Divinity

Wow, I'm actually posting a recipe! I haven't really done anything on this blog in almost a year. Crazy.

Anywhooooo.......

Jeff made this delicious divinity this afternoon. Divinity is a light, fluffy candy that is like the love child of clouds and marshmallows. It's soft and airy, with a little bit of chewy, and a touch of crunch from pecans. Very yummy, I'm so glad that Jeff decided to make it.

Divinity
2 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
2 large egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla
1 to 2 drops food color, if desired
2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Cook sugar, corn syrup, and water (use 1 tbsp less water on humid days) in 2-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Cook without stirring to 260 degrees on candy thermometer, until small amount of mixture dropped into cup of very cold water forms a hard ball that holds its shape but is pliable.

Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently transfer egg whites to large bowl. Continue beating constantly on medium speed while pouring hot syrup in a thin stream into egg whites. Add vanilla and food color. Beat until mixture holds its shape and becomes slightly dull, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in nuts.

Quickly drop heaping teaspoonfuls of mixture from buttered spoon onto waxed paper. Let stand uncovered at room temperature at least 4 hours, but no longer than 12 hours until candies feel firm and are dry to the touch. Store in airtight container.

Cookies n Cream No-Bake Cheesecake

Right about this time, Oreo is celebrating its 100th birthday. So I went and bought a couple packages of delicious chocolate sandwich cookies with the intention of making a yummy dessert to celebrate. This is what Jeff and I came up with - a light and creamy cheesecake filling with chunks of Oreos, surrounded by a crisp cookie crumb crust. Yummers!

Cookies n Cream No-Bake Cheesecake
40 Oreo cookies
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1 8-oz carton whipped topping
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

For crust, place 25 cookies in food processor, crush into fine crumbs. Mix well with melted butter. Press into 9-inch pie plate. Set aside in refrigerator while you make the filling.

For filling, cream together the cream cheese, whipped topping, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer. Coarsely chop remaining cookies and fold in gently. Spread mixture into crust.

Chill in refrigerator for a couple of hours or until set.

Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cake Bars with Creamy Lemon Cheesecake Topping

Can you believe that something with a title like that started out as a simple cake mix?

Today is Jeff's birthday, and he loves lemon-flavored desserts. I didn't feel like baking a whole cake, but naturally had to do something special for the occasion. I used the basic cake mix cookie recipe and changed it around a bit, and came up with these delicious cake bars with a rich, brownie-like texture, and a light lemon flavor. The topping is my favorite cool whip and cream cheese frosting, flavored with lemon extract.

Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cake Bars
1 box white or yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 cup white chocolate chips
Creamy Lemon Cheesecake Topping

Combine cake mix, eggs, oil, lemon juice, and lemon extract. If using white cake mix, you can also add a few drops of yellow food coloring. Mix well. Stir in white chocolate chips. Press into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 14-16 minutes. Let cool, then cut into bars and top with cheesecake topping.

Creamy Lemon Cheesecake Topping
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 8-oz carton frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 tsp. lemon extract

Beat cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Beat in whipped topping and lemon extract. Spoon on top of cake bars.

Seriously, this stuff is freakin' fantastic.

Taste&Create - Min's Pear Pie (but with apples)

Been a long time since I posted, I'll just jump right into this post and we'll forget about the fact that I haven't put anything up here since, um, September. Yeah.

This is a super yummy pie from The Bad Girl's Kitchen, my partner for November's Taste&Create. Taste&Create is a monthly blog event where you're paired up with another blogger, and you make a recipe form your partner's blog while they make one from yours. I chose to make Min's Pear Pie, because it looked tasty, and simple to make. And I love pie. I made it with apples instead of pears, because that's what we had on hand. I would love to try it with pears next time I make it, because there will definitely be a next time. :)

Pear (or apple) Pie

7-8 large pears (or apples), pared, cut into slices
3 TBL lemon juice
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
3 TBL flour
1 tsp. lemon zest

Mix all together and spoon into one 9 inch unbaked pie shell

Sprinkle with the following mixture:

[ 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. each ginger & cinnamon
cut in 4 TBL butter until crumbly ]

Bake Pie in preheated 400 oven for about 45 minutes.

Black Forest Cobbler

I've been really into cobblers lately. After making that peach cobbler, I tried the same recipe but with a can of apple pie filling, and it turned out delicious. Then tonight, in the mood for another fruity cobbler dessert, I created this easy and tasty treat. I simply topped cherry pie filling with cake mix cookie batter. Sweet success!

Black Forest Cobbler
1 box devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 can cherry pie filling

Heat oven to 350. In a bowl combine cake mix, eggs, and oil. Mix well.

Spread pie filling into greased 9x13 baking dish. Drop batter by spoonfuls over pie filling. Bake for 15-17 minutes.

This would be great with ice cream or whipped cream, but even by itself it's super delicious.

Quick Fruit Cobbler

This is a very quick and easy cobbler recipe, and can use any fruit you have on hand.

Quick Fruit Cobbler
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups fruit (fresh, frozen, or canned)

Combine all ingredients except fruit, mix just until blended. Pour into a greased 9x9 baking dish (I doubled the recipe and used a 9x13). Top with fruit. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. The dough will rise and become a crust on top of the fruit.

The consistency of the cobbler will vary depending on what fruit you use, and how much juice it has. I used drained canned peaches, and am eager to try a variety of other fruits with this easy and yummy recipe.

Watermelon Rind Pickles

Due to a somewhat extreme case of the lazies during planting season this year, our garden is pretty much nonexistent. But I still get the urge to preserve summer's bounty. So in the absence of homegrown produce, I got creative and used what we had. We bought a watermelon a couple days ago, and after we ate it I got the crazy urge to look up recipes for watermelon rind pickles. Here's the result.

Watermelon Rind Pickles
1 large watermelon
1/2 cup salt
2 1/2 quarts water, divided
2 1/4 cups cider vinegar
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. whole cloves

Cut pulp from watermelon rind, leaving a small amount of red pulp on rind. Reserve pulp for another use (if you haven't already eaten it). Remove hard green outer rind. Cut rind into 1-inch cubes, and place in a large bowl.

Stir together salt and 2 quarts water. Pour over rind. Cover and chill 8 hours. Drain; rinse well.

Combine rind with water to cover in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Combine remaining 2 cups water, vinegar, and next 4 ingredients in Dutch oven or very large saucepan.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 20 to 25 minutes or until mixture becomes a thin syrup. Add rind, and simmer 5 to 6 minutes or until rind becomes translucent.

Pack hot rind mixture into hot jars, distributing spices evenly and filling to 1/2 inch from top. Remove air bubbles; wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on bands. Process in boiling water bath 20 minutes.