Sweet Tea and Cornbread: Fall desserts

Showing posts with label Fall desserts. Show all posts

Caramel Apple Crisp!

I love caramel apples in the Fall, you know the kind that you make yourself by melting caramel and dipping them and then rolling in nuts or whatever you choose. I also love a good apple crisp. This recipe puts those two great Fall flavors together. It's an easy dessert to put together, but you will get a lot of compliments because the aroma is just delightful and let's face it, anything with caramel involved has to be good. Here is what you will need for this.

6 to 7 baking apples, cored, peeled and sliced (I used Granny Smith)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon, divided
1 cup caramel ice cream topping, warmed and divided
1/2 cup butter, cut in pieces (1 stick)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup quick cooking oats (not instant)
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place the apple slices in a 2 quart casserole or baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Sprinkle the apples with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/4 cup white sugar. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of caramel ice cream topping.

In a separate bowl combine the brown sugar, flour, salt, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and vanilla. Add the butter slices and cut them in with a pastry cutter or a knife until it is a crumbly texture. Stir the oats in until well combined.

Crumble over top of the apples. Place in oven and bake for about 45-50 minutes or until nice and brown. After out of the oven and right before serving, drizzle the other 1/2 cup of caramel topping over the top of the crisp.

Serve with a scoop of ice cream and if you want to go all the way, drizzle a little more caramel on top!

Caramel Pumpkin Lush!

This time of year my mind turns to recipes I can make that include pumpkin, sweet potatoes, or apples, the things that are plentiful and so good here during Autumn. I must admit I am one of those people who love all things "pumpkin spice" and I did even before it became such a thing with the latte drinking crowd! I just love pumpkin and anything cinnamon or pumpkin spice flavored!

That is how this dessert came to be. There are some similar recipes online, but I sort of adapted it to make it my own version, and it's delicious!!! This is great for serving company or to take to a big family dinner, because it serves several people. Here is what you will need:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
2 cups self rising flour
1 cup nuts, chopped pecans, divided
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. vanilla

2 (3 oz.) small boxes instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups milk

1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons caramel ice cream topping

16 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided

Garnishes

Fall sprinkles

candy corn

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and the softened butter. Spray a 9"x13" baking pan with nonstick spray.

Pat the flour and butter mixture into the pan evenly. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of chopped pecans over all and press them lightly into the crust before you bake it. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and allow the crust to cool.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla until smooth. Fold in two cups of the whipped topping until blended. Spread evenly over the crust.

In another large bowl beat the dry pudding mixes with the cold milk until thickened. Beat in 1/2 cup of caramel topping. Spread over the cream cheese layer.

Drop the remaining whipped topping by spoonfuls over the top and spread evenly.

Drizzle the top with the other 2 Tablespoons of caramel topping and sprinkle with the rest of the chopped pecans. You can also garnish with Fall colored sprinkles!!!

Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight!!!

When ready to serve, cut in squares! I garnished with a little candy corn for an extra Fall touch!!! This is wonderful dessert for Fall and the upcoming holidays and it keeps in the fridge for several days!!! Enjoy!!!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake!

I love anything with caramel and I also never met a cheesecake I didn't like, so I knew this would be a winner for me and it was!!! This is a decadent dessert, special enough for holidays or special occasions, but it's really very easy!!!

Here is what you will need:

1 (9 oz.) prepared graham cracker crust

1 (21 oz.) cam of apple pie filling

2 (8 oz.) pkgs.. cream cheese, softened to room temperature

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup caramel ice cream topping

3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until it's light and fluffy. Beat in sugar and eggs. Add the cinnamon and vanilla.

Place the graham cracker crust on a cookie sheet, just for easier handling and in case of spill overs. Be sure to use the large 9 oz. crust that says "2 extra servings". The regular graham cracker crust will not be large enough. Keebler makes the large crust.

Spread half of the caramel topping in the bottom of the crust.

Spread half of the apple pie filling over the caramel.

Put the other half of the caramel topping and the rest of the apple pie filling in a small saucepan over low heat and stir together. This will be used later for the topping.

Pour the cheesecake filling over all and spread to the edges. Place in the preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes or until set. Allow to cool on the counter.

Spread the rest of the apple pie filling and caramel topping over the top. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts or pecans. Cover and chill for 3 hours or until ready to serve!

This is so yummy!!! Enjoy!!!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie!

This is a great pumpkin pie recipe if you are looking for something a little different from the traditional baked pumpkin pie! It's also a really good pumpkin dessert for those people who think they don't like pumpkin. Even the kids will love this one! It's sort of pumpkin pie meets cheesecake.

Here is what you will need for this one:

1 large graham cracker crust (the one that says 2 extra servings or if you make your own, make a deep dish crust)

1 (8 oz.) pkg. of cream cheese, softened

1 cup, plus 1 Tbs. milk, divided

2 Tbs. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 (8 oz.) container frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided

2 small (3 oz.) boxes of instant French vanilla pudding (be sure to get instant)

1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Beat cream cheese with 2 Tbs. powdered sugar, 1 Tbs. milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the frozen whipped topping. Pour into the graham cracker crust and smooth to the edges.

Beat the remaining 1 cup milk with the pudding mixes. Beat in the pumpkin, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Spread over the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving.

Serve topped with a dollop of the remaining whipped topping, sprinkled with a little pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon!

My Favorite Pumpkin Recipes!

Today is National Pumpkin Day, so it's only fitting that I feature some of my favorite pumpkin recipes! Pumpkin is an ingredient that some love and some just do not care for, but many of these recipes will make even your biggest pumpkin hater learn to love it!

Baking with pumpkin so that it's really tasty has several keys to it. First of all, you need to season pumpkin well, but not over do it at the same time. That sounds very contradictory, right? What I mean is go a little heavier on the cinnamon and a little lighter on things like nutmeg and ginger or better yet, use pumpkin pie spice instead. Pumpkin pie spice is your friend, because it is a combination of all of those stronger spices in just the right blend so they don't just choke you to death when you try to eat it.

Don't get me wrong, I love a hint of cloves, a touch of ginger, quite a bit of cinnamon, a pinch of allspice and a very little bit of nutmeg. In case I haven't mentioned it, I do not like nutmeg much at all. There is just something about it that doesn't taste good to me if it is used alone or too much. However, if you balance it with a lot of cinnamon and a bit of other seasonings it becomes something good. So, invest in that little can of pumpkin pie spice and use it when a recipe calls for nutmeg and ginger and such. Be sure to use only fresh pumpkin pie spice. If it doesn't still smell very fragrant, throw it out. I would say a new one each Fall is in order. The other thing about cooking with pumpkin is not to over do the pumpkin in a recipe, a little goes a long way.

Click the link under each picture for the recipes: