College Cooking 101

Desserts true fruit of chef's labors

Sitting through a fancy dinner can be fun for some. For most, however, it is the food served after dinner concludes that truly is important. Once the dinner dishes have been washed and the table is clear, the best part of the night can take place — dessert.

It doesn't take a professionally trained pastry chef to produce delicious and impressive desserts. The options are endless; from cakes and cookies to brownies and smoothies, it's not difficult to make an impression with desserts.

Desserts don't have to take hours to make, either. There are plenty of recipes for simple desserts that taste great and can be made within an hour. Whipping something up in between studying or cleaning is possible if the dessert is easy to make. Although fruit may be something one only thinks of eating as a snack in between bigger meals, it also makes for a great dessert. Here are two recipes for easy-to-make desserts, bringing in fruit flavors to end a great meal.

Bananas Foster

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 6 minutes

2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
Ground cinnamon
Ground nutmeg
1 banana, peeled and sliced

Place medium-sized sauté pan over medium heat and add butter and sugar. After mixture has melted, add cream, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. Stir occasionally for four minutes. Remove from heat and stir in bananas.

Yield: 2 servings

Applesauce Bars

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 6 minutes

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup applesauce
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons margarine, melted
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar and egg until smooth. Stir in applesauce. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice – stir into the applesauce mixture until well blended. Spread evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Cool in the pan over a wire rack. In a small bowl, mix together the confectioners' sugar and margarine. Stir in vanilla and milk until smooth. Spread over cooled bars before cutting into squares.

Yield: 20 bars

Recipes courtesy of "Date Plate" on The Learning Channel
and cookie.allrecipes.com/az/pplscBrs.