Friday Desserts

It's finally Friday. To make things a little better, here are six yummy desserts to help you through the weekend. Check out the Black Raspberry Sour Cream Pie, the Strawberry Shortcake Mini Taco Bowls, or any of the other desserts in today's post. Enjoy!

MINI CHEESECAKES WITH MANGO-RASPBERRY SAUCE

This was in the September 2006 (?) issue of Vegetarian Times, page 41. It begins, "These individual cheesecakes wowed us with their simplicity and their flavor. Have both the egg and the cream cheese at room temperature before you use them to ensure a smooth texture."

Makes 2 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/mini-cheesecakes-with-mango-raspberry-sauce/.

Ingredients

Mango-raspberry sauce

1/2 cup frozen raspberries, thawed

1/2 cup frozen mango chunks, thawed

1/4 cup mango-apricot nectar or orange juice

1 Tbs. sugar

Mini cheesecakes

6 oz. fat-free or low-fat cream cheese, softened

3 Tbs. fat-free condensed milk

2 Tbs. mango-apricot nectar or orange juice

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 round sugar cookies, such as Pepperidge Farm Sugar Cookies

Preparation

To make Mango-Raspberry Sauce: Purée all ingredients in blender until smooth. Strain, and set aside.

To make Mini Cheesecakes: Preheat oven to 325F. Coat 2 6-oz. ramekins with cooking spray. Beat cream cheese with electric beater until smooth. Add condensed milk, and blend until smooth. Add nectar, egg and vanilla, and beat just until smooth.

Set 1 cookie in bottom of each ramekin. Fill ramekins with cream cheese mixture. Place ramekins in 9-inch square ovenproof dish, and add hot water to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Place dish in oven, and bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until just set.

Remove from water bath, and set on cooling rack for 30 minutes. Transfer to refrigerator, and chill 4 hours, or up to 2 days. Serve cheesecakes with Mango-Raspberry Sauce.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE MINI TACO BOWLS

This is from Old El Paso, and begins, "Looking for a dessert big on flavor but small in portion? These individual strawberry shortcakes are a delicious match. Strawberry shortcake tacos are perfect for summer desserts, picnics, potlucks, or as a snack when you need to satisfy a sweet craving! Fresh strawberries, whipped cream and crushed shortbread cookies are nestled in an Old El Paso™ Soft Tortilla Mini Bowl. Enjoy the sweet flavors and delightful crunch of a mini strawberry shortcake."

Prep Time: 30 minutes; Total Time: 45 minutes; Makes 10 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.oldelpaso.com/recipes/strawberry-shortcake-mini-taco-bowls.

Ingredients

1 lb strawberries, sliced (4 cups)

7 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon melted butter

10 Old El Paso™ Taco Bowls™ mini soft flour tortillas (1 sleeve from Party Pack)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup crushed shortbread cookies

Mint leaves

Preparation

Mix strawberries with 3 tablespoons of the sugar; refrigerate while juices develop, at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 375°F. Line cookie sheet with foil. Lightly brush melted butter on all sides of each bowl. Place 3 tablespoons of the sugar in large resealable food-storage plastic bag. Place bowls, a few at a time, into bag, and gently shake until bowls are coated in sugar. Place bowls on cookie sheet. Bake 5 to 8 minutes or until browned on edges and firm to the touch. Bowls will crisp as cooled. Remove to cooling rack to cool.

In chilled small bowl, beat whipping cream, remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and the vanilla with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Use slotted spoon to divide strawberries among bowls. Top with a dollop of whipped cream; garnish with crushed shortbread cookies and mint leaves.

Expert Tips

If you like your strawberries with chocolate, drizzle the filled mini strawberry shortcake bowls with a little chocolate sauce.

Sliced bananas make a nice addition to the strawberry filling in the strawberry shortcake tacos.

If your strawberries are less ripe, refrigerate them with the sugar for longer, up to overnight. The sugar will help soften and break down the fruit.

CHAMPIONSHIP CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS

This comes from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list. Yield: 3 dozen bars

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter or regular margarine

2 cups (12 oz pkg) semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chopped nuts

Directions

Heat oven to 350 F. Stir together flour and brown sugar in a medium bowl.

Cut in cold butter until crumbly. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Press mixture on bottom of ungreased 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake 15 minutes.

Combine sweetened condensed milk, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in remaining 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips and the nuts. Spread evenly over hot baked crust. Bake 25 minutes or until golden. Cool in pan on wire rack then cut into bars.

BEST APPLE CRISP

This yumminess is from Betty Crocker, and begins, "Nothing says ‘fall is here’ quite like the smell of tender-baked apples filling your home. This simple and downright delicious apple crisp gives you all the flavor you could ever ask for in a dessert, and is as quick to make as it is to finish. The cherry on top? A generous topping of cream or vanilla ice cream."

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 50 minutes; Servings: 6

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

4 medium tart cooking apples, sliced (4 cups)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

1/3 cup butter, softened

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cream or Ice cream, if desired

Directions

Heat oven to 375°F. Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with shortening.

Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients except cream until well mixed; sprinkle over apples.

Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm with cream.

Expert Tips

No matter the name—crisp, crumble, or cobbler—any baked dessert filled with fresh fruit is defined by the topping. A crisp and crumble are close cousins, with their toppings of buttered flour or oats and sugar. A crisp is all about the oats that become browned and a little crunchy when baked.

Many sweet crumbly or streusel toppings include chopped nuts; walnut, pecans, or macadamia nuts are good choices and will toast during baking.

Dark brown sugar can be used if you want to bump up the caramel-like taste surrounding the fruit.

Choose crisp and tartly-sweet apples—Empire, Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Braeburn, Cortland—they hold their shape and aren’t too juicy.

Get creative by adding your favorite dried spice, 1 tablespoon candied ginger, or 1/2 cup chewy dried fruits to add more layers of flavor and texture.

PEANUT BUTTER CREAM PIE

This is from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list.

Ingredients

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter, cut up

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla

1/2 cup cornstarch

3/4 cup whipping cream

3-3/4 cups milk

9” baked pie crust

Directions

Cut the peanut butter into powdered sugar until crumbly. Set aside. In large saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir until bubbly. Cook 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and gradually stir about 1 cup of hot mixture into eggs. Return to saucepan. Cook until nearly bubbly; do not boil. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir butter and vanilla into mixture. Sprinkle the baked crust with half of the peanut butter mixture. Mound filling on top. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Beat whipping cream until stiff peaks. Spread over pie filling. Sprinkle with remaining peanut butter mixture. Chill at least 2 hours, store in refrigerator.

Note: I have to add 1 to 2 Tbs. more cornstarch to keep the pie filling from being too runny.

BLACK RASPBERRY SOUR CREAM PIE

This is from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list.

Ingredients

9 ” unbaked pie shell

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 cup dairy sour cream

1 Tbsp. melted butter

5 Tbsp. flour

4 cups black raspberries

1/4 tsp. salt

Directions

Combine 1 cup sugar, dairy sour cream, flour and salt. Place black raspberries in unbaked pie shell and spread sour cream mixture over berries. Mix bread crumbs and 2 Tbsp. sugar together. Add melted butter and stir. Sprinkle crumbs over top of sour cream and berries. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.

Note: I cover the edges of my pie crust with foil while baking the first 30 minutes, then remove foil for the last 10 to 15 minutes.

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