in the center of the mashed potato and begin to incorporate with a fork. When thoroughly mixed, begin incorporating flour into the potato mixture by hand.

2. Knead dough, adding more and more flour until the dough is no longer sticky and very smooth and soft. Pull a small handful of dough away and roll it into a long skinny 'snake' on your work surface approximately 1/2 inch in diameter. With a sharp knife or a bench scraper, cut the dough into 3/4 to 1 inch-sized pieces. Repeat with all the remaining dough.

3. Set a large pot of generously salted water on the stove to boil. With a fork, press and roll dough pieces along the tines (starting at the top and rolling downward) to create ridges all around each piece of pasta. At this point some prefer to let them sit out for an hour to dry and firm up a bit. But they are just fine to cook immediately too. Place the gnocchi into salted boiling water (in batches if needed, so as not to crowd the pot). When they float to the top they are done, so scoop them out with a slotted spoon. Place them in another bowl with ice water.

4. When all the gnocchi have been cooked and placed in the ice water, drain the water and drizzle olive oil over the gnocchi or a large spoonful of your sauce and toss to coat. This prevents the pasta from sticking together. Store in the fridge covered with a plate, not plastic wrap, for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, make or heat your sauce, add the gnocchi and warm on the stove top or oven. Serve.

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Baja Fish Tacos

Low-Calorie Fish Tacos~ Perfect for a weeknight meal and full of flavor.
 Recipe adapted from the Biggest Looser ranch.

My Baja Fish Taco recipe marinates the fish with savory spices and lime juice. If you purchase pre-shredded cabbage and cheese, assembly is super fast. Each taco is only 140 calories! You'll enjoy making this simple recipe and feel good about eating healthy too.

I've had the fortunate opportunity to visit Cabo San Lucas, a city on the southern tip of Baja California in Mexico, while cruising down the Mexican coast. Sitting down at a table on the sandy beach, I ordered a plate of fish tacos. As I was relaxing under the umbrella, waiting for my food, some obnoxious announcer with a microphone from the bar next door ordered us all to move our tables off the beach immediately! 

He wanted a 'runway' for his contestants to race into the surf and see who could exchange their swimwear the fastest (hiding their naked parts in the water). Some of my friends were pretty upset and resisted moving; after all, we were there first! Well, they ended up getting into a yelling match with the announcer and before our food was ready we left the restaurant. (A tidbit of wisdom: never get into an argument with someone holding a live microphone.) Such a bummer, I was so looking forward to my fish tacos! I honestly wouldn't have minded moving off the beach, but I can understand why the others in my group were ticked off.

Long after returning home, I came across a recipe for fish taco's that sounded delicious and was low in calories. Baja Fish Tacos is my adaptation to a recipe originally made at the Biggest Looser ranch. The crazy story of what happened that afternoon long ago in Cabo gave rise to the name for this recipe. At the ranch they use whole grain tortillas but I prefer the traditional crunchy taco shell, which admittedly is the less healthy option (about the same in calories but higher in fat). However, these tacos are delicious and still on the healthy side with 140 calories per taco! 

Baja Fish Tacos

by The Goldilocks Kitchen

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 to 12 minutes

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Ingredients (8 tacos)

Fish

• 1 pound of orange roughy or other boneless, skinless fish fillet
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Tacos

• 8 crunchy taco shells or whole grain tortillas
• 1/2 avocado, diced and lightly mashed
• 1/2 cup tomato salsa
• 1/3 cup shredded low-fat Mexican cheese blend
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 and 1/2 cups finely shredded cabbage
• Hot sauce (optional)

Instructions

1. Place fish in a single layer in a dish. Sprinkle with lime juice, paprika, salt, pepper and chili powder. Cover and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes to marinate the fish.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a large piece of aluminum foil on a rimmed baking sheet. Spray the foil with cooking spray. Place the fish on the foil in a single layer. Bend the edges of the foil up just a bit to create a shallow rim around the fish (to prevent fish juices from leaking out). Bake fish for 10 to 15 minutes or until internal temp reaches 145 degrees.

3. Divide the fish evenly between the 8 tacos. Divide the avocado, salsa, cilantro, cabbage and hot sauce also between each taco. Serve.

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Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Anyone that knows me knows my absolute favorite treat ever is chocolate dipped strawberries. I have to credit Sallysbakingaddiction.com for this fantastic recipe for Strawberry Chocolate Chip cookies. She has a fabulous blog and I recommend you check it out. I got a little side tracked when I found this recipe and jumped off the diet bandwagon for a bit. But it's all good, I'll just be jumping right back on...

Sally has discovered a fabulous technique for using boxed cake mixes to make cookies~ genus idea for sure. These cookies would be perfect for a Valentines day treat, or heck, whenever you want to treat yourself! 

These cookies will bake up very very soft and it's important to let them cool on the baking sheet a bit before removing them to a cooling rack. I think they look much cuter when chocolate chips are actually pressed into the tops of each dough ball before baking, and I've specified that in the recipe. I usually put more chocolate chips in my chocolate chip cookie recipes than is called for, because I am a professed chocoholic. But I actually found that less is more when using the strawberry cake batter. I found my taste buds overwhelmed with chocolatiness and I wanted to taste more of the strawberry flavor, so I re-wrote the recipe a bit to reflect my tastes. You will love how simple and quickly these cookies will go from a picture to your plate. Gotta try em! 

Enjoy :0)

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

by The Goldilocks Kitchen

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 to 12 minutes

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Ingredients (2 dozen)

• 1 box of strawberry cake mix
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips for garnish

Instructions

1. Adjust oven racks to upper middle and lower middle position. Set oven temp to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cake mix and baking powder.

3. In a smaller bowl, or a stand mixer bowl, mix eggs, oil, and vanilla. Slowly incorporate the dry cake mix into the wet ingredients. The dough will be stiff. Mix in 1 cup of chocolate chips.

4. Place cookie dough balls on prepared baking sheets. Press the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips into the tops of the dough balls.

5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating your baking sheets from upper to lower and spinning back to front. Pull them out if you see any cookies begin to brown. ( There's nothing wrong with a touch of brown, they just don't look as pretty.) Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. They will be very soft. Serve.

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Skinny Oven-Fried Fish with Tartar Sauce

This popular dish is great if you're looking for lots of flavor, but not lots of calories. Typical oven fried fish have anywhere from 500 to 700+ calories per serving and 50 grams of fat! This recipe for Skinny Oven-Fried Fish with Tartar Sauce is just 260 calories and 8 grams of fat per serving (two fillets and 3 tablespoon serving of tartar sauce). Gotta love it!

If you can afford the Halibut this recipe calls for, then go for it. (it's dad gum expensive!!) It's nice and meaty and doesn't release a whole lot of juice when baking, which can sometimes make a crust soggy. Personally I would go with a less expensive alternative like cod or Haddock. The photo above happens to be Swai, since it was on sale that day :0)

Skinny Oven-Fried Fish with Tartar Sauce cuts on the calories and fat in several ways. The fish is only breaded on the top and sides, since the bottom inherently will get soggy anyway, it's just eliminated. Next, the homemade tartar sauce is made with low-fat mayonnaise, and flavored fantastically with sweet pickles, capers, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and shallot. It's by far my favorite tartar sauce and I usually double it so I have lots left over for other fish recipes. The fish is then coated with the tartar sauce before being coated with the bread crumbs, so the sauce acts like a barrier to keep the moisture of the fish from ruining the crunchy baked crust. Plus the flavors of the sauce lend themselves to the fish too.

If you've never cooked with capers, or have never even heard of them,
then let me introduce you! I love discovering new foods, and capers

are one of my new favorites. Capers are little edible flower buds that are picked and pickled (by Peter Piper along with his peppers ha ha ha :0). They can be found growing all around the Mediterranean and are a popular ingredient for many ethnic dishes. They have quite a distinct taste, and I especially love them in this recipe and another I make for breaded lemon chicken (which will be appearing soon on the The Goldilocks Kitchen). Don't be afraid to try them! I find them in little jars along side the roasted red peppers and pickles at the grocery store. Make sure you purchase the ones in a brine solution, not packed in salt.

This is a great recipe to practice your chopping skills, since there are a lot of ingredients that need to be chopped finely. Use a very sharp chef's knife. It's actually safer than using a dull one. The blade is less likely to slip and cut you.

 Here is my fish operation: 1. Prepared Fish, 2. Flour Dredge, 3. Egg-Tartar sauce mixture, 4. Bread crumbs

This recipe can also double as a great make ahead freezer meal. Once you've breaded your fish, lay them out flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper and place them in the freezer. Once they are frozen you can then gently place them in ziplock freezer bags. Bake them on the wire rack as instructed in the recipe, changing the temperature to 425 degrees and baking them for 30 to 35 minutes or until the fish is fully cooked. Here's a handy food temp chart courtesy of the FDA:

I hope you love this recipe and that it becomes a regular on your table. It's big on taste and small on calories. Enjoy it!

Skinny Oven-Fried Fish with Tartar Sauce

by The Goldilocks Kitchen

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 10 to 12 minutes

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Ingredients (4 to 6)

Tartar Sauce

• 1 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped sweet pickles, plus 2 teaspoons juice
• 1 tablespoon drained capers, minced
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon minced shallot
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper

Oven-Fried Fish

• 3 slices hearty white sandwich bred, torn into pieces
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 tablspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds Halibut or other white meat fish

Instructions

1. Whisk all ingredients for tartar sauce together in a bowl, adding a pinch of salt and ground pepper.

2. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Pulse the bread in a food processor to make your own bread crumbs. Bake the bread crumbs on a rimmed baking sheet in the oven for about 6 to 8 minutes watching carefully and stirring often until golden.

Transfer the toasted bread crumbs to a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, combine 1/4 cup of tartar sauce, 1/4 cup of flour, egg whites, mustard, parsley, and cayenne pepper until fully incorporated. In a third dish, place the remaining 1/4 cup flour, salt and pepper and stir to evenly incorporate.

3. Once you are done baking the bread crumbs, raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Prepare to bake the fish by lining a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place a wire rack inside the baking sheet over the foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. (Don't forget this step; it's important!)

Pat the fish dry with paper towels. One at a time, dredge fish fillets lightly in flour, then top and sides in the tartar-egg mixture, and lastly press top and sides into the bread crumbs. Transfer the fillet to the wire rack (crumb side up) and continue with the rest of the fillets. Just before popping them in the oven, spray them all lightly with cooking spray. Bake until the crumbs are golden brown and the fish is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve with the remaining tartar sauce.

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Big and Chewy Low-fat Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love sneaky healthy recipes. You know what I mean, the ones that are so delicious you have no idea it's healthy or low-calorie/low-fat? If you're one of the millions who've made new years' resolutions to get healthy, then you will welcome this recipe for Big and Chewy, Low-Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies. With 120 Calories, 3 grams of fat/2 grams saturated fat each, you can absolutely reward yourself with one of these cookies and stay within your daily calorie allowance. No guilt!

The sun highlights melty chocolate chips on
Big and Chewy Low-Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Here at the Goldilocks Kitchen, I regularly cook with real butter, and add a generous amount of salt, pepper and other seasonings to my food. I make no excuses for it, I want to make and eat savory and delicious food. However, I had to change my ways last summer when my husband joined a special weight-loss program called 'The Biggest Winner'. (Yes, obviously based after a very popular TV show with a similar name.) He was limited to 1500 calories a day, and a daily work out with his team made his already busy days even more demanding. Since I packed his lunches and made dinner most nights, who ended up doing most of the calorie counting?
Me :0) 

So often recipes labeled 'healthy' are void of flavor,
making eating them about as joyful as eating cardboard. I found some fantastically delicious recipes that didn't sacrifice flavor for health factor. Our favorites will be featured over the next few weeks on The Goldilocks Kitchen to help you reach your healthy goals! Starting with Big and Chewy, Low-Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I enjoy this recipe so much that it's become my go-to recipe whenever I get a hankerin' for chocolate chip cookies. And the dough is the best part- I'm totally a raw-egg cookie dough addict. It will probably kill me someday. But hey, we all choose our poison right?  Muahahaha.... :0) 

The main reason this recipe is so stinkin' good is that much
of the butter in a standard chocolate chip cookie is replaced with.....

Browned butter. It makes your kitchen
smell yummy!

drum roll......dates! In this recipe you'll learn how to create a date puree to cut back on fat and calories. AND they're delicious too. The second reason you'll love this recipe is that the rest of the butter you do use will be browned on the stove top. If you've never done it before, just check out the picture of the melted butter at right and let that be your guide. You simply melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat, swirling often, until the aroma smells a bit nutty and the butter browns. (The color pictured is what you're aiming for.) You'll see darker particles sink to the bottom~ those are just fat molecules getting cooked and is normal. I love what browned butter does for cookie recipes. It adds a really fantastic depth of flavor.

Learning these two techniques will be a great help for you on your journey to becoming a culinary expert. By the way, my husband lost about 30 pounds in 3 months and won second place in the competition! I was so proud of him :0)

And I'm sure it had nothing to do with these Low-Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies. (Wink, wink.)

Big and Chewy Low-Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies

by The Goldilocks Kitchen

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 to 18 minutes

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Ingredients (18 cookies)

• 1 cup water
• 4 tablespoons chopped dates
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoons table salt
• 1 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Set oven temperature to 325 degrees. to Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan and add the dates. Simmer, uncovered, until most of the water has evaporated and the dates are tender, about 18 to 20 minutes.

2. While the dates are simmering, whisk flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Place butter in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, gently swirling often, until aroma becomes nutty and the butter is brown, about 4 minutes. (If you are using a dark or nonstick pan, pour out the butter into a heatproof bowl to properly assess the color and whether the butter is sufficiently cooked or not. I do this two or three times to make sure I have the right color.) When done, set aside.

3. When dates are done simmering, remove from heat. Pour contents of saucepan into a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, press the liquid out into the bowl. Discard the liquid and scrape the remaining puree from the strainer into the bowl.

4. With a stand or hand held mixer, beat browned butter, brown sugar and date puree until blended, scraping down the bowl if needed. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture (If using a stand mixer, switch to paddle for this step) and mix on low speed until just combined. Reserve two tablespoons of chocolate chips from the 1/2 cup and set aside. Stir the remaining chips into the dough.

5. Form dough into 18 cookies (about 3 tablespoons each for size) and space 2 inches apart on two baking sheets lined with parchment or wax paper. Press 3 or 4 chocolate chips into the top of each ball of dough. Bake until the edges are light golden brown and the centers are soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating your cookie sheets front to back and upper to lower. Cool cookies on baking sheets. Serve.

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Quick Italian Sausage Dinner

A plate of Quick Italian Sausage Dinner. Look at that color!

I love the intense color and flavor of this recipe. You'll love that it's done in less that 30 minutes. It's a win win combination for any weeknight meal.

No these are not beats. They are purple potatoes :0)

One of the perks of living in Idaho is that we can enjoy an amazing diversity of potatoes.Yes, those really are purple potatoes! Were you as surprised to see purple potatoes as I was? I was very skeptical at first, until I cut into one. I was shocked as deep purple juice dripped onto my cutting board and even more delighted when I opened the potato to reveal an intensely colored flesh. Let me be the first to say they taste great, just like any other potato. I was told to avoid making them into mashed potatoes (the color was unappealing because adding milk, butter, etc. just makes them look grey). Once I knew what to avoid, I decided exactly which dish I would prepare them in.  Quick Italian Sausage Dinner!

Quick Italian Sausage Dinner is one of our new favorite weeknight meals.
It's a savory meat and potatoes dish that is very

quick and easy to prepare. I choose one red bell pepper and an orange or yellow one for a mix of bright colors. The recipe calls for red potatoes, but I wanted to try the purple ones we brought home from the farmer's market. This recipe makes a lot of delicious sauce too, and I love dipping a thick slice of crusty bread in to sop it up from my dish.

When preparing this recipe, I personally prefer to remove the sausage casings before I cut the meat into chunks. I just take my knife and gently run it down the full length of each sausage and pull it off. If you don't have an extra minute to do this that's totally fine. The casing shrinks a bit when cooked and makes the sausages have a bit of an hour glass shape :0)

This is definitely a recipe in which you should prepare all ingredients (chopping, measuring out etc.) before you begin cooking! It goes very fast; but that's the point right? And of course if you don't happen to find purple potatoes at your local supermarket, red potatoes will do just fine :0)

Equipment needed: 12-inch frying or saute pan with a well fitting lid, and a microwave safe mixing bowl.

Quick Italian Sausage Dinner

by The Goldilocks Kitchen

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

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Ingredients (4 servings)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 pound red potatoes, cut into 1-inch wedges
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 2 bell peppers, cored and sliced thin (any combination of red, orange or yellow)
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 cup chicken broth or stock
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 1 tablespoon of sherry or balsamic vinegar

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat until it's just smoking. Add the sausage pieces and brown lightly on all sides, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

2. While the sausage is browning, place the potatoes in a microwave safe bowl and add a tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt and ground pepper (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon each). Toss to coat, cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high until potatoes begin to soften, 5 to 7 minutes, shaking the bowl (without removing the plastic wrap) half way through to help the potatoes mix and cook evenly.

3. Once the sausages have been removed from the skillet, drain off all but one tablespoon of the fat from the skillet. Add the bell peppers and onions and saute over medium high heat until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and garlic, and cook for about 30 seconds.

4. Stir in the broth, and oregano, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom. (If you are using a nonstick pan there won't be any.) Bring to a simmer. Nestle sausages and potatoes into the vegetables and cover, reducing the heat to medium low. Cook until the sausages are no longer pink in the middle and the potatoes are soft, 10 to 15 minutes.

5. Stir in the vinegar and season the entire dish with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with slices of baguette or other crusty bread to soak up the savory sauce.

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Yum-Yum Dessert

A lovely slice of Yum-yum dessert to finish off our pick-nick.

This dessert is a classic in my family. Once you make Yum-yum dessert, it's sure to become a favorite for you and your family too!

My husband and his family grew up with this dessert. It's practically a tradition to end Sunday dinner with this tasty treat. It's a bit of a 70's throwback, with toasted coconut sprinkled on top and pistachio or chocolate pudding as part of the filling. A foundation of homemade shortbread with chopped nuts is topped with layers of sweetened cream cheese, pudding, whipped topping and toasted coconut. It's a mix of flavors that are sweet, buttery and delightful.

Here you can see all the layers of flavor in Yum-yum dessert.

At first I struggled with getting the bottom layer of shortbread-like crust to bake correctly in the oven. It's a bit difficult to judge when it's done baking. I made the recipe several times to make sure it would come out just right for you. There are definitely some no-no's when making Yum-yum: Don't melt the butter, just use softened instead. Also the baking time changes quite a bit depending on which type of pan you use. A metal baking pan will shorten your baking time by almost 10 minutes in some ovens. The crust should be firm to the touch and just barely golden brown when done. Make sure you let it cool completely before continuing on to the other layers.

Once you have the shortbread crust baked, making the rest of the dessert is fast and easy. Just make a layer, spread it on, and pop it in the fridge while you make the next layer.

When you serve it to your friends and family, make sure to save a piece for yourself; or you may not get one! It goes fast :0) I hope you enjoy making and eating Yum-yum dessert as much as my family does.

Equipment needed: A 13 by 9 inch casserole dish. A food processor is very handy for making the crust, and a hand-held mixer for whipping up the middle layers. Either one is not essential though , a fork and a whisk work too, it just takes a little longer.

Yum-yum Dessert

by The Goldilocks Kitchen

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 20 to 30 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert American

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Ingredients (15 servings)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 8 separate tablespoons salted sweet cream butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans
• 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup of powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
• 1 12 oz. container of whipped topping such as Cool Whip
• 2 3.9 oz boxes of instant chocolate pudding or (2) 3.4 oz boxes of instant pistachio pudding
• 3 cups of milk
• 1/2 cup of shredded coconut, toasted in the oven for about 5-7 minutes, or until portions turn golden brown.

Instructions

First layer

Set oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, nuts and butter in a food processor. Process until one or two solid clumps of dough form, about 10 seconds. Press into the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking dish using a spoon or by hand.

Bake for 20 minutes if using a metal baking pan, or 25 to 30 minutes if using a glass dish. Remove when the crust has just begun to golden and is firm to the touch. Let cool 20 minutes before proceeding with the other layers.

Second layer

In a mixing bowl, place softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and one cup of whipped topping. Mix until smooth. Spread over crust in pan, and place in the refrigerator.

Third layer

In a mixing bowl, add both pudding packets and milk together. Mix until smooth and thick, about three minutes. Pour and spread out over the cream cheese mixture. Place in the refrigerator.

Fourth layer

Set your oven to 350. on a baking sheet, spread out the coconut. Toast in the oven until portions are golden brown, about 5 minutes. It toasts fast, so watch carefully not to burn it.

While the coconut is toasting, spread the rest of the whip topping over the pudding. When the coconut is done toasting and cooled a bit, sprinkle it over the top. Serve.

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