Banana-Caramel Coconut Cream Pie with Dark Rum

Prep Time: 46 minutes
Cool Time: 3 hours
Grade: B

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (May 2004)

I didn't feel like making this look pretty, so I skipped the whipped cream and coconut on top. It was good, but I don't think it would be my first choice for a cream pie. (That would be the chocolate version.) I love coconut, but I'm not sure if I love coconut cream. I did really like the crust with the bananas and caramel. I actually ended up not eating much of the cream part, because it just wasn't too exciting to me (or worth the calories.)

The prep time would have probably been less, or included a break while waiting for things to cool. I took longer because I burned my first caramel. I've only done caramels two times before (the Turtle Brownies and Caramels) and both times I didn't cook the caramel enough. The problem though, is that this was a small amount, so didn't take much time at all to make.

I tried to use all the correct ingredients since it was my first time with this recipe, but I didn't want to get unsweetened coconut when I had sweetened on hand. Also, my rum wasn't dark.

I should mention I made a half recipe and put it in a 7.5" pie plate. I thought the crust might not be enough so I used a few extra animal crackers. This was a mistake, because the crumbs were a bit too dry and I couldn't make the crust as sturdy as I would have liked. It was also too thick on the sides, so a simple half recipe would have worked fine.

This is a good recipe, but not an "A" for me just because of my taste buds more than anything else.

Lemon Cheesecake

Crust Time: 7 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Cool Time: 30 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours (1 hour with oven off)
Curd Time: 15 minutes
Cool Time: 6 hours

Grade: A+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Baking Illustrated

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (May 2003)

Some of the above can happen at the same time. The work time is between 30 and 45 minutes. That is probably slightly longer than most cheesecakes, but it includes a lemon curd for the top of the cheeecake. Most of the time is baking and cooling.

This is a very nice cheesecake. I made it in a 7" spring form pan, which works well with a half recipe.

Triple Citrus Bars

Crust Prep: 8 minutes
Crust Bake: 18-20 minutes
Filling Prep: 18 minutes
Filling Bake: 15-20 minutes
Cool Time: 3+ hours

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated Magazine (July 2006)

I sometimes cut bar cookies with a biscuit cutter and decorate the top, and I thought that would be nice with this bar cookie. However, the reality was that it was very hard to get the dessert out in one piece. The bottom separated from the top, and the top didn't look as pretty as I had to push on it. If I had biscuit cutters without handles on top, I could push up from the bottom and it would probably work better. I tired with a flower shaped cookie cutter and it almost worked, but a petal or two broke off.

No matter how they look, these taste great. They are not too sweet, and not too tangy (because of the orange mixed in.) Sometimes citrus desserts can taste a little metallic to me, but this is not the case with this dessert. I love the little flecks of zest that you can see in the bars.