Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake

My mother and father in law came up for the weekend to watch me speak in stake conference.... glad that's over....
so I had an excuse to make this unbelievable cake. :) It really can't get easier and you'll be hooked after one bite. Thanks Linds for sharing the recipe.

Here's what you will need:
1 yellow cake mix
1 20 oz. can cherry pie filling
1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple
1-2 sticks of butter/ margarine
Spread 1/2 of the cake mix on the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Dump the cherries and pineapple and spread out.
Sprinkle the rest of the cake mix on top. Thinly slice butter and cover top of cake.
Bake at 350* for 48 to 53 minutes. I dare you to eat just one piece.

Oreo Icecream

A few years ago Chad gave me an ice cream maker for Mother's Day and it is still one of my favorite gifts. I have a hard time getting this recipe to set up so I just put it in the freezer for a few hours. The kids (and Chad) always come begging for seconds.
Here's what you will need:
4 c. milk, half-and-half, or light cream
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 T. vanilla
2 c. whipping cream
Crushed Oreos to taste
In a large bowl combine milk, sugar, and vanilla. Stir until sugar dissolves. Stir in whipping cream. Freeze in a 4 or 5 quart ice-cream maker according to directions. When ice-cream has set up most of the way add Oreos and continue to freeze. Makes 2 quarts.

THE sugar cookies

These are the cookies that started it all. I made then one Sunday evening and Haylee and our friend Lindsey came over. Haylee was HOOKED! Pretty soon we were making them every other day. About 15 lbs. later we realized we had a problem and it was serious! I have two rules when making cookies and they are 1- Bigger is ALWAYS better and 2- if you haven't made yourself sick on cookie dough before the first batch comes out of the oven then you haven't made them right.

Here's what you will need:
1/3 c. butter or margarine
1/3 c. shortening
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
Beat butter and shortening on med for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and a dash of salt. Beat until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour by hand. Cover and chill for 20 minutes.
Roll out on a floured surface and cut into shapes. ( I don't know why but I swear circles taste better!) Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375* for 7-8 min. (I like mine really soft and like I said before BIG so they end up cooking for about 8 1/2 min.)
Frosting:
1/3 c. butter or margarine
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 c. milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract (way yummy with almond extract)
milk
food coloring
Beat butter until fluffy and gradually add in powdered sugar. Beat in the milk and extract and add more milk if needed. This frosting recipe is enough for 2 batches of cookies so you can either half the frosting recipe of double the batch of cookies. I would double the cookies if I were you. :)

Brownies with mint frosting

This is my mother in law's brownie recipe and my mint frosting recipe and the two combined are FABULOUS! I am kind of on a diet right now (not the kind of diet most people think of- I am just trying to eat 1 cookie a day as opposed to my usual 12) and these brownies were just way too tempting. Mint and chocolate are my favorite combo so I had to give in a little, but it was so worth it.

Here's what you will need:
Brownies:
2/3 c. butter
3/4 c. cocoa
4 T. oil
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
2/3 tsp. salt
1 c. flour
2 tsp. vanilla

Melt butter and whisk in chocolate. Add remaining ingredients.

Pour into a greased
9x13 pan.

Bake @ 350* for 25 minutes and let cool.

Frosting:
3/4 c. butter, room temp.
3- 3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1 T. heavy cream
green food coloring

Beat with egg beaters until creamy. Add powdered sugar until you have reached the right consistency. Add milk if needed.

Eclair Cake

I would probably be willing to sell a kidney for a piece of this stuff. I've had this recipe since I was in high school but I had forgotten about it until Chad asked me to make it for Easter. I am so very glad to have it back in my life. :)

Here's what you will need:
2 small packages french vanilla pudding
3 c. milk
8 oz. cool whip
graham crackers

Frosting:
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 T. butter
2 T. Karo syrup
1 T. vanilla
3 T. milk
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Line bottom of a 9x13 pan with graham crackers.

Mix pudding, milk, and cool whip and pour a layer over the graham crackers.

Repeat layers ending with graham crackers on top. I use a knife and cut the edges of the graham crackers to fit my pan.


For the frosting heat butter in a pan on med. heat. Add other ingredients and whisk so that there are no lumps. Pour over top of cake and spread evenly.

Refrigerate 6 hours or over night (the longer the better.) Do not cover.

If you want to get all fancy schmancy you can add some flowers with frosting.

Chad's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

A few years ago Chad discovered this recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cook book. Even though one batch makes A LOT of cookies he felt like it wasn't quite enough so he began doubling the recipe so that we would have enough to share with the neighbors. Don't tell him I told you, but he gets really jealous over other people's chocolate chip cookies!

Here's what you will need:
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. butter or margarine
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Mix the shortening and butter for 30 seconds. Add the sugar, brown sugar, and baking soda. Beat until combined and add the eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake @ 375* for 8-10 min. Let cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

Coconut Balls

Oh these things are the best!!!

Here's what you will need:
6 c. powdered sugar
3/4 c. melted butter
1 can sweetened condensed
14oz. coconut
Mix ingredients and form into balls.

(I just put globs on waxed paper and freeze for about 30 minutes and then I roll them into balls) Freeze overnight and then dip in chocolate.

Roca Triangles

Warning! This product might contain highly addictive ingredients. Proceed with caution.

This recipe is from Carol Earl's Fabulous Fakes. I'm telling you, once you start you can't stop.

Here's what you will need:
Saltine Crackers
2 Cubes BUTTER (not margarine)
1 C. brown sugar
1-2 C. milk chocolate chips

Spray a cookie sheet with vegetable spray. Put a single layer of Saltine crackers, cutting crackers to fit, on the cookie sheet.

In a pan, bring butter and brown sugar to boil and cook for 3 min. Pour over crackers and spread to cover. Bake in a 375* oven for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. When the chocolate has melted spread evenly. Set and break into desired pieces.

Grasshopper Cheesecake

The other day I bought this For Women First magazine because it had a big article by Dr. Oz on how to lose stubborn belly fat. Turns out the article was a total snoozefest but the magazine did have this delicious Grasshopper Cheesecake recipe that we just had to try. It probably did not aid in my quest to lose stubborn belly fat though.

Here's what you will need:
42 Oreos
1/2 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
2/3 c. melted butter
4 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, at room temp.
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. peppermint extract
pinch of salt

3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 c. heavy cream
3 T. flour
1 c. whipped topping

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Remove and discard (or secretly eat when no one is looking) cream filling from cookies. In food processor, pulse cookies, chocolate chips, and butter until fine crumbs form. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9" springform pan. Chill 30 min.



With beaters, beat next 5 ingredients until smooth. Add next 4 ingredients and beat until smooth. Add 2 drops green food coloring.



Pour batter into prepared crust.

I have an 8" pan so we had a little batter left over so we whipped up some graham cracker crusts in Haylee's cute little pie pans and made mini cheesecakes. I kind of liked those ones better.


Place pan filled with hot water on lowest oven rack. Place cake on upper rack. Cover cake with foil; bake 1 hour. Remove foil; bake 15 min. more. Let cake cool in oven with door slightly ajar 1 hour. Let cool completely and chill for 4 hours. Remove cake from pan. Pipe whipped topping border onto cake and garnish with chocolate curls.

(It took our cheese cake more than an hour and 15 min. to bake. it probably took closer to an hour and a half and the top was a little brown so I had to cut it off so it didn't look as pretty as the picture in the magazine, but it was so yummy!