Bahamas Time: Coconut or Pineapple Tarts

For all of you who have been to the Bahamas with me, this recipe is the best I've found so far that is like Miss Nellie's amazing pies!

Left: Coconut tart, Right: Pineapple tart 

Prep time: 45 minutes 
Bake time: about 40 minutes

Bahamian Sweet Pastry Dough:

1/4 cup shortening

1.4 cup butter or margarine

1 cups sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tbsp powdered milk 

1 1/2 cups flour (maybe more. Last time my dough was not stiff enough to make a good lattice)

3 tablespoons water (approx. don't let the dough get too sticky)

Filling for Coconut tart:

3 cups fresh coconut*, grated fine (blender may ber used. I use an attachment on my Kitchenaid)

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons  nutmeg


Filling for Pineapple tart:
4 cups fresh crushed pineapple OR 2 cans crushed pineapple 
1 1/2 cups sugar

Prepare coconut filling by combining all ingredient into a sauce pan over medium heat.   Bring to a boil then reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes or until liquid evaporates and begins to dry.  Allow to cool while you prepare the dough.


Prepare pineapple filling by combining pineapple and sugar in a saucepan and boil it for 15 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool while you prepare the dough.

Dough: Cream shortening and butter until blended.  Add sugar, eggs and vanilla – mix well.  Add baking powder and powdered milk; mix. Combine flour and gradual amounts of water – just enough to hold dough together.  Knead dough until stiff enough to roll out.  Divide into 2 balls, one for bottom and one for lattice. Roll out piece to fit a 9 inch pie dish.  Fill pie shell with coconut filling.  Roll out the remaining dough and cut into ½ inch wide strips. Lay half the strips across the filling about 1 inch apart.  Lay the remaining strips crosswise to form a lattice pattern. 

 Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

*Check out this site if you need help getting it open.

Gingerbread Cookies

Deliciously spicey (but not overpowering), these cookies are nice and soft- my little nieces and nephews LOVE them! Don’t judge the decorating in the above picture, I was just trying to bust them out quickly because I had many family members waiting impatiently for them to be finished :)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Chill Time: 2 hours

Bake Time: 9 minutes

Yield: about 3 dozen

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup molasses

2 eggs

2  tablespoons fresh ginger root, zested

4 cups all-purpose flour, divided

¾  teaspoon baking soda

¾  teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground allspice

¾ teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1.        Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.        In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add the molasses, eggs and ginger root.

3.        Combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour, baking soda, salt, allspice, cloves, and cinnamon; beat into the molasses mixture. Gradually stir in the remaining flour by hand to form a stiff dough.

4.        Chill for two hours.

5.        Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes and place cookies 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

6.        Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.

7.        Once cool, use Royal Icing to decorate! ENJOY!!!

Tip: This recipe can me used for gingerbread houses too. The Royal Icing is also perfect to build and decorate your house- its very strong, dries quickly, and very tasty too! 

 

Razzleberry Squares

Prep time: 10 minutes

Bake time: 40-50 minutes

• 1 egg
• 1 cup butter(softened)
• 1 vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup white sugar
• • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (pecans taste great too!)
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 2 1/4 cups flour (I use half whole wheat, half white)
  • 8 ounces razzleberry preserves (or your favorite flavor)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream egg, butter, vanilla, salt and sugar. Add nuts, oats and flour.
3. Reserve 1 cup of the mixture; press the remaining dough into an 8 inch pan.
4. Spread preserves over dough making sure to leave1/2 inch border on all sides.
5. Sprinkle reserved mixture of top.
6. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until light brown. Let cool, sprinkle with  powdered sugar and enjoy!

Triple Peanut Butter Pizza Pie (Death)

"Deathly" version:
Prep time: 20 minutes

Bake time: 15 minutes + chilling time

1 pkg (16 oz) refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups chopped peanut butter cups 

1. Press cookie dough onto a greased 14-in. pizza pan. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until deep golden brown. Sprinkle with chocolate chips; let stand for 4-5 minutes. Spread melted chips over crust. Freeze for 10 minutes or refrigerate until set.

2. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, brown sugar and vanilla until creamy. Spread over the chocolate. Sprinkle with the peanut butter cups. Chill until serving. Refrigerate leftovers. Makes 12-14 slices.

"Less-Deathly" version:
Prep time: 20 minutes

Bake time: 15 minutes + chilling time

1 pkg (16 oz) refrigerated sugar cookie dough 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips 4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups chopped peanut butter cups 

1. Press cookie dough onto a greased 14-in. pizza pan. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until deep golden brown. Sprinkle with chocolate chips; let stand for 4-5 minutes. Spread melted chips over crust. Freeze for 10 minutes or refrigerate until set.

2. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, brown sugar and vanilla until creamy. Spread over the chocolate. Sprinkle with the peanut butter cups. Chill until serving. Refrigerate leftovers. Makes 12-14 slices.

Dump Cake (Cobbler-ish)

Easiest, cheapest, and one of the yummiest desserts out there (not one of the healthiest, but hey, it's dessert right!?) You deserve it!

Prep time: 5 minutes

Bake time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1 box cake mix (any flavor, we like Confetti or Strawberry)

2 cans fruit (any canned fruit or pie filling, we like peaches)

1 stick butter

1. Grease a 9x13 pan

2. Dump fruit in pan with all its juice. I like to cut the peaches into bite-size pieces.

3. Dump the cake mix evenly on top of the fruit.

4. Cut the stick of butter into small slivers and place all over the top of the cake.

5. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, or until cake is golden.

Baklava

• Prep time: 45 minutes
• Bake time: 40-50 minutes
• 
  
• Pastry:
• 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo/filo dough sheets*
• 1 pound chopped nuts (I used pecans and walnuts)
• 1 cup butter
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sugar

Sauce:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cups white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey

*This can be found in the frozen food section of most grocery stores. I found it by the frozen berries at Smiths. It is about $3.25 there.

1. Make sauce first. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes, then put in fridge to cool (this is key!).
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan (Pam).
3. Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon and sugar. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. You may need to cut the whole stack in half to fit, each sheet should be about the size of the pan. Mine was already cut to the right size when I bought it.
4. Place two sheets of dough in pan, brush butter on with a pastry brush**. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered.
5. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top of the 8 layered sheets. Top with two sheets of dough, and more butter and nuts.Continue layering, but save 8 sheets for the top layer.
6. When you have 8 sheets left, layer them two by two with butter in between, just like the bottom layer.
7. When you are done, use a sharp knife to cut the baklava into diamond or square shapes (see bottom picture) all the way to the bottom of the pan. Bake for about 40-50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp. I did half the time on the middle shelf and half the time on the top to ensure that it gets golden brown and crispy.
8. Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon the cold sauce over it. Let it cool for a few hours. Leave it uncovered so it doesn't get soggy, or you can freeze it.

**NOTE: A pastry brush is ideal to have but not necessary. I made it without and it was fine and much faster. These instructions were for if you have a pastry brush. If you don't, do 4 sheet layers (instead of 2) and just spoon the butter on and spread it around with the back of the spoon. It worked fine :)

If you have any questions or a better way to make this, let me know! Enjoy!!! Thomas said it was the best baklava he has ever had, so I was pretty happy with it :)

English Toffee

Cook on medium-high in a saucepan for about 10-20 minutes, until it becomes the color of a brown paper bag:

1 c butter

2 tbsp water

1 c sugar

Coat a jelly roll pan with 1 c chopped walnuts. Pour toffee mixture on top of nuts. Cover with chocolate chips while it is still hot, and as they melt, spread them into an even layer covering the toffee completely. Let set and enjoy!

*You can do this without the nuts, just pour the toffee mixture directly into jelly roll pan.

Crepes

This recipe came straight from my "French sister" Nathalie. It is her family's recipe that they make in Paris, so it's pretty authentic. Thanks Nathalie! We love them!

Mix together until there are no lumps. It should be a very thin batter:

1 1/4 c milk

1 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

2 c flour

1 tbsp melted butter

Pour batter in thin layer into a medium greased saucepan. Cook until golden brown, flip over and cook other side.

Fill with whatever toppings you like! Some of our "Crepe Night" favorites are:

Strawberry pie filling with bananas on top

Lemon icing (lemon juice, powdered sugar and water mixed together)

Nutella

Peanut butter and chocolate syrup

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

•  
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Set Time: 1 hour
•  
• 1/2 c butter
• 1/2 c packed brown sugar
• 2 1/2 c confectioners' sugar
• 2 c peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 c semisweet chocolate chips

Melt butter. Add sugars, peanut butter and vanilla. Mix well.
Press into a 9 x 13 inch pan.
Melt chocolate chips and spread over the top. Cool.

These are heaven. Thomas requests them every time I make treats!

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

•  
•  
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 c whole almonds
• 1/4 c white sugar
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 
  

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Lightly grease a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan.
Beat the egg white; add vanilla, and beat until frothy (this takes a few minutes). Add the nuts, and stir until well coated. Mix the sugar, salt, and cinnamon, and stir together with the nuts. Spread evenly on the prepared pan.
Bake for 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until golden. Allow to cool, then store nuts in airtight containers.

Perfect Pumkin Pie

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust (or see below for my easy homemade crust recipe)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Heat pumpkin and spices in a medium saucepan on the stove until all mixed together (this is the trick to making the best pumpkin pie!).

Beat pumpkin mixture, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Homemade Crust:

2 ½ C. flour 3/4 C. shortening

3/4 tsp. salt 8 to 10 (or more) Tablespoons ice cold water

Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl.

Gently cut in shortening with a pastry blender (or fork) until pea sized.

Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of the cold water over flour mixture, tossing lightly with a fork. Add the remaining water a tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork, and press to the side of the bowl until all is moistened. Roll out, and press into 9 inch pie pan