Photo credit: LibAmanda (Flickr)/Creative Commons.

A friend from St. Louis keeps showing up to parties with a beautiful dessert that is gooey and so delicious. Is it cake? Is it pudding? Whatever it is, I decided it was time for this St. Louis classic to make its debut on the West Coast. The recipe for Gooey Butter Cake is amazingly simple – it just takes a few ingredients and a little time. Give it a try for your next holiday party!

Ingredients
1 box yellow cake mix (18¼ oz)
3 eggs
2 sticks Tillamook Butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
16 oz powdered sugar

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the cake mix, one egg, and one stick of melted butter in an electric mixer. When well mixed, pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13”x9” baking pan.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the 2 remaining eggs, vanilla, and the other stick of butter and beat together. Add the powdered sugar (but reserve a bit for the topping!) and mix well.

Spread cream cheese mixture over cake batter and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until top is golden but center is still gooey. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into bite-sized pieces.

This recipe was adapted from a recipe from Paula Dean. 

By Katie

Oregon is home to so many delicious foods! While Tillamook Cheese is always the first food I think of when I dream of tasty Oregon treats, hazelnuts are a close second. Often called filberts in Oregon, these distinct little nuts have been combined with desserts by many great chefs for hundreds of years. With an Oregon themed dinner party on the horizon, I knew I needed to combine these tasty nuts with Tillamook Ice Cream to make the perfect Oregon inspired dessert.

First step: Make the meringue!
Yields: 16 disks for 8 sandwiches

Ingredients
1½ cups toasted hazelnuts
1½ cups sugar
5 egg whites
Pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract

In a food processor combine the toasted hazelnuts and 1½ cups sugar. Mix until the nuts are as fine as the sugar. Use a spoon to fluff up the nuts and make sure there are no large nuts left.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a pencil and a round glass about 3 inches in diameter, trace 8 circles on each sheet. Flip the sheets over so the pencil side is down.

In a mixer, beat the egg whites on low speed until they foam. Add the salt and cream of tartar. Continue beating until soft peaks form. Leaving the mixer on, slowly add the 3 tablespoons of sugar, vanilla, and almond extracts. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until hard shinny peaks form. Turn mixer off and using a spoon fold in the almond-sugar mixture. Place the meringue in a pastry bag and starting with the outside of the circle, pipe the mixture onto the cookie sheets ending in the middle of each circle. Place in oven and cook for 1 hour or until the meringue will move around on the sheet when poked. Take out of the oven and allow to cool completely.

Once the meringue disks have cooled. Take out your favorite flavor of Tillamook Ice cream. (I used Tillamook Mudslide but I suspect many other flavors, like Espresso Mocha, would be delicious.) Let the ice cream melt a little so that it is easily molded without breaking the meringue cookie. Place a scoop of ice cream on top of a meringue disk, smash it down so it’s level and place another disk on top. Wrap each cookie in saran warp and place in the freezer until you are ready to eat!

These little Oregon treats are great for a quick dessert whenever you’re ready for a Pacific Northwest snack!

By Kelly

Sour Cream is the perfect addition to your traditional apple pie.

Everyone has their own family traditions when it comes to the holidays. For my family, our holidays are centered around the food. Lots of food, and that can be a huge production. There is a famous incident where an aunt tried to change the typical Thanksgiving meal to all appetizers. That’s right, no turkey. No mashed potatoes. Just appetizers. Let’s just say, there was a huge revolt and the scheme was never attempted again.

We may try a new dish or two each year but there is a whole long list of dishes that never change. One such dish is the Sour Cream Apple Pie. It’s one of several desserts that is made each year for Thanksgiving but is by far the best one to eat for breakfast the next day. I secretly pray that my family picks the chocolate pecan pie, the pumpkin pie or the lemon meringue pie after dinner, wanting to ensure that my breakfast is safe. There’s something just magical about adding Tillamook Premium Sour Cream to the apple filling. The sour cream transforms the inside of the pie into a silky smooth, rich center. I promise, it’s the best dessert or breakfast pie our there!

Ingredients
1 unbaked pie crust
1 cup Tillamook Premium Sour Cream
1 egg
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon flour
4½ cups peeled and chopped green apples
¾ cup sugar
⅔ cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ cup room temperature Tillamook Salted Butter

Preparation
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Combine the sour cream, egg, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of flour in a large bowl. Toss the chopped and peeled apples with the sour cream mixture, ensuring that all the apples are coated. Pour the sour cream and apple mixture into the pie crust.

In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the sugar, ⅔ cup flour, cinnamon, and butter. This mixture will become your topping. Take about a tablespoon of the butter and sugar mixture at a time and form a small flattened tile in the palm of your hand. Place each tile of sugar on top of the pie, overlapping so that at the end, the pie is covered by the sugar mixture. You can use your hands to manipulate the mixture over the pie so it is all smoothly covered. Place pie in the oven and for about 1 hour or until the pie is golden brown. Eat right away or wait until breakfast.

By Kelly

Home Entertaining Recipepalooza: We asked some of our favorite bloggers to share a recipe and their tips for home entertaining. This recipe comes from Cara Ferguson’s blog Culinary Cara. Cara is a devout foodie, hot-rod lover, and hardcore Texan. She’s inspired by the flavors and cultures of the world, giving them a Texas twist in her dishes. See this recipe on her blog.

Tillamook “Berserka” Blueberry Mazurka

Overview
Mazurka is a traditional Polish dessert made for special occasions. Delicate, buttery strudel-like layers surround a velvety blueberry filling for a decadent treat you won’t forget.

If you don’t have time to make homemade jam, store bought varieties are also an option. Just make sure to select more natural preserves with less sugar content to keep the flavors of your pastry nice and balanced. Traditionally, this recipe calls for blueberry or apricot jam, but you can use any jam or filling you’d like. If you don’t have walnuts on hand, you could also use almonds (which are traditional) or even pecans for a Texas twist.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time:  1 hour, 30 minutes
Yield (number of servings): 16 bars

Ingredients
Blueberry Filling:
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
¼ cup blueberry flavored vodka
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Pastry:
1 and ¼ cups flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
¾ cup rolled oats
1 stick (½ cup) Tillamook Unsalted Butter
½ cup chopped walnuts
¼ teaspoon salt

Preparation
Combine blueberry filling ingredients in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir filling for 8-10 minutes, until you see it thicken and bubble. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before assembling dessert.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix pastry ingredients together in a large bowl until most of the butter is incorporated and creates a crumbly, strudel-like texture (make sure not to let the butter melt).

Prepare an 8×8 brownie pan by lining with foil or parchment paper and grease with butter or nonstick spray. Pack half of the pastry mixture onto the bottom of the pan and spread blueberry filling over bottom layer.  Sprinkle remaining half of pastry over blueberry filling and very gently pack down, making sure not to let any filling seep to the surface. Bake for 1 hour and then allow dessert to cool before lifting out of pan. Cut into 16 bars.

About Cara:
Tips for stress-free home entertaining:
“When I entertain, I follow one motto: ‘Keep it fresh and simple.’ No need for the Thanksgiving-style spread, just make a few snacking options with a few fresh ingredients. This way, your guests will be able to converse and enjoy each other’s company!”

Kitchen advice for other moms and dads:
“Parents are always very busy, so it’s important to keep things fresh and simple. Choose a recipe that can be made in advance, and something with around a handful of ingredients. When entertaining guests at home, serve just a few great dishes, instead of assembling an entire buffet. Your wallet and your hectic schedule will thank you for it.

Follow Cara and her blog online:
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By Tillamook

This colorful heart-felt treat is sure to win the heart of kids everywhere.

I love dessert! Who doesn’t? I love eating dessert, thinking about dessert, and making up new desserts! So, when I recently invited the neighborhood kids over for a little get together I was in my element! While I have a serious found spot for the sweeter things in life, I don’t ignore the need to be healthy! So, I concentrated my dessert search to something that includes Tillamook Yogurt! Tillamook Yogurt is all natural with no artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners! That’s a whole lot of natural yum in one spot! Here’s how I determine if a dessert recipe meets my standards:

My check list
- Tastes good
- Looks good
- Is good for you

While on the computer I came across this blog post and I knew I stumbled onto something good! It met all my stated standards and, frankly, how can a kid not love a rainbow colored dessert. I changed the recipe slightly, using Tillamook Vanilla Bean Yogurt instead of sour cream to make it more dessert like and less salad like. You can use any Tillamook Yogurt flavor but I liked the idea of using something white to make the JELL-O layers pop!

Use any colors you want, make the dessert in any shape that fits your party, and have a healthy treat you can feel good about sharing with the kids in your life!

By Kelly

Sometimes when a person combines two things that are great seperate it makes a MASTERPIECE together. Other times the parts are greater than the whole. Case in point – in Portland, land of the wacky, Voodoo Donuts puts bacon on a maple bar. Maple bar. Good. Bacon. Good. Bacon maple bar = UH-MAZING!! The flip side of that is fruit cake. Sometimes the mixture of fruit and cake, in fruit cake, just don’t go together. Thankfully for this blog post, cheesecake is something that combines two items good separate, and better together!

Before I was asked to write this blog post, I didn’t know much about cheesecake – other than I LOVE it! So, instead of giving another recipe – of which there are plenty online – I thought I’d give a little history and the variations that make some of the most popular varieties; including how you can use Tillamook to add that little bit of, “MMM. That’s good. What did you do to make this so delicious?” to your favorite cheesecake recipe.

There are few things in life that beat the amazing taste and texture of a classic New York cheesecake

Believe it or not, cheesecake was first made 2,000 years ago in Greece. Even though Greeks had been making Cheesecake for centuries, the writer Athenaeus is credited with writing the first recipe in 230 A.D. It went through many iterations from both the Greeks and the Romans (when they conquered Greece) and in the 18th century started to look something like what we recognize and love today. The key difference? Using beaten eggs instead of yeast (can you imagine eating a cheesecake with yeast today? Yuk!).

Today, there are really two types of cheesecake: baked and unbaked. There are different schools of thought on this, but it is this writers opinion that a baked cheesecake is a little better – mainly set apart by the texture. An unbaked cheesecake takes on a little more pudding like texture that is more gelatinous whereas a baked cheesecake has a more heavy and dense texture – similar to a regular cake – as well as a slightly more developed flavor.

Along with the baked vs. unbaked discussion, there are differing schools of thought about what type of dairy product to use in your cheesecake. Depending on what part of the world you live in, you may have a different opinion of what cheesecake should be. Just look at a few examples from around the world:

• New York – Cream Cheese (and some use sour cream to add a slight tang and rich, dense flavor)
• Chicago – Cream Cheese. But the key ingredient – Tillamook Sour Cream (well, it wasn’t originally Tillamook, but we all know that makes the best cheesecake!)
• Italy – Ricotta
• Greek – Mizithra or Feta
• Germans – Cottage Cheese
• Japan – Cornstarch and egg whites

So, with all of these different types of cheeses (or, in Japan’s case, no cheese at all) that can be used to make the perfect cheesecake, why would you choose one over the other? For me, like all other food choices, it comes down to personal preference. I personally prefer a plain cheesecake, without berries or chocolate to get in the way, and a very creamy dense texture. So, for me a New York or Chicago cheesecake is the most appetizing. Maybe it’s the Sour Cream that sets it apart. If you use Tillamook Natural Sour Cream I can guarantee it will be!

So, all this is to say that it is about time to celebrate cheesecake in all of its glory. It’s been 2,000 years in the making. To that end, how will you celebrate National Cheesecake Day? Will you make your own cheesecake? Go to your favorite cheesecake restaurant? Or will you – like I will – just dream of cheesecake because you’re on a diet (my diet is always getting in the way!). Let us know what your favorite, or most creative cheesecake recipe is. Does anybody use Tillamook Cheddar in their cheesecake?

By Matt

On summer days like these, I find myself craving ice cream all the time. I’ve always been a sucker for a good ice cream cake, but with these hot summer evenings (and with no A/C) I couldn’t bear to heat up the oven – even to celebrate National Ice Cream Month. In that spirit, I decided it was time to find a low-maintenance, high-yumminess ice cream cake. This no-bake ice cream cake fits the bill perfectly.

Ingredients
12 ounces vanilla wafers or graham crackers, crushed
1 cup Tillamook Butter, melted
½ cup white sugar
1.75 quart Tillamook Udderly Chocolate Ice Cream
½ cup milk
7 ounces (usually 2 packages) instant chocolate pudding mix

Directions
To make crust, combine crackers, butter, and sugar in a bowl. Press mixture into bottom and sides of a 9”x13” baking dish.

In a separate bowl, mix ice cream and milk. Blend in pudding mix, then pour mixture into prepared crust. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. If desired, top with whipped cream or chocolate shavings when hardened.

I love how this recipe can be customized to include whatever I’m craving that day! I think my next combination will be graham crackers, Oregon Strawberry Ice Cream, and banana pudding, topped with fresh strawberries – yum!

By Katie

There’s lots of tasty goodness in there!

Chef Keegan Gerhard, featured in the Tillamook Kitchen, and his lovely and talented wife Lisa Bailey have just opened a new San Diego location for their much loved D Bar restaurant. This new location complements their original Denver, Colorado restaurant with the same dedication to phenomenal food and delicious desserts.

I had the good luck to join them for their opening night! Here are a few pics:

Keegan, doing some heavy lifting…

Kobe Sliders and Bacon Mac & Cheese (with tasty Tillamook Cheese!) top the new menu

Lisa, greeting guests and putting on the finishing touches

Aren’t these gorgeous? Yes, they taste exactly how they look

Sugar Shenanigans is right! I ate the most delicious chocolate of my life here - it was the green one on the left

It was a full house! We all stayed way past our bed time…

You know the best part about Keegan and Lisa? It doesn’t matter whether they are in the middle of opening a fabulous new restaurant or shooting TV shows or video recipes - they are always lovely and they always make sure you feel welcome, with a glass of something and a plate of something in hand. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that this new D Bar adventure will have as much success as all their others.

Cheers Keegan and Lisa! San Diego is lucky to have you!

Like D Bar San Diego on Facebook
Follow D Bar San Diego on Twitter

By Gillian

Who’s in the mood for my cousin’s Chocolate Mole Pumpkin Cupcakes? Made with Tillamook Butter – YUM!

INGREDIENTS for Cupcakes:

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup water
½ teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoon Tillamook Unsalted Butter
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 ½ cup mini chocolate chips

INGREDIENTS for Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese
¼ cup Tillamook Unsalted Butter
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Have all ingredients at room temperature (especially the butter). Whisk flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, cardamom, nutmeg, ground cloves, and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl and set aside. Combine water and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside. Beat butter in a large bowl until creamy. Gradually add white and brown sugar to the butter. Beat in one egg at a time.  Add pumpkin puree and beat on low speed until just blended. Add the flour in three parts alternating with the water mixture in two parts, beating on low speed. Fold in mini chocolate chips. Bake in regular-sized cupcake forms for 18-22 minutes or in mini-sized cupcake forms for 12-15 minutes.

For the frosting, combine all ingredients in the bowl of a mixer or a food processor. Beat until perfectly smooth and spreadable. Spread over cupcakes once cool. If you are feeling artsy, use a pastry bag with a big star opening on the end and draw a beautiful star and shake confetti sugar all over the top.

My cousin says these are delicious and moist. If you are feeling adventurous, add cayenne to the mix for mole with a kick!

Photo: Flickr/Andrea (Creative Commons)

By Gillian

When I made this dessert for a holiday open house, I went a little overboard and there was a lot left over. A friend asked if she could take some home to share with her family.  Truth be told, she never shared – it’s that good! It’s a nice light ending to a hearty Thanksgiving dinner and perfect with Tillamook Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (or be daring and serve with Tillamook Sticky Bun Ice Cream!)

GINGER PUMPKIN MOUSSE

4 eggs
7 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. unflavored gelatin
1 ½ cups pumpkin puree or canned pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
¾ tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
¼ tsp. grated nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream

Beat eggs with sugar until mixture is light colored and thick. Add gelatin and beat to blend well. Mix in pumpkin puree and spices and chill until mixture begins to set, about an hour.

Whip cream into soft peaks and fold into pumpkin mixture. Pour into a large serving bowl and chill for 4 or more hours. Enjoy!

Photo: Flickr/Melanie Tata (Creative Commons)

By Susan P.