Pear Crisp

From the Kraft Foods What's Cooking magazine.

1 Lemon

1/2 cup  Granulated sugar, divided

1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp. flour, divided

1 tsp.  Ground cinnamon, divided

8 fresh pears (2-1/2 lb./1.1 kg), peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks

1/4 cup  packed brown sugar

1/3 cup cold butter, cut up

1/2 cup  sliced almonds

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

GRATE enough lemon peel to measure 1/2 tsp. zest. Squeeze enough juice to measure 4-1/2 tsp. Mix 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 Tbsp. flour and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon in large bowl. Add pears, lemon zest and juice; toss until pears are evenly coated. Spoon into 8-inch square baking dish.

MIX brown sugar and remaining granulated sugar, flour and cinnamon in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Stir in nuts; sprinkle over pears.

BAKE 40 to 45 min. or until topping is golden brown and pears are hot and bubbly. 

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(Evil) Mini Donuts

Ingredients:

--1 can Pillsbury biscuit dough
--Small circle cutter (we used a water bottle or you could use the cup that comes with Children's Tylenol)
--1/2 cup cooking oil

Garnish (choose your favorite):

Powdered sugar, for dusting
Cinnamon Sugar
Sprinkles
Powdered Sugar glaze (mix powdered sugar with a little water and lemon juice until desired consistency)

Directions:

Put oil in a large skillet and turn on medium high heat. You want the doughnuts to be half covered with oil when cooking. Open biscuit can and separate onto a cutting board. Using circle cutter, cut out the center of the biscuits (be sure to cook the centers, too, for tasty doughnut holes!)

Place doughnuts a few at a time in oil, watch carefully and turn over when bottoms are browned.

Place on a baking rack with paper towels underneath it or drop in cinnamon sugar. Garnish as desired.

Microwave Chocolate Cake in a Mug

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons flour 

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

1 mug

Directions:

In the mug, mix flour, sugar and cocoa powder. Stir in one egg. Add the milk and oil and mix well.

Place in the centre of the microwave and nuke on high for three minutes. The cake will rice and then fall and settle back into the mug. Tip out onto a plate and serve (preferably with ice cream of course) 

Apple Pie

pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

*I also added some cinnamon (about a tbsp) and some nutmeg (maybe 1 tsp)
8 apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.

Place the bottom crust in your pan. Mix the hot filling with the apples then put into the pie crust. Top with the other pastry. Be sure to cut large slits into the top for steam. You can brush the top of your pie with egg wash and decorative sugar if you'd like.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

It is quite sweet so you may want to decrease the amount of sugar. I like it sweet, served warm with vanilla ice cream

Orange Olive Oil Cake

· 2 eggs
· 1 1/4 cups sugar
· 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
· 3/4 cup 2% milk
· zest of 2 oranges
· 1 cup + 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
· 1/2 tsp baking powder
· dash salt
· icing sugar for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F and butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar. Add olive oil, milk and orange zest and mix well. In a separate bowl, stir flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to olive oil batter and stir just until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

3. Let cake cool completely, then turn out onto a plate and dust with icing sugar.

Oreo Truffels

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

Directions:

3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls.

DIP balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet.

(Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.)

Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm.

Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator

Apple Crisp

INGREDIENTS

4 cups thinly sliced apples
1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup butter


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 inch pie plate.

Mound sliced apples in the pie plate. Sprinkle with orange juice.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Scatter over the apples.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Serve warm.