Pumpkin Dessert Bars

photo: www.tasteofhome.com

Ingredients:

• 1-3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1-1/3 cups Imperial Sugar® / Dixie Crystals® Granulated Sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 5 eggs
• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup cold water
• Whipped topping and ground nutmeg, optional

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and 1/3 cup sugar; stir in butter. Press into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.
2. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and 2/3 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in 2 eggs just until blended. Pour over crust. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.
3. Meanwhile, separate remaining eggs and set whites aside. In a large saucepan, combine the yolks, pumpkin, brown sugar, milk, salt and cinnamon. Cook and stir over low heat for 10-12 minutes or until mixture is thickened and reaches 160°. Remove from the heat.
4. In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand for 1 minute. Heat over low heat, stirring until gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir into pumpkin mixture; set aside.
5. In a large heavy saucepan, combine reserved egg whites and remaining sugar. With a portable mixer, beat on low speed for 1 minute. Continue beating over low heat until mixture reaches 160°, about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat; beat until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved.
6. Fold into pumpkin mixture; spread evenly over cream cheese layer. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. Garnish with whipped topping and nutmeg if desired. Yield: 15 servings.

original recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Pumpkin-Dessert-Bars 

Homemade Italian Cream Sodas

Holiday food is great and all but a fun tradition we have is to make specialty drinks, particularly for New Year's. Italian Cream Sodas are a favorite of mine but they are so overpriced at restaurants I tend to not order them often. Did you know that you can make your own for a fraction of the price? Seriously! They're super tasty and I love how they look. Aren't they so festive and pretty?! They are indeed.

Italian Cream Sodas

What you'll need:

• Club Soda
• Half & Half
• Torani Syrups
• Ice

To make one Italian Cream Soda, you'll need:

• 1/2 cup Club Soda
• 3 TBSP Torani Syrup {our favorite combo was Raspberry Vanilla- 2 TBSP Raspberry to 1 TBSP Vanilla}
• 1 TBSP Half & Half
• 3 ice cubes
• whipped cream and a cherry for the top!

Add ice cubes to glasses. Measure out about 1/2 cup Club Soda  and pour into each glass. {If you have larger glasses, you can double all of the ingredients.}

Measure out 3 TBSP Torani syrup. You can find this type of syrup in the coffee section at just about any grocery store. I found vanilla everywhere but had a hard time finding any fruity flavors. I finally found Raspberry at Walmart. The bottles cost about $3.50 each and will make about 12-14 of the drinks at least. 

Our favorite combo was a mix of vanilla and raspberry as detailed above. Yum. 

Add the syrup to the soda. Just before serving add the 1 TBSP of Half & Half to the soda/ syrup mixture. This is the fun part- as the cream seeps down it makes a really cool design on the glass. Try and not shake the glasses around too much so that the design is preserved- serve with whipped cream and a cherry on top, as well as something to stir with prior to drinking. It's fun to admire the cool swirls of the syrup and cream, but encourage everyone to give it a little stir before drinking so that all the flavors meld. 

ENJOY!

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