Desserts - Cakes, Candy, Cookies, Pies

How long has it been since you've made a really special dessert for your family. If you are like most of us these days, it is easy to justify not preparing a dessert. After all, most of us have a few extra pounds we wish we didn't have, and dessert only adds to the pounds, right? The fact of the matter is we still satisfy our sweet tooth, but with candy bars, or cookies from the store, or some other fast processed sweet treat. We eat the calories anyway. So why not take the time to prepare fabulous tasting desserts... the calories in many of these desserts are actually less than what is in that candy bar we grabbed, or the Oreo's we nibbled on. In most cases, the homemade desserts have actual nutritional value packed into the calories. In our family, making someone's favorite dessert, is a way to let them know that they are loved and are special. One of the first things Mother does when she comes to visit, is to prepare my children their favorite desserts! When holidays roll around, we have a huge dessert table... you guessed it, we prepare everyone their favorite dessert! Mom even sends "care packages" of banana bread, cookies and candies to the kids when they are away at college. Some say, "I love you" with flowers, she says it with desserts! Growing up, I don't remember many meals that we didn't have a homemade dessert. It was as important as the entree! Mother has an out of control sweet tooth, and can still pack away more sweets than anyone I know! Because she loves desserts so much, her recipe collection has many more desserts than any other category of recipes! So, if you like sweets, you are in the right place! The pies, cakes, candies, cookies, puddings, on this site have all be tested by our family over and over and over again throughout the years! Surprise your family with a special dessert and let them know how special they are! Some of our family's favorites are described on the pies, cakes, cookies, candies, and other desserts pages.

“Something as Sweet as Mangoes”

Although you are most likely to find only 6 major varieties of mangoes on retail, there are 20 that are traded internationally. However, they represent only a very small fraction of the estimated one thousand mango varieties all over the world.

Without a doubt, the Philippine Mango is the sweetest in the world. Even the Guiness Book of World Record recognizes that. A lot of varieties in other countries, including the Mexican Manilita, evolved from Manila mango.

Legend has it that this fruit came from a young man, someone who is very kind to other people, that when he died, a fairy planted his heart on the foot of the mountains, only to flourish to a heart shaped fruit we came to know.

Mangoes are also very nutritious. In fact, they are very rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin B1 and B2, Vitamin C, and Potassium. It’s a good way of getting all those essential nutrients the natural and delicious way.

Filipinos, who are very fond of this sweet fruit, has a very different way of eating mangoes; slicing and dicing the meat from the skin and not peeling it like how we peel apples. We also love to eat these unripe and raw or with rock salt or with “bagoong”. Dried mangoes are also a local delicacy. Being a tropical country, different varieties of mangoes can be found in the entire archipelago. Here are some of them.

Champagne Mango, known locally as Carabao Mango, is probably the most famous variety because of its taste and size, hence the term “manggang kalabaw.” This variety is the one that’s being exported to other countries.