Pretzel Dessert

A good salty, sweet recipe.

Layer #1
2 cups pretzels, crushed
2 tbsp. sugar
3/4 cup butter
Combine ingredients and put in baking dish.Bake for 7 minutes at 400. Let cool.

Layer #2
1 8oz. cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 8oz. cool whip
Blend cream cheese and sugar. Fold in cool whip. Add to layer #1.

Layer #3
1 large strawberry Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
2 10oz. pkg, frozen strawberried
Mix together and let it begin to set before pouring over layers. Cool.

Layer #4
1 8oz. cool whip
Cover.

Six Three's Ice Cream

3 bananas, mashed
3 lemons, zest and juice
3 oranges, zest and juice
3 cups sugar
3 cups milk
3 cups heavy cream

Freeze in ice cream machine. Quite refreshing.

Pumpkin Chip Muffins

Replacing some of the oil with applesauce works. If you use mini chocolate chips you can decrease them by 1 cup.

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 can pumpkin
1-1 1/2 cups oil
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips

In a large bowl beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil till smooth. Combine dry ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 16-20 minutes.

Ron's Cherry Cheesecake

Crust:

Mix together:

1 1/2 pkgs. graham crackers, crushed fine
3/4 cube melted butter
3 Tbsp. sugar

Bake crusts at 350 for 10-15 min till lightly toasted.

Filling:

Whip slightly:
1 pint whipping cream

Add:
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. sugar

Blend in:
1 2/3 blocks cream cheese, softened

Pour into graham cracker crusts and top each pie with a can of cherry pie filling

Deep Fat Fried Mars Bars

(AKA: Heart Attack on a Plate)

Most people think they're just a rumor--but they really do exist! This fantastic recipe comes from Scotland (where else?). It's said that they're outlawed in England--so people have to travel all the way up to Scotland to get their fix. Chocolate, fish 'n' chip batter and super heated oil may not sound nice (or even culinary possible) but it works--and they're glorious. They taste like a gooey version of pain au chocolate--so you know it will be good!

Batter:

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Pinch salt

Chocolate covered candy bar, chilled

Combine egg, milk and oil in a small bowl. In a larger bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Mix wet and dry ingredients together and whisk. Cover and chill while heating oil. Use deep fat fryer or 4 cups of oil in a skillet at 385º. Dip chilled candy bar in batter then gently place in oil. Cook until outside is golden brown. Allow to cool and drain on paper. Watch out--it is VERY hot.

Tiana's Zucchini Loaf

This comes from a cookbook called "MORMON COOKING Authentic Recipes". It is an amazing recipe. Everyone adores it. I make it in my Kitchenaid mixer, and I double the batch to get 4 loaves at once. To double it in a standard mixer like mine (versus the heavy duty version), it comes close to overflowing, so you've got to be really careful and mix it on a low speed. The following recipe is just for 2 loaves.

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1 cup salad oil

3 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups grated zucchini (if large, removed seeds)

1 cup raisins (optional…I never add them)

½ cup nuts (optional…I never add them)

Sift together:

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon baking powder

Combine wet and dry ingredients. Mix well. Put into greased and floured pans. Bake 1 hour at 325°. Makes 2 loaves.

My additional tips:

Put wax paper or parchment paper (cut to fit) on the bottom of the greased pans to prevent the bottoms of the loaves from sticking to the pan and ripping off when you turn them over. Combine the wet ingredients in the mixer first. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the dry mix to the mixer on low speed. I forgot to sift it once, and the end result was just fine. The only difference was that while mixing the wet and dry ingredients, lumps of flour were spinning around and I had to break them up with a fork.

Walnut-Date Dessert

1 cup coarsley chopped walnuts
1 cup coarsley chopped dates
1/4 cup sugar
8 Tbsp flour
3 beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all. Pour in an oiled cake pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Brer Rabbit's Whip-Me Whop-Me Puddin'

If we were very good at bedtime and had brushed our teeth without being asked, Dad would settle down in the hallway (a neutral position between the three bedrooms) and tell us stories about Brer Rabbit. One of our favorites was the 'whip-me whop-me pudding' story.

½ cup sugar

6 tablespoons corn starch

¼ teaspoon salt

4 cups milk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix dry ingredients together then, stirring vigorously with a whisk, combine with milk in saucepan or double boiler over low heat. Stir for 8-12 minutes until mixture begins to thicken. Cover and cook for 10 more minutes. Then stir 1 cup of mixture into 2 well-beaten eggs. Return to main mixture and cook 2 more minutes - stirring constantly. Do NOT overcook (the pudding will thicken as it cools). Remove from heat, add vanilla and continue to stir for 1 minute while it cools. Pour into serving dishes and let cool in the refrigerator. Makes 8 servings.

Melanie's Strawberry Satin Pie

This delicious recipe came from Cousin Jerilyn Hassell Poole.

Combine in double boiler:

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup + 1 tablespoon cornstarch

½ cup + 1 tablespoon flour

1 ½ teaspoons salt

2 packages Knox gelatin

Gradually stir in:

6 cups milk

Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and smooth. Stir a little of this hot mixture into:

3 beaten eggs

Add pudding mixture in pan and cook 1 minute as you stir. Cool, chill thoroughly (overnight is best). When chilled, beat until smooth then fold in:

6 oz. cool whip

2 teaspoons vanilla

Pour into 2 baked and cooled pie crusts (graham cracker or Oreo cookie is good) and arrange:

3 cups of fresh strawberries on top then smother with cooled glaze:

1 ½ cups strawberries

1 ½ cups water

Cook 2-3 minutes then remove and discard berries.

In a separate bowl combine:

¾ cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

Add to juice in pan and stir to avoid clumps. Then add:

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Red food coloring

Cook over high heat stirring constantly until thick and clear. Cool, then spoon over berries. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Yummy!

Dutch-Oven Pineapple Up-Side-Down Cake

In a 9 inch baking pan pour:

2 T. melted butter or margarine

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 T. water

Blend together ensuring the mixture covers the bottom of the pan.

Then add:

1 8 oz. can of pineapple slices, halved

Several maraschino cherries

Arrange pineapple slices with cherries on top. Set the pan aside.

In a medium mixing bowl stir together:

1 1/3 cups flour

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 t. baking powder

Add:

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup softened butter or marg.

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

Beat with an electric mixer on low speed till combined. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan (carefully so as to not disturb the fruit arrangement).

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or till a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Loosen the sides and invert onto a plate. Serve warm. Makes 8 servings.

Pumpkin Pie

¾ cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¾ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

2 eggs

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin

1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk

1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell (or 2 small shells)

Mix sugar, salt and spices in a small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually add evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell. Bake in a preheated 425º oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350º and bake 40-50 minutes until knife inserted comes out clean. Cool for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Old-Fashioned Homemade Ice Cream

This ice cream is absolutely fantastic! If it's tradition you're after, either pistachio or vanilla, with blackberry are the all-time Cluff family favorites. The old-fashioned way to eat this is with soda crackers.

3 small pkgs instant pudding mix (vanilla, pistachio, etc)

4 eggs

1 ½ cups sugar

2 cups heavy cream

5 cups of milk

Rock salt

2 large bags crushed ice

Optional: 3 cups fruit (crushed with a little sugar)

Take dasher out of freezer can, put top back on then install motor on top to hold everything in place. Fill freezer 1/3 of the way with ice then add about ½ cup of rock salt. Repeat with two more layers of ice and salt until full. Let the central reservoir cool while you prepare the mix.

Put milk and cream into a large, pour-able bowl. Add pudding, sugar and well-beaten eggs (not stiff). Make sure the sugar and pudding are dissolved. Open the freezer, pour the mix in, put the dasher back in, close it up and top off with ice and salt as it begins to turn.

If using fruit: After about 10 minutes of turning (it should be thickening) turn the system off, open lid and add crushed and sugared fruit to mixture. Stir well so that fruit goes all the way through to the bottom. Close it up and turn it back on. Let it continue to mix until it stops turning.

Take the dasher out and give it to the least-naughty kid around to lick. Put the lid back on and pack with ice again and let it sit (for as long as you can stand it, probably 20 or 30 minutes) while it sets up. Eliminate this step if you like soft-serve ice cream. Enjoy.

Eton Mess

Each year at Britain's most famous private school, Eton College (where the royals are schooled), the boys and their parents have a picnic featuring this traditional dessert. 'According to Robin Weir in 'Recipes From The Dairy', Eton mess was served in the 1930s in the school's sock [sweet] shop, and was originally made with either strawberries or bananas mixed with ice cream or cream. Meringue was a later addition. Nowadays, Eton mess usually consists of pieces of crisp meringue, lightly whipped cream and strawberries, all stirred together - hence the name "mess".' There are so many variations on this recipe that it's difficult to know which to use. But fear not because it's the kind of recipe that's difficult to get wrong. This particular variation has ice cream and comes from Harry Ramsden's, the famous British fish and chips restaurant. It's not an official recipe, just what we figured we were eating. It's one of the scrummiest Summertime dessert you're ever likely to try!

Mix together:

Vanilla ice cream

Crushed meringues

Raspberries

Raspberry sauce

Serve in a large wine glass and top with whipped cream and a wafer

Old Fashioned Popcorn Balls

Halloween just wouldn't be the same without these sticky little cornballs.

2 quarts popped corn

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup corn syrup

1/3 cup water

¼ cup butter

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a 2 quart saucepan, stir together sugar, syrup, water, butter and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil (270° on a candy thermometer or until syrup dropped into cold water separates into hard--but not brittle--threads). Remove from heat. Add vanilla, stirring just enough to mix with hot syrup. Slowly pour over popcorn, stirring to coat every kernel. Cool enough to handle. Shape into balls with buttered hands. Cool on wax paper or foil. Makes about 12 medium.

Diana's Chocolate Cake

Cream together:

2 ½ cups sugar

2 tablespoons shortening

Add:

2 eggs

In a small bowl mix:

1 Tablespoon vinegar

1 ½ teaspoons soda

Add vinegar mix to:

1 cup sour milk (to sour milk, stir a teaspoon of vinegar to milk)

Add all above mixtures together and beat well.

Add:

2 ½ cups sifted flour

1.2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cocoa

Add:

1 cup boiling water

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pour into a long pan or two 9" pans and bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Cool and frost with:

Frosting:

In a saucepan mix:

2 cups sugar

1/3 cups cocoa

½ cup butter or margarine

½ cup milk

1 Tablespoon Karo syrup

Turn heat to high and bring to boil while stirring. This only takes a couple of minutes. Turn down heat, cover with lid for 1 minute. Beat to spreading consistency or pour hot onto the cake. Pouring it hot gives it a thick fudge-like consistency – yum!

Caramel Chews

Mom makes these tempting little treats for Christmas each year. They're deliciously chewy.

½ cup butter

1 cup walnuts, choppped

½ cup light corn syrup

½ can (¾ cup) sweetened condensed milk

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

Butter an 8" baking pan. Add nuts to pan and shake to settle in an even layer on bottom of pan. Set aside. Put remaining butter and corn syrup in a 2-3 quart heavy metal pan. Cook, stirring over medium heat, till butter melts. Add milk, brown sugar, and vanilla. Stir to smoothly blend. Cool at least 2 hours. Cut into 1" squares. Wrap individually if desired. Store in a cool, dry place (for up to 1 week) or freeze for longer storage.

Blackberry Crisp

You could always tell it was summer because the Cluff kids had little purple fingers and, despite the 110º heat, long-sleeved shirts, jeans and moon boots. It was blackberry harvest time! Every morning the kids were sent out with a gallon milk jug with the spout cut out and a string tied through the handle to hang around the neck and directions to fill the gallon jug with blackberries. The ONLY thing that made it all worthwhile was Mom's brilliant blackberry crisp (and maybe homemade ice cream with crushed blackberries, too).

Preheat oven to 350º

Grease a long pan then fill it with:

6 cups blackberries

1 cup sugar (on top of the fruit)

In a bowl mix:

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup flour

1 cup oatmeal

1 cube margarine or butter

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Pour mixture over the fruit. Bake till bubbly (about 20-25 minutes). Best served warm with homemade vanilla ice cream. Yummy!

Diana's Applesauce Cake

"I've been making this cake for over 30 years," says Diana. "It's the very best moist cake. I use my homemade applesauce from our orchard, the eggs from our chicken coop, my homemade yogurt and fight the squirrels for the walnuts from our trees!"

In a small bowl mix:

2 cups applesauce

2 teaspoons baking soda

In a large bowl alternating mixing dry and wet ingredients:

Cream

1 cup sugar

½ cup shortening

1 beaten egg

2 ½ cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon clove

1 cup chopped raisins

½ -l cup nuts

1 ½ cups plain yogurt

Combine with applesauce mixture. Pour into two greased and floured loaf pans or a 9x12 pan to bake at 350 ° for 50 minutes.

Melanie's Angel Food Jell-O Cake

Melanie discovered this cake at her baby shower for Soren and has been enjoying it ever since.

1 large box strawberry-banana Jell-O

1 bag frozen strawberries

1 large cool whip

1 round angel food cake or two loafs

Mix Jell-O with 1 ½ cups hot water and let stand 15-20 minutes. Hollow out trenches in the inside walls of an angel food cake. Add pieces of cake and strawberries to Jell-O and fill the trenches in the cake with the mixture. If there is extra mixture fill the center too. Frost cake with cool whip and garnish with fresh berries. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Ron's Carrot Cake

Make in order and bake in greased 9X13 pan at 350 for 45 minutes.
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups oil
3 cups grated carrots (6 lg.)
2 cups flour
2 tsp. cinnamon (heaping)
2 tsp. baking soda (rounded)
1 tsp. salt
1/2-1 cup chopped walnuts (some on top)
1/2-1 cup raisins

Icing
1 8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Frost cake and sprinkle nuts on top.