Ingredients:

1 large container of whipped topping
15 ounces of crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup of sweetened flaked coconut
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup of lemon juice
1 cup of chopped pecans
2 graham cracker crusts
16 maraschino cherries with stems

Directions:

Starting with the whipped topping, mix the ingredients together, stirring to blend. Pour into the two graham cracker crusts and refrigerate until ready to serve. Slice and sprinkle each piece with a few pecans and a cherry.

Yield: 16 slices

If you are looking for a truly great dessert that only takes minute to make, you can’t go wrong with this no bake peanut butter pie. We’ve been serving it for years at a various get-togethers and it’s always a hit.

Made with just 5 ingredients, it’s cheap to make and can easily be transported to pot lucks, reunions, staff parties or any gathering. Just be sure to take a few recipe cards with you because everyone will want a copy of it.

Ingredients:

1 chocolate graham cracker pie crust
1 package cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
¾ tub whipped cream

Directions:

In large bowl, add the cream cheese. With an electric mixer on low-medium speed, start mixing the cream cheese, powdered sugar and peanut butter.

Next, slowly add the whipped cream and mix until creamy but not runny.

Pour this into the pie crust and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Cut and serve.

My family likes it plain but you can top your pie with slices of apples, chocolate, bananas or anything you like eating with peanut butter.

Chiffon pie is made with gelatin and beaten egg whites so it is light and fluffy. It typically has a graham cracker or cookie type crust and may include a layer of whipped cream to give it an extra airy feel.

When you think Chiffon, you probably first think of Lemon Chiffon pie as it’s the most common flavor. However, just because it’s most common, doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with other flavors as we have done here. Chiffon can literally be made with just about any flavor you want from strawberries or blueberries to peach or pumpkin and even chocolate or coffee.

This Watermelon version is not only light and airy; its flavor is light too. So for those who don’t like power flavors like Lemon may enjoy this version more.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. Watermelon Jell-O (If you cannot find it, use unflavored gelatin as shown)
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups pureed seedless watermelon
1/2 cup powdered confectioners’ sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 egg whites, stiffly-beaten
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
One 10-inch prepared graham cracker crust
Whipped cream/Cool Whip to garnish

Preparation:

Depending on whether you use Jell-O or gelatin, the first step will vary.

Using Jell-O: Add the Jell-O to the boiling water and mix until Jell-O crystals dissolve. Add the boiling water and cold water to the heat-proof bowl and stir.

Using gelatin: In a medium size heat-proof bowl, add the cold water and unflavored gelatin. Mix and let sit for a few minutes until the gelatin softens.

The gelatin will look and feel like globs of rubber at this point.

Add the boiling water and stir well to ensure all the gelatin globs have dissolved.

Next add the confectioners’ sugar.

Slowly pour in the watermelon puree and stir well.

The final ingredient to add at this point is the lemon juice. Once you add it, stir it well.

At this point, you want the mixture to come to room temperature. Depending on whether you started with a room temperature melon or one that had been refrigerated, this may only take a few minutes or it could take a bit longer.

Once it reaches room temperature, refrigerate it until the mixture begins to thicken, about 20 minutes.

Once thickened, in a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the mixture.

Next, do the same with the whipping cream.

Once everything is combined well, pour into prepared crust. Refrigerate until firm.

Garnish each serving with whipped topping.

Again, because many watermelons don’t have a lot of flavor, I highly recommend you use watermelon flavored Jell-O if possible instead of plain gelatin. If the watermelon you selected has a lot of flavor, this may not be necessary, however, it’s best to have both on hand, just in case.

For other flavors, you may want to try it with non-flavored gelatin the first time and if it isn’t flavorful enough for you, try adding Jell-O the next time.

Watermelon Chiffon pie is great served with meals that are heavy on flavorful sauces such as BBQ. The balance of spicy barbecue sauce on ribs or sandwiches companioned with the airy consistency of chiffon and mild flavored watermelon makes for a great meal.

Enjoy!

1 cup chopped macadamia nuts, toasted lightly
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 bag (7 oz) sweet shredded coconut
1 bag (12 oz) semisweet chocolate morsels, melted

Put the macadamia nuts, sweetened condensed milk, almond extract, and sweet coconut in a large bowl and big together with a big spoon.
Form the mixture into bite-sized balls and place on cookie sheets or baking trays.

Put trays in refrigerator to firm up for about 1 hour, or leave at room temperature to firm, which will take about 4 or 5 hours.
When balls have completely set, dip them into the melted chocolate and place them back on the tray to dry at room temperature.

Note – Melt the chocolate easily by placing the morsels in a heat-resistant bowl, then placing the bowl atop a pan of water that has been brought to a boil and removed from stovetop.

Stir until chocolate melts, then remove bowl from hot water and continue stirring until mixture cools slightly; now it’s ready to dip.

Makes 8 cookies

Ingredients:

1/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter
8 whole-wheat graham crackers, finely ground
1/4 cup raisins
2 tbsp honey
4 teaspoons unsweetened coconut

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients, except the coconut, in a bowl. Shape into 8 cookies and roll in coconut. Refrigerate until firm.