Sort of Like Whip ‘n Chill

In the 1960s, there was a little box of powdered mix called Whip ‘n Chill which was mixed with water to make a very light and delicious mousse-like dessert.  On the rare occasions when my mother-in-law came for supper, I struggled to find something she would eat.  She didn’t like my cooking but one thing she seemed to enjoy was Whip ‘n Chill so that was always our dessert when Grandma Mary visited.

Whip ‘n Chill has been out of the regular grocery stores for many years and for a time could only be purchased at the Vermont Country Store.  Now, they no longer have it, but it is sold in bulk on Amazon.com at a pretty hefty price.  For our purposes, my version will do just fine.  If Grandma Mary were still with us, I wonder if she would like it.

Grandma Mary

SORT OF LIKE WHIP ‘N CHILL

• 1 envelope (¼ oz.) unflavored gelatin
• 2 cups milk, divided
• One 3.4 oz. package of Cook and Serve Chocolate Pudding (not instant pudding)
• 2 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed (Cool Whip)

Soak gelatin in ¼ cup of cold milk.  When dissolved, place in a medium saucepan with the remainder of the milk and the chocolate pudding mix.  Whisk over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a full boil.  Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

Whisk the whipped topping into the pudding mixture and spoon into six dessert dishes.  Cover and chill for an hour.

Makes 6 servings.

Based on 6 servings – 156 calories/serving

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A St. Patrick’s Day Doll and an Easy Dessert

On this St. Patrick’s Day morning, my daughter had my doll table all ready for the celebration.  The doll was decked out in a hand crocheted shawl and tam o’shanter and there was a new embroidered cover for the table.  The picture of the cover doesn’t do it justice – it only measures 2-½ x 5 inches, so you can imagine how tiny the stitches are.

We’re having our traditional Reuben sandwiches for lunch (corned beef and cabbage in a more palatable form for us) and a quick and easy dessert with a little green to honor the day.  This is a deliciously rich dessert.

ST. PADDY PISTACHIO DESSERT

Crust:
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup butter, cut in small cubes
* 1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Filling:
* 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 8 oz. carton of Cool Whip whipped topping, thawed, divided
* One small package of instant white chocolate pudding (four ½ cup svgs)
* One small package of instant pistachio pudding (four 1/2-cup svgs.)
* 1-1/2 cups milk, divided
* Green sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

To Make the Crust:

Mix the flour, butter and pecans well.  Press mixture in a 9×9 baking pan.  Bake @ 350 degrees F for 15 minutes until lightly brown.  Cool

To Make Filling and Assemble:

Layer 1: Beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.  Fold in 4 ounces (half of an 8-oz. carton) of whipped topping.  Spread over cooled crust.

Layer 2: Whisk one package of white chocolate pudding and 3/4 cup of milk until thickened.  Spread over Layer 1.

Layer 3: Whisk one package of pistachio pudding and 3/4 cup of milk until thickened.  Spread over Layer 2.

Layer 4: Spread remaining 4 oz. of whipped topping over Layer 3.

Sprinkle top with green sugar – maybe you’ll be more creative than I was in sprinkling the sugar.

Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

6 to 8 servings

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Country Cherry Pudding

I found this recipe in a 1945 Calumet booklet – Favorite Recipes for Country Kitchens.  This makes a quick and easy dessert for lunch or supper.  As it bakes, the sauce becomes thick and cooks into the cake.  Cuts and serves nicely.

COUNTRY CHERRY PUDDING & SAUCE

• ½ cup plus 2 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 Tblsp. Canola oil
• ¾ cup frozen tart cherries, thawed and drained

Sauce:

• ½ cup water
• ½ cup cherry brandy or cherry juice
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tblsp. butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Grease a 9-inch baking pan

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking powder salt and ¼ cup granulated sugar.  Add milk and canola oil to make a stiff dough.

Spread the dough in the bottom of the baking pan.  Dampening your fingertips with water will help spread the dough evenly.

Arrange the thawed/drained cherries on top of the dough.

In a small saucepan, combine the water, cherry brandy or juice, ¼ cup sugar and butter.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Pour boiling mixture over cherries.

Place in oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes @ 375 degrees F.  Cool on a wire rack.

Serve warm.

4 servings.

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Delicious No-Bake Eggnog Pie

At this time of year, we usually have some straggling leftovers and I wanted to make something for Sunday dinner that would use up two cups of dairy eggnog.  I remembered a pie I had made for Christmas in 1985 from an old 1978 Southern Sideboards cookbook.  I adapted it a bit, including leaving out an extra two cups of whipped cream – I felt we had indulged enough over the holidays.  It’s a good dessert with a crunchy graham cracker/almond crust and a smooth creamy filling.  Make the day before serving so the pie can chill at least 6 hours or overnight.

DELICIOUS NO-BAKE EGGNOG PIE

CRUMB CRUST:

• 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup chopped almonds
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup butter, melted

FILLING:

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• ¼ cup cold water
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tblsp. cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 cups dairy eggnog
• 2 Tbsp. rum
• 1 cup whipping cream, whipped
• Freshly grated nutmeg for topping

TO MAKE THE CRUMB CRUST:
Combine graham cracker crumbs, ¼ cup sugar, almonds, cinnamon and melted butter in a small bowl.

Press the mixture on the bottom and sides of a buttered 10-inch pie pan (deep).*  Set aside.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
In a cup, sprinkle gelatin over water to soften – set aside.  Mix 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt in top of double boiler.  Gradually stir in eggnog.  Cook over hot, not boiling water, stirring constantly until thickened.

Remove from heat and stir in softened gelatin until dissolved.  Allow filling to cool …

…then fold in rum and whipped cream.

Pour mixture into the pie shell and sprinkle with nutmeg.  Cover and let chill in refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.

*I had a 10-inch pie plate but apparently it wasn’t deep enough.  I poured the leftover filling into two custard cups, covered and chilled for a nice light dessert after the pie is gone.

6 servings

This has nothing to do with eggnog pie but I couldn’t resist showing you this picture.  It’s not everyone who can look out the back door and see a St. Bernard dog in the snow.  Our neighbor’s dog is usually looking for a shady spot or barking to get back in the house, but today he was in his glory in all that beautiful snow.

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Cranberry Cake and Brandy Sauce

This dessert was adapted from a recipe on AllRecipes.com.  I first made it for Christmas dinner in 2004 and my daughter and I loved it.  The original was for a large bundt cake and I cut the recipe in half to make this version which I bake in an antique 7-inch tube pan.  It could also be baked in a 9-inch loaf pan.

CRANBERRY CAKE AND BRANDY SAUCE
Cake

• 3 Tblsp. butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 cup evaporated milk, undiluted
• 6 oz fresh cranberries

Sauce:

• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 Tblsp. brandy

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease/flour 7-inch tube pan or 9-inch loaf pan.

To make the cake
In a large bowl cream butter and sugar.  In a medium bowl mix together dry ingredients.  Beat flour mixture into creamed mixture alternately with evaporated milk, beginning and ending with flour.   Stir in cranberries.

Pour into prepared pan and bake 50-60 minutes @ 325 degrees F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (loaf pan may take longer).

Let cool in pan 10 minutes then remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

To make the sauce:
In a small pan combine the butter, sugar and cream.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce heat and let simmer 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in brandy.  Drizzle warm sauce over slices of cake.

The sauce is quite rich and this amount is just right for drizzling over 6 individual slices of cake.

6 servings

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Pear Cheese Cups

On September 14, 1995, my oldest daughter and I were planning to leave the next morning to take the youngest daughter on a surprise pre-wedding bachelorette trip to Cleveland to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which had just opened on September 2.  For supper, I made a 9-inch Pear Cheese pie from a recipe in a 1965 Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, using a vanilla wafer crust.  We all enjoyed it very much (and also the bachelorette trip).

Today, I wanted to make a dessert for lunch that would be lower in fat/calories and would make just 4 servings.  I cut the original recipe in half, used vanilla wafers in place of the crust, and made these very good individual Pear Cheese Cups.  Use a deep custard cup – my granddaughter in St. Louis gave me some nice Pampered Chef deep cups which also have lids.  They are especially good for transporting desserts to my daughter’s house for lunch each Friday.

PEAR CHEESE CUPS

• 4 vanilla wafers
• 2 cups fresh ripe Bartlett pear slices  (about 3 medium pears)
• 1 egg yolk
• 4 oz softened light cream cheese
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• ¼ tsp grated lemon peel
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Have four deep custard cups at hand

Place a vanilla wafer in the bottom of each of 4 deep custard cups.

Place ½ cup of pear slices in each of the cups.

In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk and cream cheese, beat smooth.  Whisk in sour cream, lemon peel, lemon juice, sugar, flour, salt and nutmeg.  Pour over pears in each cup (about ¼ cup each) and spread to cover pears.

Bake @ 375 degrees F about 25 minutes until brown around the edges and just set.  Let cool on a wire rack.

4 servings.  Good room temperature or chilled.  This is a light, delicious dessert.

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French Onion Soup and Tart Cherry Dessert

My youngest daughter is a busy stay-at-home mom who always finds time to get together with me on Fridays for lunch.  I try to make meals that are tasty, quick and easy, and reduced in fat and calories.  Here is what we enjoyed last Friday.

I adapted this recipe from one in a cooking newsletter I received awhile back (can’t remember source) and found this amount of soup is perfect for the 4 servings I like to make for our  Friday lunches.  I leave one serving on the table for my daughter who works at home and take three servings in a picnic basket to my youngest daughter – two for our lunch and an extra for her to use another time.  This is the first recipe I’ve seen for French Onion Soup that uses chicken broth and since I cook a chicken almost every week, I have a lot of broth in the freezer.  I also freeze any leftover broth from roast beef and this enhances the flavor of the soup quite a bit.  I also think the red wine vinegar gives the soup a special boost in taste.  Canned broth can also be used but the flavor may not be as good.

FRENCH ONION SOUP

• 1-½ lbs. sliced yellow onions  (7 cups)
• 1 Tlsp. olive oil
• Approx. 2 Tblsp. water
• Chicken stock, plus beef broth and water as needed, to make 4 cups total
• 1 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 Tblsp. dark brown sugar
•  ¾ tsp. salt (taste before adding especially if using canned broth)
• 1 Tblsp. red wine vinegar
•  4 slices sturdy bread (I used my homemade Italian bread*)
•  4 half-slices Swiss cheese
•  ¼ cup parmesan cheese

Saute onions in olive oil, add water.

Stir often on medium low heat until onions are soft.  Turn heat to low, stirring occasionally, cooking for an hour or so until onions are sweet and lightly browned.  Add small amounts of water as necessary to keep onions from sticking to pan.

In a large pot, place chicken stock/beef/water to make 4 cups.

In a small bowl, whisk until smooth the flour, brown sugar and salt.

Add red wine vinegar.  Bring stock to a boil and add the flour mixture, whisking well and bring back to a boil.  Boil on medium heat for 2 minutes.  Add sautéed onions last.  Pour into 4 oven-proof bowls and top each bowl with a slice of sturdy bread, a half-slice of Swiss cheese and a tablespoon of parmesan cheese.

Broil for a minute or so, watching carefully so the cheese doesn’t burn.  Serve immediately.

4 servings

*Italian Bread

Based on 4 servings, the soup with bread and cheese is 264 calories.

For dessert, I made a light but very flavorful dessert from an old Shaker cookbook, We Make You Kindly Welcome.

TART CHERRY DESSERT

• 3 oz. package of cherry Jello
• 1 cup boiling water
• ½ cup cherry brandy/liqueur or cherry juice
• 1 Tblsp. Lemon juice
• 1 cup frozen tart cherries
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

In a medium bowl, place cherry Jello and  pour boiling water over.  Stir for 2 minutes.  Stir in cherry liqueur/juice and lemon juice.  Pour into a 9-inch dish and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, pour cherries into a small bowl and add sugar.

Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours while gelatin mixture is chilling.

Remove gelatin mixture from refrigerator (should be partially set) and stir in cherry/sugar mixture.  Cover and refrigerate for another 2 hours.

4 servings

Can be served plain or with a bit of whipped topping.

Based on 4 servings, this dessert is 192 calories.  Add 20 calories if using lite whipped topping (2 Tblsp.).

The soup and dessert were a good combination – low in calories and very tasty.

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Apple Goo

I found this recipe in an old cookbook, Favorite Recipes of Indiana.  It makes a very good suppertime dessert – easy and quick to make.

APPLE GOO

• 2 medium tart apples, pared and diced in small pieces (Golden Delicious, Granny Smith)
• ½ to ¾ cup granulated sugar (depending on tartness of apples)
• ½ cup chopped nuts
• ½ cup chopped dates
• 2 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten

In a medium bowl, combine apples, sugar, nuts and dates.  Mix flour with baking powder and salt; blend into apple mixture.  Stir in beaten egg.

Place mixture in a greased 8” baking pan.

Bake @ 350 for approximately 30 minutes until apples are done and top is golden brown.

Serve with whipped cream or topping.

Good warm or chilled.  4-6 servings

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream Dessert

I developed this recipe using bits and pieces from other dishes.  The topping is Stabilized Whipped Cream from Veronica’s Cornucopia.

There are several steps, but easy ones, and this dessert goes together very quickly.  It is simply delicious – rich, cool, satisfying.

Topping (PREPARE THE NIGHT BEFORE SERVING)

• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 24 miniature marshmallows
• ¼ cup granulated sugar

Crust:

• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup butter, cut in small cubes
• ½ cup salted peanuts, chopped

Filling:

• 4 serving pkg. Jello instant chocolate pudding
• 1-½ cups milk
• ¾ cup peanut butter

• 1 Dove Pleasure Or Hershey Nugget for grating

To make topping:
The night before serving, in a medium bowl mix the cream cheese with a fork until smooth.  Gradually add the cream, stirring until blended.  Stir in the marshmallows and sugar.

Place bowl in the refrigerator (do not cover the bowl).  Place the beaters in the freezer to chill overnight.

In the morning, place the cream mixture in a mixer bowl and beat with the chilled beaters until marshmallows have dissolved and stiff peaks form.

To make the crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a medium bowl, place flour and butter cubes.

Mix the butter into the flour with your fingertips.  Add the peanuts and mix into the dough.  Place dough in the bottom of an ungreased 9-inch baking dish.

Bake @ 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.  Let cool on a wire rack.

To make the filling:
Place instant pudding mix in a medium bowl and whisk in the milk for one minute.  Add peanut butter and continue whisking until smooth.

Pour pudding on top of cooled crust.

Spoon topping on top of the chocolate mixture.

Grate the chocolate candy over the top of the dessert.

Cover and chill for at least two hours.

Servings:  6

I made an extra batch of the stabilized whipped cream to see how long it would hold up after being made.  Refrigerated, it will remain stable for 5 days.  It is also possible to freeze and thaw the cream with good results. It’s nice to make in advance and have on hand for when you are pressed for time.   Of course, you could also substitute regular whipped cream or a frozen whipped topping (thawed) in this dish.

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Lemon Pecan Dream Cups

Every Friday, I fix lunch for my two daughters.  I leave lunch on the kitchen table for my oldest daughter (who lives with me and works at home) and pack a picnic basket with lunch for my youngest daughter and myself to take to her home.

I make four servings so she can have something extra to squirrel away for later.  Lunch is always simple – a main dish salad or casserole plus a light dessert.  I came up with this dessert today, using what I had on hand and basing it loosely on one of our favorites, The Next Best Thing to Robert Redford.  The crust is so good in this dessert and the lemon filling is light and tangy.  We all loved it.

LEMON PECAN DREAM CUPS

Crust:

• ¼ cup all -purpose flour
• 2 Tblsp. butter, cut in small cubes
• 1/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Filling:

• 2 oz. cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup frozen topping, thawed
• 3.4 oz pkg lemon instant pudding (4 servings)
• ¾ cup milk
• 1-½ tsp. lemon juice to enhance flavor (optional)

Topping:

• ½ cup frozen topping, thawed (divided)
• 4 pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Have four oven-safe custard cups at hand
To prepare the crust:

Place the flour and butter cubes in a small bowl.

Work the butter into the flour with your fingertips.  Stir in chopped pecans.

Divide this mixture between the four custard cups and press mixture down in the bottoms of the cups.  Bake @ 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Place cups on a wire rack to cool.

To make the filling:

Place cream cheese and sugar in a medium bowl.

Stir until smooth.  Stir in ½ cup frozen topping until blended.  Spread this mixture on top of cooled crust in custard cups.

In the same medium bowl, place instant pudding mix and milk.

Beat until pudding starts to thicken – about one minute.   Stir in lemon juice.  Spoon the pudding mixture on top of the cream cheese mixture in the cups.

Swirl 2 Tblsp. of  topping on each cup and place one pecan half in the center.

Cover and refrigerate for at least ½ hour.

4 servings

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