I have GOT to quit making all of these sweets for my house! I don't know how to say "NO", and so when I make this mess I eat too much of it! I loved this cake. I figured it would be tasty just because of the mixture of oranges and pineapple. But this cake turned out wonderful! I loved how moist it is, and I love the addition of the coconut I added to the original recipe. I could have just eaten the whipped topping with a spoon! My Mother-in-law is having her birthday Wednesday, so maybe I should have saved this cake until then. Oh well...I'll just have to make another one :) This cake is a lovely salute to summer.
1 box yellow cake mix
1 11-oz. can mandarin oranges, undrained
2 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce (I only had the chunky kind)
1/2 cup coconut flakes (optional)
2 8-oz. cans crushed pineapple, undrained
1 3.4-oz. package instant vanilla pudding
1 carton Cool Whip, thawed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 8-inch round baking pans (or 1 9 X 13-inch pan). In a large bowl, beat the cake mix, oranges (undrained), eggs, coconut and applesauce until well blended. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Pour the batter into prepared pans and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine the pineapple (undrained) and instant pudding mix. Fold in the Cool Whip. Invert 1 layer onto a cake plate. Top with half of the topping. Invert second later on top. Spread the remaining topping over the second layer. Garnish with orange slices. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Because this frosting is made with Cool Whip, it needs to be stored in the fridge.
Enjoy!
(adapted from Let's Dish)
This cheesecake was exactly what I was hoping for: light and creamy. Cheesecake is not the first thing I would order off of a dessert menu. Most of the time it is too dense and heavy for me. This cheesecake was awesome. I think my father-in-law said, "out of this world!" This is on my go-to list of dessert recipes now. It was very easy to make. And because it chills in the fridge, its great to make ahead of time. The tricky part is knowing when its ready to come out of the oven. This was my first try at a cheesecake and I just left it in a few minutes extra to be on the safe side. There were cracks on the top, so I don't know if that's normal or if I could have done something different to prevent that. Either way, it was divine. This is a must-have recipe!
40 Nilla Wafers, crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened, divided
1 cup sugar, divided
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla, divided
3 eggs
1 8-oz. tub cool whip, thawed
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix wafer crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
Beat 3 packages of cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.
Bake 50-55 minutes or until center is almost set. I baked mine an additional 5-10 minutes. The cake still "jiggled" but the top was set when I touched it. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake (I don't know if you are supposed to do this right out of the oven, or after it cools slightly. It pulled some of the cake up when I did it). Cool completely in pan.
Beat remaining cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in cool whip; spread over cheesecake. Refrigerate 4 hours. Remove rim of pan before serving cheesecake. Garnish with fresh berries.
Enjoy!
(adapted from Kraft Foods)
My MawMaw used to make this pie. The recipe makes two, so we would have one at her house and she would send one home with me! I am usually not a huge fan of peanut butter, but this pie is so light and delicious there's nothing not to love. Peanut butter and Cool Whip were both B1G1 this week at Publix. The pie crusts were on clearance at Walgreens for $.62! I did not need ANYTHING else sweet in my house, but I couldn't resist. My husband will enjoy this for sure!
For two pies:
1 8-oz. package cream cheese
1-1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk
2 8-oz. tubs Cool Whip
2 9-inch cookie pie crusts (oreo or graham cracker)
Beat together cream cheese and confectioners' sugar. Mix in peanut butter and milk. Beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping (I did all of this in my Kitchen Aid mixer).
Spoon into two 9-inch pie shells; cover and freeze or refrigerate until firm.
Some recipes said to put it in the freezer for at least 2 hours and allow to thaw on the counter for 20 minutes before serving. MawMaw kept hers in the fridge, so that's what I did. If you do keep it in the fridge, make it the night before so it has time to set-up. And I do just the opposite...I put it in the freezer about 20 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
(adapted from AllRecipes.com)
The first time I had this dip was several years ago at a baby shower one of my friends threw. I was hooked from the beginning. I have made it several times since then, and have even found a way to make it a little bit quicker. It is great with fruit, especially pineapple and strawberries. Both of those happen to be on sale this week at Publix. I also love it with Nilla Wafers, which are B1G1 this week at Winn Dixie. Even the Cool Whip and cream cheese are on sale! This is so yummy. I could just eat it with a spoon. Shhh, I won't tell you if I actually have or not!
1 8-oz. block cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 8-oz. tub Cool Whip
Pinapple juice (a couple of tablespoons)
Fruit to serve with (pineapple, strawberries, grapes, melon, etc.)
Nilla Wafers (optional)
Soften cream cheese and then whip with the powdered sugar. Combine with the Cool Whip and add just enough pineapple juice to get the desired consistency. (I just used the juice in the tub with the fresh cored pineapple). Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Serve with fruit and Nilla Wafers.
Enjoy!
(adpated from Paula Deen on FoodNetwork.com)
