Choco Mint Picnic Brownies

I ran across this recipe in the Lion House Bakery Cookbook and I had this craving for mint brownies. This isn't the exact recipe in the cookbook because I did my mint variation. I thought they turned out great and wanted to share my success with everyone. I hope you enjoy them.

4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon mint flavoring
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate and mint chips

Preheat oven to 350 and grease 2 9-inch round pans.

In top of a double boiler or a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate and butter. In a medium bowl, mix sugar, vanilla, mint flavor, and salt; add to melted chocolate mixture and blend well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and mix well. Divide batter equally into prepared pans. Spread evenly and sprinkle top of each with chopped nuts and chocolate/mint chips. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Brownies are done when a toothpick inserted an inch from center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before cutting. Run a thin knife between pan and brownies and turn upside down. With knife that is longer than brownies are wide, cut brownies by pressing knife straight down through brownines; cut each round into 8 wedges. Makes 16 brownies. These brownies store and stack well, for easy portability.

Cinnamon Apple Cake

This is one of my favorite recipes. Years ago I subscribed to Cooking Light Magazine when I was trying to eat and cook healthy things for my family. This recipe comes from the October 1997 issue of the magazine. I still try to cook healthy but sometimes fall off the wagon. Too much of a good thing is always too much of a good thing. The article says that it is the cream cheese in the batter that gives the cake lots of moisture. I think the cake melts in your mouth. I served this recipe last week when we had company for dinner.

1 3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup stick margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 ounces block-style fat-free cream cheese, softened (about 3/4 cup)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsps ground cinnamon
3 cups chopped peeled Rome apple (about 2 large)
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Beat 1 1/2 cups sugar, margarine, vanilla, and cream cheese at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 4 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, beating at low speed until blended.
3. Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Combine 2 TBS cinnamon mixture and apple in a bowl, and stir apple mixture into batter. Pour batter into an 8-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray, and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture.
4. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cool the cake completely on a wire rack, and cut using a serrated knife. Yield: 12 servings.

Note: You can also make this cake in a 9-inch square cake pan or a 9-knch springform pan; just reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I grow rhubarb in the garden and find that it's sour/sweet taste goes well with strawberries. My plants were huge this year and so I picked a lot of rhubarb to freeze. It is really easy...all you have to do is cut it up into 1 inch pieces, put it into containers and then put it in the freezer. So for Thanksgiving I made a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. This is my daughter Jenessa's favorite pie.

1 -10 inch double pie crust (I used the Never Fail Swedish Pie Crust)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. orange peel
3 cups rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 cups strawberries, cut up
2 TBS butter

Mix flour, sugar and orange peel together. Then mix in the rhubarb and strawberries. Pour into the pie shell and dot with butter. Place the top crust on the pie and spread milk on the top and then sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes.

Raspberry Pie

Once in a while a person gets published in the newspaper and this recipe is the one that made me famous in Vancouver. I submitted it to The Columbian in a recipe contest one year and they loved it. This is a very easy to make recipe.

1 1/2 cups water
10 oz frozen raspberries (I use the ones from my garden)
1 cup sugar
6 Tbs cornstarch
1 9 inch pie shell, baked

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and add the raspberries. Mix cornstarch in 1/2 cup water and stir in. Boil 1 minutes until thick. Cover and cool this mixture and then pour it into the pie shell. Serve with whipped cream.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

Making your own mixes is one way to save time in the long run. A chocolate chip cookie mix like this is easy to store and just as easy to bake.

9 cups flour
4 tsp soda
2 tsp salt
3 cups brown sugar
3 cups sugar
4 cups shortening
2 packages (12 oz) of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix together all ingredients and store in tightly covered container. When you are ready to make cookies add 2 eggs to 2 cups of mix and 1 tsp. of vanilla. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Makes 30 cookies.

Pumpkin Cake Roll

During the Holidays this is a great dessert to serve. My daughter Kristen reminded me how much she loved this recipe.

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
2/3 cup pumpkin
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Beat eggs on high speed of mixer for 5 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar. Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Fold into pumpkin mixture. Bake at 375 F for 15 minutes. Turn out on a towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Start at the narrow end and foll in the towel, covering the cake with powdered sugar. Cool.
For the filling mix until smooth:

1 cup of powdered sugar
3 (3 oz) packages of cream cheese
4 tsp butter or margarine
1/2 tsp vanilla

Spread on the cake roll. Re-roll and wrap in plastic wrap, then foil. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Becky's Pumpkin Pie Cake

During the holidays and especially at Thanksgiving time this pumpkin pie cake is great to make to take to social functions. It is rich and has pumpkin pie filling right in the cake!

1 yellow cake mix
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
2 cups pumpkin
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs and 2 eggs
1/4 cup butter
nuts (optional)

Take 1 cup of dry cake mix and add 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Set aside. Take the remaining dry cake mix and add 2 eggs and a cube of butter. Press this mixture into a 9x13 inch cake pan. Pour in pumpkin mixture (ingredients mixed together from sugar to 3 eggs). Sprinkle with saved 1 cup of cake mix and nuts. Melt 1/4 cup of butter and pour on top of cake. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes.

Fruit Cocktail Cake

My room mate Sher Bates and I used to make this cake a lot when we lived at Ricks College. I was reminded of this cake when I recently attended a book club and Mary made this with peaches...in fact any bottled fruit is good. Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream and you have a great dessert for company.

Cream:
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs

Add:
2 cups flour
2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups fruit cocktail, undrained

Pour batter into greased and floured loaf pan or you can use a 9 x 13 inch cake pan.

Mix and sprinkle on top of batter:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup nuts

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes.

Chocolate Bavarian Dessert

Here is another recipe that Theone Miles gave to me. She made it once when I was at her house and I asked her for the recipe. It is one of those creamy pudding recipes with 4 layers. It is great to serve company.

Mix:
1 cups flour
1/2 cup melted butter
3/4 cups pecans

Spread in bottom of a 9 x 13 cake pan. Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Watch it carefully and bake it until just golden brown. Cool.

Beat:
1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese
1 cup of powdered sugar
1 cup cool whip

Spread this over the crust mixture in the pan.

Mix:
2 small packages of instant milk chocolate pudding according to directions. Spread over cream cheese mixture. Then spread the rest of the cool whip on top. You can sprinkle nuts on top of you wish.

Poppy Seed Cake

This is Kerry's favorite cake that his Mom (Theone Miles) made while he was growing up. She gave me this recipe when Kerry begged me to make his Mom's Poppy Seed Cake.

2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 large can carnation milk
1 1/2 cups oil
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 Tbs poppy seeds

Mix sugar, eggs, milk, and oil well. Add flour, salt and soda a little at a time and mix well. Add poppy seeds and mix well with beater. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes at 350 degrees in an Angel food cake pan.

Carrot Pudding

My Grandmother Olsen would make this pudding every Christmas holiday and we would look forward to eating this with a vanilla cream sauce.

9 Tbs. ground suet (you can get this from the butcher) or use 1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup grated potato
1 cup grated apples
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. soda dissolved in a little hot water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmet
1 1/2 to 2 cups flour- to make a medium thick batter

Cream suet (butter) with brown sugar and then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Put the batter into a greased mold of choice and fill only 2/3 full. Cover with foil. Place on rack in pan with 2 inches of water. Cover pan, and steam on low heat on top of stove for 2 hours. Check water level occasionally and add more, if necessary.

Never Fail Swedish Pie Crust

This is one of my favorite pie crust recipes and it turns out every time. It makes enough for 4 crusts and will keep in the refrigerator.

4 cups flour
2 cups shortening
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs sugar

Blend with hands. Add:

1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup water
1 Tbs white vinegar

Blend with the first mixture. Roll out. You can handle this dough with your hands all you want and still get a flaky cryst. This will keep in the refrigerator for quite awhile if you can't use it all at once.

Cheaters Cheesecake

Are you looking for a quick easy dessert that doesn't take much time to make? Try this cheesecake and top it with cherry pie filling for an impressive dessert that people think you spent all day making. (I once won a prize for the best dessert at a ward party with this cheesecake.)

Cookie Pie Crust
8 oz. Cream cheese
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 c. lemon juice
1 TBS vanilla
1 16 oz. can pie filling

Cream milk and cream cheese, then add lemon juice and vanilla. Pour into pie crust and top with your favorite pie filling.

Sour Cream Lemon Pie

This pie is a little more difficult than the cheesecake. It comes from one of many Relief Society cooking classes that I have gone to. If you love creamy lemon try this recipe.

1 cup sugar
4 TBS corn starch
¼ cup butter
1 TBS grated lemon peel
6 TBS lemon juice
3 unbeaten egg yolks
1 ½ cups milk
1 cup sour cream

1 baked pie shell

Mix sugar, milk, cornstarch, lemon juice and lemon peel. Cook in microwave for 6 to 8 minutes (until thick). Add 3 unbeaten egg yolks and cook about 2 minutes longer. Add ¼ cup butter. Add sour cream. Cool and top with sweetened whipped cream.

Apple Dumplings

These are the best Apple Dumplings I have ever tasted. Aunt Dixie and Grandmother went to Williamsburg Virginia and brought this recipe back. Aunt Dixie did a class in Relief Society on her trip and presented these recipes. Try a little bit of Americana.

Pastry Crust Mix for 10 inch double crust pie.
6 whole large apples, peeled and cored (use baking apples like Jonathan, Gravenstein)
1 ½ cups sugar, divided
¾ tsp. Cinnamon, divided
¼ tsp nutmeg
6 Tbs butter, divided

Pastry Crust Mix

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 cup shortening
Ice water

Mix the dry ingredients together. Blend in the shortening with knives or a pastry blender until the mixture is of pebbly consistency. Store it in a covered container in the refrigerator. When needed, moisten the pastry mix with enough ice water to hold the dough together when pushed lightly with a fork. Roll out on a lightly floured board or pastry cloth.

Preheat the oven to 450 F. 10 minutes before the dumplings are ready to be baked. Roll out the pastry 1/8 inch thick and cut it into six 7-inch squares. Place an apple in the center of each square. Fill the apples with a mixture of ½ cup of sugar, ½ tsp of cinnamon, ¼ tsp of nutmeg, and 2 Tbs. of butter.

Moisten the edges of the pastry with cold water and fold them up around the apples, pressing the edges together to seal firmly. Prick the pastry in several places. Chill 1 hour. Combine the remaining sugar, cinnamon, butter, and 2 cups of hot water and boil 5 minutes. Place the apples in a 9 x 12 inch baking dish and bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 F., pour the syrup over the apples, and bake 35 minutes, basting occasionally.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

This is my favorite cheesecake recipe. It is rich and creamy and out of this world. Think of a mound of cheesecake with delectable chocolate crumbs topped with sour cream and drizzled with raspberry sauce. MMMM.

Crust
8 ½ oz. Pkg. Chocolate wafers, crushed (1 ¾ cup)
¼ cup margarine or butter, melted

Filling
2 (8 oz.) pkg. Cream cheese
½ cup sugar
3 eggs
12- oz. Pkg (2 cups) vanilla milk chips or vanilla flavored candy coating, cut into pieces, melted
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla

Topping

Heat oven to 325. In medium bowl, combine crust ingredients; mix well. Press in bottom and up sides of 10-inch springform pan. Refrigerate.

In large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth, gradually add sugar, beating until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add remaining filling ingredients; beat until smooth. Pour into crust lined pan.

Bake at 325 for 55 to 65 minutes or until edges are set. (To minimize cracking place shallow pan half ful of hot water on lower oven rack during baking.) Center of cheesecake will be soft. Turn oven off; let cake stand in oven for 30 min with door open at least 4 inches. Remove from oven; cool to room temp on wire rack. Remove sides of pan. Refrigerate overnight.

Top with your favorite topping.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This cake reminds me of the many picnics that we went on as a family to the lake. Mom would pack a picnic lunch and we would be off. The gooey chocolate frosting would be all over our faces as we munched into this moist cake.

½ cup of oil
½ c. margarine
1/3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp. Cloves
½ tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla
½ c. sour milk (or buttermilk
2 ½ c. sifted flour
4 Tbsp. Cocoa
1 tsp. Soda
½ tsp. Cinnamon
2 c. grated zucchini

Topping
½ c. brown sugar
1 c. chocolate chips
½ c. chopped walnuts

Cream oil, margarine, sugar and eggs. Alternate sour milk and other sifted dry ingredients until blended. Add zucchini and pour the mixture into a 13x9 inch pan, top with brown sugar, nuts and chips. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. This is a moist cake that does not need frosting.

Black Forest Cherry Torte

1/2 tsp almond extract
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup sugar, divided
½ cup unsifted all purpose flour
1/3 cup Hershey’s Cocoa
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup water
1 TBS sugar
3 cups sweetened whipped cream
Sliced almonds

Stir almond extract into pie filling; chill. Line a 15 ½ x 10 ½ x 1 inch jelly foll pan with aluminum foil; grease foil. Beat egg yolks with vanilla 2 minutes on medium speed. Gradually add ½ cup sugar; continue beating 2 minutes. Combine flour, cocoa, ¼ cup sugar, baking soda and salt; add to egg yolk mixture alternately with water on low speed. Beat egg whites with 1 Tbs. sugar until stiff peaks form; carefully fold into chocolate mixture. Spread evenly in prepared pan; bake at 375 for 14 to 16 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched in center. Invert onto cooling rack; remove foil. Cool. Cut cake crosswise into 4 equal rectangles 3 ¾ x 10 inches. Spread one layer with ½ cup sweetened whipped cream; top with second layer. Spoon ½ cherry filling in center to within ½-inch of edge; pipe edge with cream. Top with third layer; spread with ½ cup cream. Top with fourth layer; spoon remaining cherry filling to within ½ inch of edge. Frost sides with whipped cream. Pipe top edge. Pat almonds into frosting. Chill.