Blackberry Upside Down Cake

2-3 cups fresh blackberries
1 stick butter, cut into chunks
1 cup self rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put butter in 9 x 13 x 2 baking dish and place in the oven as it preheats.  In a medium size bowl whisk flour, sugar, milk, egg and vanilla until smooth.  After oven preheats remove baking dish and evenly spread butter around bottom.  Add blackberries.  Pour batter evenly over berries.  Bake 35 minutes or until tooth pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Comments:  This can be made using just about any fruit.  I've made it with apples, strawberries and blueberries but I always use fresh fruit.  I'm sure this can be made with thawed frozen fruit but it may take a bit longer to cook due to the liquid in frozen fruit.  This dish is good without being too sweet, easy to make and everyone seems to love it.  One thing I do when it first comes out of the oven is to dot it with a little butter and sprinkle a light dusting of sugar over the butter after it melts.

Comment from Carol:  The blackberry cake was out of this world.  Mom and I ooohed and aaahed as we ate it and wondered how we could be so lucky!  It is not too sweet but respects that special tartness of blackberries.  The sugar sprinkled on top is in just the right place.

Strawberry Pudding

1 cup milk
1 pound package of mini marshmallows
1 container (8 oz.) cool whip
1 lb. strawberries, cleaned and sliced (save enough to decorate top of dish.
1 box of vanilla wafers, finely crushed (save about 1/3 cup to sprinkle over top)

In a large saucepan over low heat, heat milk until scalding (before milk boils).  Add mini marshmallows and stir constantly until melted.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool.  After cooled stir in strawberries.  Fold in cool whip.  Line bottom of a 9 x 13 dish with all but 1/3 cup of the crushed vanilla wafers.  Gently pour and evenly spread pudding mixture over wafers.  Garnish with strawberry toppings and sprinkle with remaining wafer crumbs.  Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Comments:  This recipe came from Kandy's Kitchen Kreations and was her grandmother's recipe for Pineapple - Vanilla Wafer Dessert Pudding.  I made 2 changes.  I used fresh strawberries instead of the pineapple and I used cool whip instead of whipping my own topping.  This dish is one of the best!  It isn't super sweet.  You can change the flavor by changing the fruit.  It can be made in individual serving dishes or you could even make this as a layered dish in a pretty clear dish.  No matter how you decide to make this, it's delicious!  And another variation idea - make it like a banana pudding using whole wafers instead of the crushed.  This would be great if making a layered pudding.  You would simply make a layer of wafers, a layer of strawberries and a layer of the pudding mixture, repeating until all is used.  Use this oldie but goodie to make your own pudding by simply Thinking With Your Taste Buds.  One more thing.  If you let this sit in the refrigerator for a couple hours it will slice.  I was impatient and had to try!

Comment from Carol:  Late season strawberries when they are at their sweetest combined with marshmallow cream and cool whip over crumbled vanilla wafers make this an elegant dessert.  The combination of ingredients heightens the overall sensation of this dessert and slightly changes each ingredient's flavor;  e.g. which is the marshmallow cream?  Which is the cool whip?  Why do the vanilla wafers taste like shortbread?  And all of this with the strawberries is a convincing argument for making sure to rush out to buy those last baskets of strawberries in late spring.  All things considered, though, this dessert would also work well with frozen strawberries.  It works well no matter what (and maybe would be good with peaches or plums too), is attractive on the dessert plate and is almost like a trifle and maybe better!  It's easy to put together and great for guests.

Cranberry Orange Cake

1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp. orange juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place cranberries in a bowl and add 1/4 cup orange juice.  Set aside.  In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and sugar.  Add eggs, oil and buttermilk.  Blend on high for about 2 minutes.  Fold in cranberries with juice.  Pour into bundt or tube pan sprayed with non-stick spray.  Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Invert onto a plate.  Mix confectioners' sugar and 2 Tbsp. orange juice.  Drizzle over hot cake.

Comments:  This recipe actually came from the Pam Cooking Spray site.  The only changes I made was to the eggs.  They were separated with the yolks being added and the whites beaten until stiff and then folded in after the cranberries.  I added my eggs without separating them nor whipping up the whites.  It worked out perfectly.  The only other change was to the drizzle.  The original recipe called for 2 Tbsp. buttermilk which I just couldn't bring myself to use.  I love the taste of buttermilk as long as it's cooked in but not by itself.  This is where I used the 2 Tbsp. of orange juice instead.  No matter what - this is a really good cake.

Cherry Cheese Pie

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cans (15 oz. approx. each) cherry pie filling
1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 oz. cream cheese, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix graham crackers and butter together.  Press into 9 x 13 x 2 baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Mix sweetened condensed milk and cream cheese together until well blended.  Spread evenly over graham cracker crust.  Gently spread cherry pie filling over milk mixture.  Bake 30 minutes.  Cool completely before cutting.

Comment:  The original recipe for this was didn't call for the cream cheese but I decided to add it and see how it worked out.  It worked out great!  You get just a hint of a cheese cake taste making it perfect.  Before I added the cream cheese I put it in a bowl and into the microwave for about 20 minutes to soften.  When I added it to the milk all I needed was a whisk to blend the two together.  This dish can be made with just about any pie filling... strawberry, blueberry, apple, etc.  It's a simple dish that takes no time to make. The original recipe also called for sugar in the crust which I omitted.  I also bought pie filling with no added sugar.  By doing this my dish was sweet but not over-sweet.  And for an added uniqueness I used spoon rest dishes to serve.

Banana Toffee Cake

1 yellow cake mix
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. almond extract
3 med. bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 pkg toffee chips
cream cheese icing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl beat together cake mix, water, oil, eggs and almond extract on low speed for about 30 seconds.  Continue to beat for another 2 minutes on med.  Beat in bananas until smooth.  Take out 1/4 cup of the toffee chips and set aside.  Stir remaining chips into batter.  Pour into 9 x 13 baking pan sprayed with non-stick spray.  Bake 35-40 minutes or until cake springs back or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  After taking cake out of oven spoon 6-8 teaspoons of icing over cake.  Allow to sit for 3-4 minutes.  With a knife smooth over cake.  Sprinkle with remaining toffee chips.  Also, the bananas add just enough flavor that the cake doesn't end up tasting like a box cake.

Comments:  I had 3 bananas that needed to be used so I started thumbing through some of my older cookbooks. I found this recipe in a 1996 cookbooklet from Betty Crocker.  The only changes made was the addition of the cream cheese icing and sprinkling the toffee chips on the icing.  I also found that you can take a can of store bought icing, spoon a small amount onto a hot cake and give it a glaze.  If the cake has cooled off enough that it won't melt, put it into a still warm oven.  This makes the perfect glaze for any cake.

Pecan Pie Cupcakes

1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs

Peheat oven to 35 degrees.  Line mini muffin tins with paper liners or spray tins with non-stick spray with flour.  Mix all ingredients together.  Fill each tin 3/4 ful.  Bake 15-18 minutes.  Make 24 - 28 mini muffins.

Comments:  I found this recipe on Pinterest where it had been submitted by Lick the Bowl Good.   It looked so good I had to give them a try.  The only changes I made at all to the recipe was to use the paper liners.  I'm sending a batch of these to a friend who had a birthday yesterday and loves pecan pie.  I have no doubts she will be tickled with these.

Mini Pecan Pies

Crust
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature
1 pkg (3 oz.) cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt

In a medium size bowl cream butter and cream cheese using an electric mixer on medium until smooth.  Add four and reduce speed to low.  Beat until dough forms a ball.

Filling
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1 egg
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

In a medium size bowl, mix egg, sugar, butter, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon until well blended.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Divide dough into 4 equal pieces.  Divide each of the 4 pieces into 6 equal parts.  Roll each of the small pieces into balls.  Spray mini muffin pan with non-stick spray.  Flatten each dough ball into a circle that will fit inside each muffin tin forming a pie shell.  Spoon 1 tsp. of nuts into each shell.  Spoon in 1 1/2 tsp. of egg mixture over pecans.  Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Lower temperature to 325 degrees and bake another 10 minutes.

Comments - I found this recipe in a magazine and knew it had to be delicious and it is.  I did delete and change a couple of ingredients.  I omitted the salt in both the crust and filling.  I also omitted the cornmeal that the original recipe called for in making the crust.  I also increased the amount of cinnamon from a pinch to 1/8 tsp.  Changes.  I want to make this recipe using dried apples instead of pecans.  I feel sure it will be delicious!

Peanut Butter Bars

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/4 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1 stick butter, melted
1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup regular sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup Peanut Butter Bars, crushed (about 20)
8-10 Peanut Butter Bars, crushed and set aside
Glaze (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a med. bowl mix flour, nuts, brown sugar and butter.  Press into the bottom of 9 x 13 x 2" baking dish.  Bake about 10-21 minutes or until slightly browned.  In another bowl using a mixer blend cream cheese and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Stir in 1 cup peanut butter bars.  Pour over crust.  Bake 25 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Spread a fine glaze over top and sprinkle with remaining peanut butter bars.  Refrigerate.  Makes about 30 bars.

Notes:  In the picture you'll see the type of peanut butter bars I used.  You can use chocolate coated peanut butter candy instead of the type I used.  This also works well with crushed toffee candy.  For my glaze I used Duncan Hines Amazing Glazes.  I keep a bottle of this in my refrigerator to use when I want a glaze that isn't sticky when cooled.  This works perfect.  You can also use the chocolate glaze for added flavor.

Easy Sandwich Cookies

Filling

3/4 cups chunky peanut butter
3/4 cups marshmallow cream
3 Tbl. milk
3 Tbl. powdered sugar

Cream all ingredients together. Spread between store bought cookies or homemade cookies. These make delicious sandwich cookies at very little cost. I made them with homemade sugar cookies. It made enough to make about 20 sandwich 3" cookies. I also used them with store bought cookies. The homemade ones were the best, of course, but it also improved the taste of the store bought cookies.

This is a recipe that's fun to play with. Try melting 3/4 cups of chocolate chips to use in place of the peanut butter or the marshmallow cream. When making this change you may need to add just a little more powdered sugar to get the creamy texture. You can also use white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, etc. Just play around with different flavors. If you have children, this is a good way for them to help and start appreciating the fun you can have in the kitchen.

Cherry Nut Cake

1 yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts

Peheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix cake mix, eggs and pie filling with an electric mixer until completely blended. Stir in nuts. Pour into a bundt pan sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake 55-60 minutes or until tooth pick inserted in the thickest part comes out clean.

The changes for this cake are many. You can start by changing the cake mix and using a pie filling that compliments the flavor of the cake. Example... Lemon cake mix with lemon pie filling. Spice cake mix with apple pie filling. You can change the nuts by using almonds, pecans or walnuts. I used pecans when I made the cherry nut but walnuts would have been just as good. You can leave the cake plain or make a drizzle by using 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and about a tablespoon of milk or evaporated milk. I use the evaporated milk for richness and flavor. I also drizzle the cake while it's still hot. This cake comes out moist and has plenty of flavor, plus it's pretty.