Home-made Funnel Cakes

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and thought I would try to make them this evening. Now, I can't really say I've ever tasted Funnel Cakes -- I think here in Canada, Beaver Tails are a favorite when at the Fair. In any event, Jessica and I thought they weren't too difficult, so we got out our mixing bowls :-)

We decided NOT to go with the mini funnel cakes, opting instead for large frying-pan sized cakes. We weren't disappointed, though Jessica only managed to eat the one.

The boys, of course, ate more! Benjamin liked his with icing sugar and chocolate sauce. Timothy had rhubarb jam, raspberries and a sprinkle of icing sugar. I also had jam and icing sugar. I do think they'd be awesome with a cinnamon/sugar mixture!

We thought they tasted kinda like the honey crullers from Tim Hortons, but definitely a lot less greasy!

So, here's the recipe, but go ahead and check the first link, too! I saw another recipe there that's worth looking at -- Deep Fried Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough :-)

FUNNEL CAKES

Mix these ingredients together:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup powdered sugar


In separate bowl mix the wet ingredients:

1 1/3 cup milk
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg

Combine the wet and dry ingredients. If you have a squeeze bottle, you can use that to make your funnel cakes. I didn't, so I used my cake decorating bag with a large tip. I think the squeeze bottle would make nicer shaped ones, though.

You'll need about 1/2 inch of oil in your frying pan. I used a mixture of coconut. and olive oils. Heat it on high then turn down to med-high.

 Squeeze your batter into the pan, making a circle first, then criss-crossed lines across. Let it cook for about 30 sec-1 min, then flip to cook the other side. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with icing sugar while still hot. Add toppings as desired.

If you make them, let me know what you think! I'll definitely be making them again!

Peanut Butter Pie

Doesn't this sound delicious?!! I like it better with some chocolate drizzled over the top.

PEANUT BUTTER PIE

3/4 cup peanut butter
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup icing sugar
1 tub of frozen Cool Whip, thawed
1 graham cracker crust (recipe below OR buy one ready-made)
chopped peanuts

Beat cream cheese, peanut butter and icing sugar until smooth. Fold in the Cool Whip and pour into prepared crust. Sprinkle with nuts and/or drizzle with melted chocolate. Chill before serving.

GRAHAM CRACKER PIE CRUST

6 Tbsp melted butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (Approx 24 crackers, crushed)
1/4 cup sugar

Add sugar to graham crumbs. Add melted butter and combine well. Press into pie shell. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Drumstick Dessert

We made this one time for Luke's birthday. In August (with 3 family birthdays) we get a bit tired of cake :-)

Drumstick Dessert

Crust:
1 pkg vanilla wafers (crumbs)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup nuts (crushed)
3 TBSP peanut butter

Mix and press into 8x8 inch pan. Freeze for 1 hour before topping with filling mixture.

Whip up one 500 gram package of Nutri-Whip. Set aside.

Filling:
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs

Beat first 3 ingredients until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well with each addition.

Mix with Nutri-Whip. Spread over crust layer. Drizzle with chocolate sauce and crushed nuts. Keep frozen. ENJOY!

Ooops......

Seems like I've been sadly neglecting my cooking blog. With the new year, I shall try to post at least once a week. With that said, here's a recipe for you :-)

EASY CHERRY CHEESECAKE

Bottom layer:
2 cups graham wafer crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter

Mix the crumbs and sugar. Melt butter and add to crumb mixture. Press into 9x13 pan. (Reserve 1/4 cup for top) Bake at 325 deg. for 10 minutes.

Middle layer:
1 lg package of cream cheese
1 cup icing sugar
1 package of Dream Whip (I also have used small box of Nutriwhip)

Mix Dream whip according to directions on the box. Add in the cream cheese and icing sugar and blend well. Spread over cooled bottom layer.

Top with a can of cherries. Sprinkle with reserve crumbs. Chill for 3-4 hours before serving.

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One of my favorite alternatives is Bakeapple cheesecake. Delicious! And..... I think I have a bag of bakeapples in the freezer. Yaah!

Shrek's Dessert

My kids call this Skrek's Earwax (gross, I know) but what can I say :-) It's a messy looking dessert but so YUMMY!

Here's what you need to make a BIG bowl of this. You can half it if necessary, but my kids always wish I would double it!

1 chocolate cake (mixed according to directions on box)

2 packages of pistachio pudding (mixed according to box directions)

4 Crispy Crunch bars, crumbled

1 box carton Nutriwhip, beaten (or 1 packet of Dream Whip, mixed)

Prepare cake ahead of time. When cooled, break into smallish pieces. Mix pistachio pudding and let set. Whip Nutriwhip. Crumble the chocolate bars.

Into a big bowl, put a layer of the crumble cake, then add some of the pudding, some of the whip and some of the chocolate bar. Continue layering until you've used all the ingredients. I try to leave enough Nutriwhip to cover the top of the dessert, along with a handful of chocolate bar crumbs.

Let me know if you try it!

a dreamy dessert

This recipe is one from my mom. We used to make it quite a bit in the past, but haven't recently. It's yummy!

PINEAPPLE DREAM SQUARES

Crumb Layer:
2 cups graham wafer crumbs
1/2 cup melted butter

Mix together and press into a 9x9-inch baking dish. Reserve 1/8 cup for topping. Bake at 300 deg for 10 minutes. Cool.

Creamy layer:
1/2 cup butter
2 cups icing sugar
2 well-beaten eggs

Cream together butter and icing sugar. Add eggs. Spread over cooled crumb layer.

Topping:
1 pk dream whip or cool whip (prepared)
1 cup well-drained, crushed pineapple

Prepare cool whip and fold in pineapple. Spread over top of dessert. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs.

Chill 24 hours

an apple dessert

Everyone who tastes my apple crisp, LOVES it! LOL! It's true :-)

Anyway, I got this recipe a long time ago in some magazine. I tweaked the ingredients a bit until I thought it was just right. In our home, we argue about the topping for apple crisp; some of us love ice-cream on top, others (dh) love just plain cream. Whatever you like, this is best served warm. You can cook supper and prepare the apple crisp. Pop it into the oven while you're eating, and it'll be ready when you finished supper. It's also a great dessert to bring to potluck meals.


APPLE CRISP

Bottom layer:

Peel, core and slice a bag of apples. Put them in a lightly greased baking dish (mine is 10x15" I think - a Pyrex glass dish). In a small cup, mix 3 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 Tbsp lemon juice and 1/2 cup water. Pour this over the layer of apple slices.

Crumb layer:

2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/s tsp salt
2/3 cup butter (softened)

Mix this -- it may need to be mixed by hand. Add to the top of the apples. Bake at 375 deg for 30 minutes. Serve while warm and top with ice-cream. Delicious!

ENJOY!