I went to my side of the families Easter celebration on Sunday and fell in love with a Grape Salad my sweet cousin Shannon had made. It was really pretty in a glass dish with the green and purple grapes coated in a creamy white sauce.
I decided to look for it on-line and as usual, I added my own little touch to the recipe. This was a HIT at my house. My husband was immediately won over by the dish.
Here is my version:
Creamy Fruit Salad
3 cups of sliced fruit of your choice.
( I used red grapes, gala apples, bananas and oranges)
1 pkg. of cream cheese, softened
1 c. of sour cream
1/2 c. sugar
Topping:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 - 1 c. pecans
Stir the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar together. Then fold in the fruit. You can decide if you want more or less as you stir it together.
Mix the topping together and pour over the salad. Chill and let sit for a few hours or overnight.
*We ate this right away so the brown sugar had not caramelized yet. By the next day it was unbelievable. The oranges were voted out right away. :)
Lemon Pound Cake
1 c. butter, softened
3 c. flour
3/4 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. lemon peel
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 c. sugar
5 eggs.
Lemon Glaze
1/4 c. lemon juice
2-3 c. powdered sugar ( may need more or less.. I didn't actually measure this.)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. milk
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans OR a bundt pan is lovely, too.
In a small bowl combine buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon peel.
In another bowl mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together.
In your mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. Add the liquid and dry ingredients alternately. Do not over mix.
Divide batter evenly between pans. Or pour entire bowl into a bundt pan.
Bake 50-60 min. Cool in pan and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely before you put the glaze on.
Pour the glaze over the cake and let it run down the sides. It makes such a nice looking and fresh tasting desert. We really enjoyed this.
I would put a little more lemon in the cake than I did originally because it wasn't as "lemony" as I thought it could be. The frosting, actually needed to decrease the amount of lemon juice. The recipe here reflects that change.
Both my girls made a dish to pass this weekend. It was so fun to have them working alongside of me in the kitchen willing to bless someone else with the fruits of their labor. One took S'mores bars and the other took cookie pops. ( Cookies on Popsicle sticks that look like lollipops) which she frosted and decorated for the event. :)
S'mores Brownie Bars
1 c. graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 sticks of butter
1/2 c. plus 1 TB sugar
Salt
1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips
2 large eggs
1 tsp. instant coffee
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3 c. mini marshmallows
Adjust oven rack to the middle position. Preaheat ove to 350.
Line an 8 in. pan with 2 pieces of foil enough to hang over the edges.
Break graham crackers up into small/fine pieces. Melt 4 TB. butter. Add melted butter, 1 Tb. sugar and 1/4 tsp. salt to the crackers and press into the bottom of the pan.
Melt chocolate and remaining butter. ( microwave 1-2 min. stopping every so often to stir it) Cool for 10 min.
Mix in remaining 1/2 c. sugar, eggs, espresso powder, vanilla, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Add the flour and baking powder and mix well.
Pour batter on top of crust. Bake 25-30 min. Do not overbake.
Top with Marshmallows. Broil till brown only a minute or 2. Watch it and stay close. They burn easy. :) ( we know from experience and the burnt marshmallows come off easy but it was by grace we had any extra to "redo".)
*These were a HUGE hit! Everyone who loves s'mores will love this.
My Friend Michelle's Desert!
My friend brought this to a meeting recently and she dubbed the name above. :) It is a quick and easy desert that you can make quickly.
Graham Crackers
2 3 oz. boxes of french vanilla pudding
3 c. cold milk
1 container of cool whip
chocolate frosting
Mix the pudding and fold in cool whip.
Layer graham crackers, pudding, crackers and pudding, with crackers on top.
Microwave 1 chocolate frosting container and spread on top.
Chill.
*Note... as usually happens when I want to make something I only have partial ingredients on hand. So.. here is my adaptation. :)
Pudding:
1 box of pudding
1/2 pkg of cream cheese
3/4 container of cool whip
2 c. milk
Whisk the pudding, milk and cream cheese together. Fold in the cool whip.
Chocolate:
unsweetened chocolate( about 5 squares)
whipping cream( about 1/2 cup)
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 container of cool whip.
Melt the chocolate. Add some whipping cream and melt a little more. Then add the sugar and whisk. Add more whipping cream if it is too thick. Then fold in the cool whip. (YUMMMY! It is like fudge. )
Enjoy!! :)
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