Dessert

Jill Sinclair’s Cookie Recipe

  • 2 cups applesauce
  • 2 cups dates, chopped
  • 1 ¼ cups water
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • ¾ cup peanut butter
  • ¼ cup sunflower seeds
  • 1 cup wheat germ
  • ¼ cup sesame seeds
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup dried milk
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 3 cups flour

Combine applesauce, dates, and water. Heat to soften dates. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Spread 1 inch thick. Bake 350°F for 25 minutes.

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Kitty Litter Cake

Serves 20 people with strong stomachs

  • 1 (18.25 ounce) package German chocolate cake mix
  • 1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
  • 2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 1 (12 ounce) package vanilla sandwich cookies
  • green food coloring
  • 1 (12 ounce) package tootsie rolls

Prepare cakes and pudding according to package directions. Chill pudding until assembly time.

Crumble sandwich cookies in a food processor. Set aside all but ¼ cup. To the ¼ cup add a few drops of green food coloring and mix.

When cakes have cooled, crumble them into a large bowl. Toss with ½ of the remaining cookie crumbs and the chilled pudding. You probably won’t need all of the pudding. You want the cake to be just moist, not soggy.

Line kitty litter box with plastic kitty litter liner. Put cake mixture into box.

Put half of the unwrapped tootsie rolls in a microwave-safe dish and heat until softened. Shape the ends so that they are no longer blunt, and curve the tootsie rolls slightly. Bury tootsie rolls randomly in the cake and sprinkle with half of the remaining cookie crumbs. Sprinkle a small amount of the green colored cookie crumbs lightly over the top.

Heat 3 or 4 of the tootsie rolls in the microwave until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle lightly with some of the green cookie crumbs. Heat the remaining tootsie rolls until pliable and shape as before. Spread all but one randomly over top of cake mixture. Sprinkle with any remaining cookie crumbs. Hang the remaining tootsie roll over side of litter box and sprinkle with a few green cookie crumbs. Place litter box on some newspapers and sprinkle out some of the contents onto the papers. Serve with the pooper scooper.

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Lemon & Ginger Muffins

12 regular size muffins

  • 2 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh ginger
  • 1 or 2 lemons
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 Tbsp sugar

Heat oven to 375°F. Grease muffin cups or use paper baking cups. Put ginger, peel of one of the lemons, and 1 cup sugar in food processor. Process until peel and ginger finely chopped. Add butter, process until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, processing briefly after each. Remove mixture to mixing bowl. Stir soda into yogurt or buttermilk (it will foam). Fold flour into ginger mixture one-third at a time, alternating with the yogurt (or buttermilk) mixture. When well-blended, scoop into muffin cups and place in oven.

While the muffins bake, juice the lemons to obtain ¼ cup juice. Add to the 2 Tbsp sugar, stir until sugar dissolved.

Bake muffins 18 to 20 minutes. When the muffins are done, remove from oven and cool 3-5 minutes. Dip tops and bottoms into the lemon juice-sugar mix.

These give you an extreme lemon/ginger experience.

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Maple Pralines

Serves 36

  • 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • 1 cup maple syrup
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 2 cups pecans

Butter sides of 3-quart saucepan. Combine sugar, syrup, and cream in saucepan, stirring to blend well. Bring to boil, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Wash down sides of pot, then, without stirring, boil to the soft-ball stage (234°F). Remove from heat and let stand until 150°F. Stir in nuts. Beat until candy just begins to thicken but is still glossy (about 3 minutes). Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper. If candy becomes too stiff, stir in a few drops hot water. Store tightly covered.

Per serving: 100 calories, 5g fat, 1g protein, 14g carbohydrate, 2mg sodium.

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Mom’s Coconut Cake

White cake mix—make as directed.

Drain juice from coconut and put aside. Grate coconut meal. Take a toothpick and with bottom layer of baked cake (put on cake plate first), punch holes and put in coconut juice. Use the “7-Minute White Frosting” recipe and spread on bottom layer. Then put on layer of coconut, then top cake layer. Repeat—>punch holes, sprinkle with juice, frost, and add coconut to top. Yummy!

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Mud Pie

  • ½ gallon semi-soft ice cream
  • ½ to 1 can Hershey’s fudge topping
  • 1 cup Cool Whip
  • 2 cups finely crushed Oreo cookies with filling
  • ½ cup melted butter

Mix cookie crumbs and butter. Press evenly into bottom of 9 by 13 inch pan. Chill ½ hour. Press ice cream into pan. Next, spread warm fudge on top. Freeze for 1 hour. Add layer of Cool Whip. (May shave chocolate candy bar on top for decoration.) Cover and freeze for 1 hour or until needed. May be made up to a week ahead.

Note: Peanut butter, coffee, mint or butter brickle are tasty choices for the ice cream.

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Peach Crumble

  • ½ cup flour
  • ½ cup rolled oats
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp cloves
  • ½ cup butter
  • 4 cups peaches, sliced
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp water

Mix dry ingredients together. Stir in butter until mixture is crumbly. Put peaches in bottom of 8 inch square baking dish. Cover with lemon juice and water. Sprinkle crumb mixture over top and pat down. Bake at 350° F for 45 minutes.

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Peanut Blossoms

Makes 3 dozen and can be doubled

  • 1 ¾ cups flour
  • 1 tsp soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup Crisco
  • ½ cup peanut butter
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup gran. Sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Sift together flour soda and salt, set aside. Cream together Crisco, peanut butter, and sugars. Add egg, milk and vanilla to creamed ingredients. Add dry ingredients gradually to wet until mixed. Shape into balls and roll each in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet at 350°F for 8 minutes. Remove from oven—place chocolate kiss on top of cookie so it cracks around edge. Return to oven for 2-5 more minutes.

Per cookie: 120 calories, 6g fat, 2g protein, 14g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 90mg sodium.

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Peanut Brittle

Serves 36

  • 1 ½ cups peanuts
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tsp baking soda

Oil pan and spread nuts on it, in one layer (may need two pans.) Near the end of cooking the syrup, place the nuts in a 300°F oven to warm.

Combine sugar, corn syrup, and ¼ cup water in a heavy 3 or 4 quart pot, stirring to blend well. Stir over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves and comes to a boil. Wash down the sides of the pot (may butter pot before using—also may cover pot briefly before washing it down.) This step is to remove all sugar crystals.

Without stirring, continue to boil over moderate heat to the soft-crack stage (280°F). Remove from the heat and drop the butter in, swirling the pan gently so the butter melts; the syrup will turn golden. Return to the heat and cook to the hard-crack stage (295°F). Remove from the heat, thoroughly stir in the vanilla and baking soda (the syrup will foam up), and pour evenly over the warmed nuts. When the brittle is cool enough to handle, in just a few minutes, pick it up and pull and stretch it as thin as possible. When cold, blot with paper towels and break into pieces. Store in an airtight tin.

If using unsalted peanuts, increase salt to 1 tsp. May make with almonds instead (use 2 cups almonds.)

Per serving: 110 calories, 4g fat, 2g protein, 19g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 120mg sodium.

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