If you love caramel apples but are cutting down on sugar, make your own with sugar-free caramels.

Werther’s makes delicious sugar-free caramels in regular and chocolate-flavored. Pick up a few bags and get dipping!

You can use the same recipe with regular caramels.
 
 
RECIPE: SUGAR-FREE CARAMEL APPLES

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. INSERT the wooden sticks into the stem end of the apples. Cover a large plate, baking pan, or tray with waxed paper. Lightly grease the paper with butter.

2. COMBINE the caramels and water in a large saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until the caramels are completely melted, stirring constantly.

3. DIP the apples in the melted caramel, spooning additional caramel over the apples if necessary to coat evenly. Place on the buttered paper and allow the excess caramel to drip off.

4. SCRAPE pooled caramel from the bottoms of the apples for neatness. Garnish as desired, then place on a prepared serving plate and refrigerate for 1 hour.

[2] Werther’s makes sugar-free soft chewy caramels and chocolate-flavored chewy caramels (photo courtesy Werther’s Originals).

 
You can also host a candy apple party!
 
 

[2] Take a bite!

[3] Where would dessert be without the incredible, edible egg? (Photo © The Egg Farm.)

Check out the different types of eggs in our Egg Glossary.

See the different types of custard in our Custard Glossary.

World Egg Day was established in 1996 and is celebrated on the second Friday in October.

Since the dawn of the hunter-gatherer, eggs have played a major role in feeding mankind around the globe. They one of nature’s highest quality, and most affordable, sources of protein.

Since this is a global celebration, we’re featuring one of our favorite global recipes with eggs.

No, it’s not egg drop soup (we published an egg drop soup recipe last year). It’s a favorite Cantonese dessert made with eggs: Hong Kong egg tarts.

Walking around the streets of Hong Kong or any Chinatown elsewhere, you’ll see these popular tartlets* through the windows of bakeries.

Whenever we hit New York City’s Chinatown for a dim sum brunch, we look forward to a dessert of Hong Kong Egg Tarts. We like them so much, we buy extras to take home.

The recipe is below.
 
 
THE HISTORY: WHAT ARE HONG KONG EGG TARTS?

Egg tart, dan tat in Cantonese, is sweet tart pastry crust filled with egg custard. It’s essentially fusion food, since custard was created in northern European dairying countries.

Hong Kong egg tarts (also called Chinese egg tarts, but that’s too nonspecific a term given the variety of regional cuisines), are related to Portuguese egg tarts.

The concept arrived in Hong Kong during the 1940s—from, some sources believe, the neighboring island of Macau, which had been colonized by the Portuguese.

According to more likely sources, the egg tart first appeared in Guangzhou (Canton) in the 1920s [source].

There, the local chefs, inspired by western fruit tarts, filled tart pastry with egg custard. As butter was very costly, they used lard crusts instead of making puff pastry.

At the time, there was tough competition between department stores in Guangzhou. To attract customers, the chef of each department store would invent a new dim sum or dessert weekly; hence the initiative that produced these first Chinese egg tarts.

A few decades later, in the 1940s and 1950s, many chefs migrated to Hong Kong and brought the recipe with them.

Portuguese egg tarts—pasteis de nata—scents the custard with cinnamon, in a puff pastry crust. Here’s a recipe.

Both versions taste best when freshly baked and still warmed. Even when we warm the take-out tarts we bring home from Chinatown, they’re a shade less heavenly than those we eat on the spot.

Yet, they’re so easy to make that they can be whipped up to serve regularly at brunch, or with tea and coffee breaks.

In fact, we’re making them both on Saturday and Sunday to serve at brunch. We’ll double the recipe but only cook half on each day.

If you have a source for very good tart or tartlet shells, you can substitute them. The texture isn’t “Hong Kong,” but the overall taste is good.

You can buy Clearbrook Farms’ tartlet and mini-tart shells at Sur La Table, Walmart and elsewhere. We always keep a few boxes in the pantry. You can fill them with berries, pudding, cream cheese and preserves, ice cream, etc. when you need a quick dessert or teatime treat.
 

This recipe was sent to us by The Incredible Egg (the American Egg Board), via All Recipes.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the confectioners’ sugar and flour in a medium bowl. Blend in the butter with a fork, until the mixture comprises small crumbs.

2. STIR in the egg and vanilla until the mixture forms a dough. The texture should be slightly moist. Add more butter if the dough is too dry, or add more flour if the dough seems greasy.

3. SHAPE the dough into 1-1/2 inch balls. Press the balls into fluted tartlet molds to cover the bottom, extending the dough higher than the sides of the molds. Use this technique to place the dough into one tart mold, then tamp it down with an empty mold.

4. PREHEAT the oven to 450°F.

5. COMBINE the white sugar and water in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and cool to room temperature.

6. STRAIN the eggs through a sieve, and whisk into the sugar mixture. Stir in the evaporated milk and vanilla. Strain the filling through a sieve, and fill the tart shells.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown, and the filling is puffed up a little bit.
 
 
*TARTS VS. TARTLETS

To be completely accurate:

Oscar Wilde, the gastropub, has the longest continuous bar in New York City, at 118.5 feet.

There’s a cocktail and spirits list almost as long—such that if we lived or worked in the neighborhood, we’d be tempted to head to the bar every day after work and work through the list.

The restaurant celebrates the acclaimed Irish writer (1854-1900).

The venue should become a tourist destination for literati. If you don’t foresee a trip to Dublin to see the stunning Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture in Merrion Square in Dublin, then Oscar Wilde restaurant in New York City is an opportunity to capture yourself with bronze Oscar Wildes.

There are two photo ops with Oscar: one inside with a standing bronze (photo #1), the other outside, seated on a bench (photo #4).

These bronze Oscars are even better photo ops than Real Oscar’s tombstone, a popular destination in Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris. It is beautiful piece of modern sculpture, but not an image of Wilde (and now, it’s surrounded by a glass wall to keep [more] people from further defacing the monument with lipstick kisses).

But back to the gastropub Oscar Wilde: The interior is a showplace. One expects to see a motion picture or period televisions series in production.

An almost incalculable number of artifacts have been gathered—clocks, marble mantles, fireplaces, carved columns, candelabra, chandeliers, lamps, statuary, paintings, prints, newspaper holders, painted/stained glass, objects d’art. They cover almost every inch of wall space.

You can photos of the rooms here..

The eclectic furnishings look like they may have been a part of Wilde’s milieu—and many could have been, gathered throughout the U.K. and Paris. Others come from points around the globe. The Victorian-style wallpaper was handmade in Mexico, some hand-carved marble is from Vietnam.

An Irish Writers Wall pays homage to the other greats: Beckett, Joyce, Shaw, Yeats, etc.
 
 
DINING AT OSCAR WILDE

While you may have stumbled back into Victorian England visually, don’t expect a corresponding bill of fare.

Oscar Wilde’s food menu does feature traditional dishes such as cottage pie, striped bass, moules frites and Skellig cheddar from Ireland (on a grilled cheese sandwich).

But patrons are more likely to order contemporary items that Wilde never envisioned:

 
There’s something for everyone.

[2] Specialty cocktail menus include both Victorian and Prohibition favorites.

[3] Broccomole: broccoli purée mixed with guacamole. A hit!

Broccoli is puréed into guacamole, served with taro chips: a great marriage of ingredients.

Oscar Wilde is located at 45 West 27th Street, between Broadway and Sixth Avenue.

It’s open from 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m., 7 days a week. There’s a private events room. Phone: 212.213.3066.
 
 

 
[4] Have a drink with Oscar, at Oscar Wilde’s in New York City. Irony: In 1919, following the Volstead Act, the building became Prohibition Enforcement Headquarters. It was later discovered—purportedly—that the federal agents’ phones were bugged by the mob.
  

[2] Baileys is one of a number of pumpkin liqueurs available in the fall (photo courtesy Baileys).

But we overlooked all the other uses for the seasonal spirit. Here, some ideas from Fulton’s Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cream Liqueur. There are many more here for your perusal.

You can substitute apple or spice liqueur for the same seasonal touch.
 
 
BREAKFAST: PUMPKIN FRENCH TOAST RECIPE

You can add a topping of diced apples for a festive brunch dish. Instead of the apple garnish, you can substitute a few roasted pumpkin seeds, toasted nuts, and/or dried fruit: cherries, cranberries, raisins.

Ingredients For 4-6 Servings

 
For Serving

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the apple topping: dice and sauté in butter with a splash of pumpkin liqueur and a dash of pumpkin pie spice. Cover for warmth and set aside.

2. MIX together the milk, liqueur, eggs and brown sugar

3. MELT the butter on a hot griddle or in a pan. Dip the sliced bread into the batter and allow it to soak in, turning if needed.

4. PLACE the battered bread on the griddle and cook until the first side begins to turn golden brown. Flip and repeat on the other side.

5. TOP with the apples or other garnish, or serve them on the side. Serve with butter and syrup.

SNACK OR DESSERT: CARAMEL FRUIT DIP

You can dip fruit, or top desserts with this boozy caramel dip. You can also use it as a garnish with cake or pie…or make [adult] cookie sandwiches.
 
Ingredients

 
Plus

 
Preparation

1. BLEND the cream cheese, brown sugar and powdered sugar with a hand mixer. Add the vanilla and the liqueur.

2. BLEND in the caramel sauce and scoop into a serving dish. Top with the Heath Bits.
Cut up apple (of your choice) to serve with dip.
 
 
DESSERT: PUMPKIN LIQUEUR ICE CREAM #1

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BEAT the eggs with an electric mixer at medium speed. Gradually add the sugar while continuing to mix. Add the liqueur and condensed milk and mix well. Add the half-and-half and mix well.

[4] There’s a good supply of store-bought pumpkin ice cream…but it doesn’t have liqueur (photo courtesy Dolcezza Gelato).

Soften store-bought pumpkin or vanilla ice cream until you can swirl in pumpkin liqueur. Mix and return to the freezer until ready to serve.
  

Chef François Payard has put a seasonal twist on the ubiquitous avocado toast: sweet potato toast!

We love avocado toast, but sweet potato is a good seasonal variation.

Chef Payard suggests that you top your morning toast with a layer of caramelized onions, balsamic vinaigrette and sliced roasted sweet potatoes. We re-created the recipe: It’s easy.

 
And although Chef Payard makes some of the most delicious pastries in the world, he starts the day well. Use whole wheat or mixed whole grain toast, he says.

Make it a crusty loaf, we say.
 
 
RECIPE: SWEET POTATO TOAST

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BAKE the sweet potatoes. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Pierce each potato several times with the tines of a fork and place them on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Bake until al dente, about 35-40 minutes (test with the tines of a fork or the tip of a paring knife). When ready to serve…

2. REMOVE the skins and slice the flesh into 1/2-inch circles.

3. TOAST the bread. Spread the caramelized onions on the toast. Layer the potato slices on top; drizzle with the vinaigrette; garnish with the herbs and serve.

Balsamic vinaigrette can be as simple as one part vinegar to two parts oil. Olive oil is classic; but if you like playing with different flavors, try an infused oil, a nut oil, or whatever you have on the shelf.

For a more complex recipe, try this:
 
 
RECIPE: DELUXE BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE combine the vinegar, mustard and garlic in a small bowl.

2. ADD the oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly; or emulsify in a blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
 
Variations