Braun Syncro Shaver

When you’re planning your big holiday meal, do you often feel like you spend way too much time figuring out how you’re going to shuffle all your dishes in and out of the oven to make room to cook your desserts? My solution this year is to take my favorite desserts and transform them into crockpot dessert recipes. Using your crockpot to make desserts is a great way to free up valuable oven space so you can keep your main courses cooking instead of spending time rotating them in and out of the oven.

So, how am I going to turn my old favorite dessert recipes into crockpot dessert recipes? I chose three of my family’s favorite desserts to make this year in my crockpot in order to free up my oven space and stove top for other dishes. Let’s see how we can put my crockpot to work!

Apple Betty: You always want this dessert to come out of the oven just before you serve it because when you top this hot dessert with a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream it turns heavenly! You can use similar ingredients, but I add a touch more butter. You’ll cook it on LOW for about two hours, maybe a little less if the apples start to get mushy. Time it so you’re serving it right after it’s cooked and still nice and bubbly hot.

If you like a crunchy topping, you can heat the ingredients for the crunchy topping in a sauce pan and add to the dessert just before serving. My recipe is a little more like a cross between an apple crisp and a bread pudding.

PB and Chocolate Brownies: Brownies are always yummy, but this brownie dessert tops them all with the added peanut butter! You begin with a regular brownie mix, but the dessert isn’t cut into squares like normal brownies. You spoon the dessert into bowls instead of cutting them into traditional brownie squares. Serve while hot so that the added ice cream or whipped topping melts a little. Very yummy!

Add a bit more fun by using some candy sprinkles to the topping. You can decorate with Reese’s Pieces or other peanut butter and chocolate candy. Even peanut butter cups cut into bite size pieces would be a nice touch. Just be sure when you plan the cooking time that you plan to have the dessert done just before you want to serve it so the brownies are still nice and warm.

Pecan Cheesecake: Cooking a cheesecake in this way is especially fun. A slowcooker really is, after all, just a mini oven. The trick here is to use a regular springform pan, but be sure it actually fits. You’ll need a 5 or 6 quart crock pot with room for a 7″ springform pan. I make my graham cracker crust with some finely chopped pecans mixed in, pat the crust into shape in the pan, then pour in my whipped up cheesecake ingredients and it’s ready to go.

The pan needs to be supported off the bottom a little, so you will want to insert a small rack into the bottom. If you don’t have a rack you can devise a little “donut” out of some aluminum foil by just rolling up a bunch and forming a circle. Be sure when you put the pan in, that the pan does not sit directly on the bottom. This cheesecake is cooked on high for a couple hours. Then, the heat is turned off and left covered for about an hour more. Once you can handle the pan, you can lift it out and place it on a rack to cool completely. Remove the springform pan from the cheesecake and you’re done. Cheesecake is served either room temperature or cold so you can make this a day or so ahead if you’d like. Don’t forget to refrigerate any leftover cheesecake.

If you’ve been struggling year after year trying to arrange cooking times in your oven, this may be the perfect solution for you to leave your dinner cooking away in your oven undisturbed! If you don’t want to sacrifice any of your favorite desserts, get out your crockpot and re-create your old dessert recipes into new crockpot dessert recipes. Who knows, you may end up with some new favorites this holiday season!

Delicious Slowcooker Dessert Recipes are a treat for any holiday meal. This is the perfect time to save a little time by learning the tricks and tips of slowcooker cooking methods.

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