How is your sweet tooth this busy season?
We all have one, you know that right? Everyone has a sweet craving of some sort from time to time, even if they’d rather not admit it. There is no way around it, we were just built that way. What do you crave? Sweet and salty, chocolaty, fruity? Don’t let a busy fall schedule stand between you and a tasty treat. You can do dessert even on a busy weeknight.
So many choices in flavors and just as many choices in how much work you want to do to get those flavors. Let’s face it, we are heading into a very busy time of year, but dessert does not have to be a forgotten pleasure. Even if all you do is pull a carton of ice cream out of the freezer and serve a scoop with your favorite gluten-free cookie, dessert has just got to be a part of your week.
It’s Wednesday evening and you have a sudden craving for chocolate! How do you satisfy this craving? Simple, chocolate pudding but not just the boxed mix variety, you want rich and smooth chocolate pudding like grandma used to make. Am I right? Oh, it is so easy to create in your own kitchen in just a few minutes. Sure, it takes a few more minutes than a boxed mix, but I promise you it’s well worth your few minutes of time. It is amazing!
Not craving chocolate tonight (I know, shocking, but it does happen)? Something a bit more fruity sound better? Around my house, that would mean it’s time for Blueberry Crisp. My husband loves blueberries, so when I can incorporate them into a dessert he can have with vanilla ice cream I do. This crisp comes together quickly and is wonderful hot out of the oven. This is one of those desserts that you can make up as you sit down to dinner and have ready to go when you are clearing the table.
Who doesn’t love a Caramel Apple? Yes, the ones in the recipe and pictured here are quite labor intensive and not really a quick fix for a weeknight dessert. They do look good though, don’t they? Why not take a few shortcuts and have them anyway?
Simply take the instructions for each of the “layers” of flavor in this recipe, make them up and dip apple slices into the caramel, chocolate and chopped peanuts. Little bites of chocolaty, caramely (yes, I did just make up a new word there), salty peanuty (OK, make that two words) goodness! Sound good? It sure does to me. I think this one fits all of the cravings mentioned earlier in this article. You have your fruit, chocolate and your salt factor in one luscious bite of heaven!
There are so many tasty treats you could make for a quick midweek dessert, follow your cravings and get creative. Do you have ice cream? How about a few gluten-free cookies? Why not make your own ice cream sandwiches? Add a few sprinkles and you have a fun treat for any kid.
To make one of my favorite quick desserts I take a scoop of vanilla ice cream, top it with a sliced banana, some chopped up peanuts and some hot fudge sauce for an out of this world banana split sundae. What could be better? Sweet, salty and fruity…not to mention loaded with as much chocolate as my craving demands.
Get creative and don’t forget to treat yourself and your family to a little dessert during the week. Everything in moderation, right? Besides, you always have room for dessert!
