Holiday desserts.
Oh Happy Thanksgiving Day!
Holiday dinners and holiday desserts make a delicious combination.
I stay true to tradition at Thanksgiving with the meal and dessert offerings.
A house full of family and friends gathered on a day centered around thankfulness and fullness is not the best time to experiment with new dishes, or at least it isn’t for me.
I save that stress for Christmas!
If you can make things easier by purchasing ready made items that pass the taste test and your approval, I highly suggest doing so.
I do make a mean pumpkin and sweet potato pie, but the local market puts mine to shame.
When I say good, I mean delicious with a capital Easy!
Dave the Builder has put his order in for both the pumpkin and the sweet potato pies, and just when I thought I was off the hook, Mama Places In The Home put in her order for a no crust coconut pie and my fresh apple nut cake.
With apron on and mixer in hand, I will make their holiday desserts wishes come true.
No Crust Coconut Pie
Ingredients
4 eggs
1 3⁄4 cups sugar
½ cup flour
¼ cup margarine, melted
2 cups milk
1 ½ cups shredded coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 10-inch pie pan; set aside.
Combine ingredients in order given; mix well. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
Middle of pie will appear rather soft.
Properly done, the pie will have a delicate crust over the top.
Old-fashioned egg custard pie sits upon many a Southern dessert table at the holidays.
Paula Deen’s Southwest Georgia Pound Cake recipe is quite frankly the best pound cake I have ever baked.
My family loves a good pound cake, and they are not afraid to request one quite often.
Can you guess what I was doing last night at nine o’clock?
Baking a Paula Deen Southwest Georgia Pound Cake.
Southwest Georgia Pound Cake
Ingredients
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (4 ounces) heavy cream
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
6 eggs
3 cups sugar
2 sticks butter, softened
Directions
Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan. Do not preheat oven.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Begin by adding ¼ of the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture. Next, add 1/3 of the heavy cream into butter-sugar mixture. Repeat steps and end with flour. Stir in flavoring by hand. Pour batter into greased and floured pan.
Place in a cold oven, set oven temperature at 325, and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes without opening oven door.
Bake for an additional 15 minutes if necessary(it was for my pound cake).
Remove from oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes before plating.
When our son is home for the holidays I prepare his all time favorite dessert, Pumpkin Parfaits.
Pumpkin Parfaits
Ingredients
15 Oz Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 ½ Oz Instant Vanilla Pudding
1 Tsp McCormick Pumpkin Pie Spice
12 Oz evaporated milk
1 cup(s) H-E-B Select Ingredients Fat Free Milk
4 Oz fat free cream cheese
14 Oz fat free sweetened condensed milk
1 cup(s) whipped cream, reduced fat
Directions
In food processor blend together pumpkin, pudding, pie spice, evaporated milk, milk, cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Place in parfait glasses, and chill until set; top with whipped cream.
Makes 12 servings.
– My H-E-B Texas Life Magazine
Speaking of holiday desserts favorites…
I have had more request for my Old Fashioned Apple Nut Cake recipe lately and am happy to list it again.
Old Fashioned Apple Nut Cake
Ingredients
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup applesauce
3 cups fresh apples, peeled and sliced
Icing
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ cup butter or margarine
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
½ cup chopped pecans
Directions
Peel and slice apples. Add brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, ground cloves and lemon juice to apples coating well; set aside. Mix together sugar and oil. Add eggs; beat until creamy. Add vanilla.
Combine salt, baking powder, baking soda, and flour together. Add dry ingredients in small amounts to sugar and oil mixture.
Next, add apples, apple sauce, and chopped pecans and mix by hand. Bake in greased and floured Bundt pan in 350 degree oven for approximately 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
For the icing:
In a medium saucepan bring brown sugar, butter, and milk to a boil over medium heat, stirring or whisking constantly. Boil for one minute continuing to stir or whisk constantly. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
Add powdered sugar and stir or whisk until smooth and continue until it begins to thicken slightly. Immediately drizzle over cooled cake. Top with pecans.
