DESSERTS

IN THIS SECTION
Apple Pudding Cake
Cherries on a Cloud
Chocolate Cream Puff Dessert
Homemade Cherry Pie Filling
Ice Cream Dessert
Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
Rhubarb Swirl
Spanish Flan (custard)

Rhubarb Swirl

3 C diced rhubarb

1 (3 Oz) pkg. strawberry Jell-O

1 1/2 C milk

1 (8 oz) container Cool Whip

3/4 C sugar

1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding (I used French Vanilla)

1/4 t vanilla

Mix rhubarb and sugar; let stand for one hour. Place in a heavy pan and simmer until rhubarb is tender. Remove from heat; stir in Jell-o until dissolved. Cool until syrupy. Meanwhile, prepare instant pudding mix with milk and vanilla. When thickened, add the Cool Whip and blend well. Pour rhubarb into the pudding mixture and gently swirl. Spoon onto crushed graham crackers in an 8 X 8 inch pan. Refrigerate.

Note: The next time I make this I would make a graham cracker crust with butter, sugar and crackers.

Chocolate Cream Puff Dessert

My sister made this one for Easter dinner. Easy and yummy for the tummy. I'm thinking it would be good with vanilla pudding and fresh strawberries on top with strawberries syrup. What do you think? :-)

1 stick butter or margarine

1 C water

1 C flour

4 eggs

6 oz instant vanilla pudding

8 oz cream cheese, softened

3 C milk

8 oz cool whip

Hershey’s chocolate syrup

Bring butter and water to a boil. Remove pan from heat and add one cup flour. Stir until flour forms a ball. Next, add one egg at a time. With each addition stir in egg until it forms a ball again. Spread mixture into a greased 9 X 13 glass pan and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

For the filling: Mix pudding, cream cheese, and milk together until smooth. Spread over cooled crust. Top with cool whip, drizzle with chocolate syrup over the top. Chill

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE BARS
Oh, these bars are awful --- awfully good that is!! I made these on Monday night. This recipe came out of one of my favorite cookbooks, The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrns.

1 pkg. plain yellow cake mix

1 c. smooth (creamy) peanut butter

8 tbl. butter melted (or one stick of butter)

2 large eggs

1 pkg. (12 oz/2 c.) of chocolate chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 tbl. butter

1 c. coconut

1 c. chopped pecans

2 tsp. vanilla

Mix cake mix, peanut butter, the one stick of melted butter and two eggs together with electric mixer. Mixture will be really thick. Make sure to take a long handled spoon and mix up the stuff from the bottom of the bowl to be sure it is all mixed together. Take out 1 1/2 cups of this mixture and set aside. Take the remaining mixture and press into the bottom of a 9 X 13 inch pan by using your fingers. Press the dough all the way to the sides of the pan making a crust.

Now make the next layer. In a heavy saucepan (I used a large microwave bowl) heat the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips together until the chips are melted. Add in the 2 tbl. butter, coconut, chopped pecans and vanilla. Stir well. Pour this mixture over the crust, taking it out all the way to the edges. Now, take the reserved cake mixture and crumble it with your hands over the entire top of the bars. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown. Cool for 30 minutes before you cut into small pieces.

Warning: These bars are really good! super rich, and will take care of your peanut butter/chocolate cravings. These bars are good for menopausal women who are in need of some "sweetening" up. :-)

APPLE PUDDING CAKE
I made this cake because I had a bunch of apples sitting around. The recipe sounded different, so I tried it. As the cake bakes, the bottom of the cake develops a pudding because of the sauce mixture. Serve warm with whipped cream topping or ice cream is also good. This would be really good with cinnamon ice cream. This recipe reminds me of the hot fudge pudding cake that I make every so often. Try this one out, you will enjoy it.

Cake Mixture:

1 c. chopped pecans

2/3 c. vegetable shortening

1 1/3 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 c. flour

6 c. peeled and chopped apples (about 6 med. apples - but measure to be sure)

Sauce Mixture:

1 1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. (or 1/2 stick) of butter

2 Tbl. flour

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. water

Topping (optional)

Cool Whip or real whipped cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9 X 13 " pan. Toast the pecans in a frying pan over low heat until they begin to turn brown and become fragrant (about 7 minutes). Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together with mixer shortening and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the flour, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg into the mixture, mixing well. Batter will be stiff. Fold in chopped apples and nuts. Spread the stiff mixture into the bottom of the 9 X13 pan. (DO NOT BAKE -- YET.)

In a medium saucepan, stir together the brown sugar and the 2 tbl. of lour. Add the butter, vanilla, and water, stir, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil gently for three (3) minutes, stirring often. Pour this hot sauce mixture evenly over the batter. Do NOT stir. Bake 1 hour.

Serve warm with whipped cream or Cool Whip. Serves 10-12 persons.

Homemade Cherry Pie Filling
Deb, a member of the group wanted to share this recipe with the group. Thanks! They have a cherry tree in our yard and have tons of cherries on it. She makes this and uses it as you would the canned cherry pie filling, it's much better and a lot less money. She pits her cherries using the Pampered Chef cherry pitter and it works great, and she recommends purchasing the tool to anyone who owns a cherry tree.

4 cups cherries, rinsed, stemmed and pitted
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Combine cherries, sugar and lemon juice in a mixing bowl, stir and let sit for at least 6 hours, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Drain off and reserve cherry syrup. Combine a small amount of syrup to cornstarch to make a paste, then whisk cornstarch paste back into syrup. Pour mixture into a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sauce thickens. Stir in the drained cherries and almond extract. Cool, and store in sterilized, airtight jars or freeze in heavy freezer bags.

Makes about 5 cups.

Spanish Flan (like a custard - simple and easy to prepare)
8 eggs
2/3 c granulated sugar
l/4 t salt
2 cans (14 oz) evaporated milk
2 T vanilla
1 T brandy
l/2 c brown sugar, packed

Cherries on a Cloud
l/1 C graham cracker crumbs
2 T sugar
1/3 C butter, melted
1 - 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
l C powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
2 C miniature marshmallows
2 C Cool Whip
1 - 21-oz can cherry pie filling
l/4 t almond extract (can omit if you don't have...or forget like I did)

Combine first three ingredients; blend well. Press into bottom of un-greased 9X13 pan, refrigerate. Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Fold in marshmallows and Cool Whip. Spread over graham cracker crust. Combine pie filling and almond extract. Spread over cream layer. Refrigerate several hours or until firm. Very fast and easy to whip up. 16 servings