dessert Archives - Page 2 of 6 - The Sparrow's Home

Shortcut Coconut Cream Pie

November 20, 2017 by Susan Leave a Comment

This shortcut coconut cream pie proves that you can present a rich, amazing dessert using easy to find ingredients and almost no cooking.

Isn’t it terrible when you like something, but no one else in your family does? Frequently, when we got to potlucks, or other events, I’ll make one of these recipes.

Coconut is one of those things around my house.

I looooovve coconut, but my family won’t eat it. Weirdos.

So can you guess what I made for our church’s annual Harvest Supper dessert on Saturday? Coconut cream pies of course.

The Only Pecan Pie That Matters

November 15, 2017 by Susan 5 Comments

This is the perfect recipe for pecan pie. I found this recipe in a cookbook from Betty’s Pies near Duluth, MN. Haven’t made a different recipe since.

Has someone ever gotten you a gift that was more for them than it was for you?

Years ago, my husband and I spent a romantic weekend just north of Duluth, MN. We rode bikes along Lake Superior, walked in the woods, and ate at Betty’s Pies. That year, for our anniversary, my husband got me a copy of Betty’s Pies Favorite Recipes cookbook.

Yeah, I thought the same thing.

Don’t get me wrong…I love to bake, and I love the cookbook. But I had a sneaking suspicion that this gift was as much for him as for me!

I’ve tried a number of Betty’s recipes, but it’s her pecan pie that grabbed a hold and won’t let go. I haven’t made a different recipe since.

Summer Recipes Worth Waiting All Year For

July 25, 2017 by Susan Leave a Comment

A collection of favorite summer recipes. Words like fresh, grilled, cheesy, smoky, crisp, fruity, & cool come to mind. Find something new to try this summer

Do you eat seasonally? Whether you really try to or not, you probably do more than you even know. We are naturally drawn to warm, hearty meals in the colder months. I know I pretty much never make things like stroganoff or stew or hot, gooey apple desserts until there’s a chill in the air.

But summer….

Summer recipes are for veggies and grilling. Think… fresh.

Berry Crumble (or Cobbler or Crisp)

July 12, 2017 by Susan 4 Comments

Not quite a crisp. Not quite a cobbler. I’m calling it a berry crumble. It’s Delish! So easy because it can be made with frozen berries.

It’s been causing me some stress to decide whether to call this recipe a cobbler or a crisp. I’m no food historian, and I don’t happen to be up on my precise cobbler vs. crisp definitions. Cobblers have always seemed more ‘cakey’ to me and crisps are more…well, crisp.

That’s where my problem comes in here. The delicious topping for this dessert starts out much like a traditional crisp recipe, but there’s one main difference that makes it almost like a cookie topping.

It’s really delicious. It is crisp. But it’s also kind of chewy. I really love it.

And with that eloquent description, let me tell you how to make it!

Homemade Ice Cream Anyone Can Make (Because You Don’t Need Any Special Equipment!)

June 14, 2017 by Susan 4 Comments

You don’t need special equipment to make homemade ice cream. This easy recipe can be customized to make your favorite flavor. It’s the perfect summer treat!

What are the lengths to which you will go to enjoy your favorite ice cream? My husband, being from the south, is a big (BIG) Blue Bell Ice Cream fan. We don’t have Blue Bell here in Minnesota. (Boo, Minnesota!) When we visited my mother-in-law in Texas, we toured the Blue Bell factory. And can I say, touring an ice cream factory is a great way to spend a day.

Visiting Tennessee in April allowed us to indulge all week long. (And we did! At one point our freezer had 5 containers.) We even packed a cooler full of ice and Blue Bell to bring home…no kidding. In case you’re wondering, Pecan Praline is our favorite, and the kids would probably say Birthday Cake.

And while it’s no Blue Bell, I’m here to tell you today how you can make homemade ice cream in minutes. Minutes! Well, minutes is all the time it takes to mix it up…of course there are a few hours of freezing time.

Caramel Cake (Or Brown Sugar Cake, if You Think You Don’t Like Caramel)

April 25, 2017 by Susan 12 Comments

The frosting is what makes this caramel cake divine. It is an easy, cooked icing that cools to a hard shell and melts in your mouth.

Caramel cake. Every year for his birthday. Caramel cake. Then one year my eldest determined he “didn’t like caramel”. So we had “brown sugar cake” for his birthday that year. Same recipe I’d used every other year.

Have I told you my kids are picky?

Sometimes I sneak things in. Like in my super healthy rich and delicious chocolate pancakes, and this chocolate mousse. Other times, I just call something by another name. For a time:

Tomato soup was “SpaghettiOs with no noodles”
Nutella was “chocolate spread”
And anything with bread or a crust was “(fill in the blank) pizza”

I even had a jar of pureed dates in the fridge that my kids ate for an entire summer because I called it “caramel.” Ahh the power of suggestion.

We’re back to calling caramel cake “caramel cake” again, and it’s still my son’s pick for his birthday cake every year. (He turns 18 this year! Yikes!) Sadly, my husband and I will be out of town at a conference on his birthday, so we’re celebrating early this year.