Dessert ideas About This Page:

[Fortissimo]

I was just informed by my MIL that we are having Christmas Dinner at our house this year. She decided that with all of the grand kids her house is too small to host the event so she has informed everyone that DH and I are hosting the annual event.

The good news - MIL is still cooking the Italian feast and will bring it with her on Christmas Day.

The bad news - we don't have a dining room table (that money ended up in Florida and Canada somehow during our summer breaks of 2002 and 2003 )

The other bad news - I have to make dessert.

So, any ideas what I can make? I thought about the Berry Cobbler from Artist Point but I don't know if I can make it either the day before or even Christmas Morning.

Hints? Suggestions?

[Shell_of_the_South]

Here is a favorite of my family:

Chocolate Eclair Pie

1 box graham crackers
2 small (3.4 oz) boxes French Vanilla pudding mix
3 cups milk
1 (8 oz) Cool Whip
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
dash of salt

in 9 x 13 inch pan, layer graham crackers in a single layer. In a mixing bowl, combine puddings and 3 cups milk until blended. Fold in cool whip. Layer half of pudding mixture on graham crackers; top with another layer of crackers. Repeat pudding layer and cracker layer.

In a saucepan, combine sugar, margarine, cocoa, and 1/4 cup milk. Bring to a boil, boil 2 minutes. Add vanilla and salt. Pour chocolate mixture over graham crackers in 9 x 13 pan until evenly covered. Chill.

Another easy dessert is to make brownies (any mix will do). After they are cooled, cut into squares. Cut out a star or some other Christmas shape out of a piece of paper. Lay on top of a brownie and sprinkle the brownie with powdered sugar. That gives them a festive look.

Here is an easy cookie recipe:

Snicker Bar Cookies

1 large pkg. sugar cookie dough
5 or 6 snickers, sliced 1/4 inch thick

Spread dough in 9 x 11 inch baking dish. Bake according to package directions until golden brown. Arrange snickers over baked layer. Bake just until candy is softened; spread evenly. Cool. Cut into squares.

Here is one more that I love!

Blueberry Salad

1 can blueberry pie filling
2 small or 1 large grape jello
1 small can crushed pineapple

Mix jello in 2 cups boiling water, mix until dissolved. Add pie filling and pineapple. Pour into a glass serving bowl and refrigerate until chilled (probably 1-2 hours).

Topping:

1 8 oz. cream cheese
1 c sour cream
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c chopped pecans

Combine all ingredients and spread on top of refrigerated jello mix. Sprinkle with additional chopped pecans.

Good Luck!

[stretch2864]

This is one of my favorite dessert recipes. One of my friends will literally drop what she is doing and drive over to my house to have this. She showed up late one evening with her MIL because she had been raving about it to her!

Lashel's Brownies (named for the lady at work that I got the recipe from)

Step One: make brownies using any brownie mix. My favorite is the Ghiradelli brownie mix which Sam's Club used to carry but any kind will do.

Step Two: Combine 1/2 cup of seedless raspberry jam with 2 cups of raspberries. I usually use fresh raspberries, but this time of year frozen raspberries would work as well. Spread this over the top of your cooled brownies.

Step Three:
2 - 8 oz.packages of cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
3 oz white chocolate (Ghiradelli is really good) melted
8 oz. Cool Whip

Blend all of these ingredients together until well blended and mixture is light and fluffy. Spread over the layer of raspberries and enjoy!

Good luck with your dinner and "Happy Holidays!"

[Shell_of_the_South]

So Robin, what did you end up making?

[Fortissimo]

I went ahead and made the berry cobler. I did test it on my family on Christmas eve before braving it again with DH's family on Christmas Day.

Guess what - MIL loved the cobbler so much she asked me for the recipe and the leftovers. She wasn't shocked to find that it was a WDW recipe. When she and her high school friends turned 50 they all went to WDW and ate their way around the World. Thye are going to do it again when they turn 65 and retire.

Thanks for the recipe ideas - I plan on useing thesse for our Mother's day fiesta!