Recipes - Cookies, Pies, Cakes, and Other Sweets

[Marge_Innavera]

I've posted this gingerbread recipe on my blog -- will copy here:



Missouri Town Gingerbread

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter or margarine
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup hot water
2 - 1/2 cups flour
1 - 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Melt butter or margarine; mix in sugar and egg.  In one bowl mix all dry ingredients; in another, mix molasses, honey and water.  Add this mixture and the flour mixture alternately to the butter-egg-sugar mixture, beating well after each addition.

Bake in a greased square cake pan at 350 degrees, about one hour.

[Front-Ranger]

I'm just about ready to march into the kitchen and make some pumpkin pecan pie. I love it because it kills two birds with one stone, so to speak. That frees me up to make something more creative for my second dessert, and all of you have given me plenty of inspiration!!

I finally found the right recipe for ppp on the Libby's pumpkin web site. It is here: http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/28658/Pumpkin-Pecan-Pie/detail.aspx

This recipe is simpler than all the other ppp recipes on the web, which call for things like sour cream and lemon zest. Try it, you'll like it!!

[Front-Ranger]

I just got inspiration for my second dessert, in addition to the de rigeur pumpkin pie. How about ... ambrosia? But I'll serve it AFTER the meal, not before it, especially to bratty little kids.

[Front-Ranger]

Just made my favorite icing recipe for my son's birthday cake. It's as easy as...cake!! 12 oz. of chocolate chips, melted with 2 cups whipping cream. Stir together in the pan, cool, and add 1 tsp. karo syrup. It's called "Mrs. Milman's chocolate frosting" as popularized by Martha Stewart.

Amazing that I am a major contributor to this thread! I don't eat sweets, generally, but I like making them for others.

[Front-Ranger]

I'm trying something different for Christmas dinner...a mincemeat cranberry pie. Will let you know how it is received.

[Marge_Innavera]

My Mom used to make this sometimes for Christmas dinner.  It can be made to look extra-Christmas-y by adding halved maraschino cherries to the (green) top of the pie.  It's a good dessert for a big family dinner because it's not only decorative but can be made the day before.

I've often thought that a variation, substituting Amaretto or Cherry Heering for the creme de menthe would be tasty; but haven't ever tried it.

Grasshopper Pie

24 marshmellows
3/4 cup milk
2 ounces (1/4 cup) creme de menthe
1 ounce (2 tablespoons or 1/8 cup) creme de cacao
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
16-18 Hydrox or Oreo cookies
3 tablespoons butter

Crust: crush cookies to make crumbs; mix with melted butter and pack into a pie pan to make a crust. Chill a few hours, till the crust is solid.

Melt, then chill marshamallows and milk; best done in a double boiler or a saucepan set in a frying pan of boiling water.

After chilling, add the creme de menthe and cream de cacao.  Whip the cream, then folkd into the mixture.  Pour into the pie crust and chill.

[Front-Ranger]

I'm trying something different for Christmas dinner...a mincemeat cranberry pie. Will let you know how it is received.

The pie was a hit. I managed to get everyone to eat some, even though they'd just eaten back-to-back brunch and dinner. Even better, I served it with vanilla ice cream and crystallized ginger sprinkles!!

[CellarDweller]

White Chocolate Brownies:

6 tablespoons of unsalted butter
8 ounces of white chocolate (or one cup of white chocolate chips)
2 eggs
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 tablespoon of vanilla
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350.

Grease and flour an 8 inch square baking pan, or line with foil.  Melt butter and 4 ounces of the white chocolate in top of a double boiler over hot water.  When melted, remove from heat and add the other 4 ounces of white chocolate, stir to blend well.  Set aside.  Beat the eggs and sugar until pale and smooth.  Add white chocolate and butter mixture, vanilla and flour.  Beat just until smooth.  Add semisweet chips and stir by hand, being carefull not to over-mix.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack, cut into squares.

My own little "twist", I melted some of the excess white chocolate I had and drizled them over the top.

[Front-Ranger]

Looks yummy...I bet they were a hit!!

[Jeff Wrangler]

I was at a party Saturday evening--two very dear friends celebrating 25 years together. There was a buffet, and the desserts included cupcakes.

There were red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. ... 

And then there were--what should I call them?--Oreo cupcakes?

They were chocolate cupcakes with a cream filling in the center. The frosting probably started out as a basic vanilla frosting, but then it had ground-up Oreos added to the frosting, and each cupcake had half an Oreo stuck in the frosting on top.

Best. Cupcakes. Ever. ...