Thanksgiving dessert idea

Beautiful presentation and yummy treat. Impress your friends, guests and even yourself with this recipe.

Don't forget to try other delicious desserts and appetizers in Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

Ingredients:
1 lb large strawberries

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 – 1/2 cup powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 – 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
Instructions

Directions:

Rinse strawberries and cut around the top of the strawberry. Remove the top and clean out with a paring knife, if necessary (some of them are hollow already. Prep all of the strawberries and set aside.
 In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add cream cheese mix to a piping bag or Ziploc with the corner snipped off. Fill the strawberries with cheesecake mixture.
 Once strawberries are filled, sprinkle or dip the tops with graham cracker crumbs. If not serving immediately, refrigerate until serving.

Homemade Reese Bars

Peanuts and Chocolate - yummm.  We love Chocolate Peanut Treats found in Tastes & Treasures cookbook so we tried an adaption.

Homemade Reese Bars

1 cup sweet butter

2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 ¼ cup graham cracker crumbs
1 lb. powdered sugar
6 oz. pkg chocolate morsels


In saucepan melt butter and peanut butter together. Once melted, add graham cracker crumbs and sugar and mix until well blended. Press into a 9x13 baking dish.

Melt chocolate morsels and spread over mixture in pan. Refrigerate for 20 minutes until chocolate has hardened cut.

Thanks to mylitter.com 

Mini Cheesecakes

My girlfriend in Michigan gave me this recipe years ago. So easy and fun to take it to special events. Thanks Jody!

Tastes & Treasures cookbook has a great cheesecake recipe on page 170. Try that one too.

Ingredients:

• 2 8-ounce packages of low-fat cream cheese
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• Dash of lemon zest
• Mini Nilla Wafers (regular kind Not reduced fat)
• 1 can cherry pie filling

Preparation:

1. Soften cream cheese to room temperature. 
2. Mix together cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest until smooth with an electric mixer.
3. Line up mini baking cups and place a mini Nilla Wafer face-up inside each one.
4. Scoop mixture onto wafer, filling cup 3/4 full.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
6. Refrigerate. Once chilled, scoop cherry pie filling atop each mini cheesecake. Chill again.

Options: Other pie fillings work well too. We love blueberry.

Eggnog Bars

Love having Holiday recipes.
Eggnog Bars

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups whipping cream
1 tbsp rum or 1 teaspoon rum extract
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg to sprinkle on top


Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line bottom and sides of 9-inch square pan with foil, leaving 1 inch of foil overhanging at 2 opposite sides of pan. In small bowl, stir together butter, 1/2 cup sugar and the flour. Press in bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of foil-lined pan. Bake 20 minutes.

2. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. In small bowl, beat egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar with electric mixer on medium-high speed until thick. Gradually beat in cream, rum and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Pour over baked layer.

3. Bake 40 to 50 minutes at 300°F until custard is set and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

4. Sprinkle tops of bars evenly with 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Using foil handles, lift cooled bars from pan to cutting board; remove foil from sides of bars. With sharp knife, cut into 6 rows by 6 rows. Cover; store in refrigerator.
Thanks to RecipesFilledWithLove

Walnut Bars

Dancing burns calories, especially when singing "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor." We enjoyed into these yummy Walnut Bars from Mary Nomenilli.

Tastes & Treasures has Macaroon Nut Tarts on page 115. It has some nice variations of Walnut Bars.

Walnut Bars

Ingredients for crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter

Mix together like pie crust. Pat into 9x13 pan. Note: Put a sheet of parchment on the bottom of the pan so they don't break up when taking them out.
Bake 375 for 15-20 min. Let cool.

Ingredients for topping:
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoon flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Directions:
Mix together and spread on crust.
Bake 2nd time 375 for 15-20 min. Let cool.

Ingredients for frosting:
3 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon creamer
1 1/2 cup powder sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar. Add creamer and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Cut into squares. Freezes well.