Mouth-Watering Desserts:
Here are a few of our fuss-free family favorite dessert recipes. The first couple of these recipes are especially fast and easy. Our children have learned to make them by themselves at a very early age.
Benjamin's Peanut Butter Cookies:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
Just these three ingredients, and that's it! Cream them together. Drop by rounded teaspoon on a cookie sheet. Flatten with a fork. Bake at 350º F for 10-11 minutes. Let cool before removing from the pan. This recipe makes about 3 dozen small cookies, or 1 dozen large ones.
Rebekah's Rice Crispy Treats:
1 stick of butter
1 10.5-oz pkg of mini-marshmallows
6 cups crispy rice cereal
Melt butter and marshmallows over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and begins to bubble. Remove from heat, stir in cereal, pour into 9 inch x 13 inch pan (spray first with cooking spray), and pat it down smoothly (it's less messy if you'll spray your hand with cooking spray before attempting this step. We use disposable, food-service gloves, which we also spray liberally with cooking spray). Let treats cool, then cut into squares. Yum-yum. For all you chocolate lovers, these are also very good made with Cocoa Crispies cereal.
Baby's Banana Pudding:
3-5 ripe bananas
6 cups of milk
2 large pkgs. instant vanilla pudding
vanilla wafer cookies
This is another quick dessert the kids can make without help. They mix the milk and instant pudding powder in a blender, then pour it over sliced bananas, usually in a 9-inch by 13-inch glass pan, and top with nilla wafers (arranged neatly in even rows by little fingers. For creamier pudding, we sometimes fold in a small container of Cool Whip (thawed).
Fresh Berry Crsip:
2 sticks butter
2 cups flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar (plus a little more to sprinkle on top of berries
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup rolled oats
2-3 lbs of seasonal berries
This is what we traditionally make for Isaac's birthday instead of cake, since the wild blackberries that grow near our house are ripe and ready for harvest at just that time. It is also delicious made with blueberries, which happen to be in season about the time we celebrate Rachel's birthday! There are several local farms that let us pick our own.
Pre-heat oven to 375º F. Spray 9-inch by 13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Rinse and drain berries and layer into the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle liberally with granulated sugar. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl (we use a Bosch with cookie paddle attatchments), combine flour, sugars, and salt. Cut in the butter until large clumps form, then mix in the rolled oats by hand (we use a large rubber spatula to do this). Crumble this mixture over the berries, covering them evenly. Bake until brown, about 45-50 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Special Request Carrot Cake:
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
3 large eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lb. large carrots, peeled and grated
1 cup chopped pecans
Pre-heat oven to 350º F. Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, milk, oil, sour cream, and vanilla. Blend with dry ingredients, then fold in pecans and carrots using a rubber spatula. Pour into oiled and floured bundt pan, and bake 35-40 minutes, or until inserted wooden scewer comes out clean. These also make good cupcakes. I usually top the bundt cake with a milk glaze (1 cup powdered sugar and 2 Tbsp. milk, blended until smooth, and drizzled over top of cake). For cupcakes, I use the cream cheese frosting (recipe follows). This cake is nice and moist — an especial favorite of Jonathan and David.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 stick of butter, room temperature
2 pkgs. cream cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
Combine all ingredients in bowl of electric mixer, using a paddle attachment and scraping down the sides of bowl as needed. Spread on cupcakes after they've had time to cool a bit.
>> MORE RECIPES
|
