Hello Dollies

I made these for my friends birthday and they were gone within minutes - sooooo good (and very sweet)! Another plus, very quick to make.  We loved them!

Hello Dollies

1 stick butter, melted

1 C. gram crackers crumbs

1 C. butterscotch chips

1 C. semisweet chocolate chips

1 C. coconut

1 C. walnuts

1 C. eagle sweetened condensed milk

Melt butter and pour into 9X13 pan. Add gram cracker crumbs into pan and form into crust. Layer by sprinkling butterscotch chips, semi sweet chocolate chips, coconut and walnuts over crust. Drizzle condensed milk over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Let cool before cutting.

Cherry Cream Cheese Danish

Thanks to Rachel for a copy of her family cookbook! We LOVED this breakfast recipe and so did our neighbors (side note - I don't like cherries very much, but I still loved this recipe).

Cherry Cream Cheese Danish

2 Packages (8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent rolls

1 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 C. powdered sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract

1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling

Glaze:

1/2 C. powdered sugar

2-3 tsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll crescent dough. Separate into 16 triangles, reserving 4 triangles for decoration. On a Large Pizza Stone, arrange 12 triangles in a circle with wide ends toward the outside edge of the baking stone and points toward the center (points will not meet). Roll dough into a 14-inch circle, pressing seams together to seal and leaving a hole in the center.

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg and extract; mix until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture over dough, leaving space at the outer and inner edges. Top with pie filling. Cut the remaining triangles into thirds, starting at the wide ends and cutting to point. Arrange dough strips evenly over filling. Press ends to seal at center and outer edges. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool slightly.

For glaze, mix powdered sugar and milk until smooth; drizzle over top. Cut and serve.

French Apple Pie

I love this pie and it is one of Isaac's favorites too. I made this for the teachers at New Horizon and it was so loved that for Thanksgiving that year, six of the teachers made it for their families. The crust is really yummy because it has almond extract in it and it is the easiest crust because you just pat it into the pie pan, you don't need to roll it out. It cooks in the oven, inside a paper bag. Don't worry, I have made this pie hundreds of times and the paper bag has never set on fire. My favorite apple to use for this is Gravensteins, if you can find them. This recipe also works best if the margarine is still chilled and not softened.

French Apple Pie

Crust:

1 C. flour

2 Tbs. sugar

1 stick margarine

Dash of salt

Capful of Almond Extract

Filling:

4 C. sliced and peeled apples

1/2 C. sugar

2 Tbs. flour

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Crumb Topping:

1/2 C. flour

1/2 C. sugar

1/2 C. butter

1. Mix crust ingredients together in a bowl with your hands. Once well blended, press into pie pan (this crust does not need to be rolled out).

2. Peel, core and slice apples and mix with other ingredients. Pour over crust.

3. Mix topping ingredients with hands. Sprinkle over the top of the pie.

4. Place pie in a paper bag and cook in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour and a half.

German Pancakes

This pancakes are not my favorite as far as flavor goes, however they take a whole 2 minutes to prepare and about 5 minutes of clean-up afterwards, which I love and they are steadily growing on me. This recipe is definitely top on my Busy-Mom-Needs-Something-Quick list.

German Pancakes
6 eggs
1 C. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C. flour
1/4 C. butter
Melt butter in 9X13 baking pan (you can use 9X9 for thicker pancakes). Mix remaining ingredients. Pour mix over butter. Bake 20 min. at 400 degrees. The sides of the pancakes will creep up the sides of the pan. Serve with Homemade Syrup, cinnamon/sugar, powdered sugar, or warm fruit topping.

Homemade Syrup

I can't rave enough about how good this syrup is. It is amazing and it make every breakfast food taste better.

Homemade Syrup
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. buttermilk
1/2 tsp. soda
1 Cube margarine
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix first 4 ingredients together. Boil one minute. Add vanilla.

Chicken Squares

This recipe is my busy-mom-needs-something-quick recipe. I got it from my roommate Angeli in college and it's one of Isaac's favorites. I love it because it is quick and easy.

Chicken Squares
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 8oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can cream of chicken soup

1. Combine shredded chicken and cream cheese. Take 2 of the crescents and stretch into square. Fill half with chicken mixture and stretch the other half of the crescents over the top. Pinch the edges together.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min.
3. Combine soups and heat on stove. Spread on the top of the chicken squares.

Chocolate Oatmeal Carmelitas

I was introduced to Dulce de Leche when I was in Honduras. The family that I was living with would always make Dulce de Leche cake when it was someones birthday. The cake was so gross and soggy, and whoever's birthday it was got raw eggs smashed on their head (a Honduran tradition), so it also always smelled like raw eggs. Anyway, I haven't liked Dulce de Leche since, however, my friend really likes it, so for her birthday I tried this recipe that I found on Recipe Girl because it has Dulce de Leche in it, and was surprised because I really liked these bars.
Now the recipe says to "dollop" the Dulce de Leche onto the bar. But I discovered it is too carmely, so it doesn't really "dollop" and instead it made a huge mess. Next time I try this recipe, I will probably just try putting a hole in the can and drizzling the Dulce de Leche from the can instead, and not add the flour 3 TBS. flour into the carmel. This is a make ahead recipe, not one you can eat right out of the oven. You can find the Dulce de Leche in the Mexican Food section of the grocery store.

Chocolate Oatmeal Carmelitas

3 C. + 3 TBS. flour, divided

1½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, softened

3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats

2¼ cups light brown sugar

1½ cups (16 ounces) dulce de leche

1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

¾ cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9x13-inch metal baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk 3 cups of the flour with the baking soda and salt. Add the butter, oats and brown sugar and mix until combined. In a small bowl, mix the dulce de leche with the remaining 3 Tbsp. flour.
3. Pat half of the oat mixture into the baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Scatter half of the chocolate chips and pecans over the crust. Dollop half of the dulce de leche mixture on top. Crumble the remaining oat mixture evenly into the pan. Cover with the remaining chocolate chips, pecans and dollops of dulce de leche.
4. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until the edges are set. Let stand, uncovered at room temperature overnight. Cut the carmelitas into bars and serve.

Butterscotch Bars

I love these bars and so do Isaac's co-workers. One of them actually called me and begged me over the phone to make these and send them to work with Isaac. They are a huge hit and easy to make, just make sure you plan ahead. They require time to sit and set - you can't just stick them in the freezer and hope they set faster (they don't and your likely to chip a tooth). I got this recipe from Karli and it's one of my favorites.

Butterscotch Bars
1 C. sugar

1 C. light Caro syrup

1 C. peanut butter

6 C. rice crispies

1 1/2 C. chocolate chips

1 1/2 C. butterscotch chips

Combine sugar and caro syrup. Heat on the stovetop over medium until blended. Add peanut butter while still hot and mix. Press into 9X13 pan (lightly grease). Melt chips and pour on top. Sit to set (4-5 hours).

*Cute to make into Popsicles for a birthday or special occasion (although much more time consuming). To make Popsicles, buy sticks at Michaels or specialty store. Let rice crispy mixture sit for about an hour in the bowl and then begin to form into balls, and stick sticks into the balls. Let sit for an hour to form. Then dip individual balls into melted chocolate (also take out the sticks, dip in chocolate and put back into balls). Let sit on wax paper and add sprinkles if you want.