You may remember that dessert is my favorite thing! Try all of these three soon.
Red, white and blue mix
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 3.4-oz. pkg. instant cheesecake pudding, unprepared
1 C International Delight French Vanilla Creamer
1 lb. strawberries, cut into bite-size pieces
2 6-oz. containers blueberries
4 large bananas, sliced
juice of 1 lemon
In a medium tall bowl using an electric mixer, whip cream cheese until it becomes smooth. It may bind up in the beaters, but continue as is and it will loosen up. Add dry pudding mix. Beat until well combined.
With mixer on low, slowly add creamer to cream cheese mix. Add it about a tablespoon at a time and then mix until it becomes a smooth mixture and all of creamer has combined into cream cheese. Repeat until all of creamer has been added to mixture. Whip until smooth. Refrigerate while you prepare fruit.
In a large bowl, combine lemon juice and bananas. Stir to coat bananas completely and pour off any excess lemon juice. Add strawberries and blueberries. Gently stir to combine. Fold cheesecake mixture into fruit. Chill until ready to serve or serve immediately.
Note: Do not pour all of creamer into cream cheese at once. It will get clumpy and no matter how long you beat it, it will stay that way.
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Strawberry cobbler
4 C, quartered fresh strawberries
1/3 C sugar
1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 C instant tapioca
Topping:
1 C all-purpose flour
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 TBS cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 C boiling water
Sugar topping:
1-1/2 TBS sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8×8-in. baking pan with nonstick baking spray. Rinse strawberries. Let whole strawberries dry, then slice in half or quarters. In a large mixing bowl, gently fold together cut strawberries, sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice and tapioca. Pour fruit mixture into prepared baking dish. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix together all topping ingredients except butter and boiling water. Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture looks like coarse meal. Pour boiling water into bowl and stir just until mixture comes together.
Drop topping dough by large spoonfuls evenly over fruit mixture. Evenly sprinkle top of dough with 1-1/2 tablespoons of sugar.
Place baking pan on a cookie sheet and bake in preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until topping is cooked through and golden brown and strawberries are tender.
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Next best thing to Robert Redford
1-1/4 C all-purpose flour
10 TBS butter, melted
1 C finely chopped pecans or walnuts
1 8-oz. cream cheese
1 C powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 8-oz. containers whipped topping (Cool Whip)
1 5.1-oz. pkg. vanilla instant pudding
1 5.9-oz. chocolate fudge instant pudding
3 C milk
1/4 C grated semi-sweet chocolate bar
additional finely chopped nuts, for garnish (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13×9-in. baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, melted butter, and chopped nuts until well combined and crumbly. Press into prepared baking dish and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown around edges. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Fold in 1 container of Cool Whip and stir to combine well. Spread over cooled crust.
In a clean bowl, whisk both vanilla and chocolate pudding mix with 3 cups cold milk. Whisk together until smooth and thickened and spread over cream cheese layer. Spread remaining container of Cool Whip over top.
Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight. Garnish with grated chocolate and additional finely chopped nuts, if desired, before serving.
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She said, “I got called pretty today. Well actually the full statement was you’re pretty annoying, but I only focus on positive things.”
If you would like to share a recipe with me, just send it to the J-T or email it to me.
(Melanie Behrens – melb@marysvillejt.com)