I have made this hot fudge sauce so many times over the years that I'm pretty sure I could do it blindfolded and with one hand tied behind my back! What I love about this sauce is that it is so reminiscent of my mothers old fashioned Hershey's chocolate fudge, but in a liquid form! This stuff is so very good! Usually when I make it, I will pour the leftovers into small mason jars to pass along to someone else as a treat. I've given it out as Christmas gifts many times as well. It goes together in a snap. If you are having last minute company and need a fast dessert to pull out - this is it! And if you are prone to baking, you probably already have the ingredients in your pantry to make it. I warn you though, it's addicting! Whip this up the next time your family is over for dinner and you'll have them begging you to make more! And I dare you not to lick the spoon after you've stirred it!
HOT FUDGE SAUCE
1 stick butter
6 Tablespoons cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 cup white sugar
6 ounces evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
DIRECTIONS
Combine butter, cocoa powder, salt, sugar, and evaporated milk in medium saucepan over med heat. Still until well combined. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Blend with immersion blender or give it a whir in your stand blender for a minute or two (don't skip this step! It will give you a silky smooth texture to your sauce!) Pour into your serving container and serve immediately, while it's still piping hot, over GOOD ice cream - like Blue Bell. Have the recipe ready to share.
We just ended our Summer Revival Meetings with The Tharp Brothers (Hubby & his brothers!) It was a TREMENDOUS meeting! I love my brother's in law. All 3 of these men are wonderful, Godly men, full of the Holy Ghost. Every time they come here to MO, they are such a blessing to us. Every year they look for something to do for us. This year just before they came, my washer AND dryer BOTH went capoot! Almost simultaneously! I felt awful about it. But appliance repairs just weren't in the budget, just yet. Especially TWO of them! I just made sure to have everything washed up at the Laundromat before they got here. But they, many times will throw their shirts or other personal laundry in while they are here. Well wouldn't you know on their last day here (which is supposed to be a "down" day of relaxing) they get up early and mow the lawn and then they tear into my machines! They fixed the washer! Hallelujah! But the dryer was beyond help. :-( But PTL for Craig's List! Hubby found a nice, very affordable, Kenmore gas dryer on there and now I'm back in business!
Since they are always such a blessing to us, I wanted to make sure to have some of their favorite things while they were here. My brother in law, Russ's favorite pie is Peanut Butter. So this one was for him!
There are at least 3 major variations on Peanut Butter pie. There is the pudding one, the cream cheese one and the chiffon one (made with unflavored gelatin). This the cream cheese one. I think it has the best texture and balance of peanut butter flavor. I didn't get fancy enough to snap a pic of it garnished. But it's a REAL keeper! Goes together in a snap too!
Tomorrow I'll post my other brother in law's favorite pie: Coconut cream!
PEANUT BUTTER PIE
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup Jif creamy peanut butter
1⁄3 cup milk
8 ounces Cool Whip or 2 - 3cups of fresh whipped cream
1 graham cracker pie crust or 1 chocolate crumb crust or 1 baked pie shell.
Directions
Mix all ingredients together and place in pie shell.
Chill for at least an hour before serving.
Can also be frozen.
If desired, garnish with additional whipped topping, drizzle with chocolate syrup, sprinkle with peanuts or crushed peanut butter cups.
These cookies are nostalgic to me. My Grandpa made THEE best oatmeal cookies I've ever had. I am 53 years old and I still remember with great fondness, the look, smell and taste of his oatmeal cookies. I don't believe he ever used a recipe. They were made with such love that he probably could have prepared them with his eyes closed and one arm tied behind his back. What made them EXTRA special to me, was when he was coming to the end of a batch, he would save out enough cookie dough to make a "giant" cookie, JUST FOR ME! His cookies were perfect. Moist and flavorful in the middle and just enough of a crispy edge to balance out the soft middle. I loved my Grandpa. He was a Naval war vet. He passed into Heaven when I was just a little girl in 1st grade. But he made a tremendous impact on me. As I grew older and became interested in cooking, I remembered his oatmeal cookies and asked my mother if she would share his recipe with me. Sadly she told me, "he took that recipe to the grave with him." That broke my heart. "BUT," she said, "I know what his secret ingredient was that made them so special. Mincemeat! So I began experimenting with various oatmeal cookie recipes and before too long - VOILA! My Grandpa's cookies! I was thrilled, to say the least! If you've never tried using mincemeat in your oatmeal cookies, you are missing out! Talk about depth of flavor and MOIST! You won't be sorry you added it!
GRANDPA'S OATMEAL COOKIES
2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 (9 oz) pkg Nonesuch condensed mincemeat
Preheat oven to 350. Spray baking sheets liberally with cooking spray.
In mixing bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Stir into creamed mixture. Stir in oats. Crumble mincemeat with your fingers and stir that in until combined. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto greased cookie sheets, Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to cooling racks or foil sheets to finish cooling completely. Store in airtight container for up to a week.
BLESSINGS!
Throw out everything you ever thought you knew about making Peanut butter cookies and memorize this recipe. It's the last one you'll ever need. These literally were the most PERFECT peanut butter cookies I've ever made! I detest a dry, crumbly, peanut butter cookie! It HAS to be moist to be able to savor that decadent peanut butter flavor you crave in this cookie. These don't have to be dunked, to be enjoyed! You can eat one all by itself and still be in heaven. Although a tall, cold glass of milk or a steaming, hot cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee are perfect compliments to this cookie. I'll NEVER use the "traditional" peanut butter cookie recipe, ever again. THIS one is IT for me!
There are lots of tips and tricks that cookie bakers can share with you to get a "perfect" cookie. But for this one, my biggest tip for you is DON'T OVER-BAKE THEM! And don't skip the step where you coat them in sugar before baking.
PERFECT PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
1 cup brown sugar (that's right, I said BROWN sugar!)
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup Jif peanut butter
1 large egg
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tblsp sugar or more, for coating cookie dough balls before baking
Preheat oven to 350.
In large mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, softened butter and peanut butter. Beat with mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix again until combined. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt and add to the cookie dough mixture. Stir again until combined.
Using a small metal cookie scoop (or a spoon) measure out 1" cookie dough balls. If you don't have a cookie scoop, then just use a spoon to scoop the dough out. Use hands to roll the dough into balls. Roll each one in sugar and transfer to baking sheet. Place cookies 2" apart. Lightly press the tines of a dinner fork flat against each dough ball, creating an indentation. Then make another light indentation perpendicular to the first. Creating that classic "criss-cross" pattern that is so familiar on a peanut butter cookie.
Bake until the cookies are a very light brown - 8 to 10 minutes. 8 minutes was the perfect time for my oven. Cook an additional 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer cookies to sheet of foil to finish cooling. Repeat with remaining dough. Store baked cookies in airtight container for up to a week.
BLESSINGS!
One bite of this delicious apple creation and you'll wonder why it's called a "salad!" But.... mine is not to question why. :-) All I know, is every time I take this dish to a potluck or make it for company, it is one of the first things to be devoured! Everyone asks for the recipe. It's so simple, you could make it with your eyes closed and one arm tied behind your back!
SNICKER'S SALAD
6 Apples (your choice - but some prefer Granny Smith. I am not a tart apple fan, so I use Gala)
6 Snicker's candy bars, chopped into bite size pieces
2 bricks cream cheese, softened
2 (8 oz) Cool Whip, thawed
1 cup sugar
With mixer, cream softened cream cheese w/ sugar. Stir in Cool whip and mix until combined.
Cut UNpeeled apples into 8 wedges and remove core. Dice each wedge into 4 or 5 bite size pieces. Add apples & Snickers pieces to cream cheese mixture. Fold all together until it is well combined.
Chill until ready to serve. Have several copies of recipe ready to hand out!
Here I am again, still on the quest to get hubby off his insulin. The apple fritters were a brain freeze. I didn't technically make them for home, but to take to a new family that had visited. But anytime there is any baking going on, hubby seems to sniff it out! :-) So I will be a good girl and bake things that 'if' he does come sniffing, and he will, the thing he devours, won't serve to kill him! Recently I tried a flourless chocolate cookie for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised! So I thought if that was so good, then I wonder if there is a flourless version of the good ol' PB cookie and voila! Didn't take much searching to find one! I did not have Sucanat on hand (have actually never used it) but I did have bulk Splenda, so I used that. Personally when I make these again, if I use Splenda again, I will knock the amount down to 1/2 cup rather than 3/4. They were amazingly tasty though. It's crazy how you can still make these yummy little treats w/out flour or sugar! Who knew? :-)
3/4 cup Sucanat (if using bulk Splenda, reduce that to 1/2 cup)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tsp baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. (I used my PC stone sheet pan, so didn't need the parchment paper).
Place sucanat, egg and vanilla in mixing bowl and mix well until smooth. Add in peanut butter and baking soda and mix until combined.
Using a small cookie scoop, scoop up dough and drop on cookie sheet. I put 8 on each pan so they would have room to bake and not run into each other and it was plenty of space. Roll each ball with your hands, and flatten slightly with the tines of a fork, in two directions, giving it the classic " Plaid PB cookie design."
Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until desired doneness. I baked mine for exactly 8 minutes and when I removed the pan from the oven, I left the cookies on the stone for another 5 minutes before I removed them to my sheet of foil to cool completely.
Optional: If you want to make them PBJ thumbprint cookies, roll dough into balls, do not flatten with fork, but instead make slight indentation with thumb. Fill with about 1/2 tsp sugar free jam and bake as directed above.
Yield: 16 cookies
As best I could figure, these were 4 carbs per cookie
The weather here in MO has been gorgeous all week, so hubby and I decided to grill out last night. Dinner time for us coincided with our youngest daughter and her husband's return from spending Christmas week in IA, so we invited them to come over and join us. Since their 1st anniversary is today, I made these last night as a special celebration treat for them. They received thumbs up all around, so that was the green light I needed to put them on here for you all to try. WARNING: These are very rich! I expected the inside to be a thinner consistency. It was very ooey, gooey, yummy though. Served these with vanilla ice cream, as a dollop of whipped cream just wouldn't have been enough! SUPER easy to make though. Went together in a snap! And the bake time is only about 12 - 14 min, so quick and easy dessert. Most lava cakes are made with bakers chocolate. This recipe calls for chocolate chips. That enticed me to try it, as most cooks already have chocolate chips in the pantry.
MOLTEN CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKES
1/4 sticks unsalted butter
Granulated sugar (for the ramekins)
1 stick unsalted butter
6 oz semisweet chocolate chips
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (plus a little more for dusting)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
6 ramekins
Preheat oven to 425. Soften the 1/4 stick of butter and coat the inside of your ramekins with it. Sprinkle granulated sugar inside each ramekin, turning to coat all sides of it with the sugar. Set those aside.
Put the remaining stick of butter and the chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Set the bowl on top of a saucepan filled with 1" of boiling water. Be sure that the bowl is not touching the water. Gently stir the butter and chocolate together until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.
In separate mixing bowl combine the eggs, egg yolks, powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until it doubles in size and gets very thick and pale colored.
Gently and slowly mix the melted chocolate into the egg mixture. Temper it first, so the eggs don't start to "cook." Once the chocolate is combined with the eggs, gently stir in the flour. Whisk to combine. Divide the batter among the prepared ramekins. Arrange the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 14 - 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and let rest for 3 - 4 minutes.
Remove the cakes from the ramekins and arrange them on individual serving plates. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and a hot cup of coffee!
Wow, the first thing I notice about this pic is, the plate color doesn't blend with the pie AT ALL! Must have been in too much of a hurry that day! And I didn't garnish! How dare I? But... the pie was DEElicious! This is one of those easy, peasy, make-ahead pies that you can throw in the freezer days before your event! Love recipes like that! The only mistake I made with it, was not getting it out at the beginning of dinner, so it could thaw a bit before I served it. Trying to cut a frozen, rock solid pie is no small feat! Especially when the coffee is done brewing and you have waiting dinner guests at the table! Lesson learned! This recipe could be a bit versatile though. As I mixed together the ingredients, my husband and I dipped a spoon in to taste test. I realized then that it could also be served as a mousse. It's so yummy! I suppose you could also switch out the fruit in the basic recipe. You could probably sub fresh raspberries or blueberries for this pie .... OR a mixture of berries would be delightful too!
FROZEN STRAWBERRY PIE
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups chopped, fresh strawberries
1 (12 oz) container, frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted (optional)
2 (9") chocolate crumb crusts (I used graham cracker crusts)
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla.
Beat in the strawberries.
Fold in the whipped topping (and pecans if you are using them).
Divide & pour evenly into the 2 crusts.
Cover and freeze for 3 - 4 hours or until firm.
Remove from freezer 15 - 20 minutes before serving.
Garnish with chocolate curls or shavings if desired.
Recently we hosted a Revival meeting at our church. My husband's brothers and lots of other family members traveled in from other states to do the special music and the preaching. Many of them stayed with us for several days. I wanted to be "on the ball" with meal plans this time! I knew coconut cream was a favorite pie choice for a few of them, so decided on this one. Then I asked my husband of 31 years what his favorite pie was. I thought it would be nice to make his favorite as well. What a surprise it was to me, to hear him say COCONUT CREAM! 31 years.... How did I not know that? I would have said Pumpkin! Wow, you learn something new every day, I guess! I have to confess, coconut cream pie is my LEAST favorite pie. So all I had to go on for a review was the truthfulness of our dinner guests! The pie got cleaned up, so it must have been pretty good! They all gave it a thumbs up! So if you have a hankerin' for coconut cream pie and want something a little different than the normal "pudding" type variety - this one is a real keeper!
COCONUT CREAM PIE
1 pkg graham crackers, crushed
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sweetened, flaked coconut
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup cream of coconut (sold in beverage flavoring section)
Stir together (first 3 ingredients) graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press mixture into bottom and up the sides of a 9" pie plate. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Meanwhile, bake 1/4 cup sweetened, flaked coconut in a single layer in a shallow pan for 6 - 8 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and set aside for garnish.
Beat cream cheese until creamy. Add cream of coconut and continue beating at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add dry pudding mix, beating until blended.
Stir in the 6 oz portion of flaked coconut. Fold in thawed, whipped topping. Spoon into prepared, cooled crust. Cover and chill 2 hours or until set.
Beat heavy whipping cream at high speed until soft peaks form. Spread over top of pie. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.
Here's a sweet treat for you! Found this recipe in a random ladies magazine, as I waited in a Dr's office. I love raspberries, so was excited to try this. It's just the right balance of fruitiness from the berries, tartness from the lemon zest and creaminess from the cream cheese. And the tender shortbread crust just adds to the yummy factor! I would imgaine you could substitute whatever berries you like best in this. Seems like it would be equally delicious made with blueberries. I'm thinking once Fall comes, you could even make this with apples, cinnamon and caramel!! I'm totally going to be experimenting with this one! It's a keeper!
FRESH RASPBERRY BARS
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam or preserves
2 cups fresh raspberries
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tblsp. flour
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 Tblsp. fresh lemon zest
2 Tblsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Powdered sugar (for garnish)
Preheat oven to 350. Line a 13 x 9 baking pan with foil - extending extra foil over ends of pan (to lift bars from pan later). Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until it just begins to blend and soften slightly, about 30 seconds.
Add brown sugar and salt. Beat on low speed until incorporated - 30 seconds or so. Add the 2 cups of flour and beat on low speed until the flour is incorporated. Don't undermix it, or it will be too crumbly. Break dough into small chunks and place in prepared pan. With your fingers, pat dough into an even layer. Bake 20 minutes or until dough has begun to puff and is just set. Cool for 5 minutes.
Lightly brush exposed sides of foil with softened butter to keep filling from sticking.
Spread jam over cooled crust.
Sprinkle evenly with fresh raspberries.
With a lemon zester, remove peel from lemon, making sure to avoid the bitter white pith. Don't try to do this ahead of time - do it right as you are baking.
In a large bowl beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium high for 30 seconds or until creamy. Mix in granulated sugar and 1 Tblsp of flour until blended. With mixer running, add egg and egg yolk, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Pour custard batter evenly over berries. Tilt pan back and forth to distribute the custard evenly. Bake at 350 for 20 - 30 minutes or until barely set. Cool on wire rack for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Top will crack slightly as it cools.
Use foil to lift the bars from the pan. With a knife or metal spatula, support the sides of the bars while you gently peel the foil downward and away from the sides of the bars.
Cut into long bars. Peel foil from bottom and transfer to cutting board using side of a long knife or spatula. Cutting first on the foil results in cleaner edges. Cut into 24 squares.
Here is a nice, moist, light, Summery cake. The cake batter has chopped mandarin oranges in it, and the whipped topping has crushed pineapple in it. So it has a fruity, but subtle, tropical flavor. It's always a hit at potlucks. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law way back in the late 80's. She was one of the first people I ever met that absolutely loved to cook and it showed in her cooking! She was (and still is) a fantastic cook and I use so many of her recipes in my cooking. I think you'll like this one as much as I do!
PIG PICKIN' CAKE
1 Duncan Hines Super Moist Yellow cake mix (w/ pudding in the mix) - or Duncan Hines Butter recipe cake mix 4 eggs 3/4 cup oil 1 small can mandarin oranges w/ juice
In mixing bowl, combine cake mix, eggs & oil. Stir until combined. Add oranges & juice and continue to mix until oranges are evenly incorporated into the batter. Pour into 3 greased & floured 9" round cake pans. Bake at 350 for 20 min.
Combine pudding mix and pineapple w/ juice. Stir until pudding is completely dissolved. Fold in Cool Whip. Mix until thoroughly combined. Use to frost middles, sides and top of cake. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.
This is an awesome cheesecake. The crust is a bit involved. But if you don't mind working with a yeast dough, you won't have any problems. This tastes like the freshest raspberry, cream cheese danish you've ever had! It really is worth the wait on this one! Trust me, if you love cheesecake and raspberries, this will become one of your new favorites!
HOT CHEESECAKE W/ FRESH RASPBERRIES
Dough:
1/2 cup milk, scalded and cooled a bit 1 pkg dry yeast 1 Tblsp sugar 2 1/2 cups flour 1 cup butter 3 egg yolks
Dissolve yeast and sugar in milk. Set aside. Cut butter into flour (like pie crust). Add egg yolks to milk. Stir and pour into flour. Mix well. Divide dough in half. Roll out first half into 11 x 15 pan. (May need to add a bit more flour as you mix and roll, to keep it from being too sticky. Roll out second half into a rectangle on cotton towel and set aside.
Beat all ingredients together and spread over dough in pan. Cover with 2nd half of dough. Sprinkle top crust with sugar. Let rise for 1 hour. Bake at 350 for 30 - 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Serve warm with raspberry sauce, whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Or you could just serve it plain - it's just as good that way! May be re-heated.
To make Raspberry syrup: Stir together in small saucepan: 1 cup fresh raspberries, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar. Heat over med-high heat until boiling. Turn down and simmer until berries are cooked down. Keep warm to serve over cheesecake.
This dessert is a classic. I've seen it with lemon pudding, chocolate pudding and now here it is with two kinds of pudding, chocolate AND vanilla. It tends to be a bit on the heavy side, so serve it with a lighter meal, or else cut smaller portions. I made this in a prepared graham cracker pie crust, but next time will make it in a 9 x 13 cake pan. The prepared crust was convenient, but it made 8 very large slices of pie - not bad if you're a dessert lover! But I tried to "skinny" this down a bit, and putting it in a smaller pan, didn't help the calorie count much. 1/8 of the pie was 294 calories. If you make it in a 9 x 13 pan and cut it into 16 pieces, the calories drop to 147 - that's a lot more acceptable, especially if you're trying to watch your weight. If you're not dieting, feel free to make the full fat version! ;-)
Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until creamy. Stir in 1/2 of the 16 oz Cool Whip. Spread evenly in bottom of crust. In separate bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups milk with chocolate pudding mix. Beat with whisk until combined. Let sit until thickened. Then spread evenly over cream cheese mixture. Again, in separate bowl, combine, remaining 1 1/2 cups milk with vanilla pudding mix. Beat with whisk until combined. Let sit until thickened. Spread evenly over chocolate pudding. Spread remaining Cool Whip over vanilla pudding. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Makes 8 servings if using prepared Graham cracker crust.
Makes 16 servings (with fewer calories) if you use a 9 x 13 pan and make your own graham cracker crust.
I recently took this cake to a church fellowship and brought back an empty cake plate. That's always a good sign!! (Jessica, this is the cake) This is a really moist cake and goes REALLY well with a cup of hot coffee! Trust me on this one! They are a match made in heaven!
"KAHLUA" COFFEE CAKE
1 pkg Golden Butter Cake Mix 4 eggs 1 cup sour cream 1 pkg instant vanilla pudding (3 1/2 oz) 3/4 cup oil 1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup Kahlua flavored syrup 1 cup chopped pecans
Combine cake mix adding 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream, pudding, oil, and vanilla. Mix well
Divide batter in half. To one half, add brown sugar, Kahlua syrup, and pecans. Grease bundt pan.
Pour 1/2 of the pecan flavored cake mixture into the bundt pan, then all of the plain mixture on top of that, then remaining half of pecan cake mixture. Run a knife through mixture to marblize. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Check cake in 1 hour. Remove cake from pan onto cake plate. While still warm, mix glaze.
Glaze: Mix powdered sugar and Kahlua flavored syrup until it is the consistency of thin icing - thin enough to drizzle over a cake. Poke holes in top of warm cake and drizzle 2 or 3 times w/ glaze.
If you can't find Kahlua flavored syrup. I would make a simple syrup using equal parts of water (1/3 cup) and sugar(1/3 cup). Heat until the sugar dissolves. Mix in 1 tsp. of instant espresso powder while hot. Let it cool before making the cake. If you love coffee flavored desserts, then this will work well for you! You can use the same coffee syrup in the glaze.
A few years ago my daughter Sarah found a recipe and asked if I would make it for her birthday dessert. Birthdays are a BIG DEAL in our home! The birthday person always gets their favorite dinner, favorite dessert and many times we'll have extended family or other company in for dinner, with lots of presents and celebrating! When I agreed to making Sarah's dessert, I didn't realize it was a souffle! When I read the recipe, I was a bit apprehensive. But after it was done, I thought it was one of the easiest recipes I'd ever made! So tender, light and delicious! And the raspberries with the chocolate.... WOW!! The flavors just POP in your mouth! The batter for these souffles is all mixed in the blender! How easy is that?! You have GOT to try this one! The best part is, you can mix these up ahead of time and then just pop them in the oven when you sit down to dinner!
MINI CHOCOLATE SOUFFLES w/ CREME ANGLAISE
1 Tblsp soft butter 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup water1 Tblsp espresso powder (I sub. instant coffee granules) 3 oz. bittersweet chocolate + 3 oz. milk chocolate 1/2 cup heavy cream 6 eggs 1 tsp. rum flavoring 12 oz. cream cheese, cut into chunks Preheat oven to 375. 1. Coat 6 mini souffle dishes with butter (any oven safe, 8 oz glass bowl, will work). Using 1/4 cup of the sugar, distributing among the 6 dishes, sprinkle evenly with sugar. 2. Put remaining 1/2 cup sugar, bittersweet chocolate, milk chocolate and water together in microwave safe bowl and heat for 2 minutes. Remove and whisk to combine. 3. Break the eggs into a blender, add the heavy cream and the rum flavoring. Blend until eggs and cream are thoroughly mixed. 4. With the blender running, scrape in the melted chocolate slowly. Add the cream cheese chunks one at a time. When batter is completely mixed, blend on high speed for a few seconds to make sure any leftover chunks of cream cheese don't get missed. 5. Pour the batter to 3/4 full, distributing evenly among the 6 dishes. 6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries and strawberries) drizzle with creme anglaise and serve warm!
CREME ANGLAISE (I usually double this - YES, it's THAT good!)
1 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup sugar 2 tsp vanilla 4 egg yolks 2 Tblsp butter
In a saucepan over med-high heat, combine cream, 1/4 sugar, whisk. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar. When cream mixture comes to just a boil, remove from heat, whisk a small amount of hot cream into egg yolks, stir, then whisk in a bit more until the temp of the eggs gradually rises to meet the temp of the hot cream. This is called 'tempering' the eggs. If you do it too quickly you will 'cook' the eggs and ruin your sauce. So just a couple small drizzles at a time, until the eggs are warmed. Then pour warmed egg yolks into hot cream and whisk until smooth. Return this mixture to med high heat and cook, stirring constantly until mixture coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm over mini chocolate souffles and assorted berries.
I love Italian food, and have always wanted to make 'real' Tiramisu. The last event I catered was our church's formal Winter banquet. The theme was "A Night to Remember" and it was decorated in Italian flair, complete with red & white checked tablecloths, drippy candles, imported cheeses, grapes and big crusty loaves of bread w/ seasoned olive oil. I served Chicken Marsala, Mozzarella stuffed meatballs, Angel hair pasta, Strawberry lemonade salad, Garlic bread, and then Tiramisu for dessert. If you like coffee flavored desserts, then you will love this. So easy to put together too.
TIRAMISU
3 egg yolks 3 1/2 oz. white sugar 8 oz. Mascarpone cheese (sub: softened Cream cheese) 16 oz. cream, whipped (if you're pressed for time, you can use cool whip - but the REAL thing is so much better!) 8 1/2 oz. strong espresso or 3 tsp. of strong instant coffee in 250 ml of hot water 20 Lady fingers (can find these in the ethnic section of your local grocery store) 1 3/4 oz. cocoa powder
Cook egg yolks and sugar over hot water until thin (to do this, fill a saucepan 1/3 of the way with hot water, place pan over med-high heat, then place a mixing bowl in the top of the pan, making sure it doesn't touch the water. Then place the eggs and sugar in the mixing bowl and continue). After eggs are thinned and heated, add them to the Mascarpone cheese (or softened cream cheese), add whipped cream and gently stir until well combined. Dip lady fingers in coffee, layer in pan, cover with cream mixture, add another layer of dipped lady fingers and cream mixture. Refrigerate until firm. Before serving, dust with cocoa powder (do this by holding a small mesh seive over a bowl, place a couple of tablespoons of cocoa in the seive. Gently move over the top of the pan of Tiramisu and begin tapping the edge of the seive as you move it evenly over the top of the dessert.
I was going back through my pic files and realized there are pics of recipes that I haven't posted yet! This is one of them, and it's one of our all time favorites! Peach Cobbler. I should have posted it when peaches were in season. But it turns out equally good using canned peaches. It goes together in a snap and puts a smile on everybody's face!
PEACH COBBLER
4 cups peeled, sliced peaches (if using canned, buy peaches packed in juice, not syrup)
2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Ground cinnamon, optional
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Note: If using canned peaches - drain them first, then proceed.
Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.
Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.
To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or a good quality vanilla ice cream.
Yum! Do you love a good, warm, cinnamon'y' bread pudding on a chilly Fall day? This is another good Autumn recipe, and a good way to incorporate some of those apples that you've been picking. We are in the middle of our annual Faith Promise Missions Conference and we are feeding the missionaries dinner each night. We thought this one would go over well, and it surely did. The original recipe had twice the amount of sugar called for here. It was good, but way too sweet. So we reduced the amount of sugar (since we were working with a sweeter bread). And the results were WONDERFUL! I love this because it's almost like eating baked french toast, but better. You will love the crispy, crumb topping too.
CINNAMON APPLE BREAD PUDDING
1 cup white sugar 5 eggs, beaten 2 cups milk 2 tsp. vanilla 3 cups cubed - iced cinnamon swirl bread (you can do cinnamon-raisin if you prefer) 1 large yellow delicious apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup flour 1/4 cup butter, softened 1 cup chopped pecans, optional cinnamon-sugar mixture
Sauce:
1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter, melted 1 egg, beaten 2 tsp vanilla 1/4 cup apple juice
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan. Place bread cubes in pan. Mix together sugar, eggs and milk in a bowl, add vanilla. Pour over bread cubes and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Sprinkle diced apple evenly over the top. In a separate bowl, crumble together the brown sugar, flour, butter and pecans. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture evenly over the top. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes, or until set (no longer 'jiggly' in the middle). Remove from oven.
For sauce: Mix together sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla in a saucepan. Over medium heat, stir together until sugar is melted. Add apple juice and stir well. Pour warm over bread pudding. Delicious served warm with ice cream!
Man! I love Fall! Don't you? I love the colors - the deep orange hues, the red, the gold, green, I love it all. The crisp Fall air. Warm, comfy sweaters. Fleece blankets. Fuzzy socks. Hot chocolate. I love the smells of Fall. Baking. Pumpkins. Apple orchards. Apple cider. Apple pie, apple crisp, Apple cake!! haha My daughter has been asking for this for a few weeks now. I finally surprised her with it tonight. If you like apple desserts, this one won't disappoint! Don't let the stiff, cookie dough like, batter scare you. The chopped apples. once they bake, provide just the right amount of needed moisture in the cake. This is soooo good with a hot cup of coffee on a chilly, Fall day! It's SO moist and the sugar creates a yummy, crispy top.
Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter with sugar, add eggs and vanilla and mix well. In separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir or sift to combine. Add to creamed mixture and beat with mixer until well combined. Don't be afraid of the stiff, cookie dough like batter, the apples will cook up and provide enough moisture in the cake. Use a good heavy wooden spoon and fold apples evenly into batter. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray and spread batter evenly into pan. Bake for 45 - 50 min at 375. Remove from oven and serve warm with desired garnish. I sprinkle with powdered sugar. You could serve it with a dollop of whipped cream.
Today was Amy's birthday. She is my favorite bus kid! I used to pick her up for Sunday school when she was just a little girl. Now she is a grown young woman, graduated from Bible college. She is such a blessing to my heart. Now she works with me on my bus route. Talk about full circle! A former bus kid picking up bus kids for church! I love it! She loves cheesecake, so I made this for her birthday today. She came over after the bus route tonight and we sang to her and gave her a few little gifts and ate cheesecake with her! haha
I was surprised today as I sifted through the dozens of cookbooks I have, that so many of them didn't have a simple cheesecake recipe. Either it was a jello type cheesecake (no bake) or a full on NY style cheesecake (time consuming). Then I found this in an Amish cookbook. It turned out so yummy. After my first bite I realized it was the same cheesecake my Aunt used to make when I was growing up. I loved it then and I still love it today! This went together in a snap - so quick and easy - and so tasty!
CHERRY CHEESECAKE
Mix:
16 graham crackers, crushed 1/2 cup white sugar 1 stick butter melted
I placed the graham crackers in a heavy duty, gallon size ziploc baggie and crushed them with my rolling pin. Then opened the bag and pour in the sugar and melted butter. Reclosed the bag and shook it to mix in the sugar and butter. Then patted it into the pan.
Press into 9 x 13 pan
Mix:
2 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened 1 cup white sugar 1 tsp vanilla 2 eggs, beaten
In a large mixing bowl beat softened cream cheese with sugar until creamy. Add vanilla and eggs and beat for approximately 5 minutes more, or until it loosens up and feels fluffy. Spread over graham cracker mixture. Bake at 375 for 15 min. (that's not a typo! 15 minutes!) When cool, pour cherry pie filling over the top. Then chill. Serve with whipped cream on top. Other fruits may be substituted in place of the cherries. Blueberry would be nice too.
This is dear sweet Amy, in the middle, between my two precious girls. Aren't they all so 'perty?' She has made herself a part of our family! We all just love her!
Welcome to my cooking blog. This is what I LOVE to do - cook for people. I don't claim to be some self taught, fancy chef. But I have hosted countless fellowship dinners at our church and both formal and casual dinner parties in our home.
I am a Baptist Pastor's wife. I served as a Summer camp cook for 16 years. After 35 yrs of both marriage and ministry, I’ve managed to tuck away more than a few favorites. You know, the kind you make and get asked for the recipe. I’ve decided to share those favorites with you here.
"...that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live." Deut. 8:3
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My favorite kitchen helper!
Little Darren (my grandson) helping MooMoo (me) in the kitchen!
Now I have TWO favorite kitchen helpers!
Katie bug - my other favorite kitchen helper!
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Please do me a favor. Remember to come back and post a review of any recipes you make from here. THANKS!
After all the trouble you go to, you get about as much actual "food" out of eating an artichoke as you would from licking 30 or 40 postage stamps. ~Miss Piggy
A bagel is a doughnut with the sin removed. ~George Rosenbaum
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