Peach Dumplings - Two Recipes

Today, I will share two versions of peach dumpling recipes.  Both recipes start with same basic ingredients:  fresh peaches and Pillsbury crescent rolls.  The first recipe uses bigger pieces of peaches, and is cooked in a syrup, while the second recipe uses smaller pieces of peaches and does not have a syrup.  They are both delicious, but you might like one more than the other.

Pictured above are the dumplings from the first recipe.  We liked them, and the sauce gave it good flavor as it was cooking, but we preferred to eat them without the sauce.

First, cut your peaches into quarters, removing the pit.  Wrap each peach quarter in a crescent roll, placing it at the wide end of the roll and rolling it until the point is pressed against the rest of the crescent roll.

Place each of these in an 8"x8" baking pan.

Next, make your sauce by combining butter, sugar, and water in a large sauce pan and heating until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved and the syrup starts to thicken.

Pour the sauce over the dumplings and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the peaches are tender.

If desired, serve with some of the sauce.

Peach Dumplings with Sauce
Ingredients:
2 peaches, cut in quarters
1 pack Pillsbury crescent rolls (8 pack)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Cinnamon
Sugar

Steps:
1.  Roll each peach quarter in a crescent roll.  Place each roll in an 8"x8" pan.
2.  Combine butter, sugar, and water in a large saucepan until butter is melted, sugar is dissolved, and syrup starts to thicken.
3.  Pour syrup over the dumplings and sprinkle with additional sugar and cinnamon.
4.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on the top and peaches are tender.

Popcorn Balls

My sister gave us a popcorn maker for Christmas so that we could pop our own popcorn for our weekly Friday night movie night.  Sometimes we stay home and watch something on Netflix and sometimes we go to our local drive-in.  So this week I decided to break out the new popcorn machine and pop some popcorn.  I followed the instructions and made 6 quarts.  We ate almost half of it during the movies between D., M., and myself.  I decided to use the last 6 cups of popcorn and some mini marshmallows I had in the cupboard and make some popcorn balls.  They were very quick and easy to throw together (like Rice Krispie treats).

First, I wanted the popcorn to be warm, so I stuck it in the oven at 200 degrees while I made the marshmallow mixture.

In a large saucepan, I melted my butter over medium-high heat.

Then I added the marshmallows, stirring often until melted.

I then removed the popcorn from the oven and poured it into a large bowl and drizzled the marshmallow mixture over top. Then I mixed it well to ensure all the popcorn was covered.

I buttered my hands (actually I sprayed them with PAM, but you can grease them with butter too).  Then I formed the popcorn into 10 balls that were about 2.5-3 inches in diameter.

I wrapped each ball in plastic wrap and used a twisty tie to hold them closed until we were ready to eat them.

Easy Popcorn Balls
Ingredients:
6 cups popcorn
3 Tbsp. butter
2.5 cups mini marshmallows
Optional Mix-ins:  nuts, candies, etc.

Steps:
1.  Keep popcorn warm in 200 degree oven while making marshmallow mixture.
2.  Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat.
3.  Add mini marshmallows to butter and stir often until melted.
4.  Remove popcorn from oven and drizzle marshmallow mixture over top.
5.  Grease hands with butter or PAM and form popcorn into balls.
6.  OPTIONAL:  Can add nuts, candies, etc. if desired before forming into balls.

Banana Split Ice Cream Pizza

I love banana split sundaes.  The combination of the ice cream with the bananas, and the different toppings, including nuts, sprinkles, chocolate and caramel sauce, whipped cream, and of course a cherry on top.  Well, I've had an idea in my head for a while to try to make a dessert pizza that would be inspired by an ice cream sundae, so I created it.  It was so delicious and the best part is that everyone eating can top it however they want!  Here are some examples of the finished slices:

First I made the cookie crust by breaking up a roll of Pillsbury Sugar Cookie dough and pressing it evenly onto a greased pizza pan.

Then, I baked the crust for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees or until it was golden brown.  I then let it cool for about 30 minutes until it was completely cool.

After it had cooled, I spread my softened ice cream onto the crust and put it in the freezer until the ice cream was hard and we were ready to eat.  (Apparently I didn't put it in flat, because as you can see in the picture the ice cream slid to one side before refreezing.  Oops.)  Then, I used a pizza cutter to cut it into 8 equal slices.

Then everyone topped their own slice with the toppings of their choice.  I forgot to have sprinkles available, but we had chopped nuts, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, banana slices, whipped cream, and maraschino cherries.

Banana Split Ice Cream Pizza
Ingredients:
1 roll Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough
2-3 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
Bananas, sliced
Chopped nuts
Chocolate syrup
Caramel syrup
Whipped cream
Maraschino cherries

Steps:
1.  Break up cookie dough and spread on well-greased pizza pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
2.  Let crust cool completely, about 30 minutes.  When crust is almost cool, remove ice cream from freezer so it can soften.
3.  Spread softened ice cream on cookie crust and place flat in freezer to refreeze ice cream.  
4.  Remove pizza from freezer just before serving and slice.
5.  Each person can top their slice the way they want with their desired toppings.

Tres Leches Cake

D. loves Tres Leches Cake and I found a way to make a Tres Leches Cake at home, almost from scratch (I use a cake mix rather than making the cake itself from scratch).  This is his typical request if I ask him what he would like for dessert.

First make the cake by mixing together cake mix, water, oil, vanilla, and eggs.  Bake according to the directions on the box at 350 degrees in a greased 9x13" pan.

Once the cake is done, let it cool for 5 minutes before using a fork and poking the top of the cake about every 1/2", wiping the fork clean as needed to reduce sticking.

Then mix together your three milks (sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream).  Slowly pour over the cake, allowing it to absorb into the cake.

When serving, place each piece of cake on a plate and top with whipped cream.

Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 1/4 cups water
1 Tbsp. oil
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Redi-Whip Whipping Cream

Steps:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray bottom and sides of 9x13" pan.
2.  In large bowl, combine cake mix, water, oil, vanilla, and eggs.  Mix until fully combined.  Pour into greased pan.
3.  Bake as directed on the box for a 9x13" pan.  
4.  After removing from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes.  Then poke the top of the hot cake about every 1/2 inch with a fork, wiping the fork as needed to reduce sticking.
5.  In a large bowl, stir together the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream.  Carefully pour this milk mixture over the top of the cake, allowing time for some to soak in before you pour more.
6.  Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour or until the mixture is completely absorbed into the cake.
7.  When serving, top each piece of cake with whipped cream.

Valentine's Foods - Strawberry and Cream Cheese Hand Pies

Want to go on a romantic walk with your significant other, but still want a sweet treat while you walk?  Try this dessert that you can hold in one hand while you hold your significant other's hand with your other hand.

First, chop your strawberries and mix with sugar and let it sit for 30 minutes to allow strawberries to sweeten.  It will pull some of the juice out and make a thin sauce, but you will only be using the sweetened strawberries.

Next I mixed together cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar to make the sweet cream cheese mixture.

I used Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts, but you can also make your own.  Once they were rolled out flat I cut them to make rectangles, and then I combined the excess and rolled them out into circles to be able to use all the dough and make more pies.

I put a small spoonful of both the cream cheese mixture and the strawberries onto each crust.  (I made a total of 7 pies and used all the strawberries, but had a little bit of the cream cheese mixture left over.)

Then I folded them in half and pressed the edges closed.  First I pressed them closed with my fingers, and then I used a fork to give them a fun pressed look.  For the circles, I only pressed the open edges, but for the rectangles I pressed all for edges.

I then used a knife and cut a small slit in the top center for a vent, and a second slit to form a plus sign.

I then baked the pies on a greased cookie sheet for about 10-15 minutes at 450 degrees or until they were golden brown.  Cool for at least 5 minutes before eating.  REMEMBER FILLING IS HOT!

Strawberry and Cream Cheese Hand Pies

Ingredients:
1 pt. strawberries
2/3 cup sugar, divided
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 pie crusts (Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts or homemade)

Steps:
1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2.  Chop strawberries and mix with 1/3 cup of sugar and set aside for 30 minutes.
3.  Mix cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, and vanilla together.
4.  Roll out pie crusts and cut out rectangles or circles (or another shape if desired) for mini pies.
5.  Put a small scoop of both the cream cheese mixture and the strawberries in the middle of the shapes.
6.  Fold crusts in half and press edges closed with fingers and then a fork.
7.  Place mini pies on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
8.  Cool pies for at least 5 minutes before eating.  REMEMBER FILLING IS HOT!

Valentine's Foods - White Chocolate Covered Berries

I love chocolate covered strawberries, but decided to switch things up for this Valentine's treat.  A semi-healthy snack of red berries covered in a thin coat of white chocolate.

First I melted the chocolate.  While the chocolate was melting, I rinsed the berries and put them on a paper towel on a plate.

Once the chocolate was melted, I placed the berries in the chocolate a couple at a time, turned them so they were covered in chocolate, and then removed them from the chocolate on to a wax paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerated them to cool and harden the chocolate.

White Chocolate Covered Berries
Ingredients:
White Chocolate (I used a bag of Ghirardelli's White Melting Chocolates)
Berries (I used red raspberries, strawberries, and cherries)

Steps:
1.  Melt chocolate and rinse berries.
2.  Coat berries in chocolate and place on a wax paper-lined baking sheet in the refrigerator until chocolate cools and hardens.