Double-Decker Fudge

From the kitchen of Mallory Hayford.

Mallory brought this fudge to a Girls Night last week and it was SO GOOD!!! Thank you for sharing it, Mallory!

1 cup Reese's Peanut Butter Chips
1 cup Hersheys Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
2 1/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups (7 oz jar) marshmallow creme
3/4 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Measure peanut butter chips into one bowl and chocolate chips into another; set aside. Butter 8-inch square pan; set aside. Combine sugar, marshmallow creme, evaporated milk and butter in heavy 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils; continue cooking and stirring for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Immediately stir half of the hot mixture into peanut butter chips until completely melted. Quickly pour into prepared pan. Stir remaining hot mixture into chocolate chips until completely melted. Quickly spread over top of peanut butter layer; cool. Cut into 1-inch squares.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Combine butter, graham cracker crumbs and sugar; press on bottom of 9-inch springform pan.

In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 65 minutes or until cake center is set. Cool to room temperature. Chill thoroughly. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

We had this for dessert on Thanksgiving - it was so great.

Christmas Party Recipes

My dear friend Carrot Jello posted these on her blog and they looked good. So there you have it. :)

Irish Mince Tartlets

1 lg. jar of mince meat pie filling (or other flavor pie filling)
2 recipes for 2-crust pies
1 beaten egg
Oven 450F
Roll out two crusts at a time. Cut into 4-inch circles with large biscuit cutter or tart cutter for as many pairs as will fit. Place 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of the bottom crusts. With a pastry brush put egg around the edge to seal. Cut a slit or small hole in the top crust and place on top. Press down firmly and seal the edges. Brush with egg (I brushed with cream and sprinkled with sugar). Place the tartlets on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until crust is golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely on wire rack.
Repeat with second two pie crusts. Yield: about 20 tartlets

ABC Slump (or apple, blueberry, cranberry)
6 Servings
Prep/Total Time: 30 min.
Ingredients
• 1 cup chopped peeled tart apple (I used granny smith)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen)
• 3/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (I used fresh)
• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup sugar
•
• DUMPLINGS:
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• Half-and-half cream
Directions
• In a large saucepan, combine the fruit (I cooked the apples and cranberries a few minutes before adding the blueberries), water and sugar; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk; stir just until moistened. Drop into six mounds onto simmering fruit. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a dumpling comes out clean (do not lift the cover while simmering). Serve warm with cream. Yield: 6 servings.

Sweet Potato Pie

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour 50 Minutes Ready In: 2 Hours 20 Minutes
Servings: 8

INGREDIENTS:
1 (1 pound) sweet potato
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
(I used 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice instead)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
DIRECTIONS:
1. Boil sweet potato whole in skin for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potato, and remove the skin.
2. Break apart sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into an unbaked pie crust.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a souffle, and then will sink down as it cools.

Pineapple-Apple Upside-Down Cake

Years ago, Ryan and I bought a cookbook of favorite recipes from the farmers of Apple Hill in Camino, CA. This weekend, I tried the following recipe from that cookbook and took it to share with some of my girlfriends during a GNO. It was a big hit!

½ cup butter
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 ¼ cup flour
1 tsp. Baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp allspice

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and then vanilla.

Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and allspice. Gradually add flour mixture to cream mixture. Mix well. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

½ cup sugar
½ tsp. Cinnamon
2 medium size apples, finely chopped
3 oz. Crushed pineapple

Stir sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle half of it over a lightly greased round cake pan. Mix apple and pineapple, spread in pan. Sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture.

Spoon batter evenly over pineapple and apples. Bake for 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Turn onto a serving plate.

*I served this with cool whip. It is yummy with or without. :)

Perfect Strawberry Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin mix
1 cup mashed strawberries
1 cup applesauce
4 eggs or 1 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup milk
2 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed


Preheat oven to 325 degrees). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and gelatin mix. Make a well in the center and pour in 1 cup mashed strawberries, applesauce, eggs and milk. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut and chopped nuts. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

To Make Topping: Prepare pudding mix as directed on package using one cup of milk. Fold whipped topping into pudding mixture and spread over cake. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Chocolate Peanut Sundaes

Submitted by Mallory Hayford
(REALLY GOOD! Especially for chocolate and peanute butter fans.)

1 package (3.4 ounces) cook-and-serve chocolate pudding mix
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon vanilly extract
Vanilla ice cream
Chopped peanuts, optional

Directions:
In a saucepan, combine the pudding mix, water, corn syrup and salt. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in the peanut butter, butter and vanilla until smooth. Serve warm over ice cream. Sprinkle with peanuts if desired.

Yield: about 1-2/3 cups sauce

Turtle Cheesecake

My husband is a fantastic dessert baker and this is one of my favorites that he makes.

1 3/4 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
2 tablespoons Chocolate Flavor Syrup
2 tablespoons caramel syrup or ice cream topping
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/4 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels

DIRECTIONS:

1. PREHEAT oven to 300 degrees F. Grease 9-inch springform pan.

2. COMBINE crumbs and butter in medium bowl. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of prepared pan.

3. BEAT cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk in large mixer bowl until smooth. Add sugar, eggs, lime juice and vanilla extract; beat until combined. Microwave morsels in medium, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute; stir. Morsels may retain some of their shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Stir 2 cups of cheesecake batter into melted morsels; mix well. Alternately spoon batters into crust, beginning and ending with yellow batter.

4. BAKE for 1 hour 10 to 15 minutes or until edge is set and center moves slightly. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; run knife around edge of cheesecake. Cool completely. Drizzle Nesquik™ and caramel syrup over cheesecake. Sprinkle with pecans and mini morsels. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove side of pan.

***The flavor of cheesecake intensifies with time, I prefer my cheesecakes about 1-2 days old, so I usually ask Ryan to make this a night or two before we're planning to eat it.