Lemon Dream Cheesecake

So I’ve been told by my dear friend Amy that this Lemon Cheesecake would make a fantastic dessert for a Bridal or Baby Shower. And you know what? I would have to agree with her! Since I live here in the Deep South let’s imagine for a moment you’re headed to a Bridal Shower held at plantation home that revels the one from "Gone with the Wind". Surprisingly it’s a slightly warmer morning than the day before last, yet the sun seems to be playing peek-a-boo with the soft billowy white clouds. You give yourself a nonverbal pat on the back for deciding to go ahead with the stylish wide brimmed, slightly floppy, hat that covers your bare shoulders perfectly. Thankfully though you wore a cool long flowy dress with dream like flowers melting from the top bodice. The stone pathway leading up to the large pillars is just what you need to bring your mind back to the present. Along the side of the large pillared porch your eyes finally rest upon the Bride brimming with bliss and complete contentment. She is surrounded by family and friends, as you get closer to them it quickly becomes apparent they are all having a lovely time. Glass pitchers of lemonade and sweet tea are resting on the most exquisitely painted floral trays. From what you could tell the shower was being held within the large garden trellis covered with vines of Wisteria. Blue Hydrangeas surrounded the bottom of the trellis along with other shrubs and plants. The beautiful fragrance of magnolias delightfully captures your senses as you go to wish the Bride well. She is truly excited you have come and that you brought one of your famous cheesecakes.

Lemon Dream Cheesecake RecipeLemon Dream Cheeseca30

Ingredients

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 
  FILLING:
• 4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 2-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 10 drops yellow food coloring, optional
• 5 eggs, lightly beaten

ingredients Taste of Home

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan.

• In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan.

          Wrap your springform pan with 2 layers of aluminum foil to prevent water in the water bath from seeping in. Then I placed it in a broiler pan .

• In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth.  With a wooden spoon (or spatchula )blend in whipping cream, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in one at a time lemon juice, vanilla ,lemon extract, grated lemon peel , yellow food coloring and flour until nice and  smooth. There may still be little  tiny peices of cream cheese not fully mixed in thats ok. If you feel you need to give it a nice quick mix with the mixer at the very end go ahead , but if you go to long it could crack. Pour filling into prepared crust in springform pan and then add 1 inch of hot water around the foil wrapped springform pan. Then place in oven.
• Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour exactly with no peeking!! Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the DOOR CLOSED for 2 to 3 hours; this prevents cracking.  Don't even  take a peek unless your just looking through the window with the oven light on.Chill in refrigerator until serving. My directions

Strawberry Shortcake

I hardly feel this should be considered a recipe, yet it’s our favorite easy dessert for 4th of July. And for all of you who need something fast to bring to a BBQ or a lake retreat this is perfect. My friend Sharin introduced me to preparing Strawberry Shortcake this way on one of my visits to her peaceful and pleasant home. Of course all, if not most of us, know to use Angel food Cake for the cake part, but how many of us have tried Sara Lee’s pound cake?! Hey I told you easy peasy! No cooking? You say what? Yes, please give yourself a break this weekend and go enjoy your friends and family. Leave the cooking to the men with the grills. We deserve a day off!
 

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf frozen pound cake, thawed
• 3 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 Tbsp. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla

       or 1 can of ready whip

Preparation:

Using a potato masher, mash half of the strawberries. Stir in the sliced strawberries and chill. Beat cream with powdered sugar and vanilla. Slice pound cake, place each piece on serving plate, top with strawberry mixture and a dollop of cream. Serve immediately. About.com recipe

Lemon Blossoms

Ok so truth be told, these sweet little honeys won't last long from the oven to the plate. After the glaze is drizzled over them you can kiss your diet completely goodbye for the entire evening! My husband and I prefer these golden goodies warm and completely smothered in glaze. Let's just say, to the point they are overflowing and not quite as pretty as the ones in the above photo. Strangely enough I'm not sure if it was the complete lack of self control the night before or if they lose a bit of their sinfulness by morning, but we found them a little less appealing in the morning light. So, next time I probably will make these again in the cover of night.

Ingredients

• 18 1/2-ounce package yellow cake mix
• 3 1/2-ounce package instant lemon pudding mix
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil

Glaze:

• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 lemon, zested
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray miniature muffin tins with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs and oil and blend well with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour a small amount of batter, filling each muffin tin half way. Bake for 12 minutes. Turn out onto a towel
To make the glaze, sift the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, zest, oil, and 3 tablespoons water. Mix with a spoon until smooth.

With fingers, dip the cupcakes into the glaze while they're still warm, covering as much of the cake as possible, or spoon the glaze over the warm cupcakes, turning them to completely coat. Place on wire racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips. Let the glaze set thoroughly, about 1 hour Paula Deen Recipe

Sopapilla Cheesecake

With Cinco de Mayo coming up I thought I would share with you a recipe that my good friend Beka makes every year. For all of you who are maybe a little bit timid at making a cheesecake this is a fantastic option for you, without all the stress. I received this recipe after a few months of asking for it, so you know it must be good! As Beka always does, she kept her word and gave it to me. Her friendship has definitely been a gift. She has been such a wonderful encouragement during some difficult times. I pray that she be blessed in an amazing way for she is such an amazing blessing to me.

 

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract
• 2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup honey

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.
3. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Dot the mixture over the top of the cheesecake.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Purely decadent is what I call these sweet little honeys. Why is it that the whole world (ok, maybe mostly Hollywood) finds these chocolaty bursts of passions in your mouth the epitome of romance? Honestly, I fall for it to every time, and I am completely ok with buying into it wholeheartedly! This recipe is nothing new, it’s just the only way I can melt chocolate successfully. Yes, I said it! Well, if melting chocolate isn't the easiest for you, I think you may just find this post helpful. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 16 ounces milk chocolate chips
• 1 pound fresh strawberries with leaves
• parchment paper

Directions:
Wash and dry strawberries. Next, separate a few sheets of parchment paper. Place the milk chocolate chips in a cold nonstick skillet, making sure all of the chips are nicely touching the skillet for all of the chips to receive the heat. Then, turn the dial to the lowest it will go and just stand over the chocolate and wait, NO STIRRING. Soon you will began to see the chocolate melt very slowly. It will have the appearance of being almost soild but will began to look slightly lighter in color. Once it looks this way (heated almost through) stir, quickly dip strawberries in chocolate, and place on parchment paper to cool.
 

  

Baklava

What would the holidays be without a challenging yet delicious dessert! This dessert has threaded it's self through my life for years as a treat with so much awe around it. Here are a few of the times I'm thinking of

1. The bakery I worked in as a teenager. I remember them telling me it was too difficult and time consuming for them to make. So, they bought it from another bakery out in never never land.

2. The feisty Greek woman I had as a client in hair school. She shared with me how she loved making Baklava for her big Greek extended family gatherings. She was a lady that I would have to tease her hair just right or she would try and sometimes did steal the comb right from my very hand!

3. And lastly a few years back my husband came home from work with a few pieces of Baklava his Boss’s (and friend) wife had made. I remember thinking WOW she made that?! I was truly impressed with her! Of course I remember thinking to myself how it was probably time I should give it a try too. So when I asked her for her recipe she told me she found it online. Thus began my research for the best Baklava recipe I could find.  This of course was just the beginning of my Internet searches for yummy recipes. So, after much searching this is the most perfect recipe I found and here it is for you today.


By the way once you get the hang of it it's not as challenging as you originally  thought:)

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
• 1 pound chopped nuts
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
2. Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough.  May need to be cut in half  to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
3. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
4. Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up. Allrecipes

Quickie Fudge

Alright let me start with saying that candy making has not come natural to my family for many generations. So, in saying this I'm on a mission to change that, break the cycle one piece of candy at a time. It's kind of ironic to me and many others I'm sure that my Dad owned a Gourmet Chocolate Company.  He carried many delectable treats from Germany, Switzerland and Italy just to name a few. Even though my family has not been candy makers or chocolatiers we definitely know what the very best should taste like. Years of training I suppose. Well I'm not saying that this fudge is European worthy, but for fast fudge in no time it's pretty darn good.



 Oh you want a story...well I suppose I could share one with you :)


Once upon a time there were two little blonde girls that lived in a house on top of a hill and those little girls had a Daddy that sold chocolate. Well their Daddy had a special room that he kept all the most delicious chocolate anyone had ever tasted under lock and key. What do you suppose those sweet innocent little girls could possibly do when the parents went away? Why yes of course you got it breaking and entering would be the crime of this passion! For the older daughter (which was me I) lost interest 5 min in with that bobby pin. Just because it works for Nancy Drew doesn't mean it will work for anyone one else ;) The younger sister was more dedicated she would try anything that was small enough to jam in that door  hangers, nails, seafood pick/forks, toys, corn on the cob holders, pens( those didn’t  work out so well) truly anything! That poor little girl would sit there trying to open that door until she heard her Daddy's car drive up the driveway. Then she was quick as a flash scramble to put everything away! When Daddy came through the door both girls greeted him with a “Hi Daddy".          THE END  

Oh P.S. the younger one did succeed a few times...



Ingredients
1lb confectioners’ sugar
1/2 c. cocoa
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped nuts

Blend together confectioners’ sugar and cocoa in a mixing bowl. Pour in milk place butter on top. Heat in microwave oven on full power for 2 minutes until butter melted. Stir well to mix ingredients. Add vanilla and nuts. Stir until blended. Then pour into a loaf pan .Place in freezer for 20 min or in refrigerator for 1 hour. Chill. Cut into 1 inch squares and store in an airtight container. This recipe came from and old church cookbook that belonged to my Grandmother

Apple Dumplings

Hmm apple dumplings sweet yummy warm apple goodness all wrapped up in a caramel haven of delight. This is just one of the many joys of fall. Oh do love fall! I know you have heard me talk about it before, but if you haven’t noticed I'm a seasonal person. I love to decorate my home with a few of the pleasures of each season so why wouldn't I post recipes accordingly. One simple desire of mine is to have the home have the fragrance of each season too. Of course I completely dropped the ball this past summer but that’s ok I have a whole year to make up for it. My favorite scents for the last few years have been Magnolias or Tulips for spring, Strawberries for summer, Cinnamon and Pumpkin for fall of course and Vanilla and Evergreen for winter. Apples always seem to float throughout the year which brings me back to this dessert which is truly perfect all year round. Enjoy

Ingredients

• 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
• 2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle Mountain Dew ™

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Cut each apple into 8 wedges and set aside. Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the smallest end. Pinch to seal and place in the baking dish.






3. Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Pour over the apple dumplings. Pour Mountain Dew™ over the dumplings.


4. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes covered with tin foil until last 10 min in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Allrecipes

Strawberry Kiwi Trifle

For some crazy reason all I've been able to think about while trying to figure out what to write about this dessert is laying on the beach on some remote location with a fruity coconut drink and The Beach Boys playing in the background. So, let's embrace it! Here's your mini mini vacation and when your done you can come back to a fruity dessert without a lot of guilt.




 Ingredients


1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

1 (9 inch) angel food cake

1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

3 kiwis, peeled and sliced

1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced

1 can pineapple juice

1 sprig fresh mint ( nice but not necessary)

Directions

1.In a medium bowl, fold sour cream and unprepared pudding mix into the whipped topping.

2.Cut the cake into thirds, horizontally. Soak kiwi slices in pineapple juice then discard juice afterward

3.Line a large trifle or other glass serving bowl with kiwi and strawberry slices, reserving two whole strawberries and two kiwi slices. Place one layer of cake in bottom of bowl,  and 1/3 of whipped topping mixture. Repeat layering until all ingredients are used.

4.Make fan garnishes of whole strawberries by slicing from just below the stem. Garnish assembled trifle with fanned strawberries, reserved kiwi slices, and a sprig of mint. Refrigerate until serving. original recipe was from allrecipes 15 servings

Southern Banana Pudding

Just picture it  you have the day off and your heading to a good friends house for a BBQ in their backyard.  This is the perfect dessert to bring for such a fun relaxing bash! What a fantastic way to encourage those warm comfortable summer evenings with the sun just beginning to set then to make this yummy treat. Make sure to put out the Citronella candles  or the Honey bees might come a buzzing!

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 3 cups cold milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed or homemade whipped cream
• 4 bananas, sliced
• 1/2 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers

Directions 

 

1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. If it's still clumpy dump the entire mixture into the blender until smooth. Then fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.
2.   Line the bottom of a 9x13dish with vanilla wafers ( you can really stick this in any pan you like) Layer  it  cookies, pudding, bananas , pudding and a again until  puddings all gone. Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill. It' the best if you leave it in the fridge 6 or more hours. found on allrecipes 

Whip Cream  

1pint of whipping cream

1/2 cup powder sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Whip all together in a mix bowl until you can scoop some out without it running together.