Summer is the time of picnics and pot lucks which are occasions that prompt me to “bake”.  Or at least fake it with a yummy dessert to share.

First up, is my standard summer cake.  It isn’t my creation – I believe I saw it in a Good Housekeeping 15 or 20 years ago for the first time and continue to see it here and there.  But I’ll share in case there are a couple of you who haven’t tried it – or don’t realize just how easy it is.  It is especially nice to make for the 4th of July because of the red, white, and blue colors.  You can make the cake a flag cake by making the strawberries stripes and clustering the blueberries in the top quarter – but I like the berries more evenly distributed.

Jello Cake

1 box lemon cake mix

1 tub Cool Whip

1 box strawberry jello

Fresh strawberries & blueberries (can also add raspberries and blackberries if you like)

Bake the lemon cake according to the directions on the box in a 9×13 pan.  Allow it to cool.

While it cools, prepare the jello according to box directions (I usually reduce the water from 2 cups to 1 1/2 but either way it will turn out fine). Let it cool a bit but not start to turn into jello.

Poke holes every inch or so all over the top of the cake with a chopstick or other similar item (spoon handle, etc).  Slowly pour the liquid jello over the cake, allowing it to seep into the holes.  Allow to sit for 2 hours.  Then top with container of cool whip and put berries on top.

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My husband loves Oreo Cream Pie at Eat N Park.  Everytime we go home, even if it is 9am, he asks if they have it.  The answer is often “No”.  But when they do, he does a little happy dance.  My thoughts on it – meh.  I could take it or leave it.  It doesn’t curl my toes.  For Father’s Day, I decided I would try and make one for him.  I scoured the restaurant copy cat sites and didn’t turn up Eat N Park’s recipe.  I settled on this recipe.  It was a hit – not exactly up to Eat N Park standards but he asked how to make it so he could do it himself if I didn’t make it again soon enough.  I will use a smaller pie pan next time because it was a little too thin in this pan. And I might increase the butter a tad for the crust because it fell apart a bit.

Oreo Cream Pie

39 Oreo cookies

1/4 Cup butter, melted

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

1/3 Cup sugar

2 Cups cool whip, thawed

Put 26 oreos into good processor and pulse until crumbs (or put in large ziploc and use rolling pin to crush them).  Add melted butter and pulse until distributed.  Press mixture into 9″ pie pan and refrigerate.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar together on medium until smooth and fluffy. Chop 9 oreos.  Fold in crushed cookies and cool whip.  Pour into pie crust.  Refrigerate. I topped with a little extra whipped cream.

Remaining cookies are a reward for making your husband a pie for garnish.