Dessert

Cooking spray
12 graham cracker squares (6 full sheets)
2 T butter, softened
1-1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin
3 T boiling water
1/3 cup, plus 1/2 tsp sugar
3 T all-purpose flour
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups 1% lowfat milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups sliced banana (3 medium bananas)
1/4 cup whipping cream (or you can use cool whip instead for toping part and leave out the whipping cream and 1/2 tsp sugar)
1/2 tsp sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. In a food processor, process graham crackers until finely ground. Add butter and 1 tablespoon of water, and process until the crumb clumps together. Press crumb mixture into bottom of pie plate and about 1/2-inch up the sides. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then let cool.

3. In the meantime, make the filling. Put the gelatin in a small bowl; add 3 tablespoons of boiling water and stir until gelatin is dissolved (do the gelatin part after the mixture in the saucepan is done). In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1/3 cup of sugar and the flour. In a medium bowl lightly beat the milk and eggs together. Add the egg and milk mixture to the saucepan and whisk so the flour and sugar dissolve. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes, until mixture comes to a boil and has thickened. Stir in the vanilla extract and gelatin. Set aside to cool slightly.

4. Arrange the sliced bananas on the graham cracker crust and pour the pudding on top. Place in the refrigerator until the pudding has set, about 3 hours.

5. Whip the cream with an electric beater. When it is about halfway done, add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, then continue whipping until fully whipped. Put the whipped cream in a plastic bag, concentrating it in 1 corner of the bag. Snip that corner off the bag and squeeze the whipped cream out of the bag in a decorative pattern around the pie.

2 C white sugar
1 C shortening (not butter or margarine)
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C buttermilk (Church used powdered buttermilk + water)
3 tsp. vanilla extract
6 C all-purpose flour

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine liquid ingredients, mix well, add dry ingredients, mix well (younger kids can mix by hand, it’s not very sticky)

Original recipe says make cookies flat, no more than 1/4″ thick or they will cook unevenly and burn, but the cookies the little kids were making at church were pretty large and uneven and oddly shaped and they tasted even better! These cookies weren’t brown at all, just a nice creamy sugar-cookie color. The only improvement I’d make is to add some large sugar crystals to the top.

Enjoy!

Bishop’s Buffet at Westroads Mall (Omaha, NE) had the best chocolate ambrosia pie – supposedly this is the original recipe!

1 (3 oz) package instant French vanilla pudding mix
1 (3 oz) package instant chocolate fudge pudding mix
2 cups milk
2 cups vanilla ice cream
9 inch graham cracker crust
1 (8 oz) carton frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
Chocolate curls shaved from a 2 pound milk chocolate bar, for garnish

With an electric mixer, combine pudding mixes and milk.
Add ice cream and beat until just thickened.
Pour into the graham cracker crust.
Top with whipped topping.
With a potato peeler, shave part of the chocolate bar onto top of pie.
Chill before serving.

• 1 Pkg. devils food cake mix (13 x 9 inch size)
• Eggs
• Oil
• 1 Can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling
• 1 T almond extract
• 1 Pkg (5.1 oz) instant vanila pudding & pie mix
• Milk
• 2 T Vanilla extract

1 Container (8oz) whipped topping
3 T mini chocolate chips
15 maraschino cherries with stems

Bake cake with eggs and oil according to pkg. directions.

Stir almond extract into pie filling.

Poke top of cake (with chopstick) while it is still warm & spread cherry pie filling over the cake.

While cake is cooling, prepare pudding as directed on package for a pie. Stir in vanilla. Stir in whipped topping. Spread over cake, carefully covering pie filling.

Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips, cover and refrigerate. To serve, top each serving with a maraschino cherry. Store covered, in the refrigerator.

Dad used to make this for us when we were kids – shock and awe when the alcohol was ignited! And we thought it was cool that we were getting to taste some liquor.

20 oz. can black pitted cherries in heavy syrup
1 T Cornstarch
2 T Sugar
2 tsp. sweet butter
2 jiggers light rum
2 jiggers curacao (or triple sec)
4 large scoopfuls vanilla ice cream

Drain the cherries well, putting 1/4 cup of the syrup (save remainder) into a small bowl with cornstarch and sugar. Mix well until there are no lumps and sugar is dissolved. Bring the balance of the juice to a boil over a low flame, gradually add cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly.

Simmer for about 2 minutes; then add butter and 1 jigger of the rum. Remove from heat and set aside. When ready to serve the dessert, scoop the ice cream into dessert dishes at the table, and crown with hot cherry sauce. Heat cherries, curacao and remaining jigger of rum in a chafing dish over a direct flame until hot but not boiling. Set ablaze and let flames flicker a minute or so; then spoon over ice cream.

Note: Use extra rum or grain alcohol to help flame stay going.

Serves 4

1 pkg. chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filing

Combine cake mix, eggs and 2/3 pie filling until well blended. Then mix in remaining pie filling so some of the cherries do not get crushed. Do not add water. Pour into 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool.

FROSTING:
1 c. sugar
5 tbsp. butter
1/3 c. milk
1 sm. (6 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips

Combine sugar, butter and milk in pan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips. Spread over cooled cake. (Leave in pan.) Very simple and very good!

Note: 2 Cans of filling would be better?! Make it more moist.

1 additional tsp. mint for Girl Scout Cookies

1-1/4 c. margarine
2 c. sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp.vanilla
2 c. flour
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
powdered sugar

In large bowl, cream margarine and sugar, then add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. In medium bowl, combine flour with cocoa and baking soda. Gradually blend into creamed mixture. Drop 1 tsp. batter onto ungreased cookie sheet.

This makes a ton, so maybe try more than 1 tsp. batter per cookie?

Bake at 350° F. for 9-11 min.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus more to butter the molds
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons flour, plus more for dusting

In the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, heat the butter and chocolate together until the chocolate is almost completely melted. While the butter & chocolate are heating, beat together the eggs, yolks, and sugar with a whisk or electric beater until light and thick.

Beat together the melted chocolate and butter; it should be quite warm. Pour in the egg mixture, then quickly beat in the flour, just until combined.

Butter and lightly flour four 4-ounce molds, custard cups, or ramekins. Tap out the excess flour, then butter and flour them again. Divide the batter among the molds. (At this point you can refrigerate the desserts until you are ready to eat, for up to several hours; bring them back to room temperature before baking.)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake the molds on a tray for 6 to 7 minutes; the center will still be quite soft, but the sides will be set.

Invert each mold onto a plate and let sit for about 10 seconds. Unmold by lifting up one corner of the mold; the cake will fall out onto the plate. Serve immediately.

16 oz. Girardehli bittersweet chocolate or whatever kind of chocolate you like best!
2 T. shortening
1 lb. fresh strawberries, with leaves left on.

I melt the chocolate in a large coffee mug at 50% power, stirring occasionally until all melted – don’t overcook, but it can be reheated/remelted.

Insert toothpicks into the tops of the strawberries and dip them.

Then turn the strawberries upside down and insert the toothpick into the styrofoam until the chocolate cools.

While they are upside down you can drizzle another color or flavor of chocolate over them.

If you wish, using a hypodermic needle (available at a drugstore), inject orange orange flavored Grand Marnier liqueur through the top stem portion of the strawberry (this assumes that you have taken them off the toothpick and uprighted the strawberry…) doh!