Cakes and Desserts

Stephanie’s Apple Crisp

Stephanie makes this from a recipe she picked up online in 2004. I can’t find the original online anymore, so I guess this one now officially belongs to Stephanie.

Fruit Mixture

  • 4 cups sliced, peeled cooking apples (about 1 1/3rd pounds or 3 to 4 medium)
  • 3 tablespoons apple juice

Crumb Mixture

  • 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup quick oats (not instant or old fashioned)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

For fruit, toss apples with apple juice. Spoon into 8-inch square glass baking dish. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

For crumb mixture, combine brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter until coarse crumbs form. Combine milk and vanilla. Drizzle over crumbs while tossing with a fork. Sprinkle over apples.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until fruit is tender, center is bubbly and crumbs are browned. Serve warm with cream, whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

Peach or Pear Crisp: Follow above recipe using peaches or pears and substituting 1 tablespoon of lemon juice for the apple juice.

Blueberry Crisp: Follow above recipe using 3 cups blueberries and substituting 1 tablespoon lemon juice for the apple juice.

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Team Pie and Team Cake Shirts

I’ve been meaning to make these shirts since the first Twilight movie came out, because I never cared much for Edward or Jacob, but I do care a lot about dessert. I also have a vague recollection of having a (semi-sober) discussion (argument) with someone about whether cake or pie was better, which was quite a silly thing to have a disagreement about because everyone knows that pie is better than cake. Thankfully, I don’t remember with whom I was having this discussion, so I can’t hold their wrong opinion against them. (Notice I was nice enough to make a shirt for the misguided cake-espousers. Because I’ll take their money, even though they’re wrong.)

Team Pie Shirt

Team Cake Shirt

Team Pie and Team Cake Shirts, for sale on redbubble.com.

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Mini Chocolate Cheesecakes with Cookie Crusts

Weight Watchers

POINTS® Value: 3
Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 15 min
Cooking Time: 0 min
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

  • 12 item(s) chocolate wafer(s), about 2 1/2 oz
  • 8 oz Neufchatel cheese, softened
  • 1 cup(s) 2% reduced fat milk
  • 2/3 cup(s) sugar
  • 2 envelope(s) unflavored gelatin
  • 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 cup(s) water, boiling

Line 12 muffin tins with paper muffin liners. Place a wafer in the bottom of each of 12 muffin tins (or custard cups); set aside. (If the wafer doesn’t fit in bottom of muffin liners, break into pieces to cover bottom.)
Place cheese in bowl of a food processor and process until loose. With food processor running, pour milk down feed tube.
In a separate medium bowl, mix together sugar, gelatin and cocoa with a fork or spoon. Slowly add boiling water, mixing as you go; mix quickly until gelatin has completely dissolved.
With food processor running, slowly add cocoa mixture through feed tube; process thoroughly, about 1 minute.
Fill each muffin liner (or custard cup) with about 1/3 cup of cheese mixture. (Muffin tins will be filled up to the top; custard cups should be about 2/3 full.) Chill for a minimum of 2 hours. Yields 1 per serving.
These easy-to-make cheesecakes can be made a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator. If you’re a coffee lover, add a teaspoon of instant espresso to the cocoa mixture for an extra kick.

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Dirt Pudding

From the kitchen of: unknown

  • 1 large package oreo cookies
  • 3 cups milk
  • 2 small boxes instant French vanilla pudding
  • 1/4 cup margarine
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
  • 16 oz. frozen whipped topping

Crush cookies, sprinkle 1/2 on bottom of 13 x 9 dish. Beat together the milk and pudding until the mixture thickens. Beat together margarine, sugar and cream cheese, add whipped topping and pudding, stir well. Pour mixture over crushed cookies, sprinkle remaining cookies on top. Refrigerate 4 hours.

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Christmas Fruitcake Recipe

Christmas Fruitcake

Author Unknown

You’ll need the following:

  • 1 C water
  • 1 C sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 C dried fruit
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 C brown sugar
  • lemon juice
  • nuts
  • 1 FULL bottle of your favorite whiskey

(Sample the whiskey to check for quality).

Take a large bowl.

Check the whiskey again to be sure that it is of the highest quality. Pour 1 level cup and drink. Repeat.

Turn on the electric mixer; beat 1 C of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add 1 tsp sugar and beat again.

Make sure the whiskey is still OK – Cry another tup.

Turn off the mixer.

Break two legs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

Mix on the turner.

If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift 2 cups of salt. Or something. Who cares.

Check the whiskey.

Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.

Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.

Grease the oven.

Turn the cake tin 350 degrees.

Don’t forget to beat off the turner.

Check the whiskey again.

Go to bed. Who the hell likes druitcake anyway?

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Snickers Salad

From the kitchen of: Eric K. Thompson

  • 3 Snickers Bars, chopped
  • 2 bananas, chopped thick
  • 4 Granny Smith apples, sliced into 1/8’s & diced
  • 1 3 oz box of French Vanilla instant pudding
  • 1 cup milk
  • 8 oz whipped topping

Mix together milk and pudding and refrigerate. Before serving, fold in whipped topping and the rest of the ingredients.
Hint: Best if prepared just before serving because it will get watery due to the apples.

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Puppy Chow (for humans, not dogs)

From the kitchen of: unknown

If you make this, DO NOT tell people what’s in it, because it’s incredibly yummy, but there’s so much fat in that no one will touch it.

  • largest box of Crispix cereal
  • smallest jar of creamy peanut butter
  • 1 bag of milk chocolate chips
  • 1 bag of peanut butter chips
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 1 bag of powdered sugar

Melt the stick of butter in a saucepan, add both bags of chips and let those melt halfway. Add the jar or creamy peanut butter, melt all together.

When it’s smooth, pour it over the crixpix cereal in the largest bowl you can find, and mix, Then add the bag of powdered sugar and hand mix or cover and shake.

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Almond Pastry

From the kitchen of: Kelly Ackley.

  • 2 sticks of butter
  • 2 cups flour
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
  • Betty Crocker Smooth & Creamy Vanilla frosting
  • Chopped walnuts (or almonds)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add 1 stick of butter to 1 cup of flour & bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add 1 or one-and-a-half teaspoon almond extract. Quickly stir in 1 cup of flour & mix well until smooth & no lumps. One at a time (important) stir in 3 eggs.

Separately…

Mix 1 cup flour, 3 TBSP water, and 1 stick butter until smooth. Roll into a ball and divide in half. Pat out each half into two strips (onto a cookie sheet). Spread above mixture on each layer.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour–no more, no less!

Let cool and then frost and add nuts.

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Apple and Cheese Torte

From the kitchen of: Tami Putney.

  • 1 stick butter or margarine
  • 3/4 Cup sugar, divided
  • 1 teasp. vanilla, divided
  • 1 Cup flour
  • 1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 4 thinly sliced apples
  • 1/2 teasp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 Cup powdered sugar
  • 2 Tablespn. milk
  • 2 tablespn. toasted and slivered almonds

Cream together butter, 1/4 Cup sugar and 1/2 teasp. vanilla. Add four and when it’s well blended press the mixture into the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the sides of a 9" spring form pan. Beat the cream cheese, 1/4 Cup sugar, the egg and 1/2 teasp. vanilla until the mixture is smooth. Pour into the prepared crust.

Toss the apple slices lightly with 1/4 Cup sugar and cinnamon. Layer evenly over the cream cheese. Bake at 450 degree F. for 10 minutes and then reduce the oven to 400 degrees and continue baking for 30-45 minutes or until the apples test "done". Cool the pan and then remove the sides of the pan and place on a serving plate. Combine the powdered sugar and milk, drizzle over the torte and garnish with almonds.

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Apple Squares

From the kitchen of: Tami Putney.

Try to avoid eating very many of these squares on the day you make them, as they improve immeasurably on the second and third day! This recipe originally came from a Pillsbury bake-off. Makes 12-15 squares)

  • 2 cups unbleached white flour
  • 2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine
  • 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
  • 1-2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup sour cream or yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups apples, peeled and finely chopped (about 2 apples)

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and margarine. Blend at low speed, until the mixture forms fine crumbs. If you want to include them, stir in the nuts now. Place 2 3/4 cups of the crumb mixture into an ungreased 13×9 inch pan. Press down firmly. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the apples) to the remaining crumb mixture. Blend well. Stir the chopped apples into the batter. Spoon the batter evenly over the crumb base in the pan. Bake at 350 deg. F for 30-40 minutes. If you use the larger pan, bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool before cutting. Better yet, let it wait 24 hours before cutting. Store loosely covered.

Difficulty: easy. Time: 15 minutes preparation, 40 minutes baking. Precision: approximate measurement OK.

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