Bunny Tails and Easter Egg Truffles are simple and easy to make. Shaping them and rolling the shapes in the coconut or sugar is a little on the time consuming side. But they are so darn cute, it’s worth it! My brother Jay and I would scarf down Mom’s shredded coconut stash as soon as we found the new hiding place. Maybe that’s why the younger ones in the family never learned to like coconut :=) More coconut for us – as in “none left”! Since not everybody is a fan of coconut for whatever the reason, half the mixture is made into colorful Easter Eggs. The moisture level varies among brands of cream cheese. I used Philadelphia cream cheese which is more moist than some of the store brands. The taste is the same, but pay attention when you add the last half of the powdered sugar. ... [Read More]
Cream Cheese
No-bake Cheesecake Chocolate Covered Bitty Bites
Chocolate covered cheesecake bites - just the right size for a bit of dessert at a party or to end a good meal. The first time I made these I was dismayed. These little things refused any attempt at decoration. Snowflake candies fell off, nonpareils just bounced to the side. Pretty little drizzles of colored melts, swirls – forget it. I don’t have a whole lot of patience for “fiddling” as Grandma called it, so I put the chocolates aside and ditched the pretty picture in my head. Next day, Bytes said “those things are pretty good”. I bit into the crisp chocolate and was smitten with the soft, cheesecake goodness inside. Forget decorations and fancies. Just pure ingredients, well blended and aged properly. Moral of the story: Listen to the candy, people! In keeping with the goal of ... [Read More]
Lemon Cheesecake Parfait
Lemon Cheesecake Parfaits are light with a zip of lemon, perfect for a spring dessert. Choose your favorite lemon cookie. I usually use lemon wafers (next to the vanilla wafers on the grocery shelf), but the ones pictured have crushed lemon cream filled cookies layered through the parfait with a tiny lemon crisp on top. Any lemon cookie will work as long as it is crisp enough to crumble. The number you need will depend on the size of the cookie. I use sugar free lemon pudding which was a little hard to find. You can use regular instant pudding instead, especially if you are not concerned with “carb counts” as we are. Boost the flavor with some additional lemon juice or lemon flavoring. I made this two or three times before I realized it takes two 8 ounce containers of whipped topping. I ... [Read More]
Cream Cheese Frosting – lower sugar version
Cream Cheese Frosting (Lower sugar version) is a light, soft frosting. It spreads well, but is not suitable for decorating. It will hold things like chopped nuts or other embellishments -- food or paper – but won’t hold shape. It’s not strong on flavor, has a very smooth texture, not sweet – it’s the perfect foil for a great cake! It enhances but doesn’t outshine unique flavors and textures, like Pumpkin Bars, Pineapple Spiced Carrot Cake or Hummingbird Cake. What other recipe gets top billing for being the perfect second banana to the star??Make one batch to frost a 9x13 pan of cake or cakelike bars. To frost layer cakes, you will need to double the batch. A touch of salt can enhance the flavor. You can also add up to a cup more powdered sugar, if you need (which will, of course, up the ... [Read More]
Coconut Fudge aka Egg in the Grass Fudge
Coconut fudge is a cream cheese based candy that is colorful, fun and so easy to make! Use a 3 ounce package of cream cheese or cut three ounces from a larger 8 ounce piece. Food coloring has so many options that it’s hard to give a measurement. If you’ve used a particular kind – paste, deep color, neon or regular – you probably have an idea of the intensity each produces. If not – go slow. You can always add more, but subtracting doesn’t work! I prefer the paste colors that are used in cake decorating for the fudge, but –hey, grass is green in any medium. And for making coconut grass, a liquid coloring seems to work best. This fudge will get soft if it is out of the refrigerator and uneaten for more than a hour or so. Usually it disappears so quickly, that’s not a problem. Coconut Fudge ... [Read More]
Crescent Mini Chip Cookies
The trickiest part of Crescent Mini Chip Cookies is shaping the crescent. I rolled the refrigerated dough into balls just under an inch in diameter and poked and pulled until the crescent formed. That worked but seemed to take forever –and I didn’t have any enthusiastic kid helpers at the moment who would enjoy shaping the dough. The fastest way was to scoop up a scant tablespoonful of dough and push it off onto the parchment lined baking sheet. I put one finger next the dough and used the spoon to mold a crescent around the finger. Went much faster! Experiment until you find what works for you. Crescent Mini Chip Cookies Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 10 mins Total time 25 mins A festive Christmas soft cookie with chocolate chips and your choice of ... [Read More]