HEAVENLY DELIGHT GELATIN

A perfect dessert for hot summer days!

1 can (8-oz peaches in juice (no syrup), drained

1 small package (4-serving size) Raspberry Flavored Gelatin
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
3/4 cup sugar-free whipped topping, thawed

Remove 6 peach slices and save for garnish, if desired.
Dice remaining peaches.

Dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water, stirring until all gelatin is dissolved. Combine the cold water with enough ice to made 1 1/4 cups. Add to the gelatin and stir until slightly thickened. Remove any remaining ice! Add the diced peaches to the gelatin.


Put 2/3 cup of the gelatin mixture into each of six dessert cups or parfait glasses. Chill for 10 minutes until almost set. Spoon whipped topping into the glasses alternately with remaining gelatin. Top each with a dollop of the whipped topping and/or a reserved peach slice. Chill approximately 30 minutes to soft set.

DECADENT LAYERED MUD PIE

3 squares semi-sweet chocolate, melted
1/4 cup canned sweetened condensed milk
1 chocolate crumb pie crust
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 cups cold milk
2 pkgs (4-serving size each)Chocolate Instant Pudding and Pie Filling Mix
1 tub (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Mix melted chocolate and sweetened condensed milk until well blended. Pour into crust and sprinkle the chopped pecans over the top. Pour milk into a large mixing bowl and add the pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk for 2 minutes or until well blended. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the pudding over the pecans in the crust. Add 1/2 of the whipped topping to the remaining pudding and stir with the wire whisk until well blended. Spread over the pudding mix in the crust. Spread the remaining whipped topping over the top of the pie. Chill 3 to 4 hours before serving.

file photo for reference

OLD-FASHION CLASSIC APPLE PIE

What is more traditional to Americans than apple pie? With Summer, picnics, and our patriotic holiday of Memorial Day this month, I borrowed this traditional apple pie and pastry recipe from my old fashion recipe blog.

Pastry for a double-crust 9-inch pie:
2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup lard or solid vegetable shortening
5 to 7 tbsp ice water

In a large bowl, stir flour and salt together until blended. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut lard or shortening into flour mixture until the mixture becomes mealy.

Mix in ice water a little at a time with a fork, stirring until the mixture leaves sides of bowl and forms a ball. Finish shaping dough into a ball with your hands, cut in half with a knife to form two balls for the top and the bottom of the pan. On a lightly floured board, flatten one ball of dough and roll with a lightly floured rolling pin from center to edge in a circular fashion, making a 12-inch circle. Place pastry into a 9-inch pie pan, fitting gently and trimming off excess dough with sharp knife or scissors. Fill or bake according to recipe. Roll out remaining dough in the same manner to use as a top crust.

Pie Filling:
6 cups thinly sliced, peeled, tart cooking apples
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Slice apples into a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Add sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg to apples; mix together well. Mix apples again with a large spoon then turn into pastry lined pie pan. Dot the surface with the butter or margarine. Place top pastry over pie and seal the edges well. Cut steam vents in center of the top crust or poke several times with a fork. Bake pie in a 425 degree oven for 45 - 55 minutes or until crust turns a golden brown and the filling starts to bubble up through the vents.

CHOCOLATE MINT ICE CREAM

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 pkg (10-oz) Nestle Toll House mint-chocolate morsels, divided
2 egg yolks
1/8 tsp salt

In a heavy saucepan, combine 1 1/4 cups of the heavy cream, milk, sugar, and 1 cup of the morsels; cook over low heat, stirring with wire whisk until morsels are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat.

In a small bowl, beat egg yolks and salt until thick; gradually add chocolate mixture; beat until well blended.
Chill 30 minutes.

In a small heavy saucepan, combine remaining morsels and remaining heavy cream. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until morsels are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat; set aside.

Pour chilled chocolate-egg mixture into an electric ice cream freezer and churn until thick, about 25 minutes. Pour in the reserved chocolate mixture and churn 10 seconds.

Remove dasher; cover ice cream and store in freezer until ready to serve.

Yield: 1 quart

 Note: File Photo

BARBECUE-SPICED NUTS

 1 1/2 cup pecan halves
1 1/2 cups honey-roasted peanuts
1 cup salted roasted almonds

Spice Mix:
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg white

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Coat a baking sheet that has sides with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk egg white until frothy. Add the nuts and stir until evenly coated. Add the spice mix and toss to coat.

Spread nuts in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until toasted and just dry, about 25 minutes.

Allow nuts to cool completely on the baking sheet. They will get crispy as they cool.

Break up any clusters and serve or store in airtight container.

RED-FRAMED MARBLE COOKIES

This is a recipe from Reynolds Kitchens. Note: You may replace red with the color of your choice or to suit your occasion.

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 eggs +1 egg yolk, room temperature (refrigerate egg white to use for icing)
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp milk OR cream
1 cup powdered sugar + more, if needed
16-20 drops red food coloring gel
1 cup red nonpareils

With electric mixer, beat butter and sugar to light. Beat in salt, extract, eggs and yolk. Add flour and beat until just blended. Transfer half the dough to a 15-by-18-inch sheet of parchment paper; top with a second sheet of parchment. Roll to 1/4-in thick.

To the remaining dough, add cocoa, cornstarch, and milk; beat until smooth. Place between two sheets of parchment paper and roll same as vanilla dough. Remove top sheets of parchment. Invert chocolate dough on top of vanilla, not necessary to be even. Remove the top sheet of parchment.

Roll doughs into a log, twist and fold over to create marbling. Re-shape into a log 15 x 2 1/2-inches. Wrap in parchment and chill for 1 to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Slice log into 1/4-inch think rounds; place on parchment-lined baking sheet 1-inch apart.

Bake cookies 12-13 minutes until set but do not brown. Allow to cool on baking sheet 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies on the parchment paper to a wire rack. Bake the remaining dough in the same manner.

Whisk the reserved egg white until foamy. Add the powdered sugar and red gel; shisk well. Roll edges of cookies in red icing then the iced edges in the nonpareils.

Place cookies on clean parchment paper to let icing set for 30 to 40 minutes.

Photo from Reynolds Kitchens

PECAN PIE FROM PHIL AND KAY ROBERTSON

Miss Kay says she makes the crust and Phil makes the filling.

MISS KAY'S DO-AHEAD PIE CRUST
5 cups all-purpose flour + more for rolling
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups butter-flavored vegetable shortening (Crisco is the best)
1 large egg
2 tbsp vinegar
1 cup cold water minus 2 tbsp

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Mix the shortening into the flour with the pastry blender. Add the egg and mix by hand for a few minutes.

Stir the vinegar into the measuring cup with the water. Slowly pour the liquid into the bowl, stirring with a fork. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes to blend everything.

Divide the dough into four parts. Wrap any pieces that you aren't using in plastic wrap and refrigerate them.

Sprinkle flour on a clean countertop and put down a piece of dough. Sprinkle the dough with flour, and with a rolling pin, roll the dough to about 1/4-inch thick, to fit the pie pan you are using. (For a 9-inch pan, roll the dough to a circle about 12-inches in diameter). Fit the crust into the pan and gently press it down to fit. Roll as many piecrusts as you need, flouring the counter each time.

If your recipe calls for the piecrust to be already baked, bake it at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

PECAN PIE FILLING
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup light corn syrup (I use Karo)
1/2 cup maple syrup (I use Johnnie Fair) or honey
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
1 9-inch pie crust, see above or store bought), unbaked

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the eggs with the mixer until fluffy, about 8 minutes.

In another mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, butter, salt, vanilla, and syrups. Gently fold this into the eggs. Gently fold in the pecans. Pour the filling into the piecrust.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the filling is set and no longer wobbly in the center.

Let cool completely before cutting.

Miss Kay's photo.

FRENCH TOAST STRATA

1/3 cup + 1 tbsp Splenda granular*, divided
1 cup egg substitute*
2/3 cup fat-free milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp maple extract
8 slices whole-wheat bread
1/4 cup raisins
3/4 tsp cinnamon
2 cups peeled, sliced apples
1/4 cup low-fat cream cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray an 8-inch square baking pan or dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In a medium bowl, blend together the 1/3 cup Splenda granular, egg substitute, milk, and maple extract.

Tear the bread into approximately 1-inch pieces. Add the bread pieces, raisins, 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon, and apples into the above mixture. Toss to coat the bread. Pour the bread mixture into the prepared pan or dish.

Cut the cream cheese into 8 pieces and place over the strata. Blend the remaining tablespoon of Splenda granular with the remaining cinnamon. Sprinkle over the strata and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove strata from refrigerator and bake in the preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until lightly browned and set.

Serve while hot.

*You may use granulated sugar in the same quantity as Splenda and 4 eggs instead of the egg substitute, if you prefer. This will, however, change the nutritional info below.

Yield: 8 servings
Per serving(approximately): 150 calories, 20 g carbs, 8 g protein, 4 g (1 g sat)fat
Diabetic exchanges: 1 1/2 starches, 1 fat