Archive | Desserts RSS feed for this section

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

16 Sep

It has been a LONG time since I have had rhubarb and I’ve certainly never baked with it.  However, when it came up on the Web Store at Sunizona Family Farms, I knew I needed to get it.  Just raw, this rhubarb was so good and tart.  But, I wanted to make my ever favorite crisp with it, and since I had gotten strawberries from Bountiful Baskets, I knew they would be a good match.  Now, I did put a bit of sugar in this, so if you want to keep more of the tart flavor of the rhubarb, just decrease the amount of sugar.  I had this warm over some vanilla frozen yogurt and was in heaven last night eating it.  I wish rhubarb was more available here in AZ to have this more often!

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

What you need:

4 cups chopped rhubarb
1 lb chopped strawberries
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4-1/2 cup sugar, depending on the tart/sweetness you desire
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup oats or quinoa flakes
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a 8×8 baking dish, mix together rhubarb, strawberries, cornstarch, and sugar.  In a bowl, crumble together butter, oats, and brown sugar.  Spread oat mixture evenly over the top of the rhubarb and strawberry mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until filling is bubbly and topping is browned.  Let sit for 5 minutes; serve warm.

Tags: , , , ,

Peach Crisp

10 Aug

 

The Apple Crisp recipe I have is one of my very favorite desserts.  So, since I had plenty of peaches from my trip to Apple Annie’s, I decided that a Peach Crisp might be something to try.  And, I was right, it was very delicious!

A hint on peeling peaches that I used for this recipe and also for the Peach Freezer Jam:  Place peaches in boiling water for a few minutes, then remove and place in ice water.  Then, the peels should slide off easily, to be ready for slicing or chopping.

 

Peach Crisp

What you need:

Filling:
4 cups peeled, pitted, and sliced peaches
1 Tablespoon flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons water or lemon juice

Topping:
1/3 cup margarine or butter (cold, not melted)
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup quick oatmeal
Note: I sometimes like more crumble on top, so I will double the topping ingredients.

How to make it:

Combine the ingredients for the filling and place in a 8×8 or 7×11 baking pan.

Cream together the butter and flour for the topping.  Mix in the brown sugar and oatmeal and form “crumbs” with your fingers. Spread over the apple mixture.

Bake at 325 F for 30-40 minutes.  Let cool slightly, and serve warm. Or it tastes great cold from the fridge the next day too…if it lasts that long!

Tags: ,

Plum Cobbler

19 Jun

I had a bunch of plums from Bountiful Baskets this past weekend that were getting a little overripe.  I debated between using them in a crisp, like my favorite Apple Crisp, or trying something more like a cobbler.  I decided on trying out cobbler, just to have something new.  This actually turned out pretty good!  I think I maybe could have cooked it about 5 minutes longer to bake up the cobbler part more, but it still tastes good as it is.  And, really pretty easy to make.

 

Plum Cobbler

What you need:

12 plums, about 1.5 – 2 pounds, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cup sugar, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Put butter in a 2 qt (8×8) baking dish.  Place dish in oven until butter melts.  Remove dish from oven.

In a bowl, mix together 1 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt.  Pour in milk and stir well.  Pour batter mixture over the melted butter in the baking dish.

Spoon chopped plums over the batter in the baking dish.  Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until cobbler is browned and bubbling.

Best served warm with vanilla ice cream.

Tags: ,

Zucchini Brownies

13 May

My kids loved these!  Aside from seeing a little zucchini on the top, you can’t even tell it’s in there.  Frosting would easily hide that, but I just didn’t have the time for frosting yesterday.  And, these don’t really need frosting, they are very good on their own.  This recipe doesn’t use eggs, and trust me, you don’t need them.  They bake up well without and are very moist.  Even if you aren’t a fan of zucchini, these are worth a try!

Zucchini Brownies
Original recipe here 

What you need:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease and flour a 9×13 baking pan.

In a large bowl, beat together the oil, sugar and vanilla until well blended.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Slowly stir the flour mixture into the oil and sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until brownies spring back when touched gently.  Allow to cool, then cut into squares.

 

Optional frosting:

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup margarine
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and margarine; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

Tags: ,

Carrot Cake

25 Feb

I still have some carrots from the 25 lb bag I got a while back from Bountiful Baskets.  They have been in my fridge keeping nicely.  I’ve been meaning to make this cake for a while, but finally got the chance today.  Carrot cake is a favorite in our house, but I’ve never actually made it.  My cousin gave me a recipe that she had gotten from lady that used to work in the cafeteria at the old Sear’s department store on the riverfront in Peoria, Illinois.  This really turned out great, I was very pleased.

 

Carrot Cake
Recipe from Shelley Doyle, from Frances Markum who worked at Bishop’s Cafeteria in Peoria

What you need:

2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
3 cups of shredded carrots
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup of walnuts, optional (I did not use walnuts)

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream together the sugar and eggs.  Add oil, carrots, and nuts (if using).  In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining dry ingredients.  Slowly add to the carrot mixture and stir well. Pour into 2 greased 9 inch round cake pans.  Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.  Cool on wire racks.

Butternut Cream Cheese Frosting

What you need:

1 stick butter
1 8 ounce package cream cheese
2-4 cups powdered sugar, depending on the level sweetness you want (I used 2 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon of butternut or similar flavoring (I only had vanilla extract on hand, so that’s what I used)

How to make it:

Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth.  Blend in powdered sugar to the level of sweetness you desire, then blend in the flavoring.  Makes enough frosting to have 2 separate 9 inch cakes or for a 2 layer cake.

Tags: , ,

Key Lime Pie

21 Feb

I love, love, love, Key Lime Pie.  It has been so long since I’ve had it, so when I got key limes this week from Bountiful Baskets, I decided the pie is what I wanted to make.  I found this great recipe that is super easy to make.  I think the hardest part was juicing all the little limes.  Well, that and waiting for it to chill so I could eat it!  In the reviews for this recipe, someone suggested using a garlic press to juice the limes.   I thought this was brilliant because I don’t have a tool yet to juice my lemons and limes. I cut each lime into fourths, then squeezed each piece.  It was still time-consuming, but I was able to get quite a bit of juice out of each lime, more than I would have hand squeezing.

 

Key Lime Pie
Original recipe here

What you need:

1 9-inch prepared graham cracker crust
2 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup key lime juice (I juiced 16 limes to get this)
1 tablespoon grated lime zest (after juicing the limes, I grated some of the peels for the lime zest)

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix well and pour into graham cracker crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes, until tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface of pie. DO NOT BROWN! Chill pie thoroughly before serving. Garnish with lime slices and whipped cream if desired.

 

Tags: ,

Pistachio Salad

28 Dec

This side was part of the Christmas feast my mom cooked for us this year.  It’s a favorite of my brother-in-law, and is now a favorite of my older daughter as well.  It’s a lot easier than I thought it was to make too!

Pistachio Salad

What you need:

1 8 oz tub of Cool Whip
1 pkg pistachio instant pudding
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup mini marshmallows

How to make it:

Mix all ingredients and chill.

Tags: ,

Muddy Buddies

27 Dec

 

Some may know this as another name, Puppy Chow for People, but more recently I’ve seen it as Muddy Buddies.  It is another yummy way to use Chex cereal, or there are a variety of cereals you can use for this.  For the batch my mom made pictured above, she used Rice Chex, Cheerios, pretzels, and peanuts.  You could use just Chex cereals, some cereal with peanuts and pretzels, or another combination you come up with.

 

Muddy Buddies

What you need:

8 cups of a combination of your choice, using Rice or Corn Chex, Crispix, Raisin Squares, Cheerios, pretzels, peanuts
1 stick butter or margarine
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar

How to make it:

Melt together the butter, chocolate chips and peanut butter.  Stir in the cereal combination until evenly coated.

Place the chocolate covered combination in a large resealable or paper bag.  Add the powdered sugar, and shake until evenly coated.

Spread out onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper to dry.  Store in an airtight container.

Tags:

Cheerios Treats

24 Dec

I had wanted to make these before our trip, but didn’t get around to it.  But, of course, my mom made them.  It’s another yummy marshmallow treat!

Cheerios Treats

What you need:

3 Tbsp margarine or butter
1 10-1/2 oz package mini marshmallows (6 cups)
1/2 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter
5 cups Cheerios cereal

How to make it:

Grease a 13 x 9 pan.    Melt margarine or butter in a large saucepan over low heat.  Add marshmallows and stir constantly until melted.  Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter.  Immediately add cereal and mix lightly until well coated.  Using a greased spatula or wax paper, press mixture into the prepared pan.  Allow to cool, then cut into squares.

Tags:

7 Layer Bars

24 Dec

 

Actually, the way my mom makes these, they are more like 5 Layer Bars.  She leaves out the coconut and pecans.  With or without those 2 ingredients, they are still a creamy, chocolate-y treat for the holidays.

 

7 Layer Bars

What you need:

1 stick butter, melted
1 cup Baker’s angel flake coconut
1 6 oz. pkg butterscotch chips
1 6 oz. pkg chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups graham cracker crumbs

How to make it:

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter, and press into the bottom of an 11 x 7 pan.

Layer the coconut, butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, and chopped pecans.  Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until just browned on top.  Allow to cool, cut, and serve.

Tags:

← Older Entries

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 413 other followers

%d bloggers like this: