February - Valentine's Recipes

Devil's Food Trifle
From: Hillory Dahle

2 3 oz. pkgs. Jell-O Devil's Food Pudding
4 cups milk
1 pkg. 8 oz. cream cheese
1 Sara Lee frozen pound cake
12 oz. container Cool Whip
32 Oreos, crushed

Mix 3 cups milk and cream cheese together with hand mixer; add in 2 pkgs. pudding. Layer pound cake in bottom of dish. Use remaining milk to lightly drizzle on top of cake. Next, layer pudding mixture, crushed Oreos, then Cool Whip. Repeat the layers, finishing with a smattering of crushed Oreos on top.

There should be 2 complete layers when trifle is finished + sprinkling of Oreos on top.


No Bake Chocolate Chip Pie
From: Nancy Falls


1 15 oz. pkg. chocolate chip cookies (Chips Ahoy works great)
1 c milk
1 store-bought graham cracker crust
1 8 oz. container Cool Whip

Dip 8 cookies in milk, and place in a single layer in graham cracker crust. Top with 1/3 Cool Whip. Repeat layers with more cookies, milk, remaining Cool Whip. Crumble 2 cookies and sprinkle over pie. Cover and chill 8 hours.


Sugar Cookies
From: Jenni Bowman
(The beautiful cookies above were made by Sherri Waite)

3 c sugar
1 pint sour cream
1/2 cup butter or margarine
4 eggs
8 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
6 tsp. baking powder
Spec of salt
2 tsp. vanilla

Cream first 4 ingredients. In separate bowl combine dry ingredients. Add to wet ingredients and mix. Blend in vanilla. Roll to between 1/8" and 1/4" thickness depending on how puffy you want your cookies (they puff a bit once they bake). Bake at 400 or 375 (depending on thickness) for 7 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Sugar Cookie Frosting

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup margarine
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. milk

Mix all together and add more powdered sugar if needed.


Chocolate Covered Cherries
From: Jenni Bowman

8 Tbsp. melted butter
6 Tbsp. corn syrup
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 lbs. powdered sugar
3 10 oz. jars maraschino cherries with stems, drained
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 Tbsp. shortening

In large mixing bowl, combine butter, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and sugar. Knead dough and form into one large bowl. Pat drained cherries dry with a paper towel. Pinch off a small amount of fondant dough and flatten it into a circle in the palm of your hand. Form around cherry and place on waxed paper. The ball around the cherry should be approximately the size of a walnut. Repeat until all cherries are covered and place in the freezer to chill.

In a double boiler (or steel bowl placed over a pot of boiling water), melt chocolate chips and shortening together. Dip the cooled balls in the chocolate, let cool on parchment paper.

I found that this makes a LOT of fondant dough, so if you halve the amount you will still have plenty for around 80 cherries. If you store these long enough, the sugared mixture will become liquefied like the kind you buy at the store.


Homemade Peanut Butter Cups
From: Jenni Bowman

2 cups milk chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. shortening
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
Chocolate paper cups

In 1-quart sauce pan, combine chocolate chips and shortening. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally. Loosen top cup from stack but leave in stack for stability. Using paint brush, paint the inside of the cup with 1/8" thickness almost to the top of the cup. Repeat until 30 cups are coated. Refrigerate cups to harden.

In 2-quart sauce pan, combiner butter or margarine and peanut butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Stir in sugar and graham cracker crumbs. Press about 1/2 tbsp. filling into each chocolate cup. Spoon about 1/2 tsp. melted chocolate on top of filling; spread to cover. Freeze until firm (about 2 hours). Peel off papers carefully. Store refrigerated.

Variations: for Valentine's treats, make peanut butter mixture and press into an 8 x 8 pan lined with wax paper. Chill to firm for an hour. Using a small heart shaped cutter, cut out hearts and place on a cooling rack over waxed paper. Make the chocolate and drizzle over the top of each heart, letting it drip down the sides.

Instead of using cups, just make the peanut butter mixture and press into 8 x 8 pan and cover with the chocolate. Chill until firm and then cut into squares.

They really taste like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!

Pies

Pie Crust

Margie Johnson

3 Cups Flour 2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar 1 1/2 cups shortening

1 egg
1 tsp. vinegar
2 Tbsp. cold water

Combine flour, salt and sugar. Cut in shortening.
Combine beaten egg, vinegar and water stir into dry mixture.
Divide into 4 equal amounts and roll out or place into freezer for a later date.

For a baked pie shell, bake at 425 degrees for 9 to 10 minutes.

This recipe makes two double crust pies or four single pies shells.


Pumpkin-Apple Pie

Marion Blackford

2 Apples
2 Cups Pumpkin
2 Eggs
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Evap. Milk
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Ginger
(Mother Johnsons Pie Crust)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Roll Pastry and Fit into pie plate and chill (the pie plate, not you)

3. Peel and slice apples and place in skillet with 1 Tble spoon butter and cover for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.

4. Place remaining ingredients in bowl and beat till smooth

5. Arrange apple slices in bottom of pie shell and pour pumpkin filling on top.

6. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Then reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake 35-40 minutes more.

Enjoy!


Chocolate Ribbon Pie

Crissy Morgan

4oz. Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. Sugar
1 Tbsp. Milk
1 (8oz.) Tub Cool Whip, Thawed
1 (6oz. or 9-inch) Prepared Chocolate Flavor Crumb Crust
2 Cups Cold Milk
2 (4 Serving Size pkg.) Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding and Pie Filling
1 Chocolate Candy Bar

Beat Cream Cheese, Sugar and 1 Tbsp. milk in large bowl until smooth. Gently stir in half of the whip topping. Spread over crust. Pour 2 cups milk into large bowl. Add pudding mixes. Beat with wire whick 2 minutes (mixture will be thick). Pour over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 4 hours or until set. Just before serving, spread or dollop remaining whip topping over pudding layer. Garnish with shaved chocolate.