Apple Biscuit Custards

This is another one of those awesome Pillsbury recipes. I love that it only makes two servings. You can, of course, double that easily. Sometimes I only want something for one meal. This is perfect.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Pillsbury® Grands!® Frozen Buttermilk Biscuits (from 25-oz bag)
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup diced peeled tart apple
1 teaspoon sugar
Dash ground cinnamon


DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 (10-oz) custard cups or ramekins with cooking spray.

Place biscuits on microwavable plate. Microwave on Medium (50%) 30 to 45 seconds, turning over halfway through microwave time. (Biscuits should still be cold for easier handling.) Cut each biscuit into 8 pieces. Place 8 pieces in each custard cup.

In small bowl, beat cream cheese, 1 tablespoon sugar and egg yolk until smooth. Beat in milk and vanilla; stir in apple. Pour mixture over biscuit pieces in custard cups; stir gently to mix well. In small bowl, mix 1 teaspoon sugar and the cinnamon; sprinkle over custard mixture.

Bake 23 to 25 minutes or until custard is set and tops are light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Makes: 2

Triple-Threat Coconut Cream Pie

This recipe comes from the Pillsbury website. They have wonderful recipes. It was apparently submitted by Angie Battle of Des Moines, Washington. And, yes, that is Washington. She won the state farm pie competition in 2010. I can understand why.

Triple-Threat Coconut Cream Pie

Filling

1 Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box
1 can (13 1/2 oz) coconut milk, shaken well
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sweetened shredded or flaked coconut, toasted
1 cup whole milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split (or 1 teaspoon vanilla)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 large egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into four pieces
 
Topping
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, well chilled
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2teaspoons dark rum (or 1 teaspoon vanilla)
1/4cup sweetened shredded or flaked coconut, toasted
1oz white chocolate, shaved
 
Directions

Heat oven to 450°F
 
Unroll pie crust onto cooking parchment or wax paper. Brush a small amount of coconut milk onto dough (just enough to moisten it). Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of the toasted coconut evenly on dough, then press it lightly into dough, just enough to make it stick.
 
Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon toasted coconut onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate, then form dough into plate. Prick bottom and side with fork. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light brown. Cool.
 
Heat the remaining coconut milk, the whole milk, 1/2 cup toasted coconut, vanilla bean, 1/3 cup of the sugar and the salt to a simmer in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes to dissolve sugar.
 
In a separate large bowl, with whisk, beat the egg yolks, remaining 1/3 cup sugar and the cornstarch until well combined. Gradually beat the simmering liquid into the yolk mixture to temper it, then return the entire mixture to saucepan, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula. Discard vanilla bean.
 
Heat the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, beating constantly with whisk, 5 to 6 minutes or until mixture is thickened.
 
Remove from heat; beat in the coconut extract and butter. Pour into the cooled crust; press a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the filling and refrigerate until the filling is cold and firm, at least 3 hours or overnight.
 
Just before serving, beat the cream and sugar in a chilled bowl using electric mixer at medium speed until soft peaks form. Add the rum and continue to beat until slightly stiff peaks are formed. Spread or pipe the whipped cream over the chilled filling. Sprinkle 1/4 cup toasted coconut and shaved chocolate over the top. Store in refrigerator.
 
Serves 8.

Two-Layer Fudge

The Kraft foods website has some of the best recipes around. This is one of theirs. I needed a recipe that used white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate. What can I say? The grocery store had a huge after-Christmas sale on chocolate. I couldn't pass it up. Besides, who needs an excuse to create something yummy? I copies the recipe from the Kraft site however I prefer pecans over walnuts. It's what we do in the South.

Two-Layer Fudge

prep time 20 min
total time 2 hr 20 min
makes 24 servings

1 pkg. (8 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk, divided
1/2 cup chopped PLANTERS Walnuts
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. (6 squares) BAKER'S White Chocolate


MICROWAVE semi-sweet chocolate and 3/4 cup milk in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 minute. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

ADD nuts and vanilla; mix well. Spread onto bottom of foil-lined 8-inch square pan. Set aside.

MICROWAVE white chocolate and remaining milk in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 minutes or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 minute. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Spread over semi-sweet chocolate layer.

Refrigerate 2 hours.

Kraft Kitchens Tips Special
Prepare and refrigerate as directed above. Place 1 additional square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate in small resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Microwave on HIGH 1 minute or until chocolate is melted. Fold down top of bag tightly; snip tiny piece off bottom corner of bag. Holding top of bag tightly, drizzle chocolate through opening over uncut fudge. Let stand until set.

How to Prepare Dried Beans

I found this wonderful info bit in Relish magazine. I'm the one who usually soaks beans overnight to prepare them for cooking. Of course, that requires that I actually think ahead. I can usually accomplish this on New Year's Eve so that I can eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. So I was excited to find there's an alternative for the other days of the year.

Dried beans must be soaked before cooking. I hope everyone already knows this. I don't know what happens when you don't do this. I've never tried it. I wouldn't imagine anything edible would come from it though.

Soak beans overnight. You want to first rinse and check the beans. Sometimes there are discolored or broken beans in the bag. Remove those. Then place the beans in a large bowl with cold water. Let them stand (or sit?) overnight. Relish suggests 6 cups of water for 1 pound of beans. I simply make sure that the beans are fully covered. Be sure to drain the beans before you cook them.

Quick-soak beans. Rinse and check the beans. Remove the discolored or broken beans. Place the beans in a large pot with 6 cups of cold water. Cover, bring to a boil and boil 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, 1 hour. Drain. I look forward to trying this method. I just hope the water doesn't boil over. That would be a mess.

Pie Crust Tips

I wanted to pass on these tips for making a wonderful pie crust. The Crisco Pie Hotline offers lots of help. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions, as reported in Country Living magazine.

Is there a trick to making my crust extra-flaky?
Cold ingredients. Refrigerate everything -- from flour to shortening to your rolling pin -- for at least an hour before you start.

What can I do to prevent my crust from shrinking too much in the oven?
Roll our the dough two inches larger than your pie plate, the position it in the plate. Let the unbaked crust settle for 10 to 15 minutes before you trim. Then leave a half-inch border to fold over the edge of the pan.

How can I avoid a soggy pie crust?
Well, it's going to happen to some extent because of the fruit juices. It helps to thicken up your filling by cooling it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before using it.

Peppermint Dream Pie

Got this recipe from the Dixie Crystals website. It looked so yummy, I just had to share it.

Peppermint Dream Pie

Crust

½ cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons Dixie® Confectioners Powdered Sugar
1 ½ cups chocolate wafer crumbs
(You can also cheat and use a ready chocolate crust from the store.)

Cream 1/2 cup butter with 3 tablespoons powdered sugar.


Mix with 1 1/2 cup chocolate wafer crumbs

Pat into pie pan and chill.


Filling

1 package gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
3 egg whites (beaten stiff and dry)
1 cup heavy whipped cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup crushed peppermint stick candy, loosely packed
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Soften gelatin in cold water and dissolve over hot water.


Beat egg whites until stiff and fold in the sugar gradually.

Combine the gelatin with the egg whites.

Fold in whipped cream, flavoring, and crushed candy.

Pour into crumb crust and chill for one to two hours.


Decorations
Crushed peppermints
Round peppermints
Sweetened heavy whipped cream
Chocolate for molding into leaves
Mint sprig

Chocolate Leaves


Select either plastic or real leaves as your mold. If you use real leaves, be careful to select non-poisonous leaves. Good examples are rose leaves or lemon leaves. Wash and dry thoroughly. Make sure to leave the stem on so you can peel the leaf off when the chocolate is hardened. Plastic leaves work well too.

Melt your chocolate in a double boiler.

Using a pastry brush, spread your chocolate over the underside of the leaf all the way to the edges. Keep the thickness to about 1/8".

Put the leaves on a wax or parchment paper-lined tray and put the tray into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes until the chocolate hardens.

When you are ready to decorate the pie, carefully peel off the leaf from the chocolate. Try not to handle the chocolate too much, as the warmth from your fingers will melt the chocolate.

Makes one 9-inch pie.

Sweet Corn Pudding

Saw this recipe in one those advertisements trying to get us to buy the products listed. Hey, when the recipe is good, who cares how it comes your way?

Sweet Corn Pudding

1 package (12 oz) Birds Eye Steamfresh Super Sweet Corn
1 cup 2% milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise
3 Tablespoons Shedd's Spread Country Crock Spread, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 Prepare sweet corn according to package directions. Set aside to cool.

Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl with wire whisk. Stir in corn. Turn into greased 1-quart shallow casserole.

Bake 1 hour or until golden.

Makes six servings.