Andrew's Cinnamon Buns

Originally a Betty Crocker recipe, our family has enjoyed these buns for years!
(Makes one dozen)

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water (approx 105 degrees)
1/2 cup lukewarm milk (same)
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 egg
3.5 - 4 cups flour

Inside rolls:

1/4 butter
1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar (as needed)
Cinnamon
Chopped walnuts or raisins if desired (plump raisins in boiling water for a few minutes before adding)

Glaze:

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Add milk until glaze is desired consistency (should be able to drizzle off a spoon)

Directions:

Put water in a large bowl, add the yeast and stir to dissolve. Add milk, sugar, salt and egg and combine all ingredients. Add flour until it's the proper consistency for bread dough.

Place in fridge overnight to rise (if you want it to rise more quickly, put in a warm place for an hour or two) till dough doubles in size.

Punch dough down and knead it until all the bubbles are out. Add flour as needed until dough is no longer sticky.

Shape into an oblong shape (about 7 inches by 3 inches in diameter). Roll out until it's about 1/4 or 3/8 inch thick.

Spread generously with butter (about 1/4 cup). Sprinkle liberally with brown sugar (don't spread right to the edges. Sprinkle with cinnamon (lots).

Start at one of the long edges, and roll tightly, working back and forth along the edge to roll the dough to the opposite side. Pinch along the edge to keep the rolls sealed shut.

With a serrated knife, cut rolls in sections about 1 inch thick. Place on baking sheet (about 2 inches apart) and let rise in warm place for about 1.5 hours until double in size.

Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes until little browned on top and bottom. Do not overbake.

Make glaze and drizzle it on while the rolls are hot.

Enjoy!

You can't go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter

Creamy Reese's Pieces Dessert
(from Kraftfoods.com)

Ingredients:

12 Oreos, crushed,
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 cup of peanut butter
2 cups cold milk
2 packages (4 serving size) Instant Chocolate pudding
2 cups thawed Cool Whip, divided
2 Tbsp. hot fudge ice cream topping
1/4 cup Reese's pieces candies

Directions:

Mix crushed cookies and melted butter. Press onto the bottom of an 8 inch square pan.
Put peanut butter in large bowl. Gradually add the milk, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add pudding mixes. Stir several minutes until well blended and thickened. Stir in one cup (or more if you want!) of the Cool Whip. Spread over cookie crust. Top with Cool Whip.
Refrigerate for at least three hours.
When ready to serve, microwave fudge topping as directed on the jar, drizzle over dessert.
Sprinkle with candies.
Store leftovers in the fridge.

* For a more fun, less random "design", instead of heating the fudge sauce, put it into a decorators bag, or in a ziplock with a tiny corner snipped off, and you can "pipe" it onto the cake in the design of your choice or even write words with it!

Yummy, Chewy Brownies

World's BEST Brownies

(from my friend, Paul)

Ingredients:

3 sticks of butter (Do NOT, under any circumstance, use anything but Real Butter for this recipe!)
3 cups of sugar
3 eggs
1.5 cups of flour
1 cup of cocoa
3 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. salt
Nuts (optional)

Mix all ingredients together , spread in greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350-400 for 20 to 25 minutes.

Butterfinger Trifle

Butterfinger Trifle(this is adapted from a Skor Trifle recipe from my sister in law, Stephanie)

This is a double recipe shown here

Ingredients:

1 8 inch pan of brownies
2 packages (3.5 oz each) of instant chocolate pudding
1 12 oz. Cool Whip
1 Large Butterfinger bar, or a bag of small ones

Directions:

Cut brownies into small chunks
Make pudding as directed, using 3/4 of a cup less milk.
Crumble the Butterfinger into small pieces.
Layer brownies on the bottom of a glass serving bowl.
Top with a layer of chocolate pudding.
Add a layer of Cool Whip.
Top with Butterfinger bits.
Repeat layers, ending with Butterfinger.
Refrigerate until serving.

Mmmmoist

Coconut Cake
(From my friend, Amanda)

Even if you're not a huge coconut fan, if you leave the flaked coconut off this one, you'll probably love it anyway, because it's such a moist, creamy cake!

Ingredients:

1 White cake mix
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 can of cream of coconut (for pina coladas, you'll probably find it in the soft drink aisle)
12 oz. Cool Whip
1 bag (7 oz.) of flaked coconut

Directions:

Bake the cake according to the package directions, in two 8 inch round pans.
While cakes are baking, mix the sweetened condensed milk and cream of coconut.
When cakes are done, remove from pans while hot and invert (one onto your cake plate and one onto a wax paper covered plate).
With a large serving fork, poke holes all over the top of each cake.
Pour the milk and coconut cream mixture over the cakes and let it soak in. Repeat this until almost all of the mixture is used (I usually have about half a cup left).
When cakes are cool, spread Cool Whip on the one on the cake plate, put the other cake on top, and cover generously with Cool Whip.
Top with flaked coconut. (You won't need nearly all of it.)
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

PB Fudge

The Easiest Peanut Butter Fudge (I have to agree with this)

(This recipe is from my good buddy, cooks.com)


Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup of milk
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup of peanut butter (using part crunch peanut butter is really good too!)

Directions:

Put sugar and milk in medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil two and a half minutes. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and vanilla (I recommend adding the peanut butter first, or the vanilla will react with the hot mixture and "spit" at you!) Stir just until mixed well.

Pour into greased 8x8 pan. Cool and cut

* For peanut butter chocolate fudge, (pictured above), I add a cup of semi sweet chocolate chips just after mixing in the peanut butter and vanilla... very good!

First recipe request

If you're a "Cookies'n'Cream" lover, this is the dessert for you!

Dirt Cake
(shared with me by our friends, Anthony and Melissa)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
3 boxes (3.5 oz each) instant Vanilla pudding
5 cups milk
12 oz. Cool Whip
1 16 oz. package of Oreos, crushed

Directions:

1. Cream together butter, sugar, and cream cheese into one bowl.
2. In a second, large bowl, combine milk and pudding mix.
3. Whip 1-2 minutes.
4. Fold Cool Whip into pudding.
5. Add cream cheese mixture to pudding mixture.
6. Layer crushed cookies and pudding mixture into a large serving bowl, starting and ending with cookies.
7. Refrigerate several hours before serving.
* Serves a LOT!
(I don't like to make this too far ahead of when it's going to be served, or the cookies start to get too soft)

Here we go on this sweet journey...

So... here it is, my dessert/food blog. I am known to some as the "Dessert Diva", but this is not because I have any special culinary talents or have come up with recipes on my own... Nope, I just love desserts and have come across a lot of great recipes that I and my friends love, so I decided to make a place where I can share those recipes so more people can enjoy them!

A lot of the recipe's were given to me by friends or family, so for the ones I remember, I will include the name of the person who gave it to me in the first place.

To start this off, I'll put the recipe for Clafouti, since I've made it two days in a row now (yes, we shared it with others today) and plan to make it for the wifia lunch tomorrow, too!

Clafouti
(from my friend, Sam)
Ingredients:

3 Tbsp butter
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
2.5 cups fruit of your choice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. While it's heating, melt the butter in a 9 inch baking dish, cake pan, or pie plate in the oven.
In a bowl, mix the four dry ingredients together and then add the milk. Stir till combined. Pour batter into the melted butter. Top with fruit. Do not mix!

Bake in oven for 30-40 minutes until center is set. (I usually put foil on top at about 25 minutes to keep the edges from browning too much).

Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or ice cream.