Pistachio Pudding Torte and a special birthday!

Yay for the weekend upon us! 

Kids are off this afternoon and tomorrow and 

we get to celebrate Jerry's birthday on Friday as well. 

Happy Birthday to this deer-hunting, ice-fishing, sports-playing, joke-telling

all-around great husband and dad!

So, thought that perhaps a special treat would be in order 

to help us, uh, him celebrate!

Who doesn't love some pistachio pudding,

especially when coupled with layers of graham crackers, 

cool whip and chocolate. 

A simple layer of graham crackers for starters.

Then, whip up 8 oz of cream cheese (softened), 8 oz of cool whip and 1/2 cup powdered sugar.

It makes this awesome creamy and light fluff as the second layer.

Next, 2 packages of instant pistachio pudding
were whisked up with 3 cups of skim milk and
poured over the sweet, creamy, fluffy layer
and gently spread.

Finally, 1 16 oz container of chocolate frosting was melted

and spread over the pudding.

Functionally, this frosting worked great!
Easy to melt and spread.

But, even after being refrigerated over night, 
it still wasn't as firm as I would have liked.

Not sure if I'd use the container of frosting route again.

Perhaps, I'd be inclined to go more with the cookie frosting…
powdered sugar, cocoa powder and milk, 
at least when that cools, it sets up pretty well. 

Finally, sprinkle with some chopped pistachios 
and put in the fridge to firm up before serving!

RECIPE:

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Servings : 12

Ingredients:

Graham crackers

8 oz of cream cheese (softened)

8 oz of cool whip

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 packages of instant pistachio pudding

3 cups of skim milk 

16 oz container of chocolate frosting

Pistachios  - chopped

Directions:

• Start with a layer of graham crackers. 
• Fold together cream cheese, sugar and cool whip, then spread over crackers. 
• Mix up pudding with mix, until thickened and pour over cool whip. 
• Melt frosting in a microwave safe bowl, spread over pudding. 
• Top with pistachios.

Oreo Balls

Just in time for Halloween, these festive Oreo balls are like a party in your mouth!  

And, they will certainly be welcome after the holiday passes. 

They are quite easy, just 3 required ingredients 

and the most time-consuming part is allowing them to partially freeze between steps.

I first saw these a few years ago in the Kraft Food & Family magazine and
have been enjoying them ever since!

Start with one package of Peanut Butter Oreo cookies,

these things are dangerously good, 

so don't buy to the cookies too far in advance of making the treats! 

I chopped them up using my trusty, mini-chopper…

works great to make nice uniform crumbs. 

Then one 8 oz package of cream cheese was softened in the microwave

and added to the Oreo crumbs. 

Using a fork, the crumbs and cream cheese were thoroughly combined. 

I have found that it is much, MUCH easier to 

form cold, stiff, partially frozen dough into balls.

So, I pop this into the freezer for about 30 minutes…

(in the mean time, you can get dinner started!)

 When the dough was chilled, 

about 36 Oreo balls were formed.  

I generally err on the side of smaller, bite-size balls. 

They can get big fast,

 especially when coating with melted chocolate. 

Pop the dough balls back into the freezer for about 30 minutes 

so that they are easier to manage

and don't melt apart in the chocolate. 

That is also NO fun…spoken from experience. 

Once the dough was ready for coating, 

4 oz of white chocolate was melted in the microwave according to the instructions. 

I generally opt for a smaller, deep bowl

so that not too much chocolate is wasted on the sides. 

Using a toothpick, the Oreo balls are dipped in the melted white chocolate and

swirled for complete coverage.

Set onto wax paper, 

sprinkled with orange sugar and 

topped with a pretzel stick for the stem.  

Four ounces of chocolate covered about 1 dozen Oreo balls. 

So, then melt and dip accordingly until finished.  

I highly recommend melting about 4 oz of chocolate at a time…

it starts to cool and harden fast and 

I don't recommend the texture of chocolate that has been melted too many times. 

RECIPE:                Makes about 3 dozen Oreo Balls

Ingredients:

1 package Peanut Butter Oreo Cookies

8oz Cream cheese - softened

12 oz of white chocolate for baking 

Orange sugar

Pretzel Sticks

Directions:

Crush Oreos in food processor to achieve consistent crumbs. 

Combine with softened cream cheese. 

Freeze for 30 minutes to harden for ease of handling.

Form into Oreo balls, erring on the smaller side. 

Freeze for 30 minutes to harden for ease of handling. 

Melt white chocolate about 4 oz at a time. 

Using a toothpick, dip and swirl the Oreo balls to cover. 

Place on wax paper, sprinkle with Orange sugar and add the pretzel. 

I generally store in the refrigerator or freezer to keep the texture firm. 

Caramel Apple Crisp

This healthy and delightful Caramel Apple Crisp is just one more reason to love cooler temperatures.  It is quick and easy with just 6 ingredients!

It is during these early fall days when we are all holding off on turning on our heat that I always opt for baking so that the oven can do double duty...warm our house and our tummies!  

There is nothing better than being warmed inside and out by the best tastes and scents of the season. 

Additionally, we had the boys' grandparents in town on Friday, so wanted to have the perfect seasonal dessert that would keep us all, both more and less young, at the table just a little longer.  

This apple crisp started with about 4 peeled and sliced Zestar apples that we picked up at the

 The Apple Barn in Elkhorn, WI last weekend.  

Tricky thing about knowing how much fruit was used was that once I started peeling and slicing, I had kids coming from all angles for a few slices of their own.  

That is one of the best things about fruit based desserts!  

I'm always happy for my kids to munch on fruit. 

The apples were topped with 1 tsp cinnamon and the juice from 1/2 of a lemon and gently tossed.

Since caramel topping was part of this dessert, I did not feel the need to add any sweeteners to the apples at this point, or any point, for that matter.  

As for the topping, 1/2 cup almond flour, for the gluten free option, 

or standard wheat flour will also work just fine, 

1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/2 stick of softened butter.  

Again, no sugar here, but if you aren't going to top with caramel or serve with ice cream, I wouldn't blame you for adding some sweetener to the topping as well.  

Using a fork, blend the butter into the dry ingredients until it crumbles.  

Sprinkle the topping evenly over the apples and bake at 375F for 30 minutes.  

Serve with ice cream and caramel sauce for the perfect fall dessert!  

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

4 baking apples - peeled and sliced

2 tsp ground cinnamon - divided

Juice from 1/2 of a lemon

1/2 cup flour, almond for gluten free, or wheat

1/2 cup oatmeal

1/2 stick of softened butter

Caramel Topping

Vanilla Ice Cream

Directions:

Peel and sliced at least 4 apples. They bake down, so looks can be deceiving. 

Layer into 9x13 baking dish, top with cinnamon and lemon juice. Toss gently. 

Mix flour, oatmeal and blend in softened butter. 

Sprinkle topping over apples. 

Bake at 375F for 30 minutes. 

Serve with caramel and ice cream.