Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoe Pie

This is not exactly how I make my sweet potato pie but if you make it by this recipe it will be just as good. I actually melt marshmallows on top of my pie but if you want to put some cool whip on top instead that's fine too.

Ingredients in Sweet Potato Pie

• Sweet Potatoes: You can purchase canned sweet potatoes but it tastes even better to make baked sweet potatoes (or to boil them). You’ll just simply need to toss them into the oven and let them bake.  This can be done a day or two ahead of time!
• Evaporated Milk: This adds a creamy consistency.
• Sugars: Obviously for sweetness, sub in half brown sugar for a richer flavor.
• Crust: I prefer homemade but store bought will work just fine too!

How to Make Sweet Potato Pie

Much like a pumpkin pie, this is the epitome of “easy as pie”. The hardest part will be deciding how large to cut each piece!

1. Combine prepared sweet potato with remaining ingredients (eggs, evaporated milk and pumpkin pie spice per recipe below).
2. Whisk or use an electric hand mixer for an extra smooth pie (I prefer the texture of whisking).
3. Pour into a prepared pie crust.

Bake this sweet potato pie recipe for about 1 hour and allow to cool completely.

Coconut Angel Cake

INGREDIENTS:
For the cake:
Cooking spray
3 c. cake flour, spooned and leveled
1 3/4 c. granulated sugar
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
5 large egg whites
1 (13.66-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk, divided
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 
For the frosting:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 c. confectioners' sugar
2 c. heavy cream, chilled and divided
1 1/2 c. toasted flaked coconut

DIRECTIONS:
Make cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat three 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper; coat parchment. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Gently whisk together egg whites and 1/2 cup coconut milk until frothy in a second bowl.
Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually beat in remaining 1 cup coconut milk a little at a time, beating until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Decrease mixer to low and add flour mixture and egg white mixture in three additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture, just until incorporated.
Transfer batter to prepared pans, dividing evenly (about 2 cups each). Bake until a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes. Cool in pans on wire racks, 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Make frosting and decorate: Whisk cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, 2 to 4 minutes. Gradually add 1 cup cream until incorporated. Beat until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes.
Place one cake layer on a cake stand or plate. Top with half of frosting. Repeat one more time, then top with remaining layer.
Just before serving, whisk remaining 1 cup cream with an electric mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Frost top and sides of cake with whipped cream, then cover with toasted coconut.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

3 Parts to This Recipe:

Raspberry Swirl
Oreo Cookie Crust
White Chocolate Cheesecake Filling
white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars

Raspberry Swirl
I recommend preparing the raspberry swirl first. Made from real raspberries, this homemade sauce must cool down completely before swirling into the white chocolate cheesecake filling. I usually stick it in the refrigerator for 1 hour to speed up the cooling process. Or you can make the raspberry sauce the night before.

Mix some water and cornstarch together.
Cook fresh or frozen raspberries, sugar, and more water together on the stovetop.
Add cornstarch mixture.
Once slightly thickened, remove from heat.
Press raspberries through a fine mesh strainer to rid the seeds. Discard the seeds.
Let the seedless sauce cool completely before using.
homemade raspberry sauce



Oreo Cookie Crust
This recipe bakes in a 9-inch square baking pan, so use the same Oreo cookie crust as my Snickers cheesecake bars. You need 20 Oreo cookies (Double Stuf or regular) and 5 Tablespoons of melted butter. I’ve gotten away with 18 Oreos and 4 Tablespoons of butter (as seen in my salted caramel chocolate chip cheesecakes), but I like this slightly thicker crust for bars.

Using a food processor or blender, pulse the Oreos (the whole Oreo– cookie AND filling) into crumbs.
Mix with melted butter.
Press into a lined 9-inch square baking pan.
Pre-bake for 8 minutes as you prepare the filling. 9 inch Oreo cookie crust















White Chocolate Cheesecake Filling
Ok we’re almost done! Let’s make the cheesecake filling, then bring each component of this recipe together before baking.

Chop and melt pure white chocolate. Don’t use white chocolate chips/morsels. Instead, pick up two 4-ounce white chocolate baking bars from the baking aisle– I prefer Ghirardelli or Baker’s brands sold right next to the chocolate chips. You need 6 ounces for this recipe. Cool the white chocolate as you make the batter.
As the white chocolate cools, beat two 8-ounce blocks of cream cheese with some sugar.
Add flour, lemon juice to brighten up the otherwise flat flavor (don’t worry, you don’t taste the lemon), vanilla extract, and salt.
Beat in 2 eggs.
Add melted/cooled white chocolate.
chopped and melted white chocolate
white chocolate cheesecake bars batter



Bring It All Together
Pour 1/2 of the cheesecake filling onto warm pre-baked Oreo cookie crust.
Drizzle with 1/2 of the cooled raspberry sauce.
Pour remaining 1/2 of the cheesecake filling on top.
Drizzle with remaining raspberry sauce.
Swirl everything together with a toothpick.
Bake! No water bath required. The bars take about 32-36 minutes in the oven. They’ll puff up as they bake, then settle back down as they cool.
After cooling the bars at room temperature, place them in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours until sufficiently chilled. Cold cheesecake bars not only taste better, but they cut much easier too. For neat slices, wipe your sharp knife clean between each cut.

This recipe yields 16 perfect squares. For a 9×13 inch pan of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars, see my recipe note below.
white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars cut into squares


3 Success Tips for White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
Read Through the Recipe: Included in my Top 10 Baking Tips is this crucial piece of baking advice: read the recipe before you begin. Have everything in place so you don’t miss an important ingredient or step.
Take Your Time: Work on each component one at a time. This isn’t a recipe you can rush because the raspberry sauce and white chocolate must cool down before using.
Chill the Cheesecake Bars: Like a full cheesecake, these bars must cool down and chill in the refrigerator before slicing. Unlike regular cheesecake though, you don’t need to cool them in the cooling oven. And since they’re thinner, they take about half the time to cool down as a full cheesecake. That’s always a nice bonus!

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert

Ingredients:

Crust:2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar

Filling:
8 ounce cream cheese,softened
8 ounce whipped topping
1 cup white sugar

Topping:
3 ounce strawberry flavored Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
10 ounce fresh strawberries

Instructions:
Mix together the pretzels, sugar and melted butter.
Press into the bottom of a 9 x13 inch pan.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until pretzel layer is lightly toasted. Set aside to cool completely.
In a medium bowl, beat the sugar and cream cheese until smooth.
Fold in whipped topping, and mix well to combine.
Spread evenly over the cooled pretzel layer.
Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
In a medium bowl, stir together the strawberry gelatin mixture and boiling water.
Mix in strawberries and refrigerate for 5 minutes.
Pour over the cooled cream cheese layer.
Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 1 hour.

         Chunky Monkey Brownies

Ingredients:

2 cups Gold medal UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour (bleached flour toughens baked goods)

1 ½ cups brown sugar, packe

½ cup white sugar

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

¼ tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

½ cup banana, mashed with a fork (about one medium-large banana)

10-oz. Hershey’s semi-sweet chocolate baking melts (or 12-oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips)

¼ cup Nestle’s chocolate chips for the top

How to make it :

Mix butter, eggs, sugars, salt and vanilla with an electric mixer until well mixed.

Add flour, mashed banana and baking melts (or chocolate chips).

Stir with a wooden spoon to combine.

Spray a 9×13” glass baking dish with cooking spray.

Spread brownie mixture into prepared pan.

Smooth the top with a knife or rubber spatula.

Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.

Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes just until lightly golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely before cutting into bars.

SOUTHERN STRAWBERRY BANANA

Ingredients :
1 cup sugar
1 cup cake flour or GF flour mix
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
6 tablespoons butter melted
3 tablespoons strawberry jello powder
3 tablespoons strawberry jam
Bake at 350 in two 8″ round pans that have been buttered and have parchment rounds in the bottom.
4 cups powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup heavy cream
6 tbsp strawberry jello powder
Lastly I iced the cake with a layer of strawberries in the middle and more on top to garnish.
1 cup sugar
1 cup cake flour or GF flour mix
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
6 tablespoons butter melted
3 tablespoons strawberry jello powder
3 tablespoons strawberry jam
Bake at 350 in two 8″ round pans that have been buttered and have parchment rounds in the bottom.
4 cups powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup heavy cream
6 tbsp strawberry jello powder

Lastly I iced the cake with a layer of strawberries in the middle and more on top to garnish.

6 large eggs

Directions :

Mix eggs and sugar and heat over a double boiler until very warm. Whisk with an electric mixer of some sort until thick and lemon colored. Gently fold in dry ingredients (flour, salt and strawberry jello powder). Mix together the melted and cooled butter, jam and vanilla and then fold that into the batter.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing –

Whip the heavy cream and strawberry jello powder until it holds soft peaks, remove from the bowl and set aside. Next beat the butter and half of the sugar until it is very soft and light in color. Add the other three tablespoons of strawberry jello powder, cream cheese and the remaining powdered sugar. Beat with a paddle until it just comes together and isn’t lumpy. Fold this together with the strawberry whipped cream.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH TRUFFLES

Ingredients:

½ cup (1 sticks) butter, room temperature
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 pound dark chocolate candy coating

Instructions:

1-In a bowl combine butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2-Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated, beating well after each addition.
3-Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
4-Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour, or until firm enough to handle.
5-Shape mixture into 1 inch balls by rolling a spoonful in the palm of your hand, since the dough is sticky, roll your fingers into flour. This will make it easier to roll.
6-Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes or until firm again.
7-In a bowl melt dark chocolate candy coating.
8-Dip the cookie dough balls into the chocolate and place on parchment paper.
9-Let the truffles sit until hard, about 15 minutes.
10-Once set, remelt remaining candy coating.
11-Place in a small baggie and cut a small hole in one corner.
12-Carefully drizzle chocolate over truffles.
13-Store in the refrigerator and serve cold. These can also be frozen for longer storage.

No Bake Graham Cracker Cheesecake 

Ingredients:

Low Fat Graham Crackers

8 oz. fat free cream cheese (softened)

1 cup cold skim milk

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 small box instant vanilla pudding (sugar free)

8 oz. fat free Cool Whip

1 can lite cherry pie filling (or any flavor)

Directions:

Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan with whole graham crackers. Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add milk and lemon juice to the cream cheese and beat until smooth. Stir in pudding mix, then fold in Cool Whip. Spread 1/2 of cream cheese mixture over graham crackers.

Repeat with another layer of graham crackers and cream cheese mixture.

Spread pie filling over top. Refrigerate overnight for graham crackers to soften. Enjoy 🙂

Makes approx. 20 servings

Arizona Sunshine Lemon Pie

INGREDIENTS:

– For the pie:
1 large lemon
4 large eggs
½ cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups sugar
1 (9 inch) piecrust, unbaked (I used a frozen deep dish)

– For the topping: (optional)
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tablespoons sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

Take your pie crust out of the freezer or make your own. I used a frozen deep dish pie crust and it worked perfect. I placed it on a cookie sheet because the metal pan was not that strong but if using a glass pie plate you won’t need to do this.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Wash your lemon then cut up and remove all the seeds. (Don’t peel it, you will blend the whole lemon!) Place in your high powdered blender (such as a Vitamix).
Add the eggs, butter, vanilla and sugar. Blend till smooth. I started at power 5 then moved up to 10.
Pour the mixture into your piecrust. Bake for about 40 minutes or until set.
Let cool then chill in the fridge.
For the topping:
Place your mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Add your whipping cream and sugar. Whip till peaks form.
Slice pie and serve chilled with a dollop of the whip cream on top. This can be enjoyed warm (is just won’t be as firm) or room temperature but we preferred it chilled.

Easy No-Bake Chocolate Oat Bars

Easy No-Bake Chocolate Oat Bars

Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes


Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter

• ½ cup brown sugar, packed

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 3 cups rolled oats

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

• ¾ cup chunky peanut butter

Directions:

Line a 8-inch-by-8-inch baking dish with parchment paper, and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Heat over low-heat, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.

Add the oats, cinnamon and kosher salt. Cook, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes.

Pour half of the oat mixture into the prepared baking dish. Spread out the mixture evenly, pressing down.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and the peanut butter. Heat on high in the microwave, in increments of 40 seconds, stirring in between each increment, until melted and fully combined.

Pour ⅘ of the chocolate mixture into the pan over the pressed oats, reserving about ¼ cup for drizzling. Top with the remaining oats and drizzle with the remaining ¼ cup chocolate mixture.

Refrigerate for 4 hours, or until set.

 Makes 24 bars