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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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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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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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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Irresistible Apple Pie

From the kitchen of: unknown.

  • 6 cups sliced, peeled Jonathan apples (about 6 pounds, or 6 medium apples)
  • 2 tablespoons of orange juice
  • 1/3 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Toss apples and orange juice in large bowl. Combine brown sugar, sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Toss with apples until coated. Set aside and make pie crust.

Pie Crust

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup Crisco (3/4 stick)
  • 5 tablespoons cold water

Combine flour and salt in medium bowl. Cut in Crisco using pastry blender or 2 knives until all flour is in to form peas-sized chunks.

Sprinkle with water, one tablespoon at a time. Toss lightly with fork until dough forms into a ball. Divide dough into two equal parts. Press between hands to form two 5 to 6 inch pancakes.

Four pancakes lightly on both sides. Roll bottom crust between sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap on dampened countertop.

Peel off top sheet. Trim one larger than the upside-down 9-inch pie plate. Flip into pie plate. Remove other sheet. Trim edges even with pie plate.

Finishing Up

  • 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon white sugar

Spoon filling into unbaked pie shell. Dot with butter. Moisten pastry edges with water.

Roll top crust the same way as the bottom. Peel off top sheet. Flip onto filled pie. Remove other sheet. Trim 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold top edge under bottom crust. Flute. Cut slits in top crust for steam to escape.

Brush top crust with milk. Sprinkle with sugar. Cover top with sheet of foil to prevent overbrowning.

Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 10 to 20 minutes longer or until apples are tender, filling in center is bubbly, and crust is golden brown. Cool pie to room temperature before serving.

Makes one 9-inch pie.

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Fat Free Applesauce Spice Cake Or Gingerbread

From the kitchen of: Tami Putney.

  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. cloves
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 3/4 cup flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)
  • 2 tsp. ginger (optional)

Combine the molasses and applesauce in a large bowl. Combine remaining ingredients and stir into the liquid. (If the batter seems very dry, add a little more applesauce or a little water.) Bake in a nonstick or pan-sprayed 8*8-inch baking pan, in a 350 degree oven, for 30-45 minutes or until it tests done.

The optional gingermakes an acceptable gingerbread. I have also had success leaving out the ginger and adding 3 or 4 tablespoons of cocoa (I guess you could use carob) to make a tasty but not very sweet or rich chocolate cake. If you use cocoa you might need to add extra sweetening, but that depends on your taste.

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Baklava

From the kitchen of: unknown.

  • 3 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 1/2 pound walnuts, finely chopped
  • 1/2 pound blanched almonds, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 1/2 pounds filo pastry
  • 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

In a saucepan, combine 3 cups of the sugar, the water, honey, lemon juice cinnamon stick and whole cloves, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick and cloves, and let cool.

In a large bowl, combine the walnuts, almonds, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves and set aside.

Unroll the filo dough on a flat surface and keep it covered with waxed paper and a damp towel so it doesn’t dry out and become brittle. Remove 8 filo sheets, fold, cover and refrigerate for the top layer. Using a pastry brush, brush a 15 1/2 by 11 1/2 by 3 inch baking pan with some of the melted butter. Lay a filo sheet on the bottom of the pan, brush with butter, and repeat using a total of 8 sheets. Sprinkle a handful of the nut mixture over the top filo sheet. Layer 3 more filo sheets, brushing each with butter, and sprinkle again with a handful of the nut mixture. Continue until all the filo sheets and nuts are used, being sure to brush each sheet with butter. Use the reserved 8 sheets of filo for the last, top layer.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Using a long, very sharp knife, cut the baklava into small diamonds: First make 6 evenly spaced lengthwise cuts. Cut straight down until the tip of the knife touches the bottom of the pan, and keeping the knife straight, cut in a straight line all the way. Next, cut diagonally across the lengthwise cuts to form diamonds, starting in one corner and making cuts until you reach the opposite corner.

Heat the remaining butter until it bubbles and pour it over the top of the pastry. Bake for 1 1/4

hours or until evenly golden and flaky. Remove to a rack and spoon the cooled syrup over the entire pastry. Cool in the pan, then serve pieces individually, placing them in decorative paper cups if desired.

Yield: 55 to 60 diamonds

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Bread Pudding

From the kitchen of: Arline Groenwoldt.

  • loaf bread, 1 pound
  • 3 eggs
  • enough milk to make sloppy
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • raisins (optional)

Bake 350 degrees until knife comes out clean. (25 to 30 minutes)

Lemon Sauce

  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon or 2 corn starch
  • juice of two lemons
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Cook all except nutmeg, let cool, add nutmeg.

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