Category: Desserts

Jewell’s Banana Pudding

 

7 large bananas

1 ½ box of vanilla wafers

1 can Carnation Evaporated Milk (Nestle brand)

1 can Carnation Evaporated Milk (Pet brand)

2 ½ cups sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Dash of salt

4 eggs

 

In a medium saucepan stir all dry ingredients together until you cannot see the cornstarch and flour; no heat.  Add both evaporated milks and one can of water or milk (better with milk) to dry ingredients.  Stir on medium heat (being sure to scrape sides and bottom of sauce pan) until mixture heats.  Beat 4 egg yellows, and stir in the mixture.  Turn heat up slightly stirring constantly until mixture comes to a slight boil and then turn heat back down to medium.  Continue to stir mixture until it begins to thicken.  Remove mixture from heat.  Layer serving dish alternating banana slices and vanilla wafers.  Pour liquid mixture over layered bananas and vanilla wafers.  Top with crumbled vanilla wafers.  Good werved warm or chilled.

Terri Hull and Jewell Fuller

 

Apple Pecan Squares

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups Crisco oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups fresh apples, cut into small cubes

1 cup pecans, chopped

 

Caramel Sauce

1 stick butter

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.  Add oil, eggs, and vanilla.  Mixture will be stiff.  Mix well.  Add apples and pecans.  Grease a 15X13X2 pan.  Spread mixture into pan.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake an additional 30 minutes.  During last 10 minutes, prepare sauce.

To make sauce:

Stir all ingredients together in small pot.  Cook over medium heat.  Stir constantly until thick an bubbly, about 5 minutes.  It needs to get a little thick.  Stir constantly so it doesn’t burn.  Pour over cake while hot.  Cut into squares.

Gina Tiedemann served at Cirque de Soleil

 

2 cups crushed shortbread cookies (about 28 cookies)

3 tablespoons butter, melted

4 pralines, coarsely crumbled

5 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 ¾ cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large eggs

2 egg yolks

1/3 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

2  8-ounce containers sour cream

1/3 cup sugar

Garnish: crumbled pralines

Combine cookie crumbs and butter.  Press into bottom and up sides of a greased 10-inch springform pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.  Sprinkle coarsely crumbled pralines over crust.  Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Gradually add 1 ¾ cups sugar, flour, and vanilla; beating until smooth.  Add eggs and egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears.  Stir in whipping cream and lemon rind.  Pour in crust.  Place on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees on lower oven rack 10 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake 1 hour and 20 minutes or until almost set.  Cool on wire rack 1 hour.  Stir together sour cream and 1/3 cup sugar; spread over cheesecake.  Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.  Cover and chill 8 hours.  Remove sides of pan.  Garnish with pralines, if desired.

 

Pralines:

¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup half-and –half

3 tablespoons butter

1 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Butter bottom of a heavy 3-quart saucepan.  Cook brown sugar and next 3 ingredients in saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugars dissolve; stir in pecans.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, cook, stirring occasionally, 6-8 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 238 degrees (soft ball stage).  Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla; let stand 3 minutes.  Beat with a wooden spoon 3 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken.  Working rapidly, drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper.  Let stand until form.

Gina Tiedemann