Arlene and Patti Make Fun Summertime Desserts! 🥧🍪🍰

Well, hello, family. It’s so good to see you and be with you today. And we’re glad that you’re in the kitchen with us as always. Today is an unusual day, because we decided we’re making happy desserts. I know you’re trying to think, well, why happy desserts? Well, I’ll tell you. Paul and I haven’t had the opportunity to get away to the beach, which we do all the time, usually every summer, and we haven’t had the time to do that. Just been too busy. There’s so much going on in our lives. So, I was planning programs the other night and I thought, boy, you know, I just had my eyes shut and I thought, boy, wouldn’t it be nice to be on the beach or on the boardwalk down there at the corner in Ocean City, Maryland where they make those big funnel cakes and they put the strawberries on them or — and they have fresh lemonade that’s over there. And I thought, we’re doing happy desserts. That makes me happy when I think about it and you can almost smell them cooking. So, we put together a couple of different ideas that we hope will make you happy when you make them and share them with your family. I also wanted to share a little alert thing with you that I just heard and read, and a lot of us have been discussing this for a long time. If you’ll notice, I never use margarine in anything that we make on At Home. We use butter because, for one thing, it tastes better. But also, I read this. I got this off the Internet and I’ve heard this many times before. But it says, margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When they killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback, so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back. It was a white substance with no food appeal, so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like that? They came out with some clever new flavorings. Did you know the difference between margarine and butter? Both have the same amount of calories. Butter is slightly higher in sat fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams in the margin. But eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% overeating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical study. Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in our foods. Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has only a few because they are added. Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of foods. It’s been around for centuries, where margarine has been around for less than 100 years. And now, let’s talk about margarine. Very high in trans fatty acids. Triple risk of coronary heart disease. Increases the total cholesterol and LDL, which is the bad cholesterol, and lowers the HDL-cholesterol, which is the good cholesterol. Increases the risk of cancers up to five-fold. Decreases immune response. Decreases insulin response. And here’s the most disturbing fact of all. Margarine is one molecule away from being plastic. I said, margarine is but one molecule away from being plastic. The fact alone it was enough to have me avoiding margarine for my life, and everything else that has been hydrogenated. When you look at the ingredients in anything you pick up, look for that word, hydrogenated oil, hydrogenated fats, that’s hydrogen that they have pumped into the structure of that substance, okay? Buy a tube of margarine. Here’s a — here’s a test. And leave it in your garage or a shaded area. Within a couple of days, you’ll notice a couple things. There’ll be no flies, not even those little, pesky fruit flies, that will go near it. That should tell you something. It does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value. Margarine has no nutritional value. Nothing will grow on it, even those teeny-weeny microorganisms that will not find a home to grow. Why? Because it’s nearly plastic. Would you melt your Tupperware and spread it on your toast? Share this with your friends if you want to butter them up. Well, I am sharing this with the family, because, you know what, that’s pretty alarming when you hear that. So, take note. I wanted to share it with you. When we come back, we’re starting with our happy desserts. So, stay tuned. Here’s the hint and then we’ll be right back. Here’s today’s At Home Hint. Leftovers will last longer if you put them in shallow containers that allow them to cool more quickly. This way, they spend less time at the in-between temperatures that let bacteria grow. If you’ve got a helpful hint, we’d like to hear from you. Send your hint to At Home Hints, Cornerstone Television, Wall, Pennsylvania 15148-1499. Well, here we are in the kitchen with Patty, my ever-present chef. Patty, these are really interesting desserts, aren’t they?

Yes, I really like them.

I think I just put flour all over your shirt. Sorry.

That’s okay. I’m used to having flour all over me.

I know you are. This is true.

That’s me.

We’re going to make three different types.

Okay.

One will be a peaches and cream pie, which we’re going to get started with now, okay? You’re going to do the filling while I show them what to do with the pie crust.

All right.

Okay, we just used a just a plain old refrigerated, not the frozen one, these are the ones that come in the roll and you unroll them. I do a little bench flour underneath so it doesn’t stick. But we need it to fit this deep dish pie plate, so it has to be a bit bigger than this. And the way you do that is, you just roll it out. Do a little flour on top. You don’t want too much because it makes it floury tasting. So, you just give it another little extra roll. Try not to —

And those crusts are the greatest things.

Aren’t these wonderful?

I love them.

I mean, it can make anybody —

I just started making pies again once you told me about these crusts.

Yeah.

And I started using them.

Well, you know what, anybody can open a box and say, hey, here’s a pie crust. And like I say so times before, you don’t have to prove anything to anybody. It’s a pie crust. It tastes good.

It’s delicious.

It is. Okay, while I’m doing this, you’re going to get started with —

Right.

The cream part of the pie.

Well, here’s the cream cheese.

That’s about how much?

Eight ounces.

Okay, it’s a big pack. Okay.

Yeah. And a 1/4 cup of sugar.

Okay.

And all you do —

This doesn’t use fresh peaches. This uses a can. It has to be really, really well drained. So, you want to get that out and get that drained before you start anything else.

And that’s been draining probably about a half hour or more.

Yeah.

Maybe even more than that.

Probably. Okay, I’m just turning these under.

[ Whirring Sound ]

Because this has to bake a little before that gets put in, right?

Right.

So, bake.

Oh yeah, that bakes about five minutes.

Yeah, just on 450 because what that’s going to do is get the heat in there so that this starts to crisp up because you really want it to be a nice crispy shell for this peach pie.

Right, and I like to add the egg after I mix the cream cheese.

Yeah.

It seems like it mixes better. Sometimes —

I think so, too.

You mix that egg right in right away, you get like lumps and bumps and.

Well, I think it breaks down because the cream cheese isn’t smooth. And this just makes it so much nicer.

Right.

[ Whirring Sound ]

This is mixing up real nice.

Good, nice and smooth.

[ Whirring Sound ]

Good. I’ve told you before that Patty has a — she does baking in her own baking business. And if I could ask you how many times you’ve done that, like mixed up cream cheese, you’d probably say —

Yeah, that’s all I know about [inaudible] because I’ve made the mistake.

Done it so many times. Sure.

And I’ve made the mistake before where I didn’t do it and it came out —

Not too good, huh?

Yeah.

Okay. Now, I have fluted around. I’ve got my shell done. Now, before we put this in the oven, there’s something we’re going to do with this shell. First of all, we’re going to mix — this is how much sugar? Fourth?

A 1/3.

A 1/3 of a cup of sugar with some pecans, about 2/3 of a cup of finely chopped pecans. I’m going to mix them up. I’m also going to add some cinnamon. Now, you can either do this when you’re rolling it out or you can do it right now. I just decided I’m going to do it now. You’re going to put that right in there. And you want to press this into the crust. I’m going to press the nuts and all that right into the crust. And let’s pop that in the oven, Patty.

Okay.

For just five minutes.

I love when you smell those nuts baking.

Oh.

Oh, my goodness.

It smells like holidays.

Yeah, it does. It smells like Christmas.

Totally holidays. Okay, so, set the timer for five minutes on that one. And when that dings and we’ll bring that out and you’re going to fill the — you’ll fill it with that. Why don’t you go ahead and add these to it so we can finish this. Yeah. Okay?

And all you do is add one big can of peaches.

Okay. And you’re going to fold that cheese mixture in with the peaches. That’s — that is just — imagine, that’s like a cream cheese peach —

Yeah, I can’t wait to try this one. This looks really good.

You’re going to like it. And this can be served cold or warm. So, depending on the availability of the day you’re making it, whether or not you have the time. That’s good. Okay, now we’re going to get started with our chocolate cheesecake cupcakes, okay? Patty?

More cream cheese.

More cream cheese.

And I love cream cheese.

Absolutely.

Okay, this is all mixed and ready to go.

Okay.

So, when the pie comes out, we’re good.

Okay. Let’s put that down under there. We don’t need that one.

No.

Okay. This is the for the extra. Okay, now, I’m going to make — this is the filling for the cream cheese —

Cheese, yeah.

And you’re going to make the batter, right? So, let’s swap places.

All right. And this is good, because that one just had cream cheese. It didn’t have anything other than cream cheese.

Yeah, so, there’s — yeah, no peach in that.

Same type of thing.

Okay, let’s the recipe over here so we make sure we get it right. Okay, I’m going to make — here’s the cream cheese, and I’m going to get it nice and soft. Whisk it around like she said. Go ahead. You start yours.

I can start mine. Okay, 2 and 1/4 cups of flour.

And I’m going to add some to mine.

And 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar in mine.

Mine is 1 cup, okay?

And 3/4 teaspoon salt. At one time, I forgot to put the salt in it, and it really made a difference.

It really makes a difference.

Yes.

Sure, it does.

One and 1/2 baking soda.

[ Whirring Sound ]

I just added a little pinch of salt to what I’m doing here with this cheese.

And 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cocoa.

Okay.

That’s the dry stuff. And you mix the dry together. You get it started. I have a feeling this is —

And that really —

I think I’m going to be glad I wore brown today.

Brown, yeah, that was a good idea. You know what, this is so simple because we’ve lined some cupcake tins with paper and we’re going to put some of the dry, when she gets it all. That’s the cheesecake part. And then this is the filling part. And what I’m going to do now that the cheese is all mixed up, I’m going to just add a heaping cup of chocolate chips.

That’s good.

That’s a good part. But first, I’m going to do the egg.

All right, and I’m going to put apple cider vinegar and vanilla for flavorings.

Okay.

And oil to keep it nice and moist.

Now, when I do the egg in this, that’s just going to hold this cheese together. That makes it like gel up and firm up when it bakes. You want to do that. Be sure to add that all the time. It also enriches the batter, which gives it a better taste. Okay.

And these are like my kids’ favorite.

Oh yeah?

I make the little mini ones like this.

Yeah, I’ve seen the mini ones.

And they love them. That’s like — they always, do you have any extra? Do you have any extra? And when their friends come over, the same thing, do you have any extra?

Extras down there.

Sure. They love them. And I always to make sure I have some extras.

Okay. Now, this is ready to go for the filling. And you’re going to —

And I’m almost there.

You’re almost there, okay. We’re setting that aside. You know what, we’re going to take a break. When we come back, we’ve got some more stuff. We’re going to finish these up and then it’s funnel cakes. Oh yeah. Stay with us. We’ll be right back. Well, if you just joined us, we have a peaches and cream pie in progress. We have chocolate cheesecake cupcakes that Patty is working on. And I’m going to give you the next step before we start the third one. This is what the crust looks like after it bakes for five minutes. You let it cool down a little bit. Rearrange the crust of its fallen, because remember, that’s a lot heat going in there and you might want to push it back up. Now, we add this. Go ahead, Patty, you can start.

Keep going, start on this.

Yeah.

All right, and then here’s the batter we did for the chocolate cupcakes. And you put about 2/3 full. And then we add the cream cheese.

That seems easy enough, huh?

Oh yeah, it is.

Good.

If I was at home, I’d be pounding them out real fast, but I’m trying to be neat here.

Yeah, Patty, she works so fast with her hands we can’t keep the camera on her to figure out what she’s doing.

So, we’re trying to be neat and trying to be quick and —

I’m proud of you, girlfriend.

It’s like I’m trying.

Good.

And my kids would go insane over these big ones.

Oh yeah.

But that’s all basically you do with them. They’re real simple to do and —

And this is going to make how many?

Twenty-four.

Twenty-four.

And the best part is, you don’t have to ice them. They’re done.

Yeah, because the cheesecake —

When they come out of the oven, they’re done and you can eat them.

Great. That’s what we want to hear. That’s what I like to hear. Okay, this goes back in 450 for 10 minutes and then we reduce it to 325 and it goes for another about 20 to 25 minutes. So, same oven you took it out of, we’re putting it right back in. Whoa, that baby is hot. Here we go. And we’re going to set that for 10 minutes so that we remember.

Right.

We have to pay attention to that. Don’t forget to set your timers. That’s bad news.

Yeah.

Okay.

Especially on ones like that.

Yes, for sure. Okay, now we’re going to do the funnel cake.

I’m excited about the funnel cake.

I’m telling you.

I’ve never made funnel cake.

Really?

Never ever.

But you eat them, right?

Oh yeah, love them.

Okay, we have some oil in the pan, about three cups or more. We need about that much in the bottom of whatever pan big enough to accommodate your funnel cake, okay? Now, we’re going to take four cups of flour and our sugar, which is about a 1/3 of a cup sugar. Some baking powder, two teaspoons, and some salt, 1/2 a teaspoon. And we’re going to whisk that together just with our handy whisk. Just want to incorporate it really well. And then, we’re going to make a well in here and we’re going to add our three eggs. One.

So, it’s sort of healthy.

Two.

There’s eggs in it, right?

Yeah.

Can we — can we say that?

Yeah.

Like pretend?

It’s sort of healthy, you’re right.

It’s sort of healthy.

Dream on Alice. But this, you don’t do this every day. It’s an occasional thing.

Special days.

And you know what, it tastes good for a change.

Yeah.

Just something different. It’s a treat. Maybe your kids come home and they did really well in school and you just want to —

Give them a treat.

Yeah.

You know what Jenna wanted for her first day of school?

What?

Those sticky wings that we made here.

Oh, did she?

She loved them. So, I made them. And I make them with ribs, too. And Andrew went insane over the ribs and Britney loved — or Jenna loved the wings. And that was like her favorite. Britney was away so I couldn’t make her anything special.

Yeah, she was at school, huh?

But that was her big deal.

Isn’t it funny what kids like, huh?

She loved those.

Something you wouldn’t think.

That was her — she says, you know that thing you did with Arlene and you did it here? You know that stuff?

Yeah. Kids are eating good.

They love that stuff. Heck yeah.

Eating good in the neighborhood, huh? Now, this is a funnel cake. And if you’ve ever been to the beach, you know what they’re all about. And if not, you’re in for a treat if you try it. And this is the dough that we’re using. We just want to make sure it has kind of most of the lumps out of it. Okay. Here we go. I think we’re almost there. Pretty thick. You can see with —

I’m anxious to watch you do this.

Yeah, well, we’re going to see how it works. We want to make sure all the flour is incorporated in the bottom. Now, some people use a funnel. But if you don’t have a funnel or some fancy doodad, all you need to do is take a nice heavy-duty Ziploc. And when you’re going to fill these with anything, turn down the top of it a little bit so that when you spoon that in the top of it isn’t all a mess. You know what I mean?

I learned that —

Okay?

Here?

Yes, you did, Patty.

I did learn it here.

And then we’re just going to fill. We want to make sure our heat is up on our pan, making sure we’re going to turn that up a little bit more. It should be about 350, 375, okay? And we just start to load it. Okay, now, this should about eight cakes. Now, you can have this recipe. I’m not going to fill all that up because that’s going to take too much time because I want to get to the actual showing how to do it. Okay, you’re going to push the batter down to the corner. And then we — there we go.

[ Inaudible ]

Thank you. And then you’re going to cut a little hole in the corner just like that. And then you’re going to start. Okay, I don’t think that’s quite as hot as I want it. You really want it — the minute that it starts to hit the heat — I’m going to turn that up a little bit. It may take longer for that to come up. But you can see, it’s going to start to come up. When it comes up, then it floats on the top, then you know it’s nice and hot and it will brown quickly. So, we’re going to make these. But what you do, you just keep swirling. In fact, I’m going to go ahead because this is going to be there. You keep swirling around, swirling around the pan. You want to kind of keep them close because, you know, sometimes you get these and they fall apart because the batter was to — there’s too much room between each spiral around, so.

That looks really neat. It looks like the real funnel cake.

Yeah. And see, the middle part.

Yeah, I see it’s starting to cook.

It’s coming — it’s starting to come up.

Wow, that looks cool.

And that’s what we do. And then what you do is you keep watching it, and when the bubbles are coming up like that, then you’re going to flip it over. Make sure it’s cooked on both sides. And when we come back, we’re going to show you all the toppings, what we’re going to put on top of our funnel cakes. We’ll be back in just a minute. Well, I hope you’ll be sure to get that recipe, because when you see what we’ve done today, you’re going to want them. Believe me. Let’s start here with our wonderful peach and cream — peaches and cream pie. You can serve this either warm or you can chill it down and serve it cold. But isn’t it beautiful? You just slice a few fresh peaches on the top. Lovely. Delicious. This holds up well, too. And it’s just a real different flavor. If you like peaches, you’re going to love it. Here they are, right here, our chocolate cheesecake cupcakes. And they are — like you don’t have to ice them. You don’t even have to put powdered sugar. Nothing goes on these because everything you want is right — chocolate chips, the cream cheese filling. These would pack well in a kids a lunch bucket, too. Then we’re at the beach. I’m on the boardwalk and they’ve just handed this to me. And I’m going next door to get my lemonade, but these are our funnel cakes. We just did the plain powdered sugar on this one. On this one we did cinnamon and sugar. It was Roger’s idea. I didn’t even think about that. That’s a good one. Okay, here we did something kind of like a — maybe I’ll — maybe I’ll — Elvis, we did some whip cream and then sliced bananas, a little caramel and some pecans. Did another one with the powdered sugar, which is probably the most popular. This one, it has caramel, it has chocolate syrup, and then pecans. You can do that with walnuts, almonds, whatever you like. And then this one back here, it has the blueberries, blueberries and cream. I tell you, you know, this was such fun. You can’t believe everybody oohing and aahing in this place because this has something for everybody. Everybody will like something that’s on this counter today. We hope that you liked the whole program, because we sure had a good time putting it together. So, when things get dreary, think about the beach and get out and make some funnel cakes. And above all else, be sure to join us the next time because it just wouldn’t be the same without you. We’ll see you then.

Furnishings provided by Levin Furniture, featuring Lane’s Country Living Collection. Food provided by Jordan Banana Company, wholesalers of fresh fruit and vegetables in Dravosburg, Pennsylvania.

Cornerstone Television wishes to thank all our faithful viewers whose consistent prayers and financial support have made this program possible.