Strawberry Pretzel Salad

You guys! I can't believe how many of you have never before had strawberry pretzel salad. It's like the best stuff ever. You can serve it as a side dish, dessert, or as breakfast.

Well, most decent people don't serve it as breakfast but I do.

Salty - sweet. Creamy - smooth - crunchy. So, so good.

Enough ado.  Here's the recipe:

For a 9x13 casserole dish, typically served as a side:
Ingredients:
2 1/2 C coarsely crushed pretzels
3 Tbsp sugar
1/3 C butter, melted

8 oz cream cheese
1 large tub of thawed Cool Whip
1 C sugar

6oz strawberry Jello
20oz frozen strawberries
2 C  boiling water

Directions:
Mix together pretzels, sugar, and butter. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13" pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.  Allow to cool.

Meanwhile cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Gently fold in Cool Whip, being careful to not over mix. Set aside.

In a separate bowl dissolve the Jello into the boiling water. Then add frozen strawberries, breaking them up as you stir. Allow to cool but do not let the Jello set.  This usually takes 5-10 minutes.

Once the pretzel crust has cooled cover it with the cream cheese mix. Be sure to smooth the cream cheese over to the edge of the pan, creating a seal over the pretzel crust. Pour the Jello and strawberry mix on top of the cream cheese mix. Spread it over the whole area.  Chill in the fridge until Jello is set.


For 2 9" pies to be served as dessert:
Ingredients:
5 C coarsely crushed pretzels
5 Tbsp sugar
1 stick of butter, melted

8 oz cream cheese
1 large tub of thawed Cool Whip
1 C sugar

6oz strawberry Jello
20oz frozen strawberries
2 C  boiling water

Directions:
Mix the pretzels, sugar, and melted butter together and divide in two. Press the pretzel mixture into the bottom and at least half way up the sides of two ungreased 9"pie pans. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.  Allow to cool.

Meanwhile cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Gently fold in Cool Whip, being careful to not over mix. Set aside.

In a separate bowl dissolve the Jello into the boiling water. Then add frozen strawberries, breaking them up as you stir. Allow to cool but do not let the Jello set.  This usually takes 5-10 minutes.

Once the pretzel crusts have cooled cover them with the cream cheese mix, using half the mix for each pie. Be sure to smooth the cream cheese over the edge of the pretzel crust, creating a seal. Pour the Jello and strawberry mix on top of the cream cheese mix. Spread it over the whole area.  Chill in the fridge until Jello is set.


Notes:
- You can finish the dish off with more Cool Whip and sliced strawberries if you wish. In the image above I reserved about 1 C from the tub for a topping instead of mixing it all in to the cream cheese.
- Be sure to spread the cream cheese mix all the way to the sides. Once I did not and there was Jello in the pretzel crust. It wasn't as crunchy or pretty as it's supposed to be.
- You can use fresh strawberries in the Jello if you'd like but you'll need to plan on giving it extra time to cool off. If the Jello is too hot it will melt the Cool Whip and cream cheese mix.

Dairy and Egg Free Cake and Frosting

Because my son has severe egg and dairy allergies I have been on the look out for a frosted cake he can eat. Recently I learned that Duncan Hines had a yellow cake mix that was dairy-free.  I bought it with the firm resolve to try an egg substitute so he could eat it. 

For St. Patrick's Day I a little something and we loved it.  I made 12 cupcakes and a 9x9" cake.  They didn't rise like usual but they were super moist and delicious. Here's what we did:

Cake:
Duncan Hines yellow cake mix + 1 can of Diet Dr. Pepper (or your soda of choice).
Blend those two bad boys together and put them into a greased pan.
Bake according to the box.

When cool, frost and decorate as desired.

Frosting:
3/4 C Crisco
~2.5 C powdered sugar
~1/2 tsp salt
~1/2 tsp vanilla
~1.5 Tbsp water

Sorry about the approximations! I just eyeballed everything and added more ingredients until I had enough frosting and it was the taste and consistency that I wanted.

Mardi Gras King Cake

My recipe is modified from this one from All Recipes.

Ingredients
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 C white sugar
1 C warm milk

1/2 C butter, melted and mostly cooled
5 egg yolks

4 1/2 C all purpose flour + more for kneading
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

for the filling:
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 C powdered sugar

for the icing:
2 C powdered sugar
scant 1/4 C lemon juice
1 tablespoon milk

green, yellow, and purple sprinkles

Directions:
Melt the butter and set aside so it can cool a bit.  Preheat the oven to 175; when it reaches the temp turn off the oven so it is the right temperature for raising the dough.

Mix the first three ingredients together; set aside for about 10 minutes while yeast activates.

Blend butter and egg yolks in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl mix together flour, salt, nutmeg, and lemon zest.

Combine yest and butter mixtures.  When well blended, add the flour mixture.  When the dough has gathered into a ball in the bowl, dump it onto a lightly floured surface to knead.  Add flour as needed; the dough should be soft but not sticky. 

Take a large, oven-proof bowl (I use a large, glass bowl - the same one I mix in so I have to quickly wash it out.) and lightly coat with canola oil.  Put the dough in the bowl and flip it over so the top of the dough is coated with oil.  Loosely cover with a damp towel (I used a wet paper towel) and place in a warm oven.  It should take 1-2 hours for the dough to double.  Meanwhile mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar.

When doubled, remove the dough from the bowl and roll out into a long, thin rectangle, approximately 6"x30".  (You could also divide the dough in half and make two smaller King Cakes.)  Spread the cream cheese filling down the center of the rectangle.  Fold the two sides over the filling, creating a thick rope.  Pinch the ends of the rope shut so the filling won't bake out. 

Place the rope on a lightly greased baking sheet, seam side down.  If you have a baby Jesus to bake into it, put it in now.  Position the dough so the hole in the center is large and won't fill in as the dough rises again.  Put a damp cloth on it again and place in a re-warmed oven so it can rise again.  This will take 30-60 minutes.

When the dough has raised again take out of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix the ingredients for the icing. 

When the King Cake has cooled frost with the lemon-icing.  Add purple, green, and yellow sprinkles. 

pumpkin pie with whipped cream

This pumpkin pie recipe was created by my great grandmother.  She made it for Great Grandpa who didn't want a pie that was too pumpkiny. 

My younger brother opts for this pie instead of birthday cake and its the only pumpkin pie I'll eat.  It seems that not liking things "too pumpkiny" runs in the family.

Ingredients:

1 C pumpkin puree

1 C sugar

3 Tbsp flour, heaping

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp gigner

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 1/2 C milk

1 egg

Directions:

Blend all ingredients.

Pour in unbaked pie crust.*

Cover edge of crust with foil to prevent burning.

Bake at 400 for 40-50 minutes or until butter knife insterted in center comes out clean.

*Pie Crust

Ingredients:

1 C + 2 Tbsp flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 C vegetable oil

2-3 Tbsp cold water

Directions:

Mix flour, salt, and oil.

Add water until it forms a ball - it's better to add too much water than too little.

Roll out between two pieces of wax paper or cling wrap.

Makes one crust.



This whipeed cream recipe came from here.

We had left over whipping cream and so I decided to try my hand at something that had always seemed so "Martha Stewart" - read: too hard.

It was actually quite easy and totally worth the time. 

Just ask Bennet.

Ingredients:
1 C heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp powdered sugar

Directions:
In a large, cold bowl beat cream until peaks are about to form.
Beat in vanilla and sugar until peaks form.
Do not overbeat.

Put a good ole dollop on your pumpkin pie and enjoy your excellence.

Double Chocolate Fudge Cups

Travis requested these majorly chocolately cupcakes for his birthday. 
This recipe came from Kraft Food & Family magazine.

Ingredients:
3 squares semi-sweet baking chocolates
1 Tbsp canola oil
1/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder
4 egg whites
1/2 C firmly packed brown sugar
4 Tbsp cool whip

Directions:
Microwave chocolate and oil in glass measuring cup on High 1-2 mins.  Stir in cocoa powder; let stand at least 5 mins.

Beat egg whites and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed 3 mins or until tripled in volume.  Reduce speed to med low; blend in melted chocolate mixture until well combined.

Spoon batter into 6 paper-lined medium muffin cups; muffin cups can be almost full.

Bake in a preheated 350 oven 18 mins or until puffed and center is set.  Remove from oven and let stand in pan 5 mins

Serve with whipped topping.

There's 190 calories and 8g of fat in one of these babies - not too bad for a cupcake!

Apple-Vinegar Biscuit Cobbler

Found this one on myrecipes.com, here.  It's really, really good.

Ingredients

8 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into wedges
2 cups sugar
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese
1/3 cup butter or margarine, cut up
2 1/2 cups self-rising flour***
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Preparation
Combine apple and sugar; set aside.
Cut cream cheese and 1/3 cup butter into flour with a fork or pastry blender until crumbly; stir in milk.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 3 to 4 times. Pat or roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter; set aside.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add apple mixture. Cook, stirring often, 20 minutes or until apple is tender and syrup thickens slightly. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish; place dish on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Arrange 12 biscuits over hot mixture. Place remaining biscuits on a baking sheet.

Bake cobbler at 425° for 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden. Bake biscuits at 425° for 12 to 15 minutes. Serve cobbler with ice cream, if desired.  (I served it with carmel sauce, ice cream, whipped cream, and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.)

***I didn't have self rising flour, so I used this subsitute:
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, plus
1/8 teaspoons salt.