Desserts and Snacks:

Cheater Cake

Serves 12

  • 1 box yellow or white cake mix
  • 2 cans "Comstock" (or similar brand) cherry or apple pie filling
  • 2 cubes of butter (not margarine)
  • 1 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts
In 9 x 12 pan: Spread both cans pie filling. Evenly cover with dry cake mix. Cut butter into small pieces and place randomly over top. Top with the chopped walnuts.

Bake at 350°, for 35 to 45 mins.

Red's Cheesecake

Serves 12

    Crust:
  • 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup melted butter


    • Cheese mixture:
  • 1 cups sugar
  • 2 8 ounces packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1/3 cup whole milk ricotta cheese, softened
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon rind
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 5 eggs
  • 2 cups sour cream


    • Sour Cream Topping:
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
Crust:
Mix crumbs with 1/2 cup of sugar, then cut in the melted butter. (Reserve about 1 cup of mixture for decorating the top of cake.) Press crumbs into springform pan, bake at 325° for 5 minutes.

Cheesecake Filling:
Mix sugar, cream cheese, ricotta cheese salt, yolks, 1 teaspoon vanilla, lemon rind, lemon juice. Mix just until smooth, but don't over do. Then add 1 cup of sour cream until blended. The last thing to do is to lightly beat the eggs and then add to the mixture. Mix just until smooth, but don't over do. Then pour into pre baked crust. Bake 325° for 1 hour.

Sour Cream Topping:
Mix the last cup of sour cream, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla together. After cheesecake is baked, spread this on top - gently. After it has been smoothed out, sprinkle top with reserved crumb mixture and bake for an additional 5 to 8 minutes.

Tips: if you forget to reserve crumbs for the top just make a small batch. Also, the ricotta can be omitted if desired.

Cool on counter until room temp. then put into fridge for a few hours.

Bake at 350°, for 35 to 45 mins.

Cousin Barbara's Ranger Cookies

Serves 12 to 20

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • dash salt
  • 1 cup rice crispies type cereal
  • 1 whole egg, beaten
  • 1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Mix all dry ingredients in bowl, then add wet ingredients to them, and lightly mix. Then drop by spoonful and slightly flatten on cookie sheet in two batches. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 350° until light golden color.

NOTE: This recipe is from my 90-year-old cousin Barbara Bates. Who is an avid gardener still! (Makes me proud to be related.) She made these for us on our last visit to her tiny town in Cummington, MA and they were delicious.

My husband loves these cookies. We've made them for several different events and people just devour them. The only thing we do differently is to add a 1/2 dried cranberries to the batter. It's just the right amount of tartness for the cookie.

Pumpkin Pie

Serves 6 to 8

  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and riced
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk, (12 oz. can)
In large bowl combine eggs, pumpkin, sugar, salt, spices and evaporated milk. Pour into pie crust.

Back in preheated oven at 425° for 15 minutes. Open oven, wrap pie crust edges with tinfoil to prevent burning, but reduce heat to 350°. Bake an additional 40 to 50 minutes, or until knife inserted to center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

NOTE - Technically, I never use canned pumpkin for this recipe, but you can if you wish. Just substitute one 16 oz can of pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, for the sweet potatoes. It's a little thicker and is slightly less than 2 cups, but works fine.

Personally, I buy sweet potatoes, either bake them or boil them. Then put them through a ricer since sweet potatoes are pretty stringy. Traditional Sweet Potato pie would leave the stringiness but it is a dead give away that it is not pumpkin. What I look for in this method is simply a better taste, I'm not trying to fool anyone but the best way to get folks to eat this is by making it as pumpkin like as possible, hence the ricing of the potatoes. You could also use a food mill and press, but the quickest way is either find a good quality ricer like a Sur La Table, or Wiilliams Sonoma, or do what my family does - hunt down an antique one at an antique store. They are much sturdier and last a very long time.

Basic Pie Crust

Makes 2 - 8 to 10 inch shells, or one top and bottom crust

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1 cup butter (2 sticks), or combination of fat: 1 stick butter, 1 stick shortening
  • 1/2 cup ice water, or more depending
Mix pastry in food processor: combine flour, salt and sugar. Using steel blade, process for 1 or 2 seconds. Cut the fat into the bowl in small pieces, lightly pushing into flour. Pulse just until the mixture crumbles and looks sort of like bread crumbs. Sprinkle the ice water over the mixture and turn on and off with quick pulses just until the mixture masses together. The dough should be crumbly but not dry. If needed add more ice water 1 tablespoon at a time. Cook or use, according to recipe. (FYI: 1 stick of butter is 8 tablespoons)

NOTE - It takes awhile to get the hang of making crust in a processor but it is well worth it. In the long run it's easier and more consistant.My choice on what fat to use is this, butter is the tastier of the choices but makes a tougher crust and it has a beautiful color. Using just shortening makes the most tender and flakier crust. The color is fine, but for folks who are not big crust eaters, they are not as fond of it this way. So my choice is to use a combination of both in order to get the best of both worlds. Better color, better taste, and still pretty darned flaky!

The big key to making good crust is to not play with it. Try to touch it very little as your hands melt the shortening in it and will make the crust tough when it's cooked.

Quick Pat in Pie Crust

Makes 1 - 8 to 10 inch shell

  • 1 1/2 cups unsifted flour
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 2 tablespoons milk
Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add oil and milk; mix well and pat in 9in pie pan. Fluting edge if desired.
Fill with desired filling. If top crust is needed, use a streusel topping.

For baked pie shell, bake at 425° for 10 to 12 minutes.
NOTE: This is just one of several types of quickie crust recipes you can use. I got this from an old Betty Crocker Cookbook. Gale Gand has a different one in her cookbook, "Butter Sugar Flour Eggs". This just happens to be one I find very fast to throw together and I like the taste.

Dorothy's Banana Bread

Serves 12

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts
Heat oven to 350°.
Cream butter, sugar, then add eggs. Sift dry ingredients, then add and mix well. Next add mashed bananas. Then stir in sour cream, and vanilla. Add nuts, stir well. Spread into floured cake pan, and then bake for 1 hour.

NOTE: This recipe came from my ex-mother-in-law. I have no idea of it's origin but I've tried so many others, and this one is the best overall. It's moist and not too sweet. I think you could easily top it with a sweetened cream cheese, or even drizzle chocolate over the top. I like to make mine in a bundt pan and just top with powdered sugar.

Hello Dolly Cookies

Serves 24

  • 1 stick butter, (8 oz.)
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
  • 1 package chocolate chips, (12 oz.), or substitute with dried cranberries
  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
  • 1 - 14 oz. can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
Heat oven to 350°.
Melt butter in 9 x 12 pan. Pour graham cracker crumbs over butter and spread. Press this layer down. (It makes cutting easier and it holds together better when they're finished) Sprinkle coconut over and spread. Sprinkle nuts over and spread. Sprinkle chocolate chips or cranberries over and spread. Then pour the can of sweetened condensed milk over the whole works and bake for 30 minutes.
Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

NOTE: First, the name is Eagle Brand Bars or something like that. But the first time my mother and I saw them cooked was on the Mike Douglas Show. Carol Channing demonstrated them and she called them "Hello Dolly Cookies," in reference to her being in the play.

Second, I find this to be good but a bit sweet. So my replacement of dried cranberries instead of the chocolate chips works to tone it down a bit. Plus they have a granola bar quality about them without the chips.