1 (80z) container soften light cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 tablespoon orange juice

2 (2.1) oz package frozen mini-phyllo pastry shells

sliced fresh strawberries

Stir together the first 4 ingredients in a small bowl.  Spoon cream cheese into the center of each pastry shell.  Top each with one fresh sliced strawberry and dust with orange zest.  yields 28 tarts

**you can make the cream cheese filling the day before and store in the refridgerator…garnish and fill pastry shells an hour before guests arrive.

2 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 cup chilled butter pieces cut into pieces

3/4 cup fat free butter milk

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1.  Preheat oven to 450

2.  Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and level with knife.  Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through nutmeg).  Cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles a coarse meal. 

3.  Combine buttermilk and pumpkin in a small bowl and add to flour mixture.  Stir just until moist.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 5 times. 

4.  I drop the biscuits by the spoon full onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 11 minutes. 

5.  You can roll them out and cut with a biscuit cutter.

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1/2 cup butter

2 cups of sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 lbs. Granny Smith apples cored, cubed and peeled.

Preheat oven to 350.  Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan for 5-7 minutes until fragrant and lightly toasted.  Stir together butter and next 3 ingredients until blended.    Combine flour and next 3 ingredients.  Add flour to butter mixture and stir with a wooden spoon in a large bowl.  Stir in apples and one cup of pecans.  Spread batter in a lightly greased 13×9 pan.  Bake for 45 minutes and cool completely on a wire rack.  I sliced mine up and served in mini ramekins for guests, but it is just as delicious served from the pan.

6 cups mashed ripe peaches (about 2 1/2 pounds)

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoon all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups milk

1 cup whipping cream (I use half and half to cut down on fat)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans

Combine peaches and one cup of sugar in a large bowl and set aside.  Beat eggs at medium speed with an electric mixer until frothy. Combine one cup sugar, flour and salt.  Gradually add sugar mixture to egg mixture, beat until thickened.  Gradually add milk, beat until blended.  Pour custard into a large heavy saucepan.  Cook over medium heat and stir constanly until thickened and coats the back of a wooden spoon.  (About 25 minutes) Remove from heat and set pan in a bowl of ice water.  Stir gently until cool.  Stir in peaches, half and half, vanilla and pecans.  Pour mixture into a freezer container of a one gallon freezer.  Follow manufactors instructions on freezing ice-cream.  Enjoy!

Flaky-Yummy Crust:

yields one 9 inch deep dish pie crust (enough for this pie)

1 1/2 cups bleached all purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

4 tablespoons cold solid vegetable shortening (crisco butter flavor)

3 1/2- 41/2 tablespoons ice water

Put flour, sugar and salt together in a large bowl.  Whisk together and scatter the butter over the flour.  Using a spoon move the butter around so it is coated with flour.  Then use two forks and slice through the butter into the flour…sort of like if you were cutting something.

Add in the shortening and use the back of a fork to mash together the flour, butter and shortening. You can use a pastry blender if you want but I don’t have one so a fork was perfect.  Your dough should resemble coarse meal.

Sprinkle 3  1/2 tablespoons ice water into the dough and press together with the back of the fork 6 times.  Pinch a small amount of dough between your fingers.  If it does not hold together add another tablespoon of water and mix.  Transfer the dough to a large sheet of plastic wrap pressing gently to form a large disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate over night. Relax…you are half way there!!

Let the dough sit out at room temp for about 10 minutes but do not let it get too soft before you roll it out.  If the dough starts to get too soft place it back in the fridge to chill and harden up a bit when you are working with it. 

Now…time to make the filling! 

3/4 cup of sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

3 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced

3 Golden Delicious apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced

juice of one lemon

1/4 cup brandy

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400.  Butter and flour a 9 inch pie plate.   In a large bowl sift together sugar through pumpkin pie spice.  In a separate bowl mix together apples, lemon juice, brandy and vanilla.   Add 3/4 of flour mixture to apple mixture and set aside.

 Place the dough between two large pieces of plastic wrap and roll out the dough to a 12 inch circle.  Lay the dough into the pie plate, remove the plastic wrap and trim the edges saving the excess for the top. 

Pile the apples in the crust mounding them in the center.  Sprinkle the remainder of the flour mixture over the top of the apples. 

Using the excess dough roll out strips or cut out shapes for the top.   Lay the strips over the apples and pinch the ends into the dough in the pie plate. 

Look at how high this pie is!!??!!  Crazy but it cooks down in the oven.  Getting closer to tasting!

Sprinkle the top of the dough with more cinnamon, sugar and  nutmeg.

Cover the pie in foil, place on a cookie sheet  and bake for 45 minutes at 400 degrees. 

After 45 minutes remove the foil and lower the oven temperature to 375.  Bake the pie for an additional 45 minutes uncovered until crust is golden brown.

Allow the pie to cool for at least 20 minutes before you cut a piece…I know it is hard to wait!

HEAVEN!!!  Amazing…check out the layers of apple…mmmm!!!  Now pat yourself on the back and enjoy your yummy piece of apple pie.

2 eggs

1/2 pound of butter

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3 cups sugar

3 cups of flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

powder sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 375.  Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add in eggs one at a time. 

Combine flour and baking powder.  Alternate adding flour and milk to the butter mixture until well blended.  Add in almond extract and blend.  Bake in a greased and floured bundt pan for 60 minutes at 375. Make sure you grease and flour your bundt pan!!  If you do not then your cake will come out in a few different pieces.  I have done this many times.  If this does happen, just break up the cake and layer the cake with berries in a trifle dish.   Dust with powdered sugar before serving.  Enjoy!

I really like the yellow and orange with all sparkles. 

and then some green ones…that are just pretty…

How cute are these?  They are made with angel food cake, from a box!  I know crazy, right?!  The fairy cakes are so fast and easy, but look ohh so complicated.  They are low calorie too, which makes them even sweeter!

1 box angel food cake mix

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.  Prepare cake according to manufacturers directions.  Stir in almond extract.

2.  Divide batter among muffin cups.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffy and golden.  Cool pan on wire rack. 

To make the wings:

2 cups of blue candy melts (wilton.com)

1 container of white cake sparkles (wilton.com)

1.  Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and melt candy melts according to manufacturers directions.  Spoon melted candy into a Ziploc bag and clip the end with scissors.

2.  Pipe out 48 wings onto the wax paper. 

3.  Sprinkle the wings with sparkles

4.  Allow the wings to cool for 5-10 minutes.

Assembly:

Poke two small holes in the top of each cupcake with a toothpick.  Insert the wings into the holes.  Sprinkle coconut flakes or powdered sugar in the center of the wings if desired.

Enjoy!

2 large eggs separated

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons melted butter

zest of one lemon

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup lowfat milk

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

6 oz fresh raspberries divided

Preheat oven to 350 and set 6 ramekins (2/3 cup size) into a 9×13 baking dish.  In a medium bowl whisk together egg yolks, and granulated sugar until thick and creamy.  Whisk  in flour, butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and milk until blended.

Using a mixer on high speed, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until whites hold stiff peaks.  Stir 1/4 of whites into yolk mixture until blended.  Gently fold in the remainder of the whites.  Gently fold in 3/4 of raspberries. 

Spoon batter into ramekins and pour enough hot tap water into baking pan so that 1 inch comes up the sides of the ramekins. 

Bake for 30 minutes and remove from oven.  Allow at least 30 minutes to cool on a wire rack.  Make sure to remove the ramekins from the pan.  Serve with more raspberries and a dusting of powdered sugar on top.

Makes 6!  Enjoy!

I made vanilla cake RiseCups with pink buttercream.  Then I topped it with a twizzler piece just to finish it off.  Cute!!!