Sweet Treats

Whenever I'm invited to a potluck or party, I always offer to bring a dessert.  Why?  Well, for one thing I have, like, a gazillion dessert recipes to choose from!  Seriously, I collect cookbooks and they are taking over the kitchen.  I think they multiply when I'm not looking.  Anyway, another reason I always bring something sweet is that a dessert is always a winning dish.  Everyone loves a sweet treat.  You're never stuck  with a full dish at the end of the night because no one wanted to try it.  If you bring a vegetable or side dish, there's always someone who hates broccoli or has an aversion to asparagus.  But you never hear anyone say, "Sorry, I'm just not a fan of cookies."  That just doesn't happen.  So, here are a few of my many dessert recipes.

I am a big time Daddy's Girl!  To this day I still think my Daddy hung the moon.  He and I both love coconut, so I make this for him all the time.  Tomorrow is his birthday, so I just finished making him one!

EASY COCONUT CREAM PIE


1 graham cracker pie crust
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
3/4 cup canned coconut milk (I like Thai Kitchen brand- it's usually in the ethnic food aisle)
1 cup cold milk (whole or 2% -don't use skim)
half an 8oz container cool whip
1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted

Whisk together pudding mix, coconut milk and cold milk until thickened.  Pour into pie crust.  Carefully spread cool whip on top.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.  Meanwhile, toast coconut by putting it in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until light golden brown on the edges.  It happens quickly; be careful not to burn it!  Take it out of skillet and let it cool.  After the pie has set up for an hour, sprinkle toasted coconut over top.

The next recipe is for hot fudge sauce.  Of course it is perfect on ice cream, but you can also use it as a glaze over a cake.  I needed a last minute dessert so I made a regular boxed chocolate cake mix in a bundt pan and poured this hot fudge sauce over the cake instead of frosting it.  It was delicious and it looked pretty, too!

HOT FUDGE SAUCE


2 TBS butter
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBS powdered sugar (you can use more if you like it sweeter, but I'm a dark chocolate fan)

Melt everything together in a small saucepan over low heat.  Whisk until smooth.


I'm sure you've heard of white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies.  Well, my Mama loves cashews so I made up this recipe for her and I gotta say, it's pretty tasty.

WHITE CHOCOLATE CASHEW COOKIES


1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped cashews

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (350 for a nonstick pan).  Cream butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla with electric mixer until fluffy.  Sift together flour, salt and baking soda.  Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture.  Stir in chips and cashews.  Drop from a teaspoon 2 inches apart (these cookies spread a little) onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 7-8 minutes or until golden brown.


My Mama makes a Peach Cobbler that is so simple you wonder how it can be so good.  But it is the best cobbler ever!  She's been making this for as long as I can remember and once you try it, you'll see why.

MAW MAW JOY'S PEACH COBBLER


1 stick butter
1 cup self-rising flour*
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 (15oz) can sliced peaches in heavy syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter and pour into a 9-inch square or round baking dish.  In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, milk and vanilla just until lumps are gone.  Do not over mix!  Pour the batter over the butter in the baking dish.  Pour peaches and juice into a bowl.  Chop peaches coarsely.  Pour peaches and juice over batter, evenly distributing peaches.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

*If you only have all-purpose flour, you can make your own self-rising flour:
Mix 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.


This next recipe is so incredibly decadent.  And it ought to be... it's got a stick of butter and a block of cream cheese in it!  So if you are on a diet, look away.

GOOEY CAKE


1 box yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1 stick butter, softened
1 box powdered sugar
1 8oz block cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat  oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan.  Combine cake mix, eggs and butter with a mixer.  It will be thick.  Press into bottom of pan.  In another bowl, combine powdered sugar, cream cheese and vanilla with mixer until creamy and smooth.  Spread over cake mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  Cool then cut into small squares.

So, there you have it!  Just a few of my gazillion dessert recipes.  Try one out the next time you get invited to a potluck and you'll be bringing home an empty dish!  Now if you could only get someone else to wash it.