Snickerdoodle Fruit Dessert

A couple of years ago I was invited to join a bunco group that had been put together by a few of the PTA moms at Westside.  This has led me to happy associations and friendships with many of the parents of the students at my school. I have come home with fun prizes, (we all win something every month) but even better are the recipes I've gathered including this dessert served by my friend Heather at a fun bunco night last spring.

• Make your favorite snickerdoodle recipe ***see mine below***
• Slice some strawberries and add fresh blueberries (could also add fresh raspberries)
• Slice a lemon and squeeze fresh juice over the top of the fruit, sprinkle with a little sugar, toss
• Whip some cream and sweeten with powdered sugar

To assemble:  Place snickerdoodle on plate, top with fresh fruit, add a dollop of whipped cream

SOFT SNICKERDOODLES:
1 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
* In a small bowl, mix 3 T. sugar with 1 tsp. cinnamon

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs and mix well.  Combine flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt.  Mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients. Roll dough in 1 inch balls and roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Easiest Cherry Pie

My friend Margy loves cherry pie so I made one for her birthday.  I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but everything was store bought and tweaked to look homemade.  Thankfully, Margy is the type of friend who probably won't mind. 

Ingredients:
1 pkg. Marie Calendar Frozen Pie Crusts
2 cans cherry pie filling

Thaw pie crusts at room temperature for about 15 minutes.  Pour the two cans of pie filling in to the bottom of one crust.  Remove 2nd crust from pan.  When soft, lightly roll it out on a piece of saran wrap.  Lift it on top of pie and then pinch the edges together to look homemade.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 40-50 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Prior to placing top crust on the pie, I used a small, heart shaped cookie cutter to cut four hearts out and then repositioned them on top of the pie to make it look decorative.  If you don't cut out any shapes on the top crust, you need to cut slits in the top of the pie to vent it. 

Peach Pie

O.K., are you sitting down? This is hands down, THE BEST pie crust recipe I have ever seen, made, or tasted. I was so proud of how this pie turned out that I honestly carried it around showing it to everyone before I could even cut in to it. Isn't it GORGEOUS?! And, shhh....it was even better than Evelyn use to make. Hard to believe, I know, but true.

For the Crust:

2 1/4 c. all purpose flour

2 Tbs. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cubes COLD butter, cut in to small cubes

4 Tbs. ice water, plus more if needed

Place flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor. Process until mixture resembles fine sand. Add the ice water and pulse again just until mixture begins to form a ball (add more water, 1 Tbs. at a time) if it doesn't come together. DO NOT OVERMIX. Remove from food processor and divide dough in half. Shape in to 2 disks and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.


For the Filling:

10 ripe, firm peaches

Juice from one lemon

1/2 tsp. almond extract

2/3 c. flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbs. butter, cut in small pieces

1 egg


Peel peaches by dipping them in boiling water for about 20 seconds (the skin will slide right off). Remove pit and cut in thin slices. Place peach slices, the juice from the lemon, and the almond extract in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes (this 10 minutes is a great time to roll out both dough disks in to 2 large 9-10 inch circles). Mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together until well mixed. Stir in to the peach mixture.


To assemble:

Place the bottom pie crust in to the pie plate (I used a 9 inch pie pan). Pour peach mixture in to the pan. Place small pieces of butter all over the top. Cut bottom crust in to strips, then place on top of pie, overlapping and crisscrossing them. To finish pie, pinch the edges all around the edge and trim off extra dough if necessary. Mix the egg with a bit of water and brush egg mixture over the top.




To Cook:



Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bake the pie at 450 degrees for the first 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 50 minutes. Remove pie from oven and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes before cutting and serving.

Mango Sticky Rice

Kudos to my friend Kelly for introducing me to this Asian inspired dessert. I loved it so much that I ventured to the Asian market for the very first time to buy the ingredients and even bought a sticky rice pan and basket. This is one of my favorite desserts to make...totally addictive! You can't use just any rice for this recipe. I buy sticky rice at the Asian market. They sell small bags of it for about $7. You have to soak the rice in water for at LEAST 24 hours before cooking, so you'll want to start in advance. Pour about 2 cups of rice into a bowl and cover with several inches of water. When ready to cook drain the rice. I had to buy a special pot and basket to make the sticky rice, but it was really cheap (less than $10 for both). Fill the pan with several inches of water and heat over stove. Once the water starts to boil, add drained sticky rice to the basket, place the basket over the boiling water, and cover the top with a lid to seal in the moisture and allow the rice to steam. While the rice is steaming (it will take about 10-15 minutes), pour a can of coconut milk into a small saucepan and add about 1/4 cup sugar. I use the Splenda Sugar Mix, so I only add about 2 T. of that. Heat and stir until it starts to steam and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside. Every few minutes, stir the sticky rice. You will know it's done when it starts to stick together in one big ball and pulls away from the sides of the basket. You will also want to taste test it to make sure it isn't still crunchy. Slice some ripe mangoes in small strips and set the strips aside. Once rice is done, assemble the dessert by placing a scoop of rice in a serving dish and then pouring about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the coconut mixture over the top. Finish with slices of mango and serve warm. YUM!

Fruit Pizza

Margie brought a fruit pizza to our Halloween party, so I snapped a pic and uploaded the recipe. This is simple and delicious - we've been making it for years. Don't limit yourself to strawberries and bananas. Pineapple, raspberries, sliced kiwi, blue or blackberries, and mandarin oranges are also great on it.
1 pkg. (tube) Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 pkg. cream cheese (softened)
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 small container cool whip
Assorted fresh fruit, beautifully sliced

On a large cookie sheet, press the sugar cookie dough and bake at 350 degrees until the top is lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool. Blend the cream cheese and powdered sugar together, then fold in the cool whip. Spread on top of cooled crust. Top with favorite fruits arranged in pretty designs. ***Note: To keep bananas from going brown I sometimes glaze them with pineapple juice or fresh lemon juice.

Aunt Norma's Apple Crisp

My aunt Norma is a FABULOUS cook and whenever she shares a recipe, it's a keeper. She gave me this apple crisp recipe several years ago and it's a favorite.


4 cups granny smith apples (cored, peeled, and cut in thin slices)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. rolled oats
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 cup softened butter

Place sliced apples in bottom of a greased 13X9 pan. Mix the remaining ingredients together until butter is well incorporated and the mixture is crumbly. Spread all over the top of the apples. Bake at 375 degrees for about 35-40 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle the top with caramel ice cream topping!

Strawberry Tart

Caution: You could seriously impress someone with this recipe. This tart is a WOW-er. Beautiful AND delicious, but to make it you will need a great tart pan. I found mine at Williams Sonoma for $10.
Be sure to buy a tart pan where the bottom lifts out, like this one above.

Homemade Tart Shell:
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 c. flour
2 cubes real butter (very cold, not softened)
1 egg +1 egg yolk

Mix powdered sugar and flour. Cut in butter until the dough is in small, pea-sized clumps. Gradually add the eggs and stir until just combined (don't over mix). *I usually make this in my food processor. Press all over the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until just lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool.

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 oz. Cool Whip
1 c. powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar. Gradually fold in the Cool Whip. Spread on cooled tart shell. Top with fresh fruit or canned pie filling.

**For this recipe, I covered the top with sliced strawberries, then brushed it with strawberry jam (diluted with a little water to make a glaze).

Russian Creme with Fresh Fruit

There's a fun little restaurant here in town called "The Trolley". They use to serve this amazing dessert called Russian Creme, but I haven't seen it there for the last couple of years. I came across a recipe recently and tried it. Oh man...heaven! I've made it twice. Once topped with raspberries and blackberries...

And once topped with strawberries & kiwi fruit.


3 c. heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. boiling water
1 pkg. Knox Unflavored Gelatin

In a saucepan, heat cream and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat. Mix the unflavored gelatin in with the boiling water and stir until gelatin dissolves. Pour water mixture into cream mixture and mix well. Stir and cool completely. Pour mixture into glass or clear plastic cups. Cover with plastic wrap to keep film from forming on top. Refrigerate for several hours until firm. Top with fresh fruit just before serving.

Mini Fruit Pizza

This recipe is a HIT at parties. You can make mini pizzas or spread the dough in a big pan and cut into squares.

1. Bake up a package of Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough (from refrigerator section). I like to buy the kind that is precut in tiny squares. You want to make tiny bite size cookies.

2. Mix:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1/3 to 1/4 cup powdered sugar.

3. Spread cream cheese mixture on cooled cookies.

4. Top with fresh fruit. I use whatever I have on hand such as strawberries, kiwis, bananas, pineapple, etc. To keep bananas from going brown, spread a little pineapple juice on top of each slice or wait to slice until just before serving.

These are great for casual or fancy gatherings. My kids love to help with this recipe