Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole almonds, toasted
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried apples
1/2 cup dried figs, stemmed
1/2 cup pitted dates
2 tbsp orange juice
5/4 cup crispy rice cereal

Directions:
In food processor, blend almonds, raisins, apples, dates and figs to form paste.
Add orange juice and mix well. Place in shallow dish. Scoop out a teaspoon of almond mixture and roll into balls. Roll in cereal to coat.

Makes 2 cups of sorbet.

Ingredients:
* 3 bananas
* 2 tbs water
* 1 tbs bittersweet chocolate pieces

Directions:
1. Peel bananas and cut into 1 inch pieces.
2. Place banana slices on wax paper lined rimmed baking sheet.
3. Cover and freeze for 2 hours or until frozen.
4. Process bananas, water, and chocolate in a food processor until nearly smooth.
5. Pour into glasses. Garnish with Mint Leaves.

Sometimes, you just need a really quick… really easy… yet somehow impressive dessert.  The answer to this dilemma, is fondue.  You simply cannot go wrong with fondue.  As far as quick and easy goes… this is pretty darn quick and easy.  If you don’t have a lot of time, give this recipe a try:

Ingredients:
1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 bottle of butterscotch topping
1 small can of sweetened condensed milk

Directions:
1. Combine the chocolate chips, bottle of butterscotch topping and 6 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk in a               microwave safe bowl.
2. Heat on high for 30 seconds.
3. Stir fondue to a smooth consistency.
4. You may need a few more seconds of heating time depending on your microwave.
5. Place into a fondue pot or small crockpot.

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 Tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Cooking Spray
2 large bananas, medium-ripe
1/4 cup chopped unsalted peanuts

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350º.
2.In a small bowl, melt butter in the microwave, about 45 secons.
3.Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon until well blended.
4.Coat a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
5.Peel bananas; cut each banana lengthwise in half. Place cut-side down in baking pan. Brush with some brown-sugar mixture; sprinkle with chopped peanuts.
6.Bake 20 minutes, or until bananas are lightly browned. Serve warm.

Source

* Fruits and Veggies Matter Child Recipe Cards by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, public domain government resource — original source of recipe

4 sticks butter, softened
1 1/4 cups Sugar
4 cups flour
6 dozen (3 ounces) whole blanched almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter at medium-high speed until creamy. Slowly add Sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until mixture is light and fluffy. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour just until blended.
2. Roll dough into one-inch balls; arrange two inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. With the palm of your hand, gently flatten each ball; press an almond in the center of each cookie.
3. Bake cookies 20 to 25 minutes just until pale golden around the edges only (do not brown). Cool on cookie sheets for five minutes.

4-5 slices of buttered bread
1 can sweetened apple sauce
2 eggs
1 pint milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1.Line the bottom of a pudding dish with buttered bread and cover with apple sauce. Repeat until dish is half-full, finishing the layering with the bread on top.
2.Mix eggs, milk, sugar, and salt. Pour this mixture over bread and sauce.
3.Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until set. Serve cold with cream, sugar, and nutmeg gratings or cinnamon.

Source

* Pioneer and Indian Recipes by the Whitman National Historic Site, National Parks Service, US Department of the Interior, public domain government resource — original source of recipe

Applecrisp

Apple crisp in the United States or Apple crumble as it is known in the United Kingdom is a dessert consisting of baked apples topped with a crispy crust. Ingredients usually include cooked apples, butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and often oats and brown sugar, ginger, and/or nutmeg. Many different kinds of fruit can substituted for apples, such as peaches, berries, pears, etc. One of the most common variants is ‘apple rhubarb crisp/crumble’, in which the rhubarb provides a tart contrast to the apples. It is an easy to make and tasty alternative to apple pie and apple cobbler.

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

6 cups sliced and cored baking apples (for example, Granny Smith)
1/2 cup (100g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (100g) rolled oats
3/4 teaspoon (3g) cinnamon
1/3 cup (75g) cold butter or cold margarine
2/3 to 3/4 cup (120-150g) brown sugar

Directions:

1.In a medium bowl stir together flour, brown sugar, and oatmeal. If the room temperature is a bit warm, you should cool this mixture.

2.Prepare the apples. This should be completed before mixing butter into the topping. It is helpful to choose apples that do not brown quickly; Granny Smith apples are a good choice. Do not use Red Delicious apples; they turn to mush. Place the apples into a 9-inch square baking dish; glass is best.

3.Add the butter or margarine to the topping. Mix it via a slicing action, so that the butter or margarine forms tiny little chunks and does not melt or smear. A pair of butter knives, used like scissors, is good for this. You must work quickly once you start this step.

4.Sprinkle the filling onto the apples. You may pat it down just a bit.

5.Bake for about 30 minutes in a 375°F oven. Do not remove the crisp before the top is dark brown. Black spots indicate burning. It is better to burn a few small spots, which you can then remove, than to risk undercooking the topping.
Tips:

* Any type of apple may be used, baking or sweet, or a mixture of types.
* Cooked apple dishes are a good use for substandard apples, eg damaged, wrinkled & windfall.
* Crisps can be made with most any sort of fruit. Pineapple is a good choice.
* Some fruits, especially peaches, go better in a cobbler.
* Raisins can be added to the apples at the beginning, and 1/2 teaspoon of powdered ginger, or a sprinkling of nutmeg can also be put in.
* ‘Mixed spice’ (cinnamon, coriander, clove & other spices) is a perfect addition to apple dishes. This is more popular in Britain than the US.

Source

Apple Crisp from the Wikibooks Cookbook — original source of recipe, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Ingredients

• 3 (15.5 ounce) cans apricot halves, drained
• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 1/3 cup ground almonds
• ½ cup cold butter
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 375ºF.

2.Drain apricot halves and set aside.

3.Combine the sugar and flour. Cut butter into small cubes.

4.Add butter to sugar/flour mixture using a mixer (or by hand using a pastry blender), blending to a granule-like texture.

5.In a food processor or a blender, grind almonds to nearly a fine powder. Add almonds and salt to butter mixture; stir well.

6.In a separate bowl, combine the apricots with a tablespoon of flour and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Mix until fruit is well coated.

7.Spoon fruit into a 1½-quart casserole dish (or an 8” deep soufflé dish) and pour crisp topping mixture on top. Pat down firmly.

8.Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the top is lightly golden brown.

Source

• Apricots, Canned by the US Department of Agriculture, public domain government resource — original source of recipe

Ingredients

* 1 pt. fresh blueberries

* 1 lemon

* 1 pt. vanilla ice cream

* Mint sprigs

Directions

1.Puree blueberries in blender container.
2.Soften ice cream in microwave oven for 30 seconds. Add ice cream to pureed blueberries and blend until smooth.
3.Pour into freezer container and freeze for about one hour. Before serving, blend a few seconds until smooth.
4.Spoon into tall glasses, which have been chilled in refrigerator for at least one hour.
5.Slice lemon into thin slices. Cut each slice half way across the pulp to fit glass rim.
6.Garnish with lemon slices and mint sprigs.

Serves: 4

* 2 (11 oz) cans mandarin orange segments, drained

* 2 (15 oz) cans fruit cocktail, drained

* 2 cups flaked coconut

* 2 cups miniature marshmallows

* 1 (8 oz) container whipped cream

Directions

1.Mix the mandarin oranges, fruit cocktail and coconut in a large bowl.

2.Fold in the whipped cream and marshmallows.

3.Chill for at least an hour.

4.Stir again before serving.

Serves: 8