Orange Cookies

These are a new family favorite, I made a batch last night, hid some in the freezer and the rest? Gone. My husband already asked me when I am making them again. These cookies are very soft with a hint of crisp on the outer edges and the glaze is just heavenly. I will be making these a lot in the future. My husband even dared to say he likes them better than these Lemon Drop Cookies. I was a little offended but I can almost see why he said it ;)

Orange Cookies

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons grated orange rind
3 Tablespoons orange juice
4 cups plus 2 Tablespoons flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; beat until smooth and creamy.
Add orange rind and juice; beat well.
Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in a separate bowl with a whisk; gradually add to creamed mixture, beating well.
Drop cookie dough onto greased cookie sheets; bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes or until edges just begin to brown.
Cool on wire racks.Spread tops of cookies with orange glaze.

I would actually prefer them completely submerged in the glaze, but maybe that is just me :)

Orange Glaze

2 pound bag powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons grated orange rind5 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients; beat until smooth.

Add more orange juice if needed to thin or more powdered sugar to thicken.

Source : 30 Handmade Days

Lemon Crumb Bars

I have trouble resisting lemon dessert recipes. I threw these together in to time at all and they were great. The Pioneer Woman never disappoints!

Lemon Crumb Bars

1-⅓ cup All-purpose Flour

½ teaspoons Salt

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 stick (1/2 Cup) Butter, Slightly Softened

1 cup Brown Sugar (lightly Packed)

1 cup Oat1 can (14 Ounce) Sweetened Condensed Milk

½ cups Lemon Juice

Zest Of 1 Lemon

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES.

Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined.

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.

Add oats and flour to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.

Press half of crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8 x8 square pan.

Mix together condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture. Top with the other half of the crumb mixture, but don’t press.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow pan to sit on counter for 30 minutes after baking. Cut into squares and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until cool.

Source: The Pioneer Woman

Lemon Raspberry Bars

Here I go again with a lemon dessert, surprise, surprise. I absolutely died over these, the crust was pure heaven to me. Actually, the whole thing was heaven. I can't wait to have these again. Perfect summer treat, I think they would even be good without the raspberries.

I found these at Two Peas and their Pod and as soon as I saw them (their photos are wonderful!), I knew I had to try them.

Lemon Raspberry Bars
Printable version here

For the crust:

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
Zest of one lemon

For the filling:

2 large egg yolks
1-14 oz. can fat free sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
6 ounces fresh raspberries

Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 8 by 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Stir until graham cracker crumbs are moist. Press crumbs into the prepared pan, pressing the crust mixture one inch up the side of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

Once the crust is cool, combine the egg yolks and condensed milk until well mixed. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir until mixture begins to slightly thicken. Gently fold in the raspberries. Fold carefully so you don’t break the raspberries.

Pour the lemon raspberry filling evenly over the graham cracker crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until just set.

Cool to room temperature, then chill for at least one hour before serving. Cut into bars and serve. Keep bars in the refrigerator-up to five days.

*Note-use fresh raspberries and make sure you gently fold the berries into the lemon filling or you will have pink bars.

Final Dessert Competition Recipe

Whe the competition came down to the final two, this was the one Katie choose to make. It came from The Pioneer Woman and it is divine! You know it is good when you don't even need to accompany it with ice cream. The maple cream sauce is so good! When I made this, the grocery store had no fresh peaces so I had to use canned and I thought it turned out great. In fact, I would use canned again since they are easier.

For some great, step by step photos, click here.

Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce

The Pioneer Woman

5 whole To 6 Whole Fresh Peaches (best When Not Overly Ripe Or Soft)
1 cup Flour
½ cups Sugar
½ cups Light Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
½ teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
½ teaspoons Ground Nutmeg
¼ teaspoons Salt
1 stick Butter (1/2 Cup)
½ whole Lemon
7 Tablespoons Real Maple Syrup, Divided
1-½ cup Whipping Cream
3 Tablespoons Light Corn Syrup

In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt using a fork or pastry cutter. Cut butter into small pieces and gradually add to flour mixture until evenly mixed.
Peel peaches into a bowl. Add the zest from half a lemon. Squeeze juice from lemon half and stir in with peaches and zest. Add 2 tablespoons real maple syrup to peaches, stir well.

Pour peach mixture into a small pan (8” or 9” square) and cover evenly with crumb topping. Cover with foil and bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until crisp and brown on top.

Maple Cream Sauce:

Pour whipping cream into a saucepan. Add 5 tablespoons real maple syrup, 3 tablespoons corn syrup and stir over moderate heat until thickened and reduced by about one-third, approximately 15 minutes. Refrigerate mixture until it is cold and thick, or set the saucepan into a small bowl of ice (the ice will melt and turn into ice water). Stirring your mixture, it will cool and thicken in about 15 minutes. Drizzle sauce over peach crisp. Serve warm.

** Thank you Katie for the great recipes and thank you for sharing them with us all! **

Raspberry Cream Cheese Bars

I am proud to say I made this recipe up. They are pretty good, if I do say so myself.

1 cup butter, soft

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 small jar raspberry jam

1 cup quick oats

1 cup chopped pecans

Cream cheese layer:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 can sweetened condensed milk

glaze:

powdered sugar

milk

vanilla

Cream butter and sugar together, add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add flour. Press all but 1 cup of mixture in a greased 9x9 square pan. Mix cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk together and pour over crust (I didn't pour quite the whole mixture). Spread raspberry jam over cream cheese layer (again, I used about 2/3 the jar - just use what you prefer).

With the 1 cups of crust you set aside, add 1/2 cup quick oats and 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Mix until crumbly and sprinkle over raspberry layer.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool and drizzle with glaze.

I think this recipe would double perfectly for a 9x13 pan. Since I didn't end up using the entire jar or jam or cream cheese mixture, I would keep those the same amount and just double the crust and crumb topping. Next time I will double it and update this post on how it turned out.

Aaron's Dessert

This is what my husband requests every year for his birthday and Father's day. I think it would be really good with sweetened strawberries also. The creamy filling is so yummy and I love the graham cracker crust.

Blueberry Cream Dessert

(printable version)

Crust:

1 package graham crackers (8 large crackers)
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 TBS butter, melted
1/2 tsp cinammon

Combine all ingredients and press into a pie pan. (or double and press into a 9 x 13)

Pie filling:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 (8 oz) cream cheese
1cup powdered sugar
1 can blueberry pie filling

Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix heavy cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Pour on top of graham cracker crust. Top with blueberry pie filling. This doubles perfectly for a 9 X 13 pan.

Apple Dumplings

My aunt emailed this recipe to my mom this week. I actually had it on my list of recipes to try. So, with the recommendation and rave review from my aunt we had it for Sunday dessert. It was so incredibly delicious and we will absolutely be having this again in the future. I also have to mention how easy it is, it took me 10 minutes at the most to assemble. You would never guess from the taste how basic the ingredients are.

Apple Dumplings

adapted from The Pioneer Woman

(printable version here)

2 granny smith apples
2 tubes of refrigerated crescent rolls
2 sticks butter, melted
1-½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon

8 oz. Mountain Dew soda

Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, barely stir again, and pour over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream and the drizzle the sauce from the pan over it.

If you would like fabulous step by step photos of this recipe, click here