I would reconsider making two different desserts - instead of choosing one, they might want to try both!

Layer bars are pretty easy, and good ole' brownies are never a wrong choice.

Sues Oreo Truffles...they go over BIG!!!!

Homemade Cinnamon Buns are well received at my local service station.

Oatmeal Cake (2 pans) and Double Chocolate Snack Cake (2 pans)

Double Chocolate Snack Cake  350 oven for 30 min.  9x13 pan, greased, floured

1 2/3c flour
1 c packed light brown sugar
1/4c cocoa
1 t baking soda
1/4t salt
1 c water
1/3 c. oil
1 t vinegar
3/4 t vanilla
1/2c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 9x13 pan. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add wet ingredients. Beat smooth. Pour into pan, sprinkle chips on top.
Bake about 30 minutes. Test with pick in center. Cool pan on rack. Cut into squares.

A selection of muffins and sweet tea breads

Pound Cake with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce

Sour Cream Coffee Cake (also known as Jewish Coffee Cake)

In my nearly 2 years of doing big church lunches, I have learned not to offer a choice because you then need twice as much of everything....just one at a time.
How about apple cake with caramel sauce?
Apple Cake

4 cups chopped apples
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup raisins ( I use chopped other fruit like dried peaches or apricots)
Mix and let sit for about an hour ( less is OK)
2 cups flour
1 ½ tsps baking soda ( I like ¾ tsps soda and ¾ tsps BP)
¾ tsps salt
1T cinnamon ¼ tsp nutmeg
Mix dry ingredients
2 eggs
¾ cups veggie oil
1 tsp vanilla
beat together
1 cup chopped pecans if desired.
Add the oil and eggs to the apples and sugar and dried fruit. Stir in the dry mixture and add nuts if desires.
Pour into greased 9 by 13 pan and bake 350 until doneÂ..40 to 50 minutes.
Serve with cake gravy!

Cake Gravy
Mix 1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
½ cup evap milk
1 tsp vanillaÂ.
Mix all and cook all in a sauce pan for about 3 minutes.
Serve warm over the cake.

Or how about a Texas sheet cake? There are several versions out there.
Linda C

This goes really fast! I gave some to my neighbour once, and now I give half of it to them every time I make it... at their request! (their oven is broken)

Banana Cake

2 cups flour
1½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1½ cups sugar
1/3 cup soft margarine
½ cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 cup mashed bananas
2 eggs, unbeaten
1 tsp vanilla

Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cream together margarine and sugar. Add milk and bananas. Add dry ingredients, and eggs and vanilla. Beat 1 minute on low speed (by hand will do). Pour into prepared dish.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes. Cool cake for 5 minutes before spreading with topping.

Topping:

¼ cup butter or margarine
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1½ Tbsp milk
½ cup shredded coconut
¼ cup chopped nuts (walnuts) - optional

Cream together the margarine and brown sugar. Add milk and beat until smooth. Add coconut and nuts, and mix well.

Spread mixture on cake and broil until bubbly and lightly browned. (Keep an eye on it. Now is not the time to read a book!)

These are great and feed a crowd - they are made in a jelly roll pan.

Pumpkin Spice Bars (49 bars)

4 Large Eggs
2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 can (15 ounces) Pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
! Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1 Cup Raisins, if desired
1/2 cup Chopped Walnuts, if desired

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease bottom and sides of 15x10x1-inch pan with shortening. In large bowl, beat eggs, granulated sugar, oil and pumpkin until smooth. Stir in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and cloves. Stir in raisins. Spread in pan.
2. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 2 hours.
3. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, on low speed until smooth and spreadable. Spread frosting over bars. Sprinkle with walnuts. For bars, cut into 7 rows by 7 rows. Store in refrigerator.

AnnT's Cream Cheese Danish!

Rita

Cream Cheese Danish Coffee Cake
===============================
Source: Home Cooking Magazine

1 c sour cream
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c butter
1 t. salt
2 packages dry yeast (4 1/2 t.)
1/2 c warm water
2 eggs beaten
4 c all purpose flour

Over low heat in a small saucepan, heat butter, sour cream , sugar and salt until warm and sugar is dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

In large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix sour cream mixture with yeast and add beaten eggs and flour. Will be a very soft dough. Put in fridge overnite to rise. ( May be done same day. Put in fridge for about 2 to 4 hours, and then proceed. )

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead 6 or 7 times. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece out to 12 X 8 inches. Spread 1/4 of filling on to each piece and roll jellyroll style from long side. Pinch seams and ends to seal. Place seam side down on buttered baking sheet and cut X's in top. (About 6 X's) (Danish should be slightly flatten, and about 3 1/2 to 4 inches wide and about 12 inches long.

Cover and let rise until about double in size - approximately 1 hour Bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Let cool on wire racks,

Filling
2 packages 8 oz. cream cheese
3/4 c sugar
1 egg beaten
1 t. vanilla extract
1/8 t. salt

Filling: To make filling beat together cream cheese with sugar, add egg and vanilla extract and salt.

Glaze
2 1/2 c confectioners sugar
1/4 c milk
1 t. vanilla extract
toasted sliced almonds.

Combine the first 3 ingredients for glaze and drizzle over loaves with toasted almonds.

Thibeault's Table
AnnT

I made a Cream Cheese Pound Cake that is melt-in-your-mouth good! The recipe is on Terri's recipe page and after reading the recipe, I just had to make it. Makes either 1-10" tube cake or 2-10by4 loaf cakes.

I served it with my fresh frozen peaches but any fruit would be great!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake (Terri)

3 Sticks of Butter, softened

1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened

3 cups sugar

6 whole eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

dash of salt

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan; set aside. Cream butter and cream cheese; gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and salt, stirring until combined. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 90 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan, and cool completely on a rack.

I give Cookie Baskets to our local fire and police every Christmas Eve and this is my most requested recipe. In fact DH ducked a speeding ticket by promising the officer his own batch of Mini Cakes.

Miniature Cheesecakes

2-8 oz pkgs of room temp cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 TBL Vanilla
1 Box Vanilla Wafers (the round ones)

Mix all ingredients. Put wafer in bottom of each Mini Paper Cup. You do need to break off the edges of the wafer to fit inside the bottom of the mini-cup. Fill each mini-cup abt 3/4 full of Cream Cheese mixture. Bake at 400 degress until just turning brown on top maybe 8-10 minutes. These freeze very well, so you can make ahead of time.

Michelle

Rita, we Michigan women must think the same, I was just thinking that Ann's Cream Cheese Danish would be perfect. It freezes perfectly and you can make different fillings if you want a variety.

Annie

Awe Michelle..thanks for sharing that recipe..I forgot all about it..I think I need to make that in mini loaves for the ladies at school..
That recipe was given to me by a young man many moons ago. We met online because of That Home Site..
I'm sure he'd be pleased to know that the recipe is being enjoyed!

I agree with Annie and Rita..the Cream Cheese Danish is a MUST for one of your months!

Taking a slightly different direction here -

JOYCE'S RICE PUDDING

1 quart milk
1 quart half and half
dash of salt

1 cup regular long grain white rice

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

When mixture comes to a boil stir in one cup regular long grain white rice. Stir for about 40 minutes at medium high until mixture starts to thicken. Combine 2 eggs, 1 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Add to mixture and stir another 8 minutes. Pour into 9 x 13 pan and chill.
Best if made a couple days ahead of time.
Enjoy.

Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies
6 to 8 bananas, sliced
2 cups milk
1 (5-ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.
In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

No has mentioned these Ann T. classics yet:

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Silly Toffee Squares
====================

Source Patty

Base

1/2 flour
3/4 cup rice krispies cereal
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter melted

Toffee Layer

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c butter
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips semi sweet
1 1/4 cup Rice Krispies cereal .
. Combine all the ingredients for the base and press into an 8 inch square pan. Bake in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes.

While base is baking make the toffee layer.

In a heavy saucepan combine the condensed milk with the 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Keep stirring as this mixture burns easily.

Pour toffee over the base.

Melt chocolate chips and stir in the 1 1/4 cups of rice Krispies. Stir to coat well. Use two forks to spread evenly over the toffee layer. Chill and cut into squares.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Graham Cracker Chewies
======================

These are amazingly good and simple to make. They are a nice alternative to brownies.

Recipe from the Nantucket Open House Cookbook.

Crust

1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Topping

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs beaten

Preheat oven to 350°

Prepare the crust:

Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter and flour in a mixing bowl until moist and crumbly. Press the mixture firmly and evenly in the bottom of a 9 inch square baking pan. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

Prepare topping:

Stir all the ingredients together until blended. Spread the topping over the baked crust and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely, then cut into 16 squares.

Does it have to be sweet?

How about a 7-layer dip and chips.
Hot Wings.
Veggie or fruit trays.
Little smokies.
Big pot of chili.
Bruschetta.
Nachos.
Stuffed mushrooms.
Spinach dip w/ homemade bread.

Or, if they really do want/need sweet stuff.....
Cookies feed a crowd.
Homemade granola bars.
Caramel corn.
And I agree........everybody loves brownies!

Deanna

Woodie, Rice Pudding is always my fall back dessert. Men just love it and ask for 2nds and sometimes 3rds!

How about AnnT's Scones? When I was in MI, Annie made the scone recipe and formed them like a cookie and then we spread home canned preserves on them...DELICIOUS! When I got home I could not wait to try them out so I did exactly the same and they were a big hit.

Raspberry Scones (AnnT)

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Tbsp. cold butter
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup fresh raspberries***
extra cream and sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter into mixture with pastry blender until it resembles a course meal. Add cream and raspberries to dry ingredients. Mix lightly with fork until mixture forms a stiff dough. Knead on floured board just to incorporate all flour; try not to damage berries.

Roll into 7-inch round and cut into 6 or 8 wedges. Place 1 inch apart on greased baking sheet; brush tops with cream and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.

Note: When adding fruit to the scone mixture, make sure the raspberries or blueberries are frozen. Otherwise you end up with crushed fruit.

Still tastes as good, but not as pretty. I usually add the cream and when the dough has almost come together I add the frozen fruit. With the Chocolate you can add it along with the cream.

***I made the scones and just left out the raspberries. Formed the dough into balls and pressed down. Baked until just golden and cooled on a rack. Then topped each scone cookie with either Apple Butter, Peach Butter, Raspberry Jam or something similar.

And Sharon's LEMON GRAHAM SLICE (Sharoncb) is outstanding! Probably one of the best lemon desserts we've ever had.

LEMON GRAHAM SLICE (Sharoncb)

1 1/2 cups (350 mL) Graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup (75 mL) packed brown sugar
1/2 teasp (2 mL) baking powder
1/8 teasp (0.5 mL) salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) butter or margarine

10 oz (284 mL)sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup (125 mL) lemon juice
1 teasp (5 mL) vanilla

Bottom Layer

Crumble first 5 ingredients together well and pack into 9 x 9 inch (22 x 22 cm) ungreased pan. Set aside.

Top Layer

Combine milk, lemon juice and vanilla in bowl and stir. Spread over bottom layer. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool and cut into 36 squares.

Source: "Company's Coming" - 150 Delicious Squares
Jean Paré

My Note: As a dessert slice it into larger portions and serve with whipped cream.

Michelle

OMG, Thanks so much for all the recipes and ideas. DH says I have to start doing practice runs now so he can try them all out and the other Lt. who does the second half of the year will demand that I take care of his "duties" too.
dgkritch, I like the idea of a snacky type night too and as for the cookie part, I made the mistake of making monster cookies for a special meeting one time and now they request that I keep the freezer full of them at the Fire barn to which I do.