Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars

I was craving pumpkin last night and decided to try this recipe. I didn't even get a chance to frost them as they are just so good without it!  Hub's says he thinks they are even better than my banana bars I make. WOW! Now that is hard to beat!

So wanted to share with you all the recipe....makes your house smell yummy too!

Ingredients

Bars:

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 15-ounce can pumpkin
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:

• 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

Frozen Fruit Cups

These are one of my favorite treats for summer! They are so easy! It is my Momma and Grandma's recipe!

Ingredients:

2 pints frozen strawberries (thawed)

1 frozen can of orange juice (thawed) - 12 oz

1 small can frozen lemonade (thawed) - 6 oz

2 1/2 c. 7-UP

4-5 bananas sliced

1 can fruit cocktail

1 can crushed pineapple

2 c. sugar (I actually add just a little because the strawberries are sweetened)

Mix it all together in a big bowl and then divide them into small cups. I place mine on a cookie sheet and cover with foil and let freeze overnight.

They are great for bridal/baby showers...just set out about 30 minutes before serving and they are slushy...SO GOOD!

PW's Chocolate Sheet Cake - SERIOUSLY DELICIOUS!

She is right....this is the BEST chocolate sheet cake EVER! If you want to see step by step with picture illustrations click HERE.

Ingredients


FOR THE CAKE:

2 cups Flour

2 cups Sugar

¼ teaspoons Salt

4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa

2 sticks Butter

1 cup Boiling Water

½ cups Buttermilk

2 whole Beaten Eggs

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Vanilla

_____

FOR FROSTING:

½ cups Finely Chopped Pecans

1-¾ stick Butter

4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa

6 Tablespoons Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

Preparation Instructions

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.

Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Cut into squares, eat, and totally wig out over the fact that you’ve just made the best chocolate sheet cake. Ever.

PW's Oatmeal Crispies

Loving my new PW Cookbook. Tried these cookies this weekend...and they were such a hit with Hubby and I...they are all gone! Making more this evening! She says they are Marlboro Mans favorite cookies..I think they have just become our favorite too! Thanks PW~~


Ingredients
1 cup Shortening (Crisco)

1 cup Packed Brown Sugar

1 cup Sugar

2 whole Eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1-½ cup All-purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

3 cups Quick Oats

½ cups Finely Chopped Pecans

Preparation Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening with both sugars until well combined.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs together. Add vanilla and stir to combine. Add to the shortening/sugar mixture and mix well.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Mix carefully into the egg/shortening mixture until well combined. Now add the quick oats and mix well again. Finally add the finely chopped pecans and mix well to combine.

Divide the dough in half and place each half of the dough onto a sheet of waxed paper. Roll the dough into a log and then wrap it tightly in the waxed paper. Now you can either chill or freeze the dough until later or you can go ahead and slice the dough evenly into cookie rounds.

When you are ready to bake them place them on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes until they are golden brown.

http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/

Gingerbread Boys and Girls

Guess what kind of cookies I made for Bunco/Cookie Exchange tonight????? Our family tradition.....

Looks like I will be making more too! Hubby was so devastated this morning when he found out that they were all going to be exchanged for something else!

Not as good as Grandma's....but sure close!

Paula Deen's Pumpkin Cheesecake

I made this the other day for one of the gal's that I work with. It was her birthday and she LOVES cheescake. I had never made a cheesecake before, but wanted to give it a try.  The reviews were AMAZING!!! I have never ever received so many compliments on something. SERIOUSLY!

Enjoy!!

Ingredients


Crust:

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 stick melted salted butter

Filling:

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin

3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1/4 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust:
In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

For filling:
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.
Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Stacy's Carrot Cake

3 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. oil
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
4 eggs
2 c. cooked carrots (mashed)
1/4 tsp salt

In large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar until smooth. Gradually add remaining ingredients. Beat untili smooth. Pour into greased tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately one hour. Cool in pan before removing cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese softened
1 stick margarine softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 box powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and margarine until smooth. Add vanilla. Gradually add the powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Frost cooled cake. Can top with chopped nuts.

Frosted Banana Cookies

So....I found this recipe from my Kitchen Klatter cookbook that my mom found me. They are so to YUMMY!!! I can't say enough about them....makes me drool! ha!

3/4 c. shortening
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla flavoring
1/2 tsp. banana flavoring
2 mashed ripe bananas
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
2 c. flour

Cream shortening and sugar. Add egg, flavorings and banana and beat well. Sift and add dry ingredients. Drop by teaspoon onto a greased cooky sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. This makes about 40 nice, soft cookies.

Icing (which I didn't make)

6 tbsp. brown sugar
4 tbsp. cream
4 tbps. butter or margarine
powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring

Combine brown sugar, cream and butter or margarine. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and add enough powdered sugar to make frosting a nice consistency to spread on cookies. Lastly, stir in vanilla flavoring.

Strawberry Pie

I got this recipe from Tammy's Recipes. So good!

3 T cornstarch
1 c sugar
1 c cold water
2 T white corn syrup
2 T strawberry flavored gelatin
3 drops f red food coloring (optional)
about 3 c. washed strawberries, sliced or diced ) - I used 4 cups
one 9 inch baked pie pastry

Combine and cook first 4 ingredients for 5 or 6 minutes, stirring until thick to prevent lumps.

Remove from heat and while still hot add strawberry gelatin and red food coloring.

Pile strawberries high in baked pie shell and pour glaze over strawberries. Chill and serve with cool whip!

YUMMO!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs

I got this recipe from www.allrecipes.com. I doubled the recipe and made them into small eggs. I also substituted the 8 squares of chocolate with 1 1/2 packages of semi-sweet chocolate chips and melted them and dipped the eggs into it and let cool on wax paper.

Enjoy!

1 (16 ounce) package confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon milk
8 (1 ounce) squares semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon shortening

DIRECTIONS
In a mixing bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter and milk (if needed for moisture) until blended. Shape mixture into two 1/2 pound eggs or make a bunch of smaller eggs. Freeze eggs for 1 hour.

While the eggs are freezing, cut semi-sweet chocolate into small pieces and place in top of double boiler with shortening. Melt over medium heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Stick a long-tined fork in top of each peanut butter egg, dip it in melted chocolate to cover then drain on waxed paper. When the eggs are cooled and set, decorate the eggs to suit your fancy.

Homemade Granola Bars

I have made this recipe several times. It is my cousin Rachel's and Muscleman and I LOVE IT! I can't seem to make enough as we eat it so fast!

3 cups oats-I use quick cooking oats
2 cups coconut
1 cup almonds sliced
1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup dried mixed berries-I use the blueberry, cranberry, cherry mixture
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt-which I don't do
3 eggs slightly beaten
3/4 cup honey
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
Sprinkle first 4 ingredients into a large roasting pan or jelly roll pan. Bake 18 minutes at 350. Stir once during baking. Cool. Combine rest of ingredients. Mix well and stir in oat mixture. Mix well. Press into at 15 1/2x10 1/2x1 pan or I use a jelly roll pan. I use a measuring cup and press down the mixture really well in the pan. If the mixture is not pressed down well the granola bars may fall apart. Bake 20 minutes. Cut into bars wrap in foil. Keeps 3 weeks. Can substitute: dried peaches,dates,apricots,choc. chips, pineapple, pecans.