Category Desserts

Instant Pot Oreo Cheesecake

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This cheesecake was well received at our family Christmas.  Even my son who isn’t much for compliments had two pieces!  (that’s about as good as a compliment as I’ll get…but I’ll take it!)

Needed for the Crust:

  • 12 whole Oreo cookies, crushed into crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted

Needed for the cheesecake:

  • 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 8 whole Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped

Needed for the topping:

  • 1 cup whipped cream or whipped topping
  • 8 whole Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped
  • chocolate sauce, optional

Directions:

  1. Spray the inside of a 7 inch spring form or push pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. In a small bowl, stir together the 12 crushed Oreo cookies and melted butter and press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan.
  3. Place pan in freezer for 10-15 minutes.
  4. In a bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. When smooth add the sugar and mix until combined.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well before adding the second egg. Add in the flour, heavy cream, and vanilla and mix until smooth. Fold in 8 chopped Oreo cookies and pour batter into prepared pan.
  5. Cover the top of the pan with a piece of foil to keep condensation off the top of the cheesecake as it cooks.
  6. Pour 1 1/2 cups of water into the Instant Pot.
  7. Place the cheesecake pan on the rack and carefully lower both the rack and the pan into the Instant Pot, using the handles on the rack.  If your rack doesn’t have handles you may want to use a ‘foil sling’ to assist with this.
  8. Lock the lid into place and make sure the vent is closed. Press the “Manual” button and cook on high pressure for 40 minutes.
  9. When the Instant Pot beeps, hit the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button to turn off the pressure cooker. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes and then do a quick release to release any pressure remaining in the pot.
  10. Carefully remove the cheesecake from the pot to a cooling rack. Uncover the cheesecake and allow it to cool to room temperature.
  11. Once the cheesecake has cooled, refrigerate it for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
  12. Before serving, top with whipped cream, chopped Oreo cookies, and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

 

Pecan Pie Cobbler

dtbarne 1 Comment

I am not a baker.  I don’t care to bake.  I’m not sure why…perhaps it’s the amount of ingredients necessary or the number of steps involved but baking is just not my thing.  However, this recipe is easy peasy and sinfully delicious.  For this particular dish…I don’t mind baking one bit!

The recipe below is for a 9×13 inch pan, however, there is now way Michael and I could eat all that so the recipe is easily halved.

  • 1 box refrigerated pie crust (package of two)
  • 2-1/2 cups light corn syrup
  • 2-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 4 tsp vanilla
  • 6 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 cups chopped pecans
  • Cooking spray
  • 2 cups pecan halves
  • Vanilla Ice Cream for topping
  1. Preheat oven to 425.  Lightly grease a 13″ x 9″ glass baking dish and set aside.  Roll out one of the pie crusts to fit the baking dish.  Trim the edges, if needed.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs until well combined. When nice and smooth, stir in the chopped pecans.
  3. Pour or spoon half of the filling into the crust.
  4. Roll out the second pie crust to fit the baking dish and place over the top of the filling.  Lightly spray pie crust with cooking spray.
  5. Bake 14-16 minutes or until browned. Remove from the oven.
  6. Reduce oven temperature to 350 and carefully spoon or pour remaining pecan filling over the crust. Arrange the pecan halves over the top and bake another 30 minutes or until the center is set. Let cobbler cool for 15-20 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Fresh from the oven

Oh yeah….ready to eat

Stella’s Faux Fried Ice Cream

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Vanilla Ice Cream

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal, crushed

Honey

Chocolate Syrup

Whipped Cream

Maraschino Cherries

  1. Scoop out balls of slightly softened ice cream, one per person is good.
  2. Place ice cream balls on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or waxed paper and place in the freezer for one hour to harden up.
  3. When the ice cream has hardened up, roll ice cream balls in the crushed cereal and generously coat.
  4. Return to tray and place in freezer until ready to serve.
  5. Drizzle with honey before serving.
  6. Add whipped cream and a cherry and enjoy!

Air Fryer Fried Pies

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What a surprise these little guys turned out to be!  Tender flaky crust.  Yummy goodness on the inside.  Wow!  Now I’m gonna have to try every flavor of pie filling I can find!

Refrigerated pie crust

Canned pie filling (any flavor: cherry, apple, lemon, etc)

Egg, beaten

Let crust come to room temperature and then using a small plate as a guide or bowl about 4 inches in diameter cut out circles.

Place about a 1/4 to a 1/3 of a cup of pie filling on half of the pie crust circle.  Fold crust in half over the pie filling and seal edges with a fork.

Place pies (as many as you can without overlapping) in air fryer and brush with beaten egg (egg wash).

Set temperature to 370 and set timer to 14 minutes.  Turn pies halfway through cook time.  Be sure to keep an eye on the pies so they don’t over brown.

Crust was flaky and tender…delicious!

Gram’s Butter Horns

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This recipe is treasured by all of my siblings as we all loved it when my mom made these butter horns and it was only recently that I learned that the recipe originally came from my grandma.

½ pound butter, soft

½ cup sugar

3 eggs

½ tsp salt

Rind of 1 lemon

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup luke warm milk

1 pkg dried yeast

4 to 4.5 cups flour

2 Tbs lemon juice

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, beat well.  Add salt, lemon rind and vanilla.  Dissolve yeast in cup of warm milk, add milk and flour.

Refrigerate overnight or for several hours.

Divide dough into six even sized parts.  Take only one part out of the refrigerator at a time.

Roll out as for pie crust.  Cut in eight pie-shaped pieces.  Spread with soft butter. Roll up from large end to the point.  Put on cookie sheet and let raise for 3 hours.

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.  Frost while warm with powdered sugar frosting.

Makes about 48 butter horns.

You can bake all at once or save some for a few days.  Be sure you only work on one part of the dough at a time.  Keep the rest in the refrigerator as dough is hard to handle when warm.  You should use up the other half pound of butter in rolling them and the balance in frosting and greasing of cookie sheets.

 

Instant Pot New York Cheesecake

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Ingredients:
Crust
  • ¾ cup of graham crackers (about 6 sheets) or any crispy cookie crumbs
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling
  • 16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon flour (optional – makes a more dense filling)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon orange peel, grated
  • ½ teaspoon lemon peel, grated
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 egg yolk, room temperature
  • ¼ cup whipping/heavy cream
Topping
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 2 teaspoons sugar

Directions:

Crust
  1. Add cookies and sugar to the bowl of food processor and pulse a couple of times, until small crumbs form.  Optionally you can put the crackers in a storage bag and use a rolling pin to crush them.
  2. Melt butter in microwave and add to graham cracker mixture. Pulse (or mix) until just combined.
  3. Pour cookie mixture into bottom of greased cheesecake pan (6-inch or 7-inch work best) and press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan and one inch up along the sides.
  4. Place pan with crust into freezer for 15 minutes.
Filling
  1. Blend together cream cheese, sugar, flour (if using), grated peels and vanilla extract until smooth.
  2. Add eggs and yolk, one at a time, mixing until just combined. Do not over mix the eggs.
  3. Hand blend in cream thoroughly.
  4. Pour filling into the pan, on top of the graham cracker crust.
Cook
  1. Add 1.5 cups of water to the bottom of your pressure cooker and then place a trivet inside the pot.
  2. Cover the cheesecake first with a paper towel and then with a piece of aluminum foil and secure it around the sides.
  3. Place cheesecake into pressure cooker using a sling.
  4. Lock on lid and close pressure valve.
  5. Cook at High Pressure for 35 minutes. Allow a 15 minute natural release and the quick release to be sure all pressure has been released.
  6. After all pressure has been released, open pressure cooker and gently remove the pan. Remove the foil and paper towel and dab off any liquid that may have accumulated.
  7. The center will be a bit jiggly, but don’t worry. The heat that is trapped inside will continue to cook the center while the cheesecake cools.
Topping
  1. Mix together the sour cream and sugar and then spread on the hot cheesecake.
  2. Let cool on wire rack for one hour.
  3. Lightly cover and place in refrigerator overnight.

Tips
If you use a 7 inch pan, cut the cooking time to 30 minutes.

For Single Serving Jar Cheesecake
8 oz Glass Jar – cook 7 minutes
4 oz Glass Jar – cook 4 minutes
15 minute Natural Pressure Release

Monster Cookies

dtbarne 1 Comment
Crispy around the edges and chewy in the middle

Crispy around the edges and chewy in the middle

My husband’s favorite cookies, as well as many of the oil field workers who I gift these too.

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 12 -ounce jar creamy peanut butter
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup raisins, optional
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

You could use any combination of ‘mix-ins’ that appeal to you.  Craisins, pecans, walnuts, butterscotch chips, etc.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes (13 minutes in my convection oven). Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

Snickers Apple Salad

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1 5 oz package vanilla instant pudding

1.5 cups cold milk

1 8 oz container Cool Whip

6 green Granny Smith apples

6 chilled snickers bars

Whisk pudding and milk together until smooth.  Let sit for about 5 minutes.  When the pudding is set, gently fold in the Cool Whip until combined.  Put in refrigerator to chill while you chop the remaining ingredients.

Core and slice apples (an apple cutter works great here!) into bite sized pieces and then do the same with the candy bars.  I cut the candy bars into thirds length wise and then cut them into small pieces cross ways.

Gently fold the pudding/Cool Whip mixture into the apples until apples are well coated.  Chill for a couple of hours before serving.

Optional:  Drizzle caramel ice cream topping and chopped peanuts over the top.

Gotta be healthy with all those apples, right??

Gotta be healthy with all those apples, right??

No-Bake Strawberry Ice Box Cake

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Such a pretty dessert!  Pretty desserts are always a hit at an RV potluck this one was no exception…I came home with an empty serving dish!  Score!

INGREDIENTS:

2 qts. fresh strawberries, sliced
2 (8 oz.) tubs fat-free whipped topping (or use regular or light)
1 (14.4 oz.) box graham crackers
1/2 cup milk chocolate chip morsels

DIRECTIONS:

1. Spread a small amount of whipped topping on the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking pan. Place 5 graham cracker sheets down the side of dish.  Then add 2 more sheets on opposite side and 1 single rectangle in the last space. Lightly cover the top of the graham crackers with more whipped topping and then a layer of sliced strawberries. Repeat three times, until you have four layers of graham crackers.   You’ll end with a layer of strawberries on top.

2. Place milk chocolate chip morsels in a plastic bag. Microwave in 10 second intervals until melted. Snip the end of the plastic bag and drizzle chocolate over top of cake.

3. Refrigerate covered for at least four hours, or until the crackers have softened completely.  Serve.

How pretty is that??

Jim B’s Lemon Squares

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This recipe was passed onto me by the president of our Heartland Owners Club and is a good way to use up a bunch of lemons.

Crust

2 cups flour

1/2 cup confectioners (powdered) sugar

1 cup (2 quarter pound sticks) softened butter

Filling

4 eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

6 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

Crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Lightly grease 9″ x 13″ cake pan with cooking spray

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3-1/2 cups flour and 1 cup confectioners sugar

Add 1-3/4 cups butter to flour and sugar.  Cut butter into mixture until mixture has the consistency of small peas

Work the dough with your hands and press the dough in the bottom of the greased pan, working it 3/4″ to 1″ up the sides of the pan as well.  This requires a lot of finger and knuckle pressing but is easily done.  Dough will be thin.  Just make sure the thickness is fairly even

Bake for about 15 minutes or until dough is firm to the touch (just short of browning).  Remove from oven and set aside when done

Filling

While dough is baking, crack 4 eggs into mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed until slightly frothy (about 2 to 3 minutes)

Stir in 2 cups granulated sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice, 1/4 cup flour and baking powder.  Stir or mix slowly until well incorporated, scraping sides of bowl with rubber spatula

Pour filling into hot crust and bake for about 25 minutes or until set (top may be very light brown)

Cool in pan for a few hours and cut into squares

Dust with confectioners sugar if desired and serve

Makes 24 squares

Just the right amount of sweet vs sour