Mom's Gingerbread Cookies

 Every year mom would make a bunch of sugar cookies and gingerbread men. Well rather, she made the dough and we cut it out and decorated it. I think she had the good end of the deal--make the dough and eat the cookies! Dad liked to help decorate the cookies, especially the gingerbread men, as I remember it. This recipe comes fromfrom the Scovil Bakery in Nauvoo, Illinois.

1 cup sugar

1 cup molasses

3/4 cup oil or lard

1/2 cup hot water

2 eggs

1 teaspoon soda

1 heaping teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole wheat flour

4 cups white flour

1. Combine, sugar, molasses, and oil. Add hot water, measuring it in same cup as molasses so that you get all molasses out of cup.

2. Add eggs, then beat.

3. Sift together remaining ingredients then stir into wet ingredients.

4. Divide dough in two onto plastic wrap. Form into discs and wrap. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour (some say 3 hours minimum), then roll out onto floured surface to 1/4" and cut with cookie cutters.

5. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350° F (180° C).

Notes:

Many other recipes use more spices. A few of them look more like this: 1 T ground ginger, 1 T cinnamon, 1/2 t allspice, 1/2 t cloves

5 minute Microwave fudge

3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 T butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Put first 3 ingredients in microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for one minute then stir. Be patient and let the heat of the bowl help the melting. If needed, put back in for 30 seconds and stir. Repeat as necessary. Stir in salt and vanilla. Spread in greased foil lined square pan. Refrigerate 2 hours. Remove foil and cut. Yum!

Caramel Brownies

I found this yummy recipe over on StacyJulian.com. We are already done with our Christmas baking for the year, but that doesn't mean we can't try these for New Years! :)

Caramel Brownies

1 German chocolate cake mix
1 bag of small wrapped caramels
2/3 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup margarine1 cup walnuts (choppped)
6 oz. chocolate chips

Melt the caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk together in medium saucepan and set aside. Mix together the cake mix, margarine, 1/3 cup evaporated milk and walnuts. Spread one half of the cake mixture in a 9×13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips and drizzle melted caramel over partially baked mixture, drop remaining cake mixture on top. Bake 15 minutes more and cool completely.

Mock Apple Crisp...a.k.a. Zucchini Crisp

If you have ever grown zucchini, you know that overnight your perfectly sized zucchini can morph into a monster-sized squash.  When they are that big, the seeds are huge and you can't resort to the normal methods of cooking. This recipe is a great way to use these gargantuan zucchini from your garden, and it is one of Kyle's specialities.  


Zucchini Filling
4-5 c. zucchini
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. allspice
1 1/2 t. cream of tartar
2 T. flour or cornstarch
pinch of salt


Crumb topping (I already increased the topping amounts to make it extra yummy)
3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. oatmeal
1/2 c. melted butter


Preheat oven to 375 F.  Peel, de-seed, and slice zucchini to look like an apple. Boil 2 minutes. Drain and cool. Mix the dry ingredients for the filling and stir into the zucchini. Pour filling into the casserole dish (9x13). Combine ingredients for the crumb topping--mix until crumbly and sprinkle over the filling. Bake for 30 min. at 375 F. Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Serve warm.

Zucchini Bread

3 c. flour (sifted)

1 T. cinnamon

1 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

1/4 t. baking powder

Mix together in separate bowl.

3 eggs, beaten

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. oil

1 T. vanilla

Mix in large bowl.

Stir in sifted ingredients.

2 c. zucchini, grated

1/2 c. nuts

Blend in.  (Can mix w/electric mixer.)

Pour into 2 greased and lightly floured 4 1/2 x 8 1/2 loaf tins.

Bake at 325 60-70 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

Turn out on cooling rack.

For what it's worth, someone tried this with chocolate chips and her grandkids told her not to do it again.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

(From Betty Crocker Kids Cook!)

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I like it with dark brown sugar...it's more caramel tasting)
1/2 cup butter, softened  
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (only use a pinch when using salted butter)
1 cup chocolate chips (or add toffee bits or white chips and cranberries, or mini M&Ms...)

Directions:

Heat oven to 375.  Mix egg, sugars, and butter.  Add the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Stir in the chocolate chips. Scoop onto parchment paper or ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10 - 12 minutes until starting to get very light brown in spots.  Makes 18-24 cookies.

Can pre scoop and freeze. Just bake an extra minute or so.

I think my favorite time I did half salted and half unsalted butter and did 1/4 tsp coarse salt. Gave a nice salty kick. Next time I might instead use flake salt on top. Kyle thinks these are, dare I say, better than Panera's Kitchen Sink cookies. First time he tried them he said they were "heaven in my mouth."  Super easy and super yummy ;)  ENJOY!

Our Favorite Cookies

When we got married, we received quite a few cookbooks. Of all of those recipes in all of those books, this is by far the recipe that we use the most. It is Nestle Good for you Choc Oat Chip Cookies. We have made a few slight variations to make them even healthier...and yummier.


1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour (or substitute whole wheat flour--half white/half wheat seems perfect and not whole wheat tasting)
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 1/4 c. packed dark brown sugar (light works just fine)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. (1 stick) margarine or butter
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce (try 3/4 c. applesauce and 1/4 c. butter...you won't notice the difference)
2 egg whites
1 T. vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. quick or old-fashioned oats
2 c. chocolate chips (or butterscotch chips...those are our new favorite for these cookies)
1/2 c. nuts, optional (we never do this)

Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in small bowl. Beat together brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter and applesauce in large mixer bowl. Beat in egg whites and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats, morsels and nuts.  Drop by rounded tablespoon onto greased baking sheets.

Bake in preheated 375 F oven for 9 to 10 minutes for a chewy cookie or 12 to 13 minutes for a crispy cookie. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies. About 120 calories and 5 grams of fat per cookie.

S'mores Brownies

I actually got the idea for these from my niece Angie. I put my own spin on them using the ingredients I had at home. Took them to a scout activity and they were a hit. So, for those who need a good sugar rush, here is my recipe.

S'mores Brownies

1 pkg. fudge brownie mix
approx. 2 sleeves graham crackers (I used cinnamon and it was great)
a couple handfuls of mini marshmallows (you could cut up the big ones but that is really messy)
a couple handfuls of semi-sweet chocolate chips

 Preheat oven according to the brownie package directions. Line a baking pan with foil and spray with Pam. (Or do what I did and use nonstick foil.)  Break up graham crackers as desired and fill up baking sheet, leaving a little space between the cracker pieces so the brownie can get through. I broke them along both dotted lines and then broke each small rectangle into 2 squares. You could leave the crackers whole, but I think letting some batter through helps. Distribute the marshmallows and chocolate chips over the crackers. It isn't easy to get them even, so don't try too hard.  Mix up the brownies according to package directions for fudgy brownies. Spoon the brownie mix into the pan.  I poured it instead and missed getting some on most of the edges. When you bake it, the batter will spread a bit, but not completely. I used a large cookie sheet. You could avoid the problem by using a 13x9 pan instead, but I need to feed a room full of scouts. Bake until the brownies are done to your liking. Cut when warm.

Magic Bars

Kyle grew up calling these cookies Hello Dollys.  I called them Magic Bars. On the back of my Sam's Club size bag of chocolate chips and they call them Outrageous Cookie Bars.  Whatever you call them, they are just plain good!

1 stick butter or margarine
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. flaked coconut
1 c. chopped walnuts (I use pecans because that is what I like)

Preheat oven to 350.  Melt butter in 13x9 baking pan in oven; remove from oven. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over butter. Stir well; press onto bottom of pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumbs. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts; press down firmly. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 2-3 dozen bars.

Banana Bread

I love this recipe because it is super moist. I don't like dry banana bread, so I was glad when I tried this recipe. It is indeed easy and yummy!  I found it on Allrecipes here.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Variations:

Sprinkle brown sugar on top just before baking.  Gives the bread a nice sweet crunch on top.

Substitute applesauce for half of the butter.

Add some vanilla and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.

Use applesauce to compensate for not enough bananas. Doesn't hurt the flavor at all!

Chocolate lava cake

This is the perfect date night at home treat.  It makes two individual servings of chocolate lava cake...and it uses basic ingredients.  These recipes often call for coffee, and since we don't drink coffee, I haven't been able to make them.  This recipe (which I found on foodgawker) looks yummo and I can't wait to try it!

Molten Chocolate Cakes for Two
from America's Test Kitchen

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
cocoa powder (for the ramekins)
confectioners' sugar (for dusting, optional)

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Generously butter two 6-oz ramekins and dust them with cocoa powder. 

Place the butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted and smooth.  I like to do 30-second bursts at 50% power and stir in between each.  In total, it'll probably take about 1 1/2 - 3 minutes, depending on your microwave.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg with a hand mixer on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute.  Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the egg forms soft, billowy mounds, about 1 minute.  Still beating, gradually add the sugar and salt.  Once incorporated, beat for another 5-10 minutes, until the mixture is very thick and pale yellow in color.

Use a rubber spatula to transfer the egg mixture to the bowl containing the melted butter and chocolate.  Sift the flour over the top, then use a rubber spatula to gently fold everything together, just until incorporated. 

Divide the batter between the prepared ramekins, smoothing the tops with your spatula.  Put the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10-13 minutes, or until the cakes have puffed slighty and jiggle just a bit in the center when gently shaken.  Immediately upon removing the cakes from the oven, run a knife around the edges of the ramekins.  Invert the ramekins onto serving plates and let them sit for about 1 minute or so, until the cakes release from the ramekins.  Remove the ramekins and, if using, dust the cakes with confectioners' sugar then serve immediately.

Janet's easy fudge

My sister Janet just gave me this easy fudge recipe.  Her husband grew up on fancy fudge, but this recipe is so much easier and just as good.

3 c. chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Melt in the microwave.  Mix in whatever you want.  Pour into a foil lined (butter the foil) 9x9 pan.

Sample mix ins:
Rocky Road, stir in marshmallows and chopped nuts.
Peanut butter
Caramel and nuts and sea salt (have you tried salted caramel hot chocolate???)
Mint extract

Mom's Orange Candy Cake

2 c. white sugar
1 c. butter
4     eggs
1 t.  baking soda
1/2 c. buttermilk (dissolve baking soda in it)

3 1/2 c. flour
1 lb. dates, diced
1 lb. orange gummy candy slices, diced (kitchen shears work well for this)
1 c.  coconut
2 c.  chopped pecans

1 c. orange juice
1 t.  grated orange rind
2 c. powdered sugar


Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add buttermilk/baking soda mixture.

In large bowl, mix flour, dates, orange slices, coconut and nuts.  Add sugar and egg mixture and mix well.

Pour into greased and floured tube pan (or 4 loaf pans).  Bake at 250 for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until it springs back when touched.

Combine orange juice, rind and powdered sugar and pour over cake.  (If making loaf pans, 1 1/2 this part of the recipe to make a bit more juice mixture to cover all loafs).  Let stand in pan overnight. Before removing from pan, heat 10 minutes and cake will loosen from pan easily.

Mom's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Cream together:
2 c. sugar
2    eggs
2 t. lemon extract
2 c. sour cream
2 t. vanilla

In separate bowl, mix:
2 1/2 t. baking powder
1t.        salt
2 t.       baking soda
4-5 c.   flour

Mix together. Makes a soft dough. Refrigerate to firm dough.  Roll on lightly floured board, but not too thin--maybe 1/4 inch.  Cut out with cookie cutters.  Bake on greased pans at 375 for 8-10 minutes, or until very lightly browned.

Great with frosting or flavored powdered sugar icing and sprinkles.

Rhubarb Cheesecake

That's right.  Cheesecake.  And it was awfully good.  This was Kyle's birthday cake, a day early. We get boxes of frozen rhubarb every year and it's nice to find another way to use it besides rhubarb crisp.  It was a hit with everyone!

Ingredients

• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell
• 3 cups chopped fresh rhubarb
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, toss the rhubarb with 1/2 cup of sugar and the flour. Pour into the pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove pie and lower the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese and 1/2 cup of sugar until smooth. Stir in the eggs one at a time until each is blended. Pour this mixture over the rhubarb in the crust.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until set. Remove from the oven, and set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and vanilla. Spread over the top of the pie while it is hot. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled before serving

So our variation on this was adding chopped pecans to the pie crust recipe.  I used the pie crust recipe I posted the other day.  It was an amazing addition and perfect with this pie!

Pie Crust

This is the recipe I used for the peach mango pie yesterday. It is just the recipe (that Bettie told me about, of course) from the Better Homes and Gardens (aka...red and white) cookbook.  This is the recipe for a single crust pie. Don't be afraid.  I had a little trouble the first time I tried this recipe when it was a baked shell before filling.  But as a filled first shell, it was great!  I'm sure it works as a baked first, but I didn't do it right I guess. I think the chilling and pricking would have helped.  As well as I've heard of lining with foil and putting in dry beans.  Anyway, according to me, as someone who doesn't like pie...it's a great tasting pie crust. And easy too!




1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. shortening
3 to 4 T. cold water

In a mixing bowl stir together flour and salt. Cut in shortening till pieces are the size of small peas.
Sprinkle 1 T. of the water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push to side of bowl. Repeat till all is moistened. Form dough into a ball.
On a lightly floured surface, flatten dough with hands. [If you aren't going to do this right away, form it in a circle and put it in a ziploc bag in the fridge.  Make it a flat circle, that will prevent rough edges later when rolling out.] Roll dough from center to edges, forming a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Wrap pastry around rolling pin. Unroll onto a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry.
Trim to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate; fold under extra pastry. Make a fluted, rope-shape, or scalloped edge. Do not prick pastry. Bake as directed in individual recipes.

If you need to bake the crust first when called for by the recipe, prick the bottom and sides of pastry generously with the tines of a fork. Bake in a 450 oven for 10-12 minutes or till golden. Cook on a wire rack.

Sour Cream Peach Pie

Another recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com.  It was a hit!  We didn't even need whipped cream or ice cream, and that's saying something!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
• 4 cups sliced fresh or frozen peaches
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the sour cream, white sugar, 1/3 cup flour and almond extract until smooth. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour over the pie crust to prevent it from getting soggy. Alternate layers of peaches and the sour cream mixture, beginning with a layer of peaches and ending with a layer of sour cream.
3. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for an additional 35 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle brown sugar over the top. Set the oven to Broil, and broil for 2 to 3 minutes, until caramelized.

Here's the ways I changed the recipe:

I used vanilla instead of almond extract.

I followed other reviewers' advice and put the brown sugar on for the last 10 minutes, instead of doing the broil.

I used about 1/3 mangoes and 2/3 peaches.  It is what I had in the freezer.  I defrosted the fruit first and drained the liquid so the juices didn't mess up the recipe.

Easy Peach Cobbler

This is taken from Allrecipes, with changes and comments from the comments on that website.  First, the link to the original recipe.  Now the better recipe:

• 12 fresh peaches, pitted and sliced or 2-32 oz. cans sliced peaches
• 1 cup water           }
• 1 cup white sugar   } or 1 c. peach juice from cans
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package white/yellow cake mix
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Spread peach slices evenly into a 9x13 inch baking dish. If using canned peach juice, pour 1 cup of it over peach slices. If using fresh peaches, combine water and sugar in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve, then pour mixture over peaches. Sprinkle cinnamon over peach slices.
3. Cream together the cream cheese and cake mix. Spread mixture over peaches then drizzle on the butter or margarine.  Another option is to cream the unmelted butter in with the cream cheese and cake mix.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, until golden.

*Skip the extra sugar if your peaches are already sweet (most fresh ones are if they're ripe and ALL canned peaches are sweet enough). If you're using another fruit, like blackberries or raspberries, then you'd need the extra sugar. Remember, the cake mix has sugar, too. 


*Cream the cheese and cake mix together with a pastry cutter or a couple forks until it resembles a crumbly granola-type consistency. 


*Melt the butter and pour it over with the liquid (use less liquid if your fruit is really juicy!) Alternately, cream the butter in with the cheese and cake mix (see above). 


*Cinnamon is not always appropriate if you are using this with a different fruit. Other options that might sound better to you are nutmeg, vanilla bean specks or vanilla-flavored sugar.


*For a crunchy bonus, sprinkle the top with sliced almonds before baking.

Cake that doesn't fall apart

Ever since we moved here to the high desert (7000 ft) I haven't been able to make a cake that would stay together and not crumble when I tried to take it out of the pan.  Well, after perusing the internet, I found this from the Cake Mix Doctor:

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain German chocolate cake mix
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs


To make the buttermilk, you mix 4 t. lemon juice with enough milk to make 1 1/4 c and let it sit for 5 minutes.  Just blend all the ingredients on low for 5 min, scrape down the bowl, and then on medium for 2 minutes.  Bake at 350 until cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan (I used 2 9-inch round pans) and top springs back.  Take out and cool for 5 minutes then run a knife around the edges and take out the cake.  It is just how I like it: moist and doesn't break when I flip the layer over with my hands.  Thanks cake mix doctor!  Now to try it with other flavors.  I assume it will work.  The only drawback with using the german chocolate is that I think the milk make the color lighter than water would.  But it's still yummo!

Two recipes from the Pioneer Woman

Here are two great looking recipes...two of her favorites.  A sandwich and a cake.  I'm excited to try them!