Cranberry Walnut Swirls

I tore this recipe out of a Ladies Home Journal magazine back in 1983 and it's become a family favorite. It's no wonder, it was a First Prize winner in the LHJ Christmas cookie contest that year.

Pastry ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling ingredients:

(if you have a food processor, it works best for this)

1/2 cup finely ground cranberries

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons milk

In a large mixing bowl combine the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl occasionally. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix just until combined. Wrap and refrigerate dought about 1 hour for easier handling.

In a small bowl combine cranberries, walnuts, and orange peel; set aside. Combine brown sugar and milk (add more milk if you need to, the mixture should be easy to spread).

On lightly floured board roll dough to a 10" square. Spread with sugared milk, then sprinkle with cranberry mixture, leaving about 1/2" edge at two opposite sides of the dough. Roll up tightly, jelly-roll fashion, beginning at one of the unspread sides. Wrap in wax paper and freeze until firm, several hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut roll into 1/4" slices. Bake on top rack of oven for about 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Key Lime Pie with Nut - Graham Crumb Crust

The best key lime pie I have ever tried, the crust is amazing too.

Crust
1c graham cracker crumbs
2/3 cup almonds or macadamia nuts, toasted, cooled and ground in a food processor till about the diameter of a pencil lead.
1/2 stick (1/4c) butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup sugar

Pie
3 large eggs, separated, the whites at room temperature
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup Key lime juice (approx 3-4 Key limes)
grated rind of two of the limes

Meringue:
1/3 cup sugar
reserved egg whites

[I like this both with the egg white meringue or omitting the meringue and just using whipped cream instead]


Mix the crust ingredients well and press into a glass pie plate, going up the sides. Bake the shell at 350 for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and let cool.

In a large bowl, beat the yolks with the condensed milk and stir in the remaining ingredients. Spoon filling into baked shell.

If making the meringue: place uncooked pie into the refrigerator for 1 hour. In a bowl beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks, add the sugar, beating, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat the meringue until it holds stiff peaks. Spread the meringue over the filling and bake the pie in the middle of a preheated 350'F oven for 15 minutes, or until the meringue is just golden. Chill the pie for 2 hours.

If making without the meringue: Chill pie for 1 hour and then bake at 350' for 15 minutes. Chill and then top with fresh whipped cream.


[recipe adapted from Gourmet 1990]

Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

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Takes less than five minutes to make the easiest cookie in the world.
(Even though they are called "cookies" they are more like a candy to me)

1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 TBS cocoa
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (or chunky)
3 cups dry quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup coconut (may omit)
2 tsp vanilla


1. Add the first four ingredients into a 4-quart sauce pan.
2. Bring to a rolling boil and hold for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in the next 4 ingredients and drop by tablespoons onto wax paper or foil.
5. Let cool until set.

Makes approx 20 cookies

Mississippi Mud Cake

A old family recipe. Very rich and delicious.

Cake
1 lb. butter
4 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa
8 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups flour
2 cups flaked coconut
2 cups chopped pecans

Icing
1 (14oz) jar marshmallow cream

2/3 cup cocoa
2 boxes powdered sugar
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla


Cream butter, sugar and cocoa. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and baking powder. Gradually add the 3 cups flour. Fold in coconut and nuts.

Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 cake pan. Bake at 350' for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes clean. When cake is done and still hot, spread marshmallow cream over the top and let cake cool completely.

When cake is completely cooled, mix ingredients for icing (cocoa, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla) and spread over cake. Top with extra chopped pecans if desired.

Granny's Black Russian Cake

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Cake
1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 c vegetable oil
1 small pkg instant chocolate pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 c vodka
1/2 c Kahlua
1/4 c water

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Kahlua
1 tablespoons (or more) whipping cream

Mix cake ingrediants, beating well. Pour into a greased Bundt pan. Bake at 350' for 50-60min or until toothpick comes clean. Cool 10-20 minutes and then invert onto a cake rack.

Combine powdered sugar, Kahlua, 1 TBS cream in medium bowl. Whisk until smooth, adding more cream by 1/2 teaspoonfuls if glaze is too thick to drizzle. Spoon glaze decoratively over top of cake; let stand at room temperature until glaze is firm, about 1 hour.

Layered Chocolate or Lemon or Lime Dessert

[We renamed this "Better Than Sex Dessert" among the adults in my family.]

Layer 1

1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup chopped pecans

Layer 2

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup Cool Whip

Layer 3

1 pkg instant chocolate (or lemon or lime) pudding mix
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups milk
* if making lemon flavor, add 1 TBS fresh lemon/lime juice

Layer 4

1 large container of Cool Whip
*if making chocolate flavor pudding, top dessert with a grated milk chocolate bar, if making lemon or lime flavor top with fine shavings of lemon/lime peel.


DIRECTIONS

Layer 1: mix flour, butter and pecans. Press into a 9x13" pan. Bake at 325' for 25 minutes. Cool completely.

Layer 2: mix softened cream cheese with the powdered sugar with an electric mixture. Fold in by hand 1 cup cool whip. Spread over the baked layer.

Layer 3: With an electric mixture, beat together puddings and milk until smooth and thick. Spread over the cheese layer.

Layer 4: Spread cool whip over pudding layer forming nice swirls. Refrigerate several hours. Garnish with either shaved chocolate curls or the shaved citrus rind depending on flavor made.

S'more Thumbprint Cookies

1 c butter, softened
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs (either pre-made or approx 16 cracker squares finely ground in a food processer)
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups miniature marshmallows
4 1.5 oz Hershey's milk chocolate bars, broken into 60 rectangles

Heat oven to 325.

In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beat until blended. Add flour, graham cracker crumbs and salt, beat on low speed about 1 minute or until a stiff dough forms.

Shape dough into heaping teaspoon size balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart. With thumb, make indentation in center of each.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until cookies are firm and edges are just beginning to brown. Lightly press 2 marshmallows in the center of each cookie, bake 2-3 minutes longer. Top marshmallows on each cookie with a rectangle of chocolate, let stand 2-3 minutes. With a tip of a knife, spread the melting chocolate over marshmallows. Let stand until chocolate is set.

Serve with a glass of milk!

approx 5 doz cookies

Super Easy Pecan Cookies

These are so easy to make and no one would ever know you didn't make the dough yourself!

1 roll Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup pecans, ground fine in a food processor
2 cups pecans, chopped medium fine
1 c milk chocolate chips
1 c white chocolate chips
2 freezer ziplock bags

Preheat oven to 350. Break up cookie dough in a large bowl, add cinnamon, vanilla, and fine ground pecans. Stir well. Form golf ball sized balls of dough. Roll each ball into chopped pecans. Place on a ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten each ball slightly with your hand. Bake approx 8-12 minutes until a light golden brown. Remove cookies from oven and let cool slightly on sheet, then remove. Once cookies are completely cooled, melt milk chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring inbetween until smooth. Spoon milk chocolate into a ziplock bag and snip off a tiny opening in one of the bottom corners. Drizzle milk chocolate in one direction over cookies. Reapeat with the white chocolate, drizzling in the opposite direction, so that milk chocolate runs one direction and white runs crossing over it. Refrigerate until chocolate is set.

Hannah's English Cookies

These never stay in the house very long when Hannah makes these.

1/2 c minus 1TBS. butter
1/4 c light brown sugar
1/4 c sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 TBS milk
1/2 c hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
2 oz milk chocolate,coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Cream the butter with both types of sugar in a bowl, then beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and pinch of salt in another bowl, then sift into the creamed mixture, beating constantly with a wooden spoon. Add milk. Stir in the hazelnuts and chocolate. Scoop dough by the tablespoon for each cookie, space well apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 7-8 minutes.

Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let cookies cool slightly, then remove the cookies with a spatula and let cool on a wire rack.

Scandinavian Almond Bars

Hannah made these Christmas 2007 for the first time, they were simply amazing. They have the most wonderful almond flavor and a delicate texture. She requested that I post the recipe here.

1 roll Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp almond extract
1 egg white
1 TBS water
1 cup sliced almonds
1/4 c sugar

Heat oven to 350 and grease a 15x10x1 pan with plain shortening. In a large bowl, break up the cookie dough. Stir in cinnamon and almond extract until well blended. With floured fingers press dough into pan to form a crust.

In a small bowl, beat egg white and water until frothy. Brush over the dough. Sprinkle evenly with the sliced almonds and then the sugar. Press down slightly.

Bake 20 minutes or until edges are a light golden brown. Cool completely. Cut into either diamonds or squares.

O'Baby's

A cross between a O'Henry bar and a Baby Ruth. So good!


1 c. light Karo syrup
1 c. sugar
1 c. peanuts, unchopped
1 c. peanut butter
3 c. Rice Krispies
1 pkg. chocolate chips
1 pkg. butterscotch chips

Stir together Karo syrup and sugar. Microwave for 2 minutes. Add peanut butter to Karo mixture and stir until peanut butter is smooth and incorporated. Add peanuts. Microwave everything for 1 minute. Add 3 cups of Rice Krispies. Spread into a greased 9" x 13" pan. Press mixture down with the bottom of a flat glass or measuring cup.

Combine chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a bowl and microwave for 2 minutes at one minute intervals, stirring in between. Stir until smooth. Spread over rice krispie mixture and cool in the refrigerator until chocolate is set.

Remove and cut into 1-inch squares.

Solid Gold Chocolate Pecan Pie

This pie is so delicious and easy to make that you'll never make chocolate cream pie from Jello pudding ever again. If you're really inspired you can make your own pie crust. I don't.

1 9-inch pie crust
1 cup milk chocolate chips
2/3 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped pecan pieces
1/2 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Slightly sweetened whipped cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Weight pie crust with beans or pie weights and bake 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

In the top of a double boiler, gently melt the chocolate chips over almost simmering water. Remove from heat. In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate with corn syrup, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and pecans. Pour into the cooled pie crust and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

Place half of the chopped bittersweet chocolate in a small bowl. Place the remaining bittersweet chocolate and the oil in the top of a double boiler. Heat the chocolate, whisking, until melted. Pour the melted chocolate over the chocolate in the bowl, whising to melt. Pour over the warm pie, spreading to the edges to coat the top. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.

When serving, garnish each slice with a dollop of whipped cream.

Honey Wine Apple Crisp

My absolute favorite Apple Crisp recipe. I have been making it for half of my life (that is 20 years of making it, if you are counting).

4 cups peeled and sliced Granny Smith Apples
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup honey
2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup chopped pecans

Spread apples in a 9x9 baking dish, preferably one with high sides. Sprinkle with the white sugar, lemon juice, and wine. Pour honey over top. Mix flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter until crumbly. Add in the pecans. Spread over the apples. Bake about 40 min. at 350 or until apples are tender and crust is a crispy brown. Let cool and set. Serve warm with a good vanilla ice cream.

Praline Cake

A very moist sweet cake that is a twist off of a German Chocolate cake, however, you would never guess that there is oatmeal in the cake and no chocolate!

(This cake is even better served warm or reheated for a few seconds in the microwave)

CAKE:

1/2 cup regular oats
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 eggs
3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon

ICING:

1/2 cup butter
2 Tbs milk
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Combine oats and water, let stand. Cream sugars, oil, and eggs. Add oat-water mixture, flour, soda, and cinnamon. Bake at 350 for 35 min in a 9x9" baking dish or until passes the toothpick test. After the cake has finished baking, remove cake from oven and switch oven to BROIL. In a saucepan on the stove, combine butter, milk and brown sugar. Boil 1 minute, and then remove from heat. Add coconut and pecans to the butter-sugar mixture. Spread icing on cake while cake is hot. Place iced cake under the broiler until icing bubbles. You must watch it carefully! Remove cake and let cool slightly, serve warm with ice cream.