Easy Summer Desserts! Ice Cream Sandwiches and Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake with a Twist!

Easy 12 serving dessert!

While I am not going to bore you with another picture of our Smoked Baby Back Ribs I did think I would share my first ever "Dump Cake" and my made ahead Ice Cream Sandwiches desserts for this Memorial Day's cookout here at home!    thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2010/08/brians-smoked-baby-back-ribs.html   is the link for the "how we do" the ribs.    thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2015/05/giant-sugar-cookies-easy-and-delicious.html    is the link for the cookie recipe.


TO MAKE THE ICE CREAM SANDWICHES:   I placed a cookie (these are huge) on the cutting board and sliced in half each 4-5" cookie and placed 2 small scoops of softened vanilla bean ice cream on one half.  Next I topped with the remaining half of the cookie and wrapped each dessert in plastic wrap then stored them all in a large freezer bad in the deep freeze to firm up!

9" x 13" dish of delicious!

Ingredients for the Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake:

1 boxed yellow cake mix
1 can cherry pie filling
1 can crushed pineapple
1/3 C. brown sugar
1/4 C whole pecans
1 stick melted butter
whipped cream or ice cream

Butter generously a 8" X 13" pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Last step drizzle with melted butter and bake.

Spread the cherry pie filling on the bottom of the pan.  Top this with the crushed pineapple.  Next sprinkle first with brown sugar then with the cake mix.  Scatter with the pecans and drizzle with the melted butter.  Bake in the preheated oven 40 minutes or until done. 

Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of sweet cream or ice cream.  Delicious!  Yield 12 servings.

GIANT Sugar Cookies! Easy and Delicious! It is so nice to have really good treats on hand!

These are truly the biggest cookie I have ever made!  So big one is for sure enough!  I am making a second batch today and dropping to a tablespoon as a scoop rather than a 2" ice cream scoop the recipe calls for.  I found this recipe in the Martha Stewart Cookie Cookbook and adapted it by leaving out the lemon zest and lemon juice and using vanilla to flavor.  I also used the natural dark granulated sugar on the tops instead of sanding sugar.  The recipe yielded 1 1/2 dozen gigantic 6" cookies and I am trying for 3-4" cookies this go round!  I left 2 sticks of butter out last night and I am ready to spend this stormy, rainy, dismal day catching up the laundry and baking these delicious cookies!  They have a crunch on the outside and chewy inside.....puuurrrrfect to my taste!

Ingredients for Giant Sugar Cookies:

3 C. flour
1 t. soda
1/4 t. kosher salt
1 3/4 C. sugar
1/4 C. packed brown sugar
2 sticks (1 C.)  soft butter
2 large eggs
1 1/2 t. pure vanilla extract
2-3 T. dark natural sugar or your choice of sugar for tops

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line cookie sheets with parchment or use silpat mats. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, soda, and salt and set aside. 

Place the butter, and sugars, and vanilla in a mixer bowl and beat until fluffy.  Brat in eggs one at a time until pale.  Reduce the mixer speed to lowest setting and add the dry ingredients.

Drop dough onto prepare pans using a 2" ice cream scoop leaving 3" between the cookies.  Flatten slightly and sprinkle with sugar.  Use a pastry brush dipped in water and brush the cookie tops.  Sprinkle a second time with sugar.  Bake until golden about 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pans a few minutes before removing to cooling racks.  Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.  Trust me they will not be around that long!

Birthday Cookies

After cooling I made up a big sack of both snicker doodles and oatmeal cookies and placed them in a birthday gift bag adding tissue paper and a birthday card to finish the home made gift!

Our friends the Linton's often celebrate birthdays with us as my birthday and Mike Linton's are but a couple of days apart and we are the same age but yes, I get to be the older one.  Let it be known that Mike Linton is a COOKIE MONSTER from way back!  He is a very seasoned and capable heating and air expert and once upon fixing our furnace would only take my home made Snicker Doodles in payment!    thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2010/08/old-fashioned-snickerdoodles.html

A hot cup of coffee and a few snicker doodles hit the spot every time.

Mike and Mindy have often tasted other cookies that were here when they visited and if I remember correctly they also love Oatmeal Cookies.  So today was double batch baking day.  We are splitting a batch of each with them for a birthday gift.    thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2012/08/oatmeal-cookies-cinnamon-clove-pecans.html

Since I was making a batch of each I did a couple of time and trouble savers I'll call them helpful hints!   Also altered the oatmeal cookies by reducing the chopped pecans to 1/2 cup and adding 1 cup of cinnamon chips.  YUM!

My helpful hints are : 
When making two different cookie doughs in one day make the plainest one first then you can reuse the bowl, beaters, and utensils again for the second batch without washing.  Thus I made the snicker doodles first.

When using a scoop to dip up cookie batter as I did with the snicker doodles dip the scoop into a half cup of sugar between scoops.  The batter will not stick to the scoop. 

Use  the left over "scooping" sugar in the second batch of cookies as part of the sugar needed in the batter.  *I also used the leftover cinnamon and sugar mixture from rolling the dough balls in as part of the required sugar in the oatmeal cookies.  A little extra cinnamon never hurt an oatmeal cookie!

So, love in a cookie is always a welcome gift says Grandma Diane!