OMG! If you are looking for the perfect turtle bar but don't want the added expensive of buying an expensive bag of caramels, look no further. This recipe gives you that eewy gooey middle that you crave with a top of heavenly dark chocolate.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar, divided
• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons softened butter or margarine, divided
• 1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
• 1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 13x9-in. baking pan with parchment paper, letting ends extend up sides.

Beat flour, 1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup butter until well blended (mixture will be dry and crumbly). Firmly press into prepared pan. Sprinkle pecans over flour mixture.

In a small saucepan, combine remaining butter and remaining brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stirring constantly, boil until sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Carefully pour mixture over pecans. Bake until bubbly and edges start to brown, 15-20 minutes.
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Remove from oven. Immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let stand until chocolate begins to melt; spread evenly. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Lifting with parchment paper, remove from pan. Cut into squares.

What a glorious, scrumptious pie to bake this coming weekend.  These ingredients are fresh and thrifty not putting a dent in your budget.  Give this one a whirl, and with such taste bud popping flavor, you won't be disappointed. 
 
Pastry for single-crust pie (9 inches)
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons plus 1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Preheat oven to 450°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge.

Line unpricked pastry with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice. Bake 8 minutes or until bottom is lightly browned. Remove foil and weights; bake 5-7 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

In a large heavy saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in milk and lemon juice until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat.

In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and lemon zest. Cool without stirring.
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Stir in sour cream. Add filling to crust. Top with whipped cream. Store in the refrigerator.

Here's a terrific dessert to end the perfect Father's Day.  This takes just a few minutes and the results are fantastic.

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups plus 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

​Preheat oven to 375°. Cream shortening, peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and mix well. Pat into a greased 12-in. pizza pan. Bake 16 minutes. Sprinkle with marshmallows and chocolate chips; bake until lightly browned, about 3-5 minutes longer.

​I leave you with this picture since I have little time to get this out to you for those that want a special treat.  But, I ask you now to envision swirls of powdered sugar glaze and a few sliced strawberries in between and you have a delicious red, white, and blue upside down cake!

I unmolded my blueberry cake last night and had a revelation!  It looked dark, pitted, and mute - in need of some Memorial Day sprucing, and I came up with just the idea!  Swirl powdered sugar icing in thin smooth strokes across the top, and add halved strawberries allowing the blueberries to peer through!  A soon to be masterpiece ready to adorn any table!

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1 1/3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 cup butter or margarine melted
2 tab. vanilla or plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tab. milk
1/2-3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

4-5 sliced strawberry halves

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  In a square or round cake pan, melt butter in oven.  Stir in brown sugar, orange juice, and top with blueberries.  

In a large bowl whisk next four ingredients.  Add egg, milk, melted butter, and stir until moistened.  Pour over blueberries.  Bake 18-22 min. or until golden.  Cool 10 mins. before inverting.  

When inverted and cooled mix milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla until a thick creamy glaze ensues.  Drop spirals over top of cake until delightful swirls appear like on the croissants at the bakery.  Top with fresh sliced strawberries.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Yummy and always filling.  This one-stop meal is filled with delicious ingredients.  Try it for breakfast or as an after dinner dessert.

• 3⁄4 cup long-grain white rice
• 4 cups milk
• 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 tab. butter or margarine
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

In a colander, rinse rice thoroughly under cold water.

Put in lightly greased slow cooker. I use a round, 3.5 to 4 qt cooker.

Add remaining ingredients.

Stir to combine.

Pour butter over rice mixture.

Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until rice has absorbed the liquid.

Add more milk if necessary to reach desired consistency before serving.  

Going a little off the grid here, but what's a holiday without something a little bit special? One bite and everyone will propose a toast to this silky-smooth chocolate cake. The cream cheese frosting reminds us of the foamy head on a perfectly poured pint. 


1 cup Guinness (dark beer)
1/2 cup butter, cubed
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup baking cocoa
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup sour cream
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

TOPPING:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Grease a 9-in. spring-form pan and line the bottom with parchment paper; set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat beer and butter until butter is melted. Remove from the heat; whisk in sugar and cocoa until blended. Combine the eggs, sour cream and vanilla; whisk into beer mixture. Combine flour and baking soda; whisk into beer mixture until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Remove sides of pan.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add confectioners’ sugar and cream; beat until smooth (do not over-beat). Remove cake from the pan and place on a platter or cake stand. Ice top of cake so that it resembles a frothy pint of beer. Refrigerate leftovers. 

These are unlike your normal sticky buns and turn out light, fresh, and delicious.  Rather then use a frozen loaf I decided to make a small "white loaf" in my bread machine.  All I had to do is set it on "dough" and the appliance did all my work. This saved a few more dollars making this treat cheap and delicious.

Just for the record, a "small" loaf supplements the 1 lb. frozen loaf called for here.  

• 1 loaf (1 pound) frozen bread dough, thawed
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 3 tablespoons thawed orange juice concentrate
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup honey
• Toasted sweetened shredded coconut, optional

Grease two 8-in. round baking pans. Cut thawed bread dough in half; roll each half into a 10x8-in. rectangle. Combine cream cheese, coconut and orange juice concentrate; spread mixture on dough. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with long side. Cut each roll crosswise into eight slices; place in prepared pans. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour.
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Preheat oven to 350°. In a microwave, melt butter and honey. Spoon 1 tablespoon butter-honey mixture over each bun. Bake until tops are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Immediately invert onto a serving plate. If desired, top with toasted coconut. 

Around the holidays I get bags of USDA nut meats from my food pantry.  This year it happened to be walnuts.  I've been on the prowl looking for a recipe that will put these beauties to good use.  

Well, I finally found one.  I made this last night and was astonished of the creamy, crunchy texture after the first bite. If you have walnuts taking up space in your freezer, give this one a try.  You won't be disappointed.

2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons pancake syrup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 sheet refrigerated pie pastry
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Let eggs stand at room temperature 30 minutes. In a microwave, heat cream on high for 20 seconds. Keep warm. Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and syrup, stirring frequently. Bring to a boil; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Slowly pour cream into pan; continue stirring constantly (cream may spatter) until well blended. Gradually add butter, stirring until melted. Add vanilla and sea salt; stir until smooth. Cool.

Unroll pastry sheet into a 9-in. tart pan; trim edges. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°. Line unpricked pastry with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice. Bake on a lower oven rack until edges are golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake until bottom is golden brown, 3-5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.
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Reduce oven setting to 350°. Whisk eggs into caramel mixture; stir in walnuts. Add filling to crust. Bake until center is just set (mixture will jiggle), 20-25 minutes. Cool completely.

You are not going to believe it, but I found coconut milk in the Dollar Tree.  Yep, for only $1 a can you can have this heavenly dessert for only a couple of bucks.  

This slow-cooked winter comfort dessert is a healthier option for your family that doesn't sacrifice comfort or flavor.


1 cup uncooked long grain rice
5 cups coconut milk, divided
2 tablespoons coconut oil or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash salt
Toasted sweetened shredded coconut and additional coconut milk, optional

Place rice in a 3- or 4-qt. slow cooker coated with cooking spray; pour in 4 cups coconut milk. Add coconut oil; distribute evenly over top. Add the next five ingredients. Cook, covered, on low until rice is tender, 4-5 hours, adding enough remaining coconut milk to reach desired consistency. Let stand, uncovered, 10 minutes. Serve warm, with toasted coconut and additional coconut milk if desired. ​

After a big meal, folks really go for this light lemon treat. The shortbread crust is the perfect base for the fluffy top layers. I've prepared this sunny dessert for church suppers for years and I always get recipe requests. 

• 1 cup cold butter or margarine
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
• 3 cups cold milk
• 2 packages (3.4 ounces each) instant lemon pudding mix

In a bowl, cut butter into the flour until crumbly. Press into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in 1 cup whipped topping. Spread over crust.
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In a mixing bowl, beat milk and pudding mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Carefully spread over the cream cheese layer. Top with the remaining whipped topping. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour