Blue Ribbon Apple Pie

We love this apple pie. Be sure you use the first recipe tip at the bottom and add some whipping cream to the pie the last 5 minutes. Makes it extra yummy!!!!




BLUE RIBBON APPLE PIE

Crisp pastry filled with a juicy apple filling is an American favorite.

Preparation time: 1 hrs Baking time: 45 min

Yield: 8 servings

Crust Ingredients:

2		cups all-purpose flour
1		teaspoon sugar
1/4		teaspoon salt
1/4		teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4		teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3		cup cold LAND O LAKES® Butter, cut into chunks
1/3		cup shortening
4 to 5		tablespoons cold water

Filling Ingredients:

1/2		cup sugar
1/4		cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4		cup all-purpose flour
1/2		teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2		teaspoon ground nutmeg
6		medium (6 cups) tart cooking apples, peeled, sliced 1/4-inch
1		tablespoon LAND O LAKES® Butter
1		teaspoon sugar

Heat oven to 400°F. Combine 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon sugar, salt, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg in large bowl; cut in 1/3 cup butter and shortening with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in enough water just until flour is moistened.

Divide dough in half; shape each half into ball. Flatten slightly. Wrap 1 ball of dough in plastic food wrap; refrigerate. Roll out remaining ball of dough on lightly floured surface into 12-inch circle. Fold into quarters. Place dough into 9-inch pie pan; unfold dough, pressing firmly against bottom and sides. Trim crust to 1/2 inch from edge of pan; set aside.

Combine all filling ingredients except apples, 1 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon sugar in large bowl. Add apples; toss lightly to coat.

Spoon apple mixture into prepared crust. Roll remaining ball of dough into 12-inch circle. Fold into quarters. Place dough over filling; unfold. Trim, seal and crimp or flute edge. Cut 5 or 6 large slits in crust. Brush with melted 1 tablespoon butter; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar. Cover edge of crust with 2-inch strip aluminum foil.

Bake for 35 minutes; remove aluminum foil. Continue baking for 10 to 20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. Cool pie 30 minutes; serve warm. Store refrigerated.

Recipe Tip
If desired, remove pie from oven when lightly browned and bubbly. Run knife through slits in crust. Pour 1/2 cup whipping cream evenly through all slits. Return to oven for 5 minutes to warm whipping cream.

Recipe Tip
Read more about this recipe on Recipe Buzz™ Blog.

Nutrition Facts (1 serving): Calories: 400, Fat: 18g, Cholesterol: 25mg, Sodium: 170mg, Carbohydrates: 60g, Dietary Fiber: 4g, Protein: 4g

Zip-Lock Bag Fudge

2 oz. (1T) Cream Cheese
3 cups (3/4 cup) Powdered Sugar
1/4 cup (1T) Margarine
1/4 cup (1T) Cocoa

Measure ingredients in a gallon freezer zip-lock bag. Push the air out of the bag and seal well.
Squish the mixture to mix well. It will be dry at first, but will soon become fudge. It will take about 20 minutes of work.
Slit the sides of the zip-lock bag and roll the fudge between the plastic of the bag to 1/2" thick and cut into squares.
Press in chopped nuts if desired.

We made this in my cooking class. It is so good! The amounts of ingredients in parentheses are for making a single serving in a sandwich size bag.
-Laura

Candy Bar Hot Chocolate

1 Hershey's Milk Chocolate Candy Bar
1 cup Milk

Heat milk in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Chop up candy bar into very small tiny pieces or even powder in the food processor.
Mix chocolate with hot milk until melted.
Drink!

You can make this in any size batches. Just 1 candy bar to 1 cup of milk. This hot chocolate is very creamy and I like it a lot because it is just candy bars which are really good anyways. Just make sure to heat up to milk enough so the chocolate melts all the way and you don't get a goop at the bottom of your cup. Making this on the stove in a big batch worked well.

Homemade Rootbeer

25 cups Water
2 1/2 Cup + 9T Sugar
5t or 1 oz. Root beer Extract
4-6 lbs Dry Ice

Get a large water jug, like the big ones with the spigot.
Dissolve sugar in lukewarm water.
Add extract until well mixed.
Add dry ice and let sit for a while, maybe 20 minutes or so until the root beer is carbonated.
(Carbonation only lasts a day or two then it goes flat)

Disney World Boardwalk Brownies

I found this blog that claims she got a recipe for brownies that are the ones they make on the boardwalk at Walt Disney World. I figured since many of you love Disney world I would share it with you and maybe it will bring back fond memories. So here it is.

Grilled Yams

1 yam
olive oil
seasonings

Cook the yam in the microwave for about 5 minutes. The time depends on the size of your yam. Just cook it enough so the whole thing is soft.
Slice the yam into 1/2 inch thick pieces.
Coat with olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with some seasonings. (I added chili powder but you can make it sweet with cinnamon)
Grill on the BBQ on high for 10-15 minutes per side or until crispy, not burnt.

We got this HUGE yam from Buy-Low and it fed Brian and I as a main dish. It is really good grilled. Just make sure you cook it long enough in the microwave first because it's not as good when it's still hard.
-Laura

Fantastic Fudge

¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks)

3 cups sugar

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 12-oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 jar marshmallow cream

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Lightly grease 13x9-inch pan. Mix butter, sugar and milk in a heavy 2-3 quart saucepan; bring to full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 5 minutes on medium heat or until candy thermometer reaches 234° F, stirring constantly yto prevent scorching. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in chips until melted. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Cool at room temperature, cut into squares.

We absolutely love this fudge! It's the best ever! But remember don't make it on a rainy day! :)

No-Sugar Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

2 packages (8 oz. each) light cream cheese (not fat free)
1/2 cup Splenda
1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract (I used a bit more)
2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling which contains sugar)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. apple pie spice or a pinch of nutmeg and cloves
Cooking spray - don't use too much

whipped cream (optional, I didn't think it needed it)

Preheat oven to 325 F. In large bowl combine softened cream cheese, Splenda, and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer until smooth. Blend in eggs, one at a time. Remove one cup of batter and spread into bottom of glass or crockery baking dish which has been sprayed very lightly with non-stick spray. (I sprayed my dish too much and had a hard time getting the first layer spread evenly. Next time I would put a very thin layer of chopped pecans over the nonstick spray.)

Add pumpkin and spices to remaining batter and stir until blended. Carefully spread pumpkin layer over first layer. Bake in preheated oven 35-45 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then chill several hours or overnight. Serve with whipped cream if desired and wait for compliments.

(The picture above was from the low sugar not the no sugar cheesecake but considering it's a holiday where you are allowed to indulge a little bit :) and considering how much I love the crusts on cheesecakes I think I'd do the crust from the low sugar one- which tells you to just get the lowest sugar prepared graham cracker crust.)

Pumpkin Soup

• 3 (15 oz) cans black beans (rinse and drained)
• 1 (16 oz.) can diced tomatoes
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 ¼ cup chopped onion
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
• ½ pound cubed cooked ham
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Pour two cans of the black beans into a food processor or blender, along with the can of tomatoes. Puree until smooth. Set aside.

Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the onion is softened. Stir in the bean puree, remaining can of beans, beef broth, pumpkin puree, and vinegar. Mix until well blended, then simmer for about 25 minutes, or until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Stir in the ham, and heat through before serving.

We made this for a halloween dinner last night and it was very good! I would definitely make it again throughout the holidays. We took out the ham and put crumbled bleu cheese and bacon on top and it was so yummy! We also just used apple cider vinegar. We substituted one of the cans of beans for another can of pumpkin so it tasted a little more pumpkin-y.

Gingerbread Waffles

This is another recipe that I haven't tried yet but they sounded and looked so good.

Gingerbread Waffles

3 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup melted butter, plus some to butter the iron skillet
syrup
whipped cream or fresh fruits

Preheat waffle iron. In a large bowl combing flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. In a medium bowl beat eggs and brown sugar until fluffy, then beat in pumpkin, milk, molasses and melted butter. Stir the wet into dry until just moist. Do not over stir the waffle batter. Brush the iron with a little melted butter and cook 4 waffles, 4 sections each. Serve with toppings of choice.

Holiday Sugar Cookies

• 2/3 cup shortening
  
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 teaspoons milk

Preheat oven to 350. Cream shortening, sugar, egg, vanilla, and peel. Gradually add flour mixture. Bake for 12 minutes.

These are the best sugar cookies I have ever had! We always make huge amounts around Christmas and deliver them to people. They stay soft for days and aren't grainy sugary...just delicious. Whitney and I had so much fun as kids rolling out the dough and cutting out shapes and frosting them.

Butter Toffee

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds or pecans, toasted
• 1 cup butter (don't use margarine!)
  
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon light-colored corn syrup
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
• 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds or pecans, toasted

Directions

Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts in pan. Set pan aside.

Butter sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan. In saucepan melt butter. Add sugar, water, and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Reduce heat to medium; continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate, stirring frequently, till thermometer registers 290 degree F, soft-crack stage (about 15 minutes). Watch care-fully after 280 degree F to prevent scorching. Remove saucepan from heat; remove thermometer. Pour candy into the prepared pan.

Let candy stand about 5 minutes or till firm; sprinkle with chocolate. Let stand 1 to 2 minutes. When chocolate has softened, spread over candy. Sprinkle with the 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts. Chill until firm. When candy is firm, use foil to lift it out of pan; break into pieces. Store tightly covered. Makes about 1-1/2 pounds (48 servings).

Pumpkin Dip

I love anything pumpkin and this dip is really good.

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Sour Cream
2 cups powdered sugar
1 (15-ounce) can cooked pumpkin
1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon


Combine cream cheese, sour cream and powdered sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add pumpkin. Beat until combined. Stir in cinnamon and orange juice concentrate until well mixed. Refrigerate (at least 1 hour) before serving.

Serve with gingersnaps, graham crackers or sliced apples.