Desserts

Ingredients
Crust:
2 cups Flour
2 cups Brown Sugar
¾ cup Butter
1 tsp. Salt
2 cups Walnuts
1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
Filling:
16 oz. frozen Cranberries
1 cup Sugar
½ cup Cornstarch
1 tsp. Orange Zest
¾ stick Cream Cheese
1 tsp. Vanilla
¼ cup Powdered Sugar

 

❃❃Make 24 ❃

 Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 and spray a 9×12 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Line with parchment paper the short way with enough parchment to overhang both sides.  Spray the parchment paper.
Zest orange, chop walnuts, melt butter for crust and make sure cream cheese is soft.

Crust
In a bowl combine flour, brown sugar, salt, melted butter, walnuts and pumpkin pie spice.  Divide mixture in half and press half of the mixture into the bottom of the glass baking dish.

Filling
In a saucepan add cranberries and sugar.  Cook on medium high heat until cranberries have popped and are soft.  This will take about 15-20 minutes.  Once cranberries are soft add cornstarch and orange zest.  Remove from heat and cool.
In a separate bowl, with a handheld mixture, mix cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar together.

Assemble
Once cooled, add cranberry mixture on top of the bottom crust distributing evenly.  Add doll-ups of the cream cheese mixture over the cranberries.  Finally, evenly coat cranberries and cream cheese layer with the other half of the crust mixture, leaving it loose and crumbly.
Bake for 50-60 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool for at least 1 hour.  Once cooled, run a sharp knife on the edges of pan where there is no parchment, lift bars from pan using the overhanging parchment and cut into squares.

Ingredients   
6 cups Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cheerios
3 Tbsp. Butter
4 cups small Marshmallows
1 cup Reese’s Pieces

❃❃Make 24 Squares❃

Preparation
Spray a large 17X13 inch sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Pre-measure all ingredients.

Marshmallow Treats
In a large heavy bottomed pan melt butter over medium heat then add marshmallows.  Stir until all the marshmallows have melted.  Remove from heat and add the cereal and peanut butter candy mixing until everything is combined.  Quickly remove to the sheet pan and spread in an even layer to cool.
Once treats have cooled cut into squares or I use cookie cutters to cut out leaf shapes.  The areas that are left after leaves are cut out are then rolled into balls and a sucker stick is put in them.

 

Ingredients  
1 1/4 cups leftovers from Aunt Judy’s Sweet Potato Casserole
1 cup Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 cup Milk
1/3 cup Powdered Sugar
48 oz. Vegetable Oil

❃❃Makes 28 – 34❃❃

 Preparation
Add oil to a large, heavy bottomed pan and heat to 330 – 340.  Line a sheet pan with paper towels.

Fritters
Mix together sweet potatoes, flour, baking powder and milk until smooth.  When oil has reached temperature add 5 – 6 fritters at a time with a 2 tsp. scoop.  Maintain the oil temperature at around 330-340 and fry fritters for a full 5 minutes so the middle of the fritters are cooked.  Remove with a slotted spoon or spider to the paper towels and let oil drain.  Once fritters are cool sprinkle with powdered sugar through a small strainer.  Continue to fry fritters until batter is gone.

 

Ingredients
6 oz. White Chocolate
2 Tbsp. melted Butter
2 cups Sugar
4 Eggs
1 cup Flour
Pumpkin Swirl:
½ cup Pumpkin
¼ cup Sugar
¼ cup Flour
½ tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

❃❃Makes 24❃❃

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350, spray a 9X13 baking dish with non-stick spray, line with parchment paper long enough to hang over sides (on the long sides) and then spray the parchment with non-stick cooking spray.
Melt the chocolate and let cool slightly.  Melt the butter in a separate dish and let cool slightly.

Brownie Mixture
In a bowl, by hand, mix together sugar, eggs, melted butter, melted chocolate and flour.  Distribute evenly in the baking dish.

Pumpkin Swirl
In a separate bowl, by hand, mix together pumpkin, sugar, flour and pumpkin pie spice.

Pumpkin Swirl
Place doll-ups of the pumpkin mixture evenly over the brownie mixture.  Then with a butter knife swirl the pumpkin mixture into the brownie mixture.

Baking & Serving
Place in oven for 45 – 50 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.  Run a knife around the brownies where there is no parchment paper between the brownies and the pan to loosen.  Lift brownies out of pan by lifting the entire mixture with the overhanging parchment paper.  Cut the brownies into desired size or into 24 squares.

Ingredients
24 oz. Blackberries
2 ½ Tbsp. Sugar
2 Tbsp. Corn Starch
1 cup Flour
1 cup Oats
1 cup Brown Sugar
¼ cup cold Butter + 2 Tbsp. soft Butter
½ cup Peanut Butter

❃❃Serves 8❃❃

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 and thoroughly cover cast iron skillet with 2 Tbsp. soft butter.

Making Filling
Add blackberries and sugar to the cast iron skillet.  Mix well and let blackberries macerate for about 30 minutes.  Add cornstarch and mix well.

Making Crisp Topping
Add flour, oats, brown sugar and cold cubed butter to a bowl.  Combine with a pastry cutter until the size of peas.  Add in peanut butter and mix in with your hands until combined.  Top the blackberry mixture.

Cook for 30-45 minutes or until topping starts to brown and filling is bubbling.

Ingredients
2 ¾ cus Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
¼ tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
6 Tbsp Butter
1 cup Sugar
3 Eggs
½ cup Pumpkin
1 cup Turbinado Sugar
3 tsp. Cinnamon
12 oz. White Chocolate

❃❃Makes 24❃❃

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Mix turbinado sugar and cinnamon together.  Set aside

Mixing
Add flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice to a bowl and sift or whisk together to combine.  In the bowl of a mixer mix butter and sugar until combined.  Add eggs one at a time until incorporated and then add pumpkin.  Combine dry ingredients in until just combined.

Baking
Form dough into two, flat, ovals on the pan covered with parchment paper.  The dough will be slightly sticky, so you may need to use some flour on your hands to form long ovals.  Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool for 10 – 20 minutes.  Cut into ½ inch slices with a serrated knife and put back onto sheet pan with cut side down.  Bake another 30 minutes flipping the cookies half way through.

Assembling
After cookies have cooled melt 12 oz. white chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave.  If melting in the microwave put in for 20 seconds at a time stirring in between.  Melt until almost all the chocolate is melted and stir the last chunks until melted.  Dip each biscotti into chocolate ½ way up the biscotti.  Sprinkle turbinado sugar and cinnamon mixture over chocolate.  Set aside on a cooling rack until chocolate has completely set.