All of these desserts are wonderful!
___
Oreo trifle bars
1 16.5-oz. roll Pillsbury refrigerated chocolate chip cookies
1/4 C unsweetened baking cocoa
1 8-oz. bag Oreo Sandwich Cookie Mini
1 4.67-oz. pkg. Andes crème de menthe candies
1/4 C butter, softened
3 C powdered sugar
3 to 4 tbsp. milk
1 to 2 drops green food color
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, crumble cookie dough; stir or knead in cocoa until well blended. Carefully mix in 1 cup of chopped cookies until well mixed. Press dough evenly in ungreased 9-inch square pan. Bake 12 to 16 minutes or until edges are set (do not over-bake). Immediately place candies on top of baked cookie base. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
In medium bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons of milk with electric mixer on medium speed 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Beat in up to 1 tablespoon milk if necessary to make spreadable. Beat in food color until well mixed. Spread evenly over cooled bars. Sprinkle evenly with remaining cookies, slightly pressing into frosting. For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator up to 3 days.
___
Apple pecan cake
1-1/2 C cooking oil
2 C sugar
4 eggs
3 C all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
3-1/2 C Granny Smith apples, approximately 3-4 apples, peeled, chopped in small pieces
1 C pecans, chopped small
Caramel Glaze:
3/4 C butter – 1-1/2 sticks
1 C light brown sugar
1/4 C milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, add oil, sugar and eggs, mix until nice and creamy. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to large bowl. Mix well. Add vanilla and mix well. Stir in apples and pecans. Pour into generously greased and floured tube pan (you can use two loaf pans in place of a tube pan).
Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 1 hour. Using a toothpick, check at about 50 minutes, and if it comes out clean, then your cake is done. If using loaf pans, make sure to check it at about 50 minutes as well.
Making glaze: In a small pan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Bring to a boil over low heat, then reduce to a simmer, stirring constantly. Let boil for 10 minutes, continuing to stir. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir. Let cool. Once caramel glaze has cooled a bit, pour over top of cake
___
Strawberry cheesecake pie
1 pkg. Dream Whip and ingredients required on box
1 box strawberries – sliced
1 tub strawberry glaze
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 sheets graham crackers, crushed
4 tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 C sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter and crushed graham crackers and press into a pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes. While it’s baking in oven, use a medium sized bowl and mix together Dream Whip package according to its instructions. Set aside and grab another medium sized bowl and combine softened cream cheese and 1/2 C sugar until smooth. Combine both cream and cream cheese mixture until smooth. Pour mixture into cooled piecrust and refrigerate for 3 hours. When serving, combine glaze and strawberries and place over chilled pie.
___
She said, “I choked on a carrot this morning and all I could think was, I’ll bet a doughnut wouldn’t have done that!”
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)