Cream Cheese Squares

A really good cook says.... this is so easy and sooooooooooo good!


1 stick of butter
3 eggs
1 box of confection sugar
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 8oz. cream cheese.

Melt butter in pan.

Mix cake mix and one egg and pour on top of the butter.

Then mix cream cheese, 2 eggs and box of confection sugar (I leave a little in the box to sprinkle on the top after they cook)

Pour cream cheese mixture on top of cake mix and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. or until golden brown.

Flower Pot Dessert

This first time I had this was a our wedding shower. It was one of those, OMG, what is this and how can I get more!

1 1/4 lb Oreo cookies
1/2 stick of butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3 1/2 cup milk
12 ounces cool whip
8 ounces cream cheese
2 small boxes vanilla instant pudding
8 inch Flower pot or other truffle like container

Crush Oreo cookies and set aside. Cream together butter, cream cheese and sugar, set aside. Mix together milk, pudding and cool whip. Combine the two mixtures. Put a 1 inch layer of Oreo cookies on bottom of pot, then pudding mixture. Continue layering ending with Oreo cookies. Refrigerate 2 hours. Before serving decorate with plastic flowers and gummy worms or use you imagination :) Enjoy!

Watergate Cake with Cover Up Frosting

I had no idea while eating this cake as a child of the '70s, that it was popular because of the Watergate scandal was taking
place. I just thought it was good:)

1 (18 1/4 ounce) box plain white cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) box instant pistachio pudding mix
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup ginger ale
3 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 13 x 9-inch pan with vegetable oil spray.

Mix cake mix, pudding mix, oil, ginger ale and eggs into a large
mixing bowl. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top
with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven. Bake the cake
until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 35 to 40
minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to
cool completely, 30 minutes more.

Cover-Up Frosting
1 (3.4 ounce) box instant pistachio pudding mix
1 1/2 cups milk
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Whisk pudding mix and milk together in a large mixing bowl. It should
thicken up but not set, from 2 to 3 minutes. Gently fold in whipped
topping. Spread the top with frosting. Sprinkle toasted nuts
over the top, if desired. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

Cheesecake Pie

I love thins recipe, it's light and so sweet cream cheesy :)

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 1.2 cups(8 0z.) cool whip topping
1 graham crust crust, bought or homemade

Beat Cream cheese , sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in cool whip. Spoon into crust.

For cheesecake tarts: Spoon filling into single serving graham cracker pie crusts. Chill 2 hours. Garnish with fruit. makes 12 tarts

Homemade Brownies

Update: They've been tested and "are the best thing I've ever put in my mouth" per mento's sister :)

I have a new "mento" for confirmation, and yesterday on facebook she said she wanted brownies "right now!" So today I thought I would surprise her with some. I didn't have a mix, but had all the ingredients to make them homemade.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 eggs 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional) CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING (recipe follows)
Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square baking pan.

Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Prepare CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING; spread over brownies. Cut into squares. About 16 brownies.


CREAMY BROWNIE FROSTING

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
3 tablespoons HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 tablespoon light corn syrup or honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Beat butter, cocoa, corn syrup and vanilla in small bowl until blended. Add powdered sugar and milk; beat to spreading consistency. About 1 cup frosting.

Coconut Tres Leches Cake

Seriously delicious!

1 yellow cake mix

Milk Syrup:
1 can (15 ounces) cream of coconut, not canned coconut milk
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnishes:
2 medium-size ripe bananas
Sweetened cream (see instructions below)
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted (spread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake it at 350 degrees until golden brown, 7 minutes, or toast it in a skillet over medium-low heat on the stove top)

preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake yellow cake mix according to instructions, cool completely, 1 hour. I didn't do this- I poured the milk syrup on the warm cake- it was fine.

Meanwhile, make the milk syrup: in a blender, combine the cream of coconut, evaporated milk, cream, and vanilla and process until smooth.

Pierce the cooled cake all over the top with a fork The more pokes, the more the syrup will soak into the cake. Using a large spoon or ladle, spoon some of the milk syrup over the cake. Let the syrup soak into the cake, then continue spooning the syrup on top until all of it has been used up. When you have finished, not all of the syrup will be completely absorbed and might be pooling on the top but that’s ok because it will absorb as it refrigerates. Cover the cake loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until all of the syrup is absorbed, 2 hours. Serve with sliced bananas, sweetened cream and toasted coconut, if desired.

Sweetened Cream:
Pour 1 cup heavy whipping cream into a large (preferably chilled) glass bowl and beat it on high speed until thickened 1 ½ minutes. Stop the machine and add ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar and ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Makes 2 cups.

Layered Key Lime Pie

Drew is going through a key lime pie phase and I am more than happy to oblige him and try and many recipes as it take 'til we find one he loves! I found this one here I'll post how it turns out. :)

For the Crust: (I roughly doubled the crust to get extra high sides on my pie) I'll probably just use a graham cracker crust.

3/4 cup granola without any fruit, or nuts (I used a very crunchy kind with bits of flax seed mixed in, I like the flavor)
3/4 plain graham crackers
1/4 shredded sweetened coconut
1/3 cup melted salted butter
4 Tablespoons of sugar

For the Custard Layer:

1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup of freshly squeezed key lime juice
3 egg yolks
3 Tablespoons of sugar
zest from one key lime


For the Chilled Layer:

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 whole fat sour cream
4 Tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup lime juice
5-6 Tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Crust: Preheat oven to 350 F. In the bowl of a food processor (or, I used the mini food processor that came with my hand blender) pulse granola until roughly ground up (you don't want dust, but not giant chunks either). Pour granola into medium sized bowl. Now, pulse graham crackers in food processor as well, until coarsely blended. (If you do not have a food processor a large plastic bag and a few good whacks with a rolling pin or other heavy object will do the job just fine). Transfer to bowl with granola. Add the coconut, butter and the sugar then mix well. Press into 9 inch springform baking pan (like a cheesecake pan, which is what I used). Bake for 8 minutes, the crust will just begin to turn a shade of golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Custard Layer: While the crust is cooling, juice your limes and make your custard. Super easy. Pour your lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, sugar, egg yolks, and zest into a bowl. Whisk until well incorporated, pour evenly over crust and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until custard has set. If need be, cover the top edges of your crust with tin foil. Remove from oven and allow to come to room temperature completely.

Chilled Layer: In the bowl on an electric mixer, or using handheld beaters, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla (leaving out the heavy cream), and mix until smooth and completely incorporated. While on medium speed, slowly pour in heavy cream. Once pie has come to room temp. spread chilled layer evenly over the custard layer. Cover and chill at least three hours.

To Serve: Whip up some of your leftover heavy cream with a bit of honey and spread on top of the whole shabang. I also garnished this with a light dusting of key lime zest. Cut into large pieces, and enjoy (trust me, you will!)

Chocolate Cake

Or maybe I should say "over-the-top" chocolate cake. I made this recipe as a cake once-it was too rich. Now I make it as cupcakes. Last night for Valentine's Day, I made it with a yellow cake leaving out the coffee and substituting vanilla pudding/chips for chocolate. Either way it's rich and super good. Enjoy! Ps The frosting is really good as white icing without the coco powder.

1 box Butter Recipe Chocolate Cake mix
1 3 ounce instant chocolate pudding mix
16 ounces sour cream
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brewed coffee
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, mix chocolate cake mix, pudding mix, and sour cream. Add in eggs one at a time. Then add the oil and coffee. Once it’s all blended, add in the chocolate chips.

You can pour all the batter into one bundt pan and bake at 350 for 1 hour or use two 9-inch round pans and bake at 350 for about 35 minutes.


Chocolate Frosting

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar- I used 3 cups

Mix butter and cocoa together. Add milk and vanilla. Gradually add in powdered sugar until you achieve desired consistency. It should be thick, but spreadable.

Cherry Pie

Ryan was over last night and made a great- big- ole deal about our cherry pie and wants the recipe. This is going to drive Snow through the roof- she's a "from scratch" kinda baker and thinks anything from a mix or out of a box is just yuck-so here goes. Don't shoot the messenger.

Pillsbury double package pie crust- the rolled up kind
2 cans Comstock cherry pie filling
Pie pan
Cooking spray or butter

Bring pie crusts to room temperature. Spray non-stick cooking spray or grease with butter the bottom of pie pan. Unroll one pie crust and line bottom of pie pan. Open both cans of cherry pie filling. Here's the technical part-dump pie filling on top of pie crust, smooth out to level. Lick the spoon of cherry pie filling goodness. Unroll remaining pie crust on to cherry pie filling. Pinch together both top and bottom pie crusts. Trim edges if eating the doughy goodness is necessary. On top pie crust, make slits with a knife to get some ventilation goin' on.

Preheat oven to 425. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 375 continue baking for 35-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Let cool before serving so as not to burn your mouth and ruin all other meals sent from heaven during this holiday season. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Crisp

Here's another scrup-dili-ious pumpkin recipe. It's like that "dump cake" recipe with all the fruit. I love it because of the cake mix topping, I could eat it by the spoonfuls!

1 15 ounce can pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped nuts, optional
1 cup butter, melted
Whipped Cream

Stir together first 5 ingredients. Pour into lightly greased 13x9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture; sprinkle evenly with pecans or nut of your choosing. Drizzle melted butter evenly over pecans.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream. Enjoy!

PS If you've never heard of "Dump Cake" here's the recipe. Enjoy!

1 22 ounce can pie filling- flavor of your choice
1 15 ounce can pineapple chunks, drained
1 box white or yellow cake mix
3/4 cup pecans, chopped
3/4 cup butter, melted

Grease 9x13 inch baking dish. "Dump" pie filling and pineapples in baking dish. "Dump" cake mix on top of filling. Spread evenly, but do not mix with filling. Sprinkle with nuts. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Pumpkin Bars "The Bestest Ever"

I've been eating/making/enjoying these for 30 plus years. It's the recipe to which I compare all others. The recipe that is worn from all the ingredients spilling over. The recipe that screams "IT'S THE HOLIDAYS!!!!!"

1 Yellow Cake Mix
1 Can Pumpkin Pie Mix
3 Eggs
2/3 Cup Evaporated Milk
3/4 Cup Butter
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1. Pour dry cake mix in bowl. Measure 1 cup and set aside. Add 1/2 cup butter and 1 egg to remaining cake mix. Mix well. Grease 9x13 inch baking pan. Spread mixture evenly.

2. Mix 1 can pumpkin pie mix, 2 eggs and 2/3 cups evaporated milk. Pour over cake mixture.

3. Mix remaining 1 cup dry cake mix, 1/4 butter, 1/4 sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon together until crumbly- is that a word? Sprinkle evenly on top of pumpkin pie mixture.

4. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes. Cool. Eat-It's really good topped with whipped cream. Enjoy!

Lemon Jello-O Cake

lemon cake mix
1 cup hot water
1 3.4 ounce package lemon jello
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
dash of salt

Mix 1 cup hot water with 1 package lemon jell-o, set aside. Mix cake mix, eggs, oil and salt. Add lemon jell-o mixture. Pour into 9x13 inch pan. Bake 350 for 35-40 minutes

Icing

2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice

While cake is still hot, poke all over with a fork. Pour icing over hot cake and let cool. Eat and enjoy! This cake would be great in a bunt pan with other flavors of cake and matching jell-o.

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Tis' the season for pumpkin recipes. If you have a good one, send it to me. I'll post it....giving you props!

1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin- not pie filling
4 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Mix all ingredients together. Bake in a 11x14 sheet pan at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Mix together:
1 8 ounces paackage cream cheese
1 box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon butter
milk as needed to thin frosting

Apricot Noodle Pudding

I haven't made this forever but love it!

1/2 pound medium egg noodles
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
5 tablespoons melted butter
3/4 cup milk
1 1/4 cups apricot nectar
1 (15 ounce) can apricot halves, drained

Topping:
3 cups crushed corn flakes
1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
6 tablespoons melted butter

1. Cook noodles according to package directions, drain and return to cooking pan or large bowl. Set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, blend the cream cheese and sugar together. Add beaten eggs and stir well. Add 6 tablespoons melted butter, milk and apricot nectar. Pour mixture over noodles in cooking pot and mix well. Pour mixture into greased 9x13 inch baking dish, and top with apricot halves.

3. Mix together the corn flakes, sugar, and cinnamon and sprinkle over noodle mixture. Drizzle with 6 tablespoons of melted butter. Bake at 350 for 50 t o60 minutes. Do not over bake.