Desserts
Desserts & Sweet Treats
Desserts are so fun to make. Most are so much easier than you think. They bring joy to the table. When I have company they seldom ask what kind of veg am I serving but always "What's for dessert?".
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During the COVID quarantine I made this funny catapillar cake for a 5 year old boy. He had told his mom the night before "I'm over this!". I was too! So I decided to do something silly, and I did.
Key Lime Pie
Key Lime Pie
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Ingredients
1 small can frozen lime juice
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 regular size frozen whipped topping
4 oz softened cream cheese
1 prepared shortbread or Graham cracker pie shell
1 lime or a couple of key limes
Your friends will love this refreshing summer pie. Garnish with spray can whipped cream for a special treat.
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Directions
Mix together the lime juice, cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. Your can use a spoon, whisk or hand mixer.
Refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Then fold in ½ of the whipped topping. Pour into the pie shell. Cover the top of the pie to within ½ inch of the sides with the remaining whipped topping. Freeze.
Put in refrigerator when you start to serve dinner. Top with 3 thin slices of lime or a couple of key limes cut in quarters.
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Frank’s Baked Apple Surprise
Frank’s Baked Apple Surprise
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Ingredients
6 medium sized tart apples (any apple good for baking will work here)
Buttered shallow baking dish
2 T walnuts or pecans
2 T chopped dates or whole raisins
2 T sugar
1 T butter cut in 6 pieces
1 cup orange juice
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Frank Stilwell, my mother’s father, loved apples just about more than anyone I have ever known. He lived to be 91! An apple a day…..
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Directions
Core the apples and arrange in the baking dish. In a bowl mix together the nuts, fruit, and sugar. Fill apple cores with this mixture. Then put a ‘dot’ of butter on top of that. Pour the orange juice gently over the apples.
Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 40-45 minutes until the apples are tender but not collapsed. Baste 3-4 times while baking.
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Banana Bread
Banana Bread
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Ingredients
2 very ripe bananas cut in pieces
½ cup butter (one stick) cut in 8 pieces – keep cold
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
2 t lemon juice or vinegar
1 t baking soda
½ t salt
½ cup nuts (I like Pecans or Walnuts will work)
¼ t cinnamon (optional)
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This is the recipe I have been making since 1984. It makes a great gift bread. We enjoy it sliced and toasted in the morning.
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Directions
In a food processor with the knife blade, process the bananas and butter for about 20 seconds until finely chopped. Then add the flour, sugars, eggs, milk, lemon juice or vinegar, baking soda, salt. Process for 10 seconds.
Scrape down you bowl then add the nuts and cinnamon if desired. Pulse 3 or 4 times just to mix in and chop the nuts.
Pour into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan or 2 small loaf pans. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 50-60 minutes. Test for doneness. It a chopstick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean the bread is done. Cool completely before removing from the pan.
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If your bananas are very ripe, you can reduce the sugar by up to 1/4 cup without compromising the flavor.
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Old-fashioned Cherry Cobbler
Ingredients;
1 20+oz jarred tart red cherries, undrained
1 heaping tablespoon corn starch
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
â…› teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
Every year my local Aldi carries jarred cherries. I prefer to use cherries in liquid, not cherry pie filling, which I find too sweet. Look around, you can find cherries in liquid out there. Speaking of sweet, I cut back the traditional Southern cup of sugar used in so many cobbler recipes.
Directions:
Bring jarred cherries and corn starch to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat; then immediately remove from heat.
Mix flour, one cup sugar, milk, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
Heat butter into a 2-quart casserole dish as oven preheats; pour flour mixture over butter. Do NOT stir.. Add cherries evenly over the top and do not stir. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes until edges are browned.
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Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
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TIP: Heavy whipping cream lasts a while in the refrigerator, so keep some on hand and make your own whipped cream. Use your mixer or whisk to beat one cup of cream to soft peaks. Then add a teaspoon of sugar or confectioners sugar. Continue beating until you get a stiffer peak. Don't over beat. You can do this ahead of the meal and refrigerate for a couple hours.