Sweet Treats for Sweetest Day

The first Sweetest Day in history took place in October of 1921 in Cleveland, Ohio. Organized by a committee of candymakers, all sorts of candies were delivered to poor people throughout the city to put forth the message that that October Saturday was the "sweetest day of the year." Having evolved since then, people today celebrate this United States holiday with greeting cards, flowers, candy of course, and all sorts of sweet recipes.

So why not bake up some treats in honor of your loved ones this holiday? Here's a list of the sweetest Sweetest Day treats on Recipe4Living to help you out:

Strawberry Cream Pie

French Kisses

Giant Cherry Heart Dessert

Chocolate Raspberry Crumb Bars

Pink Perfection

Chocolate Mousse Falling-in-Love Pie

Strawberry Baked Meringue Sundae

Berry Lite Mousse

Pink Peppermint Pie

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

Strawberry Cream Pie

This is an easy pie to whip up with fabulous results. Make sure to use fresh strawberries for that special summer flavor.

Ingredients

8 oz. cream cheese

1/4 C. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Dash nutmeg

1 C. strawberry slices

1 C. whipping cream

1/4 C. powdered sugar

1 9-inch chocolate cookie crust

Directions

Combine softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, vanilla and nutmeg, mixing well. Mash 3/4 C. strawberry slices, stir into cream cheese mixture. Whip cream with powdered sugar, until stiff peaks form. Fold into cream cheese mixture, fold remaining strawberries in, spoon into crust. Chill several hours or overnight. Garnish with additional strawberries, if desired.

French Kisses

This dessert is as sweet as its name.

Ingredients

3 egg whites at room temperature

1/8 tsp. salt

1 C. sugar

2 drops red food coloring

1 tsp. almond extract

1 1/4 C. shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place the egg whites in a glass mixing bowl with salt. Beat until the whites are stiff. Slowly add 1 C. of sugar beating constantly. Mix in food coloring, almond extract and coconut using a slow deliberate mix to avoid deflating the mixture. Drop the mixture from a tsp. onto a greased and well-floured baking sheet. Bake about 30 minutes. Turn oven off and let kisses sit in oven for 1 1/2 hours.

Giant Cherry Heart Dessert

Looking for a perfect Valentine's Day or Sweetest Day dessert?

Ingredients

1 18 oz. pkg. refrigerated sugar cookie dough

18 oz. pkg. cream cheese

1 C. confectioners' sugar

1 16 oz. can cherry pie filling

1 8 oz. container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll the cookie dough to ¼" thick and form it into a heart shape. Place the heart shape on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until the cookie is lightly brown on the edges. In a large mixing bowl, mix cream cheese with confectioner's sugar. Spread the mixture on cooled cookie dough. Cover with cherry pie filling and whipped cream.

Yield: 12 servings

Chocolate Raspberry Crumb Bars

When you feel like getting fancier, try this slightly more elaborate bar.

Ingredients

1 C. (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

2 C. all-purpose flour

1/2 C. light brown sugar, packed

1/4 tsp. salt

2 C. (12 oz. package) NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, divided

1 14-oz. can NESTLÉ Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 C. chopped nuts, (optional)

1/3 C. seedless raspberry jam

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9-inch baking pan. Beat butter in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in flour, sugar and salt until crumbly. With floured fingers, press 1 3/4 C. crumb mixture onto bottom of prepared baking pan; reserve remaining mixture. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Combine 1 C. morsels and sweetened condensed milk in small, heavy-duty saucepan. Warm over low heat, stirring until smooth. Spread over hot crust. Stir nuts into reserved crumb mixture; sprinkle over chocolate filling. Drop teaspoonfuls of raspberry jam over crumb mixture. Sprinkle with remaining morsels. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until center is set. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Yield: 3 dozen bars

Pink Perfection

This is a great dessert for cherry lovers!

Ingredients

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 can cherry pie filling

1 can crushed pineapples, drained

1 C. pecans, chopped

16 oz. Cool Whip, room temperature

Directions

Mx the milk, pineapples, and pecans together in a big bowl. Add the Cool Whip and mix well. Next, add cherry pie filling and mix well and be sure the mixture is turning pink. Let sit/cool for 1 hour. The mixture will harden.

Serving Size: 6

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Chocolate Mousse Falling-in-Love Pie

A favorite from the movie Waitress, this pie is supposed to make anyone that eats it fall in love.

Ingredients

9-inch baked pastry shell

1 14-oz. can condensed milk (not evaporated)

2/3 C. water

1 (4 serving) pkg. chocolate pudding mix (not instant)

1 1-oz. square unsweetened chocolate

2 C. (1 pt.) whipping cream, stiffly whipped

Directions

In large saucepan, combine condensed milk, water and pudding mix; mix well. Add chocolate. Over medium heat, cook and stir rapidly until chocolate melts and mixture thickens. Remove from heat; beat until smooth. Cool. Chill thoroughly; stir. Fold in whipped cream. Pour into prepared pastry shell. Chill 4 hours until set.

Serves 8.

Strawberry Baked Meringue Sundae

Pretty and tasty dessert that will get you a lot of oohs and aahs.

Ingredients

8 egg whites

1 1/2 C. Sugar

1/4-tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 pint strawberries, sliced

vanilla ice cream

Directions

Place the egg whites and salt in the mixer's bowl. Whip until it begins to thicken. With the mixer running, slowly add the sugar and vanilla. Beat until firm. Pre-heat the oven to 250. Cover a cookie sheet with baker's parchment paper. Place mounds of approximately two Tbs. of the mixture a few inches apart. Cook for about 1 hour (or until the meringues are firm). Cool. Use immediately or store, covered, at room temperature. Top with ice cream and sliced strawberries. Makes 4-6

Berry Lite Mousse

Not just a light texture and dessert but this is a healthier way to make and to eat berry flavored mousse.

Ingredients

1 (4-serving size) Jell-O Brand Strawberry Flavor - Sugar Free Gelatin

3/4 C. boiling water

1 C. ice cubes

1 1/2 C. sliced strawberries

3/4 C. thawed Cool Whip

Directions

Mix gelatin and boiling water in blender at low speed until gelatin is dissolved, about 30 seconds. Add ice; stir until partially melted. Add strawberries; blend well. Blend in whipped topping. Pour into dessert glasses. Chill about 2 hours. Garnish.

Makes 6 servings.

Pink Peppermint Pie

This is a festive pie for many different occasions. The peppermint extract and candies add a holiday flair, but the reddish color of the pie make it perfect for Valentine's Day or Sweetest Day too!

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust:

1 1/4 C. graham cracker crumbs, about 16 squares

2 tsp. sugar

1/4 C. melted butter

For filling:

24 large white marshmallows

1/2 C. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. salt

6 drops peppermint extract

6 drops red food coloring

1 C. chilled whipping cream

2 Tbs. crushed peppermint candy

Directions

To make crust: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix crumbs, sugar and butter. Press mixture firmly against bottom and sides of an 8-inch pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes and cool.

To make filling: Heat marshmallows and milk in saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, just until marshmallows have melted. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, salt, peppermint extract and food coloring. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon. Beat whipping cream in chilled bowl until stiff. Stir marshmallow mixture until blended and fold into the whipped cream. Pour into crust, refrigerate for at least 12 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle with crushed candy.

Yield: 1 8-inch pie

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

A beautiful raspberry swirl tops the cake of this delicious dessert.

Ingredients

Crust:

19 oz. pkg. chocolate wafer cookies, finely crushed

1/4 C. butter, melted

1/4 C. firmly packed brown sugar

Filling:

3 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 C. sugar

1 C. sour cream

3 eggs

2 Tbs. lemon juice

3 Tbs. flour

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 12 oz. can raspberry dessert filling, strained

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs, butter, and brown sugar. Press firmly on bottom of spring-form 9" pan with sides greased. Lightly press cookie crumbs into the sides of the pan. In large bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Beat in sugar, sour cream and eggs on low speed until smooth. Add lemon juice, flour and vanilla and mix well. In medium bowl, stir 1/3 of the batter into strained raspberry filling and mix well. Pour remaining batter into prepared pan. Using a spoon, drop the raspberry filling into the plain batter. With knife, swirl filling into batter. Bake for one hour or until center is set. Carefully loosen top of cheesecake from the edge of pan. Cool, refrigerate overnight, and carefully removes sides. Garnish as desired.