No Bake Strawberry Shortcake

Ingredients

1 box of vanilla instant pudding

1/2 cup strawberry juice

1 1/2 cups nonfat milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

24 Savoiardi. Lady Fingers

220 g (about 1 cup) Whipped cream, chilled

1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced and patted dry

Preparation

1

In a bowl Whisk pudding, milk and vanilla and set aside

2

With a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the cream until it just holds, stiff peaks.

3

Dip ladyfingers briefly in strawberry juice and arrange them in the bottom of a dish.

4

Spread half the pudding mixture over the ladyfingers.

5

Place the strawberries in a single layer over the pudding.

6

Repeat with remaining ladyfingers, pudding mixture and strawberries.

7

Top with whipped cream and strawberries.

8

Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

CANDIED BACON

Candied Bacon   Candied Bacon I like bacon. I do. But against what seems to be the social norm these days, I like bacon in moderation. There I said it. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I am clear to move on with a clear conscious. A friend of mine is an avid bacon lover. Well, he'd been talking about the fifty (50) pounds of bacon he'd been curing and it got me to thinking about things I could make with the bacon I currently had in my fridge. I've been on a bit of an ice cream and sweet treats kick lately so thinking of bacon made me think of candy and so this blog was born. Candied Bacon can have different flavors. One common flavoring is maple while another is spicy chipotle and even a combination of both sweet and spicy with the saltiness of the bacon is wonderful. While this treat can be eaten with breakfast, I've made mine to be sampled as an Hors d'oeuvre and to be added to other desserts, like say bacon brownies, chocolate dipped bacon, or bacon ice cream just to name a few. Luckily, this recipe is super easy to make and requires just 2 or 3 ingredients and a modicum of time. My family was wild over candied bacon. But again, all things in moderation. Ingredients:  12 slices bacon, about 1/4-inch thick Finely ground black pepper (optional) 1/3 cup light brown sugar Equipment: 2 baking sheets, preferably the same size Directions: Preheat the oven to 325 °F. Put all the bacon slices in a large bowl, season them with pepper (optional) and toss with the brown sugar. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and arrange the bacon in a single layer on top. Sprinkle any sugar left in the bowl over the top of the bacon. Top with another layer of aluminum foil and top it with another baking sheet. The baking sheet keeps the bacon flat as it cooks. It you need more room, add another tier following the same instructions. Place the tray in the center of the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Check the bacon by lifting the top tray and parchment. If it is not yet crisp, cook it for 10 to 15 minutes longer. Check it again. The bacon will crisp up a bit more as it cools. Caution: The syrup on the bacon is very sticky and hot. Hot sugar will cause serious burns so use caution when transferring your bacon to the cooling tray. Avoid paper towels as it will stick. Cool and enjoy.

REESE'S OVERLOAD CAKE

REESE’S OVERLOAD CAKE -2 PEANUT BUTTER BLONDIE LAYERS, 1 CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE LAYER FILLED WITH AN INTENSE CHOCOLATE FROSTING, TOPPED WITH PB FROSTING

Peanut Butter Blondie Layers-Butter 2 9 inch pans and line with parchment. Butter the parchment. Preheat oven to 350
2 sticks butter
1 c. SKIPPY peanut butter
6 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. sugar
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
Melt butter and Skippy. Put in mixer and add sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Add flour and powder. Divide into 2 pans. Bake approx 35 mins. Cool completely. I like to freeze the cooled layers for easier frosting.

Crustless Cheesecake portion:
1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2- 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 oz. package cook and serve vanilla pudding
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
2 melted Hershey Bars
1/2c. melted ghirardelli bittersweet chips, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease ONE 9″ pan with shortening, line the pan with parchment and then grease the parchment. Lightly butter the pan and Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add cream cheese a little at a time until smooth. Scrape bowl down and beat again on medium speed, adding eggs one at a time. Add remaining ingredients. Mix again until smooth.
Pour in pan. Smooth batter with offset spatula and bake for 50-55 mins. Cheesecake will puff up during baking, then deflate when taken out.
Do not turn out cheesecake when finished baking. Put directly in the freezer, and leave until frozen solid. Remove for assembly.

Peanut Butter Frosting
4c. confectioner’s sugar
1c. SKIPPY peanut butter
2T. soft butter
1 tsp. vanilla
few T. of milk
Beat peanut butter, butter, vanilla and 2c. powdered sugar. SLOWLY add rest of sugar and then the milk until the desired consistency to spread on. Add milk slowly. Beat on high till fluffy!
Chocolate frosting:
1/2c. + 6T cocoa powder
3/4c. confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter, very soft
dash salt
1 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat cream in microwave and pour in mixer with cocoa powder and 3/4c. confectioners. Mix well. Add butter, salt, 1c. confectioners, vanilla and whip on high. Set aside.
Assembly!!!
Split chocolate frosting between one peanut butter blondie top and the top of the chocolate cheesecake. Layer it: pb blondie/choc frosting, chocolate cheesecake/frosting/pb blondie. Frost entire cake in pb frosting. Push peanut butter chip and dark chocolate chips into the sides and top with 8 chopped peanut butter cups.  Remember keep chilled!!!

MAPLE SNOW TAFFY

MAPLE SNOW TAFFY (Makes about 8)

1. While it’s still snowing, place a clean baking sheet or cookie sheet outside to collect the fresh flakes. When the sheet is full, pack down the snow and allow it to fill up again. Pack down one more time.

2. In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup of real maple syrup over medium heat until it boils (or a candy thermometer reads between 235F and 245F).

3. Take the pan off the heat and drizzle the syrup over the packed snow in long strips. Let the syrup strips cool and become firm for 3 to 5 seconds. Pull the candy strips out of the snow, and eat while still a little warm.

Enjoy your snow day and share your snow recipes.