Category: CAKES & PIES

BUTTERFINGER PIE

CRUST
24 OREO cookies, crushed
3 tablespoons butter, melted

• Blend together the crushed cookies and butter until you have a uniform consistency.
• Press cookie crumbs into your 9 inch spring form pan.
• Place in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

FILLING
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup JIF creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup superfine sugar
pinch of Sea Salt
8 ounces cool whip
3 King size candy bars, chopped fine

• Cream the cream cheese until smooth.
• Add peanut butter, sugar and salt beating until fluffy.
• Fold in the cool whip with a spatula just until incorporated.
• Fold in 2/3 +/- of the candy bar pieces, reserving enough to sprinkle on top as a finish.
• Remove crust from the freezer.
• Pour into the prepared crust and spread smooth.
• Top with remaining candy bar pieces.
• Chill at least one hour (overnight is best) before serving.

CHEESECAKE MIXTURE 
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened well (but not melted)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon PURE vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

CARROT CAKE MIXTURE
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon PURE vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups finely grated carrots 
1/3 cup golden raisins (soaked in rum until plump and drained well)

TOPPING
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon  PURE vanilla extract
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

• Pour 1 1/2 cups carrot cake mixture into buttered springform pan and spread into an even layer. 
• Dollop about 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture by the spoonfuls over carrot cake layer (don’t spread or swirl). 
• Carefully spoon remaining carrot cake mixture over cream cheese layer, then finish by drizzling by the remaining cheesecake mixture over carrot cake layer, working to cover all of the carrot cake mixture.
• Bake in preheated oven 60 – 65 minutes, until center portion only jiggles slightly.
• Tent with aluminum foil at 40 minutes to prevent excessive browning (tent in a way that the foil doesn’t touch cheesecake or it will stick). 
• Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack 1 hour.
• Cover with foil and chill in refrigerator 6 hours.
• Add topping and chill overnight.

TOPPING

• In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, whip together cream cheese and butter until smooth. 
• Add remaining topping ingredients and mix until pale and fluffy, about 4 – 5 minutes. 
• Spread evenly over cheesecake then chill cheesecake in freezer for 20 – 30 minutes. 
• Sprinkle edges with chopped pecans. 
• Store in refrigerator in an airtight container. 
• Enjoy!

Original recipe Source: adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe and Relish

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Mix water and rum together and soak raisins in the mixture while your are preparing the apples.
• Drain the raisins retaining the rum mixture.
• In a large skillet melt the butter. Add the rum mixture.
• Add apples and simmer until apples are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
• While apples are simmering, prepare crust. Finely grind the vanilla wafers, ginger snaps and walnuts together. I use my mini Cuisinart and do it in just a few small batches to get the crumbs extra fine and then cut everything else in with a pastry blender. Add the seasonings, melted butter, lemon and lime juices until well blended.
• Press 1/3-1/2 of crust into a greased deep pie plate.*
• When apples are tender, sprinkle sugars, flour and seasonings over the apples.
• Fold in the lemon juice, vanilla, honey and raisins.
• Simmer until gooey.
• Pour into the pie plate and top with remaining crust.
• Bake 50-60 minutes until golden.
• Cool.
• Serve with vanilla ice cream.

*I sometimes sprinkle 1/3 of the crust mixture between layers of apples.

PINEAPPLE ANGEL FOOD SNACK CAKE
1 box Angel Food Cake Mix
1 large can crushed pineapple with juice

• Mix them together, pour into a spring form, bundt pan or 13×9 baking dish.
• Bake 30-35 minutes in a 350 oven. 
• Voile’, a light and fruity dessert. 
•  If you want to get fancy spoon Comstock cherries over top before serving.  It is very good with a war rum raisin sauce also.

OREO COOKIES & CREAM CHEESECAKES
adapted from Martha Stewart Makes 30

42 OREO cookies, 30 whole and 12 coarsely chopped
4-8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt

• Preheat oven to 275° degrees.
• Line  muffin tins with paper liners.
• Place 1 whole Oreo cookie in the bottom of each lined muffin cup.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.
• Gradually add the sugar, and beat until combined.
• Beat in the vanilla.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
• Add in sour cream and salt, beat to combine.
• Using a large spatula, fold in the chopped Oreo cookies.
• Divide batter evenly among the cookie-filled muffin cups, fill each cup almost to the top.
• Bake, rotating muffin tins halfway through, until the filling is set, about 22 to 28 minutes.
• Transfer the muffins tins to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Refrigerate (in the muffin tins) at least 4 hours (or overnight).
• Remove from tins just before serving.

GRANDMA’S STREUSEL COFFEECAKE
2 + 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 + 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 + 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 + 2/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
6 + 6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 JUMBO eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 cups blueberries

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Sift together the 2 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg and orange peel in a large mixing bowl.
• Whisk together the eggs, 6 tablespoons butter, buttermilk and vanilla.
• Gently fold in the blueberries.
• Pour liquid mix into flour mixture and beat until smooth with a hand mixer.
• Pour into a prepared 9×9 pan.
• In a small food processor process all the remaining ingredients except the walnuts until smooth.
• Using your hands form small flat pancakes with the mixture and scatter over cake batter until well covered.
• Poke a few holes down into the cake for the streusel to run into or run a knife through creating a swirl.
• Scatter walnuts evenly over top.
• Bake 1 hour.
• Serve warm with a dab of butter melting on top of each piece.

CAKE:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 
• Mix together the cake mix and pudding mix. 
• Add the oil and milk, beat well.
• Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth. 
• Pour into a well greased 9×13 baker. 
• Bake 45-60 minutes (or until center springs back). 
• While cake is baking mix together the pineapple and sugar on top of stove until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and let cool slightly. 
• While cake is still hot, punch holes in cake with a large round chopstick and pour hot pineapple mixture over cake. 
• Let cool.

• Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. 
• Add lemon juice. 
• Add powdered sugar gradually and beat until creamy. 
• Spread over cooled cake. 
• Refrigerate to set frosting.

*Also good with white or butter cake
**DO NOT USE sugar free!

• Butter a 9-inch springform pan—choose one that has high sides. Mine is square.
• Stir the crumbs, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist.
• Turn the ingredients into the buttered springform pan and use your fingers to pat an even layer of crumbs along the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides. Don’t worry if the sides are not perfectly even or if the crumbs reach above or below the midway mark on the sides.
• Center a rack in the oven, preheat the oven to 350°F and place the springform on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.
• Set the crust aside to cool on a rack while you make the cheesecake.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.

• Working in a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until it is soft and truly creamy, about 5 minutes.
• With the mixer running, add the sugar and salt and continue to beat another 4 minutes or so, until the cream cheese is light. Beat in the vanilla and blackberry extract.
• Add the eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition. Reduce the mixer speed to low and stir in the sour cream and/or heavy cream.
• Give the batter a few stirs with a rubber spatula, just to make sure that nothing has been left unmixed at the bottom of the bowl, and scrape the batter into the springform pan.
• Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, at which point the top will be browned (and perhaps cracked) and may have risen just a little above the rim of the pan. Turn off the oven’s heat and open the door a crack.
• Allow the cheesecake to sit for another hour.
• After 1 hour, carefully remove from the oven and leet the cheesecake come to room temperature on a cooling rack.
• Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen sides.
• When the cake is cool, cover the top lightly and chill the cake for at least 6-8 hours, although overnight would be better.

• Remove springform sides. The easiest way to cut cheesecake is to use a long, thin knife that has been run under hot water and lightly wiped. Keep warming the knife as you cut slices of the cake.

• Wrapped well, the cake will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or for up to 2 months in the freezer. It’s best to defrost the still-wrapped cheesecake overnight in the refrigerator.