Make It Fast, Cook It Slow (36 page)

S
ome of my favorite dishes I’ve ever prepared in the slow cooker have been the desserts. Our family was blown away by the chocolate mousse, cheesecake, crème brûlée, and the apple dumplings. You must give them a try.

APPLE CRISP

serves
6

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Spray the inside bottom and sides of your stoneware with cooking spray. Peel, core, and slice the apples and plop them into the crock. Cube the butter and dot on top. Add the orange juice,
¹
/
₃
cup brown sugar, and vanilla. Toss to combine with the apples. Smash up your topping of choice and combine with the remaining 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Sprinkle on top of the apple concoction. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, or until the apples are sufficiently tender. If you like your crumb topping crunchy (I do!), broil the uncovered stoneware on the lowest rack of your oven for 4 to 7 minutes, or use a kitchen torch. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

APPLE DUMPLINGS

serves
6
to
8

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Spray your stoneware with cooking spray. If you are using the refrigerated crescent rolls, roll out the little triangles and fill each one with an apple slice or two and roll it up. If you are using the gluten-free dough, do the same thing. Pile the crock high with all of your little dumpling guys.

Melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave, and stir in the sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Pour over dumplings, making sure to get it down into the nooks and crannies. Then add 1 cup of Mountain Dew—it will make a delightful bubbly sound! Cover, but prop lid with a wooden spoon or chopstick, and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours, or until the dough is brown and cooked through. Serve with ice cream, or eat as is. The leftovers make a great breakfast.

GLUTEN-FREE CRESCENT DOUGH

The Ingredients

The Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dough ingredients and mix with a handheld or stand mixer until a ball of dough forms. Dump the dough onto a layer of plastic wrap. Wrap tightly, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

When the time has elapsed, pinch off sections of dough and flatten with your hands, then roll the apples inside as described in the recipe. The dough will be lumpier and thicker than traditional crescent roll dough; that’s okay.

BANANAS FOSTER

serves
4

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 2-quart slow cooker. Place the bananas into a plastic ziplock bag, and smash. Squeeze the banana pulp into the stoneware. Add the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and brandy. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, or on high for 1 to 2 hours. Serve over vanilla ice cream.

The Verdict

I didn’t light this on fire. I wasn’t interested in testing out our insurance policy, and we don’t live on a cruise ship. It was very tasty, and I stirred the leftovers into my morning oatmeal. The kids ate their ice cream plain—the bananas tasted a bit alcoholy.

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE

serves
4

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker and an oven-safe dish or individual ramekins. In a large glass bowl, mix all ingredients for the filling, except the blueberries. Wash and stem the blueberries, then toss into the bowl with the filling. Set aside. In a different glass bowl, add the dry ingredients to the melted butter, and mix. The crumbs will be moist and crumbly.

Place the oven-safe dish or individual ramekins into your stoneware. Spray the dish or ramekins with cooking spray. Divide the blueberry filling evenly among the ramekins, or into the inserted dish, and top with the crumb topping. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 5 hours, removing the lid of the slow cooker during the last 45 minutes or so to crisp up the topping. Your dessert is finished when the crumb topping has set.

BREAD PUDDING

serves
6

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 2-quart slow cooker. In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Add bread cubes. Stir in the dried fruit. Pour the mixture into a greased stoneware insert. Cover (no need to prop open lid) and cook on low for 3 to 5 hours, or on high for 2 to 3 hours. Your bread pudding is finished when the top has browned, and you can push on the pieces of bread without too much liquid squirting out. If desired, add raw sugar to the very top and caramelize with a kitchen torch. I appreciate how I can use the end pieces of a loaf of bread and sneak in some ground-up flax without notice.

CARAMEL APPLES

makes
4
large apples

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 2-quart slow cooker. Unwrap the caramel candies, and add them and 2 tablespoons of water to the crock. Cover and cook on high for 1 to 2 hours, checking every 20 minutes or so. The caramel is ready when it is shiny and can be stirred easily. Insert popsicle sticks into the stem end of the apples. Use a spoon to ladle the caramel over each apple, and swirl to completely cover the whole thing. Dip each apple into chopped nuts or sprinkles, if desired. Let cool on parchment paper. They are super messy—get the wipies ready!

CHEESE CAKE

serves
8

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker and a heat-resistant dish that will fit all the way into your stoneware for the cheesecake. You are going to create a bain-marie, or water bath. I used a 1½-quart Corningware dish and it fit nicely into my 6-quart oval. In a plastic ziplock bag, beat the crackers into crumbs with a rolling pin. Put a cup of the crumbs into a medium bowl, and add the melted butter and brown sugar. Stir until the mixture is wet and crumbly. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the dish.

In a separate bowl, cream the cheese, sugar, eggs, flour, cream, and vanilla with a handheld or stand mixer. Pour the cheese mixture on top of the crust. Lick the bowl. Add ½ to 1 cup of water to the bottom of your slow cooker. Lower the dish into the stoneware, being careful not to slosh wa
ter into your cheesecake. Cover and cook on high for 2 to 3 hours, checking after 1 hour. Your cheesecake is done when the edges are no longer shiny and have set. Touch the cheesecake lightly—you shouldn’t get a bunch of gook on your finger. Unplug the cooker. Let the cheesecake sit in the cooling cooker for an hour, before removing and transferring it to the refrigerator. Chill in the refrigerator for about 2 hours before cutting and serving.

The Verdict

This was a complete success. I couldn’t get enough. I had weird hallucinations of being a cross between Homer Simpson—“Mmmm. Cheesecake”—and Rose from the
Golden Girls
—“Nothing can’t be fixed with cheesecake.” I was quite pleased that the texture was moist and gooey, yet perfectly set and just like a good-quality cheesecake.