The Crafty Hostess

Memorial Day is just around the corner.  Here are some fresh and sweet dessert ideas that would be perfect for any picnic or Memorial Day celebration.

 

Frozen Lemonade Pie

(Recipe courtsey The Neely’s for Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk, chilled
• 1 6-ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate (do not thaw)

For the Topping:

• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup raspberries
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

How To:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make the crust: In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press firmly on the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 7 minutes; cool completely.
• Make the filling: In a cold medium bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, stir together the condensed milk and frozen lemonade. Gently fold the lemonade mixture into the whipped cream. Pour the filling into the crust; freeze overnight.
• About an hour before you serve the pie, make the topping: Toss the berries in a medium bowl with the sugar and lemon juice. Set aside until ready to serve.
• Let the pie come to room temperature for 10 minutes before cutting. Top each slice with berries.

 

 

Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake

(Recipe courtesy Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients:

For the shortcakes:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3 ounces milk chocolate, roughly chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Raw or turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

For the toppings:

• 1 quart strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered if large (about 3 cups) if large
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream 

How To:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Make the shortcakes: Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour mixture until sandy. Add the chocolate. Whisk 1 egg, the cream and vanilla in a glass measuring cup; stir into the flour mixture with a fork to make a shaggy dough (there will be some dry bits). Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; pat flat until 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut into 6 rounds with a knife or cookie cutter, using the scraps for the last cake.
• Place the rounds on the baking sheet; freeze for 20 minutes. Beat the remaining egg; brush onto the cakes and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake until firm, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
• Meanwhile, make the toppings: Toss half of the strawberries with half of the sugar in a bowl; set aside. Place the other half of each in a saucepan; cook over medium-low heat, mashing with a fork to make a thick puree, about 10 minutes. Cool completely. Whip the cream with a mixer until medium peaks form; swirl in the strawberry puree.
• Split the shortcakes in half. Layer some of the strawberry cream and reserved fruit on the bottoms; cover with the shortcake tops. Finish with more strawberry cream and the remaining berries.

 

 

Cherry Ice Cream Pie w/Chocolate Cookie Crust

(Recipe courtesy of EatingWell.com)

Ingredients:

• 3 cup(s) reduced-fat “light” vanilla ice cream, softened
• 1 1/4 cup(s) chopped pitted fresh or frozen cherries, divided
• 9-inch chocolate-cookie pie crust
• tablespoon(s) mini chocolate chips

How To:

• Gently combine ice cream and 1 cup cherries in a large bowl.
• Transfer to the crust and garnish with the remaining 1/4 cup cherries and chocolate chips.
• Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

 

 

American Flag Berry Pie

(Recipe courtesy of TasteOfHome.com)

Ingredients:

• Pastry for a double-crust pie (9 inches)
• 2-1/2 cups pitted dark sweet cherries
• 2-1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Additional sugar

How To:

• Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom crust; trim pastry even with edge. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, gently combine cherries and blueberries. Combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon; stir into fruit. Let stand for 10 minutes. Pour into crust; dot with butter.
• Roll out remaining pastry into a 10-in. circle. Cut into four wedges. Using a 1-in. star cookie cutter, cut out stars from one wedge. Place cutout pastry wedge over filling. Discard cutout stars.
• Cut remaining wedges into 1/2-in.-wide strips; position over filling to resemble a flag. Seal and flute edges. Sprinkle pastry with additional sugar. Cover edges with foil.
• Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°; bake 35-40 minutes longer or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. 

 

 

Jello-O Easy Patriotic Pie

(Recipe courtesy of KraftRecipes.com)

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups boiling water, divided

1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Berry Blue Flavor Gelatin

1 cup ice cubes, divided

1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)

1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin, or any red flavor

1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping 

How To:

• ADD 3/4 cup boiling water to blue gelatin mix; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add 1/2 cup ice cubes; stir until melted. Pour into crust; refrigerate 5 to 10 min. or until set but not firm.
• MEANWHILE, repeat to dissolve red gelatin mix in separate bowl; stir in remaining ice cubes. Cool 5 min. or until slightly thickened.
• SPREAD COOL WHIP over blue gelatin layer; cover with red gelatin. Refrigerate 2 hours or until set.

 

Kraft kitchens tips

Garnish with fresh seasonal berries just before serving. Or, arrange 1/2 cup berries on bottom of crust before covering with the blue gelatin.

Variation – Prepare using your favorite 2 flavors of JELL-O Gelatin.

 

 

Raspberry Rice Pudding

(Recipe courtesy of About.com)

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup arborio rice
• 2 cups water
• 4-1/2 cups whole milk)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp. butter

Raspberry Topping:

• 1-1/2 cups fresh raspberries, divided
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch

How To:

• Place rice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low, and let the rice simmer, covered, until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
• Add the milk, salt and sugar to the rice. Cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is thickened, 30-40 minutes.
• Stir in the butter until melted, and set the rice pudding aside while you prepare the topping. If you’re planning to serve the rice pudding later, place the rice pudding in a bowl, and lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the top, so that a skin doesn’t form. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Make the raspberry topping: Set aside a few raspberries for garnish. Place the remaining raspberries, water, sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until the sauce starts to bubble and thicken.
• To make raspberry rice pudding parfaits: Place a few tablespoons of rice pudding (it can be warm or cold) in the bottom of a parfait glass. Top with a few tablespoons of raspberry sauce. Repeat layers, ending with sauce. Garnish with fresh raspberries.

 

 

Frozen Chocolate Bananas

(Recipe courtesy of About.com)

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas
• 6 oz. chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup chopped peanuts or walnuts

How To:

• Line a baking sheet with waxed paper or parchment paper.
• Slice bananas in half crosswise. Insert a lollipop stick or popsicle stick into the flat side of each banana half. Lay on prepared baking sheet. Freeze at least 15 minutes.
• Place chocolate chips and butter in a microwave-safe container, and heat on 75% power 30 seconds. Stir and repeat until chocolate chips are melted. Alternatively, place chocolate chips and butter in a small saucepan and heat over very low heat, stirring, until melted.
• Spread chopped nuts out in an even layer on a plate.
• Dip frozen bananas in chocolate, allowing some of the excess chocolate to drain off. Then roll quickly in the chopped nuts. Return to waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze another minute or two until chocolate is set.

 

 

Watermelon Pie

(Recipe courtesy of MakeAndTakes.com)

Ingredients:


• Lime Sherbet
• Vanilla ice cream or Pineapple sherbet
• Red/Pink-colored sherbet…I couldn’t find this, so I bought Raspberry/Pineapple/Orange swirl sherbet, mixed it up with red food coloring and it was perfect
• Mini chocolate chips

How To:

• For each flavor, you’ll let the sherbet/ice cream soften for a few minutes before using. The red sherbet should be mixed with the mini chocolate chips.

• Use a round spring form pan. You may want to line the bottom of the pan with wax paper or parchment paper if you plan to transfer the entire “pie” to another dish before serving. I served the slices on plates straight out of the freezer, so I didn’t line the pan. It’s actually cuter sliced!

• Starting with lime, spread a ring of sherbet around the edge of the spring form pan – about 2 inches high (or taller if you want!), and about 1-2 inches wide from the outside edge of the pan.

• Put pan in freezer to harden lime layer.

• Repeat step 3 with the vanilla, but make the layer much thinner – maybe 1/2 inch. Use a butter knife to flatten the top, even-ing out the lime with the vanilla. Put pan in freezer to harden again.

• Repeat step 3 with the red/chocolate chip sherbet. Fill the rest of the pan, then use a butter knife to flatten the top. Freeze!

• When it’s time to eat, run a knife around the edge of the pan before popping off the outside of the spring form pan. Use a nice thin-blade knife to slice.