Sweets...

When we moved to Illinois nearly 6 years ago, we were blessed to find a house next door to the sweetest people I know… Lucille and Bill Carlyle. They quickly became good friends and “shared custody” of our dachshund, Gracie. We moved to another house in Champaign (7 miles away) last summer, but we still consider Lucille and Bill our neighbors and always our good friends. How appropriate to start off my section on Sweets, with recipes from Sweet Lucille!

Ice Cream Pie

1 cup sifted flour
¼ cup quick oats
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup chopped pecans

Mix the above ingredients thoroughly and pat into a well-buttered pan. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Take out of the oven and mix with a spoon until it crumbles and let cool.

Pat ½ crumbs into buttered 9”-10” pie pan. Drizzle ¼ jar butterscotch topping over the crumbs and freeze. Soften 3 lbs. Baskin-Robbins pralines and cream ice cream and then spread over the frozen mixture. Drizzle with ¼ jar butterscotch topping and the remaining crumbs. Freeze again.

You may also use chocolate almond or mocha ice creams instead of the pralines and cream.

Lorna Doone Dessert

Crust:
1 pkg. Lorna Doone cookies, crushed. Mix with 1 stick margarine. Put in 9 x 13 pyrex dish and set in freezer while preparing the filling.

Filling: 2 small pkgs. instant vanilla pudding mix and 2 cups milk. Add 1 qt. butter pecan ice cream, softened. Pour filling over crust and chill in refrigerator until set. Frost with Cool Whip and sprinkle with crushed Heath Bars or Heath Bit O’ Brickle.

Note: Recipe fits 10” pie plate very full. You may also use butter pecan pudding mix and praline pecan ice cream.

Fudge Pie

Mix together
1 ½ cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup hot water
¼ t. salt

Heat to boiling and remove from heat. Add ½ cup milk. Beat 2 egg yolks with ¼ cup milk. Add to other ingredients and cook until thick. Remove from heat and add 2 T. butter and 1 t. vanilla.

Pour into a baked pie crust and top with Cool Whip and pecans.

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Pat Dillard is a dear friend of mine from Roanoke. We worked together for a few years at the Presbyterian Community Center and she is another one of my spiritual mentors. Pat and I have one big thing in common... we love good food! Here are three of her favorite sweet recipes...

PUFFED PASTRY

½ cup butter, softened 1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup all-purpose flour 3 eggs
2 TBS water Powdered Sugar Glaze
½ cup butter Chopped nuts (optional)
1 tsp almond extract

Heat oven to 350. Cut ½ cup butter into 1 cup flour until particles are mealy. Sprinkle 2 TBS water over flour mixture; use fork to mix. Gather mixture into
a ball; divide into halves. Pat each half into a rectangle, 12’x3” on an ungreased
cookie sheet. The rectangles should be around 3” apart.

Heat ½ butter and 1 cup water to rolling boil: remove from heat. Quickly stir in
almond extract and 1 cup of flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms
a ball, about 1 minute; remove from heat. Add eggs; beat until smooth and glossy.

Spread half of the topping over each rectangle. Bake until topping is crisp and brown, about 1 hour; cool. Topping will shrink and fall forming a custardy top. Spread with powdered sugar glaze and nuts if desired.


Powdered Sugar Glaze: Mix 1½ cups of powdered sugar, 2 TBS butter softened, and 1tsp vanilla. Stir in 1 to 2 TBS of warm water, tsp at a time until smooth and a good consistency.

This has been a continued favorite in the family and everyone I give the recipe to.

FRENCH DEEP DISH APPLE PIE

In a bowl sift together 2 ½ cups of flour and ½ tsp salt. Cut in 1 ½ sticks or
¾ cup butter until the mixture is mealy. Mix together 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten, 7 TBS apple cider or apple juice. Add 1TBS lemon juice. With a fork gradually work the egg yolk mixture into the flour until the pastry holds together.

Divide it in half and roll out one half on a lightly floured board. Press the pastry onto the bottom and sides of a 9” deep pie dish. Chill the shell and the remaining pastry.

Peel and core 6 large greening apples and slice them thinly. Mix together 1 cup sugar, 1TBS flour, ½ tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Toss in ¾ cup raisins coated with 1TBS flour. In the pie shell arrange alternate layers of the apples and sugar mixture and the raisins. Cover the top of the pie with the remaining pastry, thinly rolled.

Slash the top in several places and seal the edges of the pie. Bake the pie in a moderate oven 350 for 60-70 minutes or until the pastry of golden. Cool the pie thoroughly. Depending on the oven, top of pie can get brown because of the eggs and apple cider. I always think that juicy apples helped this recipe because it tends to get a little dry in the baking. My husband made this every fall when the apples came in. I haven’t made it since he died 3 years ago but writing this has whetted my appetite. This recipe came from a 1960’s Gourmet magazine.


APPLE CUSTARD PIE

7 Medium Apples; grated
2 whole eggs beaten
2 TBS flour
1-1/2 cups sugar depending on tartness of apples
¼ tsp nutmeg and a dash of allspice
1tsp vanilla
1TBS milk

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add vanilla and milk to beaten eggs and then add to grated apples

Mix apples, eggs, vanilla and milk to dry ingredients until thoroughly mixed.
Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake at 400 for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 325 and bake for 1 hour or until brown. YUM!

This was my Mom’s favorite recipe. I’m not sure where she got it, but I have never been able to make the flaky pie crust she used to make. She had the touch.

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This recipe really could go under "You CAN Go Home Again," but it is such a good and easy "sweet" recipe, that I thought I'd put it here. I have made it with peaches, blackberries, and blueberries. Once I used peaches AND blueberries and it was wonderful.

Margaret's Peach Cobbler

Melt one stick of butter (or margarine) in a casserole dish. Make sure the dish isn't too deep so the cobbler will cook through.
In a bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 1 cup self-rising flour, and 2/3 cup milk.
Pour mixture over the melted butter or margarine. Do not stir!
Add peaches... about 2 cups, peeled and sliced. Again, do not stir. You can use canned peaches, but drain off most of the juice if you do. I have also made this with fresh blueberries and fresh blackberries.
Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes or until lightly brown on top and firm to the touch.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

Here is another one of my favorite sweet recipes. I've seen variations on this recipe... one includes 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter. You could also substitute walnuts or almonds for the pecans.

Preacher Cookies

* 2 cups sugar
* 1/2 cup milk
* 2 cups uncooked oatmeal (quick cook)
* 1 t. vanilla
* 1 stick margarine or butter
* 1/2 cup cocoa
* 1 cup chopped pecans or coconut

Combine sugar, margarine/butter, and milk in sauce pan and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add cocoa, oatmeal, vanilla and nuts or coconut. Beat quickly while hot. Then drop onto a baking sheet or counter-top that has been lined with parchment paper or waxed paper. When completely cooled, remove to an air-tight container and keep in a cool place or refrigerate.

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July 24, 2011

Rich and I went to a Greek dinner recently and had a wonderful meal. The cake that was served for dessert was amazing. I asked my friend, Claire Skaperdas, if she happened to have a recipe for a cake like the one we had and she did. Here it is..

Karithopita

6 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp orange peel, grated
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup ground zwieback crumbs
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup ground walnuts

Syrup

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp orange rind
1 Tbs lemon juice

Beat egg yolks until thick. Add sugar, cinnamon, orange peel.
In another bowl beat egg whites with cream of tartar till stiff. Fold yolk mixture into egg whites,
Sift flour, baking powder. Fold into egg mixture.
Fold in nuts.

Bake in greased 9 x 13 inch pan for 40 minutes at 350 or until done. Test to make sure cake is firm.

Bring to boil all the syrup ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. COOL.

Carefully pour cool syrup over hot cake.

(Note: A very important tip when making Greek desserts that require a syrup. The syrup must always be cool. I make mine before I begin to make the cake or even a couple of hours before otherwise when you pour hot syrup over hot cake, the cake tends to fall apart.)

When cake is completely cool cut into diamond (traditional shape) shape. Cover the cake and let stand for several hours. Actually the cake is best made a day or 2 before serving, if you can wait that long!