PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

This glass cookie jar has been on my kitchen counter for the last 20 years. At least 75% of that time, it had peanut butter cookies in it. Our standard comment (“the kids like peanut butter cookies”) was obviously just an excuse, because the kids are all grown (with families of their own) and the jar is STILL full of peanut butter cookies. Needless to say, I don’t even look the recipe up anymore…I think I could make these cookies in my sleep.

Preheat oven to 375° Bake on un-greased cookie sheet
In large mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat until smooth:
1 cup butter flavored Crisco
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
Once the above mixture is smooth, add 2 ½ cups flour, 1½ teaspoons baking soda and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix well. Cookie dough should be moist and hold together easily when you squeeze a hand full. If it seems a little dry or crumbly, add a couple tablespoons of water.
Roll the dough into balls about the size of walnuts, and then roll the balls in granulated sugar. Place on UN-greased baking sheet and flatten with fork tines in criss-cross pattern. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375°; cool on parchment paper.
NOTE: Cooking time depends on how large you make these cookies. Dough balls about the size of a walnut, bake for 11 minutes in my oven.
NOTE: The original recipe called for butter (instead of the Butter Flavored Crisco). The Butter Flavored Crisco makes a much lighter & crispier cookie than butter (and still provides the buttery taste).

DATE BARS

Recently, I have been re-discovering some of the older recipes I have saved. Those from the “good old days”, when life (and recipe ingredients) were simpler. Recipes like those I picture Mrs. Cleaver from “Leave it to Beaver” making or maybe Aunt Bea from Mayberry (LOL). Boy, am I dating myself or what?

This date bar falls into that category. They are delicious with a large glass of cold milk and a good book. I hope you try them.

DATE FILLING
1 pound of dates diced small (about 3 cups)
1½ cups water
¼ cup sugar
Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes or until they are nice and thick, then cool.

CRUST
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup butter flavored Crisco
1¾ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1½ cups quick cooking oats
Heat oven to 400° (see note below). Mix brown sugar, butter and shortening until smooth. Mix in remaining ingredients. Press half of the mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Spread the cooled date filling on the bottom crust. Top with the remaining crumbly mixture, press down slightly. Bake until light brown (25-30 minutes). Cut into bars while they are still slightly warm.
NOTE: The original recipe says to bake at 400° which worked well with my bright aluminum pan, however, when I tried my new heavy duty pan (which is dark) I had to reduce the temperature to 375°.
NOTE: After you get all of the crumb ingredients mixed together, run your hands through the crumbs to make sure the oatmeal is evenly distributed and there are no “lumps” of butter.

HUNGARIAN GOULASH + HOMEMADE PASTA

This is MY kind of comfort food…slow simmered beef until it is fork tender, in a rich, full-bodied gravy and served over homemade noodles; it does not get much better than that. If you make this on the stovetop, it is done in about 2½ hours, at most. If you cook it in the crockpot, it takes about 8 hours on low.

2 pounds of chuck roast
1 medium onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 ½ cups beef broth (not bullion)
¾ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika (not the hot kind)
½ teaspoon dry mustard
healthy pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Trim all of the white fat parts from a 2 pound chuck roast and cut it into one inch cubes. Brown the meat, onion and garlic in the olive oil. Drain any excess fat.
Add the rest of the ingredients and heat to boiling. Stir well and reduce heat to a very gentle simmer. Cover and simmer until fork tender (about 1 ½ to 2 hours depending on how tough the meat is). While this is simmering, make the noodles.

PASTA FOR FOUR
I made the dough for this in my kitchen aid (with paddle attachment). I don't have a pasta roller or cutter, so my pasta was a little irregular, but it still tasted great.
2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil
I just put the wet ingredients in first, mixed for a couple seconds, then put in the dry ingredients and mixed until it turned into a nice soft dough. Depending on the moisture content of your flour, you might have to add or subtract a tablespoon of water to get the right consistency (so don’t add all of the water at once). Knead the dough by hand for five minutes (or by machine for 3 minutes).The dough should be smooth, elastic and a just a little tacky to the touch.
Wrap the dough in plastic and let it sit (at room temperature) for 20 minutes…this is the most important step. If you skip this step, the dough will not roll out right and will try to spring back on you. If you let it sit for 20 minutes, it will roll out much easier.

Flour your counter and roll the dough out as thin as you can get it (it is a very forgiving dough and will not crack or tear like piecrust). Keep in mind that when you cook the noodles, they expand, so whatever thickness you roll them out to…your final product will be almost twice as thick! Cut the noodles in thin strips and air dry for an hour or so (I dried my noodles on a baking rack).To cook, bring a big pot of salted water to a boil (I added a tablespoon olive oil to the water) and cook the pasta for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. When it starts to float, it is very close to being done; remove a piece and taste it for doneness.

BACK TO GOULASH
When the noodles are almost done, and the meat is ultra-tender, turn up the heat under the meat and thicken the sauce with a flour-water slurry (¼ cup water + 2 tablespoons flour shaken in a jar). Stir vigorously while adding the slurry to the sauce and cook until thick, remove from heat. Serve goulash over cooked noodles.
NOTE: The first hour that the goulash cooks, the aroma will be strong, but never fear…the second hour, something magical happens and it all mellows out and becomes delicious.

TACO FILLING

I often look at the packets of dry seasoning and gravy mixes, at the grocery store, and wonder what is in them besides the main ingredient which seems to be salt. I see young cooks buying packets of taco seasoning mix and I have to resist the urge to tell them “save your money…you probably have the necessary ingredients at home already!”

This is a good, basic, kid friendly recipe for beef taco filling because it is more flavorful than spicy; I’ve used this recipe for many years. If you like more “heat”, just add some (seeded and diced) jalapeño peppers. Personally, I like more heat than my husband (who thinks black pepper is too spicy LOL), so instead of bumping up the seasoning in the whole recipe, I just add some pepperjack cheese to MY taco.

1 pound lean ground beef
2/3 cup chopped sweet onion
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon regular paprika (not the hot kind)
pinch garlic powder
½ cup water
(1) 4 ounce can of Ortega chopped mild green chiles

Brown the ground beef and onions, then drain well. Return meat to pan and add everything else. Simmer for about 15 minutes, using your spatula to chop the burger into fine pieces as it cooks. The water will help disperse the seasonings and then it will cook away. Turn heat down and keep warm until ready to use.
NOTE: If have an unexpected guest or two, just add some refried beans to the meat and mix well.

BISCUIT FLAT BREAD

Do you ever need a quick side dish or a “go with” for that crockpot dinner? This “instant biscuit" type flat bread is quick, flavorful and something just a little different.

10 ounce tube of refrigerator (flaky) biscuits
½ cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (packed fairly tight)
¼ (level) teaspoon of dry basil leaves
¼ (level) teaspoon of dry oregano leaves
3 tablespoons of thinly slivered green onion tops
1 clove of garlic (minced)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Mix everything together well (except the biscuits) and set aside.
Separate refrigerator biscuits and roll each one out into a circle approximately 4” across. Using your fingers, press on the center of the biscuit’s a little more, leaving the outer edge just a little bit thicker than the center (like a pizza). Divide cheese mixture evenly between the biscuits and spread it around (staying back from the edge).Bake on UNgreased cookie sheet, at 350° for about 15 minutes or until golden.
NOTE: Change the kind of herbs if there is something you like better.
NOTE: I usually cook them for about 14½ minutes then turn the broiler on for about 30 seconds to give them just a little extra color (but watch them carefully).
NOTE: Don’t flour your counter before rolling out these biscuits.

HONEY-WHOLE WHEAT-OATMEAL PANCAKES

JUST IN TIME FOR SUNDAY BREAKFAST!

These pancakes have a wonderful honey-whole wheat flavor that you are not going to get out of an instant "white bread" pancake mix. This batter mixes up in just a couple of minutes, using every day ingredients. I hope you try them.

1 egg
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup quick cooking oats
¼ cup white flour
¾ cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon honey
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
In medium size bowl, whisk the egg until it is lemon colored & a little foamy; whisk in the milk, oil and honey (*see note). Add the flour, oats, baking powder and salt; whisk just until everything is well mixed (don‘t over whisk). Let batter sit for about 5 minutes before cooking.
NOTE: Use a scant 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake.
NOTE: The honey will want to “stay together” and sit on the bottom of your bowl, so make sure you completely mix it into the milk BEFORE you add the flour and oats (that way you won’t over mix the batter).
NOTE: I find that pancakes cook best on a pan that has been sprayed liberally with vegetable spray and then wiped out with a paper towel.
NOTE: You can add ½ cup raisins to this batter if you like raisins. Plump raisins by pouring a little boiling water over them in a small dish and let them sit for 15 minutes then drain well and add to batter.

BROWNIE COOKIES

I would like to introduce our 4 year old granddaughter Kate, the youngest "baker" in our family. She and I made cookies today and she was such a good helper! She did a great job licking the beater as you can see by the chocolate between her eyebrows and around her mouth. She also helped me roll the batter into nice “round” balls and patiently waited for them to bake. I’m sure she will be a great baker one day.
KATE's BROWNIE COOKIES
2 cups flour
2 cups white sugar
¾ cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups Butter Flavor Crisco
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups peanut butter chips
Cream the Butter Flavored Crisco with the sugar. Beat in eggs and extract. Mix flour, baking soda, cocoa and salt together than add it to the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Roll into balls a little smaller than a walnut and bake on an UNgreased cookie sheet for 8 minutes at 350°. After 8 minutes, it will look like they need another minute or two, but don’t over bake them. Cool them on parchment paper and store in a cookie jar with a lid. These cookies will stay more like a brownie if you keep them covered.

These cookies are usually frosted, but "we" didn't want to wait.

CARAMEL CORN

I have tried multiple caramel corn recipes over the years and this is, by far, the best and easiest. It is great to serve at kids parties and a pretty jar of homemade caramel corn makes a quick office gift or baby shower game prize.

7 quarts plain popped popcorn
2 cups dry roasted peanuts or almonds (opt.)
2 cups brown sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Put popped corn into two (shallow) pans (sprayed with cooking spray), add peanuts and set aside. Preheat oven to 250°. Combine brown sugar, syrup, butter and salt in a saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat and boil for 5 minutes stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla (it will be foamy). Immediately pour over popcorn. Stir to coat but don’t worry about getting EVERY little bit covered at this point. Total baking time is 1 hour, but you have to remove pans from oven every 15 minutes and stir to coat.

After 1 hour, line your counter with waxed paper and dump the caramel corn out. Separate into pieces. Allow to cool completely. Store in airtight containers or Ziploc bags.

COLD OVEN POUND CAKE with BUTTER RUM GLAZE

My recipe interests seem to fall into three main categories. First, there are the “some day” recipes, which are generic recipes that sound good and “some day” I hope to try them. Next are the “have promise” recipes, which are recipes that I have tried a few times but they still need a little tweaking. Finally, there are my “go to” recipes, which are ones I have no reservations about; I know they will turn out great. The Cold Oven Pound Cake is one of my “go to” recipes. It is sweet, dense, moist, buttery and easy to make. It is truly a great recipe.

DO NOT PREHEAT YOUR OVEN
3 ¾ cups powdered sugar
2 sticks (half pound) of real butter (do not substitute)
4 eggs
3 cups flour (sift into cup and level off)
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter extract (don’t leave out)

Cream butter in large electric mixer bowl. Add powdered sugar and mix well. It will seem very dry at first, but it WILL cream together. Beat until very fluffy (to the consistency of a good frosting) it will take about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape walls of mixing bowl down between each egg. Add extracts and mix well.

Sift flour directly into a measuring cup and level it off with a knife. Put three of these cups into a small bowl and mix in baking powder, set aside. Next, you will be adding the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternately with the warm water. You will do this step in thirds (1/3 four + 1/3 water, etc.). Scraping down the bowl walls between each addition. Mix well. Pour batter into a well-greased and floured bundt pan and put into a COLD oven. Turn oven to 350 and bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes. Cool cake in pan about 5 minutes before turning out. Wrap hot cake with plastic wrap and let cool to room temperature. Glaze cake.
BUTTER-RUM GLAZE
¼ cup butter
5 tablespoons water
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon rum extract
Mix all ingredients and boil for 3 minutes. Spoon over cake.
NOTE: Do not let this glaze boil like crazy. Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat so that it is still boiling, but not going crazy. This glaze will be very thin after 3 minutes of boiling and will thicken as it cools. In this photo, I coated the cake with a thin glaze (the shiny part) then came back a few minutes later and did a decorative drizzle with the thickened glaze.

MAPLE-WALNUT MINI MUFFINS

The combination of maple and walnut just seem to go together in this sweet, moist mini-muffin. They are perfect with a hot cup of tea or if you are on the go. The muffins have a sweet maple syrup glaze on the top.
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup flour
2 eggs
2/3 cup soft butter
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon maple extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a mini muffin pan (or spray with a cooking spray that has flour, like Bakers Joy). Mix the wet ingredients in a medium size bowl and then stir in the dry ingredients, its just that simple. Mix long enough to just get the batter smooth. Make sure you use the MINI muffin pans (not cupcake size). Fill cups with one tablespoon batter each (makes 24). Top each one with a piece of walnut. Bake for 17 minutes.
NOTE: Dusting pan with flour is important.
NOTE: My oven cooked these little gems in 16 minutes
NOTE: Let these muffins cool for five minutes, then use a thin bladed knife to help you gently lift the muffins out onto a cooling rack. Don’t let these cool in the pan because they won’t come out.
NOTE: If you keep these muffins covered, they will stay soft. If you like a more chewy cookie type muffin, don’t cover them.
NOTE: Glaze the tops of the cooled muffins with the following mixture: ¼ cup real maple syrup + 1 tablespoon corn syrup boiled together for about 30 seconds.

PINEAPPLE COLESLAW

Coleslaw is quick, nutritious, holds up well in the fridge and has a million variations. We like ours a little on the sweet side, rather than the traditional tart taste.
1 small head of cabbage
2 carrots
½ cup finely diced red bell pepper
½ cup finely diced celery
Finely chop the cabbage, pepper and celery and shred carrots. Mix all veggies together and set aside.
DRESSING:
¾ cup low fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar if you like your salad tart)
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons milk
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Whisk dressing until smooth then stir in (1) 8 ounce can of crushed pineapple (drained). Pour dressing over veggies, mix well and chill.

CHERRY PIE with NO ROLL CRUST

Most of my pies turn out ok, however, I’ve never had much luck with cherry pies. I don’t know how many bad cherry pies I've made over the years, (lets just say a lot). Either they had too much thickener (and the pie tasted starchy and looked cloudy) or the pie filling turned out soupy (not enough thickener). Well, that was before I discovered tapioca as a pie thickener for my cherry pies. Don’t worry, you will NOT taste or see the tapioca; it just gives you a delicious bright red, non-starchy, non-soupy, cherry pie!

This no-roll pie crust is flaky, tender, delicious and surprisingly easy. It makes (1) 2 crust pie or (2) single pie shells. The recipe calls for the dough to be pressed into a 9” pie pan, but I ended up rolling it like a regular pie dough. It is easier to tear than a regular pie dough, but it isn’t a problem since you just pinch the tears shut. This is an excellent pie crust for pies that require only a bottom crust, like pumpkin, pecan or cream pies.
STEP ONE - CRUST
In large electric mixer bowl, mix 2 cups flour (spoon into cup and level off), 1 cup butter flavored Crisco, 2 teaspoons sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix until crumbly. While mixer is running, add ¼ cup ice water, 2 tablespoons of beaten egg and 1 ½ teaspoons white vinegar. Beat until dough forms a ball. Cut dough ball in half and pat half of dough into a 9” pie pan. Add filling and top with other half of dough.
STEP TWO - CHERRY FILLING
(2) 14 ounce cans of tart pie cherries (packed in water) and drained
1 ¼ cups white sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon almond extract (it really boosts the cherry taste)
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons of quick cooking tapioca
Mix DRAINED cherries, tapioca, sugar, lemon juice and extract in a bowl and let it stand for 15 minutes. Pour filling into pie crust and cover with top crust. Pinch edges shut and brush top crust surface with a little beaten egg white and dust with granulated sugar. Cut vent holes in top of crust. Bake in PREHEATED 450° oven for 10 minutes, then change dial to 350° and bake another 45 minutes. Cool on rack.
NOTE: Put a cookie sheet under your pie pan in case your filling tries to bubble over. It shouldn’t, but it will save you a lot of oven clean up just in case.

NOTE: CHERRY CRISP TOPPING (instead of top crust)

Mix 2/3 cup brown sugar + 1/2 cup flour + 1/2 cup oats + 1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/3 cup soft butter. Mix it all together and sprinkle over pie filling. Same baking directions as above.

NOTE: You can also roll out the top crust and then use a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter and cut out shapes and arrange them in a design on top of the fruit before baking.