Recipe Swap: Sweet Endings

Looking for the perfect sweet ending for your Thanksgiving Day meal? Your fellow North Shore residents and Patch readers have submitted some tasty recipes to try as part of the North Shore Recipe Swap.

These tried and true recipes are ready to share.

Mandarin Orange Cake

Provided by Danvers Editor Molly Buccini

 Ingredients

1 package yellow cake mix

1/2 vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 can mandarin oranges with the juice

Directions

Mix all of the above ingredients together. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes in two round cake pans

Remove from oven and let cool

Icing

1 package vanilla instant pudding

1 large can crushed pineapple with juice

1 large sized cool whip

Mix together and frost cake

Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve

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Hot Apple Cider

Provided by the Ivy Program at Swampscott High School

Ingredients

6 cups apple cider

1/4 cup real maple syrup

2 cinnamon sticks

6 whole cloves

6 allspice berries

1 orange peel, cut into strips

1 lemon peel, cut into strips

Directions

Pour cider and syrup into a large stainless steel saucepan.

Bundle the cinnamon, cloves, allspice berries, orange and lemon peels into some cheese cloth and tie the bundle with kitchen string.
Drop the spice bundle into the cider.

For 5 to 10 minutes heat the saucepan of cider mixture so it is very hot but not boiling.

Remove the cider from the heat. Throw away the spice bundle. Ladle the cider into big cups or mugs, adding a fresh cinnamon stick to each serving of cider

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Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cinnamon and Maple Filling

Provided by Katie Curley-Katzman, Salem

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1 1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/4 t salt

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sunflower oil

1 large egg, beaten

1 t vanilla

1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Sift flour, baking powder, baing soda, cinnamon and salt.

Place the sugar and oil in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for one minute. Beat in the egg and vanilla, then add the pumpkin. Stir in the sifted flour and beat until thoroughly incorporated.

Spoon 24 mounds of batter onto the cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

For the Filling

1 cup full-fat cream cheese

4 T unsalted butter (softened)

2 T maple syrup

1 t cinnamon

3/4 cup confectioner's sugar (sifted)

Directions:

Place the cream cheese in a bowl with the butter and beat until smooth. Beat in the maple syrup, cinnamon and sugar until smooth.

To Assemble

Spread the filling over the flat side of half the cakes, top with remaining cake halves.