Canberry White Chocolate Cheesecake – Quick & Easy

Crust:
1 sleeve Graham crackers crushed
2 Tbls sugar
1 stick unsalted butter melted
Combine and press into deep dish pie pan or spring form pan
Bake at 350 for 5 minutes and cool completely

Filling:
Combine 1 can sweetened condensed milk and 1 8oz pkg room temp cream cheese. Blend until smooth. Add 1 Pkg white chocolate pudding mix. Blend til smooth. Add 1 package Craisins or off brand dried cranberries. Fold in 8oz cool whip.

Spread in cooled crust and chill. Before serving sprinkle with a few cranberries and grated white chocolate

Biscoff Cookie Trifle – Quick and Easy Dessert

My brother-in-law, Chuck introduced me to a FABULOUS cookie! It’s called Biscoff. I had never heard of them, nor had I tried one before. According to their website, “Biscoff is the name given to the traditional Speculoos biscuits in North America. It’s derived from the combination of words Biscuit and Coffee, simply because their caramel flavor and crisp texture make these cookies the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee or espresso drink.”

I found the cookies at Kroger, and Chuck told me that he found them at our local Wal-Mart too.  When I brought them home, my husband Mark and I were instantly fans of this cookie! The caramel flavor, the touch of cinnamon (barely perceptible yet there) made me think about making a dessert using the cookie. Of course, I thought of a trifle. Random thought: I don’t know why I’m so infatuated with trifles lately, but it’s part of my random process, so I’m embracing it until the next thing catches my attention.

First, I lined a glass bowl (since this was an experimental recipe, I didn’t get out the big trifle bowl) with biscoff cookies. Next, in a medium mixing bowl, I combined 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 ounce can) and an 8 ounce package of softened cream cheese. Beat until it’s smooth. Then add 1 package (3.3 ounces) White Chocolate Pudding Mix. Beat until smooth, and let sit for 10 minutes.  Carefully fold in 8 ounces of whipped topping (like Cool Whip)

 

Spoon 1/3 of the filling mixture into the bowl that you lined the sides and bottom with the Biscoff cookies. Drizzle the filling with your favorite caramel ice cream topping.

 

 

Continue layering the filling, caramel topping and cookies until you get to the top. Spread with a thin layer of whipped topping. In a food processor or using a plastic food storage bag and rolling pin, crush about 8 cookies and sprinkle over the top layer of the topping/caramel layer.

I apologize for the poor quality of the photo of the finished product. This was a first-time experiment that was highly dubbed as a “keeper” and a MUST repeat! From beginning to end, the prep time was about 10 minutes total. I chilled it for about an hour before we just HAD to try it. You’ll get rave reviews for this quick and easy dessert.

Recipe Recap:

Ingredients:

• 2 packages Biscoff Cookies
• 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 8 ounce package of softened (room temp) cream cheese
• 1 3.3 ounce package of Jello White Chocolate Instant Pudding
• 1 8 ounce tub whipped topping (defrosted)
• Drizzles of Caramel Ice Cream topping

Directions:

• Combine sweetened condensed milk and cream cheese. Beat until smooth. Beat in the pudding mix until smooth. Set aside for 10 minutes and fold in the whipped topping.
• Line glass bowl on sides and bottom with Biscoff cookies
• Layer filling and caramel drizzles with cookies in 3 even layers
• On top layer, spread a thin layer of whipped topping and 8 crushed cookies.
• Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Please come back and comment after you try this recipe. It is FANTASTIC! I would love your feedback.

 

 

 

Triple Chocolate Brownie Trifle

Decadence at it’s finest!

Bake brownies in a 9×9 pan from a recipe or box of your choice & cool completely. Cut into 1″ squares.

Mix 2 envelopes of Dream Whip (I use the Always Save dry whipped topping for a third of the price) and 1 cup of milk until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Mix 3 cups of milk with 2 packages of White Chocolate Pudding Mix 

Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping to the pudding mix.

In a double boiler, mix 1 package (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/3 cup heavy cream, keeping the heat VERY low, stir until chips are melted & cream is mixed in.

Shave 1/2 cup white chocolate and set aside.

In a trifle bowl, layer brownies, chocolate sauce, pudding, whipped topping & white chocolate shavings. You can also add a sprinkle of Heath Toffee Bits to each layer if you like them.

I warn you now, this is VERY rich, but scrumptious!

Banana Split Trifle

Words can NOT express the scrumdiddlyumptious (remember that word from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?” ) factor of this recipe!

I found this at Dishing With Leslie and had to share. It’s definitely a keeper, and expected to become a family favorite.

Leslie says:

I used vanilla wafers in this one. It’s also really good if you make it with pound cake, sponge cake, or even brownies! Do what you like and make it your own. So good!

Ingredients:

1 package instant banana pudding (5.1 oz size)

3 cups of milk (for pudding)

1 cup heavy cream

1 Tbs powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract (coconut is nice too)

1 box vanilla wafers

2 cups chopped pineapple

4 bananas, sliced

1 pint strawberries, sliced

juice of one lemon

chocolate syrup

chopped nuts (I use walnuts)

maraschino cherries

 

Directions:

Prepare pudding as directed on package, and sit in fridge to chill and firm. Next, in a medium bowl, beat cream, just until stiff peaks are ABOUT to form. Then, beat in your powdered sugar, and extract of choice, until stiff peaks DO form. Make sure not to over beat, or you will end up with very sweet butter! Set in fridge until you are ready to assemble.
Smile! (You just made homemade whipped cream!) Next, to keep your sliced bananas from browning, set them in a shallow dish and drizzle with lemon juice.

 

Assemble Your Dessert:

In a trifle bowl or other type of glass dish, arrange your wafers along the bottom. Top with about 1 cup of pineapple, half of your sliced bananas, half the strawberries, and half of the pudding. Repeat these steps again, beginning with wafers and ending with pudding. *Save a few strawberries for garnish. Spoon your whipped cream on top of the pudding and gently spread it around. Garnish with sliced strawberries or even some leftover pineapple if you have some. Drizzle with chocolate syrup. Top with chopped nuts and several maraschino cherries.

 

S’Mores Crack Dip *ADDICTIVE*

We all remember sitting around campfires in Girl Scouts, and our first taste of that delectable little confection that forever changed our palettes. Today we buy Pop-Tarts, breakfast cereals and cookies from the store to relive that first dose of gooey addiction we experienced at tweens, or maybe even earlier.   This recipe so very easily brings back that first experience of our very first bite of chocolate and marshmallow heaven.

I found this recipe on Bakeaholic Mama’s Blog, and I simply can NOT make it again unless I’m taking it to an event OUTSIDE of my home. Hubz and I just can’t leave it alone. The name “Crack” dip is altogether true. You can’t leave the stuff alone, and have to fight further temptation to NOT lick the bowl.  Just a hint: If you are taking this to a pot-luck, party, or other event, double the recipe. You will bring home an empty container, and lots of requests for the recipe.

S’more Crack Dip

Ingredients:

1 cup of milk chocolate chips
2 tbsp of milk
1 1/4 cups mini marshmallows
Graham crackers for dipping

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan add chocolate chips, milk and 1 cup of your mallows. Mix continuously over medium heat until melted and smooth. Using a rubber spatula, scrape chocolate mixture into a small casserole dish. Top with remaining mallows.

Place dish under you oven broiler for approximately 60 seconds or until the top has started to brown.

Dip your graham crackers and enjoy!!