SWIG Cookies (copy cat recipe)

Do you like a tender (delicate) cookie?

If so, try these!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 and 1/4 cup granulated (plus ¼ cup, set aside)
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoon water
• 2 large eggs, one at a time
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2  teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 and 1/2 cups flour

....................................................................

• Frosting:  (I suggest cutting this recipe in HALF, and you'll still have enough.)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup milk-- start with half this amount, and add more as necessary.
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• Food coloring to make pink

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cream of tarter, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, vegetable oil, sugar (1 and 1/4 cup), powdered sugar, and water. Add in eggs (slightly beaten) and vanilla.
3. Slowly add in flour mixture until combined. Roll the dough into golf sized balls and place onto a non stick cookie sheet.
4. To give the cookies their signature rough edge, dip the bottom of a glass into the reserved 1/4 cup sugar and press onto the cookie ball to flatten the cookie. You still want the cookie to be thicker so don't press them to thin.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom is lightly brown. The cookies stay soft so do not over bake.
6. To make the frosting: Cream together butter, sour cream, and salt. Add the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla.  Stir in the milk to the desired consistency. Spread over cooled cookies and store in an airtight container.

ALTERNATE RECIPE which is just a bit different that what's shown above...

https://butterwithasideofbread.com/copycat-swig-cookies/

Our Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie

Our Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

...with milk, of course!

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.  Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet/pan.  In another area of this same blog, I write about my supply of parchment paper--  it's right here:  http://milkmaidrecipebox.blogspot.com/search?q=parchment+paper

I dump all of the following ingredients into my Kitchen Aid stand mixer (in the order given).  Because of the simple way I put these together, and with the oven pre-heating from the start, I can have a batch of these cookies mixed and baked in about 25 minutes (or less?):

1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 ½ cups light brown sugar, packed  (sometimes, I use the dark variety)
1 ½ cups room temperature unsalted butter (3 sticks)
....mix the above until light and FLUFFY, and then add:

3 large eggs, added one at a time
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoon salt (regular table salt)  You may decrease this amount by 1/2                               teaspoon IF you use salted butter.
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
...mix the above combination until blended very well.  Then, add:

1 of 12 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
...it might sound odd, and you surely don't have to do this, but I add the chips to the above BEFORE I add the flour.  That way, some of the chips end up in the bottom of the bowl on my stand mixer.  The chips then act as "the bottom-of-the-bowl scraper" as the paddle goes round 'n round after I add the flour.   Next, add:

5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
...with the mixer turned on, I add this four in 1-cup increments until all is in.  Continue mixing this only until flour is incorporated...

I get about 4 dozen large cookies from this batch when I form them like this:

Using a 2" (2" across) cookie scoop (cookie baller?), I fill it full and level off the top of it on the edge of the bowl.  Release "the ball of dough" on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Then, just before putting them into the oven,  I only slightly flatten their top.  

I remove these cookies from the oven when they have a VERY  slight tint of brown to them -- 13/14 minutes?  The cookies will continue to 'bake' for a while on their hot pans after coming out of the oven.   (Ovens vary, so see what works best with yours.)

History:  Back in 1986, when I was in Utah to give my daughter a hand for two weeks following the birth of her first child, I found this recipe in a cookbook but I surely don't know which one.  What I do know is that we have liked this recipe ever since!

Nadine's Bread (six large loaves)

These six 'babies' made our house smell better today than............. ANYthing else could have! 

The 'slashes' on the top keep the loaves from getting any 'stretch marks/tears' at the top of the pan during the baking process.

This bread is so-o-o-o-o-o soft... 

 And,...........has a great texture...

From way back in the mid-50's when my brother and I sometimes spent time with our sister and her hubby, I remembered her 'so good' bread!  After I married in the early 60's, I asked her for the recipe and she gave it to me.  I have kept all the ratios in her recipe the same, but use honey instead of sugar, butter instead of lard (only because I don't know where to get PURE lard without rendering it out myself), and I often use a mix of white flour/wheat flour.

Use basic bread making techniques to make this bread.

YIELD:  6 large loaves (9x5" pans, greased well).  Because my daughter does this, I put one piece of parchment paper (cut to the size of the pan bottom) into the greased pan and then I grease the paper, also.  That way, there will NOT be any surprises with loaves wanting to 'hang around in their pan' longer than I want them to.

INGREDIENTS and DIRECTIONS:

• 4 cup scalded milk, cooled to only 'warm'.  Heat milk over med. heat just until you see little bubbles forming around the edge of the pan, like this....

If you add the next four ingredients to the hot milk, it helps to cool it down to 'warm'.  Add in the order listed...  

• 1/2 cup (1 stick)  butter
• 8 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups water (cool water if you need to cool the milk, warm water if milk is already cooled to 'warm'
• 1/2 cup honey

~~~
In a medium bowl, gently whisk the following together and let it sit just until yeast activates and bubbles up.  The sugar is used to speed up the process.

• 2cups warm water (water should not be hot).
• 4 tablespoons instant dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons sugar

~~~

• When the yeast has 'bubbled up', add it to the milk mixture and gently whisk together.  You are ready to start adding the flour.
• First, add 6 leveled cups of 100% whole wheat flour.
• ABOUT 13-14 cups white bread flour.  Now, I add white BREAD flour-- at first, I add about 13 leveled cups of white flour.  Then, ... I keep adding bread flour slowly as I begin kneading--  I only 'add' more flour until the dough is 'knead'able.  In all, this may amount to me adding around 14.5 cups of the white bread flour. For some reason, it is not always the same amount.* 

After I kneaded the bread for 5-8 minutes, I put it into a greased or oiled bowl-- I turn the ball of kneaded dough so that the top is also greased/oiled. The dough looked like this at the beginning of the first raising period...

 

After raising for about 60-70 minutes in the oven with only the oven light turned on, it looked to be 'doubled' like this...

• When the dough doubles, I 'punch it down' and let it rest for thirty minutes. 
• I removed dough from bowl, divided it into six dough balls and let them rest for ten minutes.
• One by one, I rolled the dough balls into a small rectangle with a rolling pin.  Then, starting at one end, I rolled it up, pinching and sealing ends/edges as I went along. 
• Place 'dough log' into greased pan.  With 'greased hands', I grease tops of the little 'bread logs', too.
• Put in warm place to raise in pan.  I often set the pans of dough in the oven with just the oven light on.
• When I see the bread is about 1" above the edges of the pans, I carefully remove pans from oven where they were raising and pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
• **While the oven is pre-heating, I ever so carefully 'slash' the tops of the bread.  This is done so that, during the baking process, the loaves do not 'stretch' in the area just above the pans-- according to bread bakers a whole lot smarter than I am, this 'slashing' lets steam out the top and gives 'stretching room'-- I like it! (See my note at the bottom.)**
• After baking at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, I turn oven temperature down to 350 degrees and let them bake for another 20-25 minutes OR until done.  To test for doneness, you can knock for a 'hollow sound'; judge by the color AND 'knocking'; or use an instant read thermometer like I do (I like 'done' to be an internal temperature of 190 to 192 degrees).  
• Remove from oven, tip loaves out to cool on a wire rack. Set upright. Butter tops.  Cool, slice and enjoy. 

  Like my sister sometimes did, you could also make this bread using all white bread flour, but it would take MORE of the white bread flour.

 

 ** Slashing the tops:  I had tried to do this in the past.  Unsuccessfully, I might add!  Each time, the knife would cause the bread dough to 'fall' a bit.  Oh, nuts!  That was before I found this website where it told me the knife had to be super sharp (that I already knew) and that it helps to have oil on the blade (something I did NOT know).  http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/1680

Now, I sharpen my long carver's knife and coat it with oil--  ah, MAGIC!!!!  In the picture below you can see what I use-- this professional grade sharpener from my daughter's husband and the long super-sharp knife--

A proper kind of "slash, slash" = NO FALLING dough!!!!   And, because I 'slashed', I have no 'stretch marks' showing up on any area of the baked loaf.  I DO LIKE THAT!!! 

Chewy Molasses Cookies*

*I found this recipe on Page 97 in the December 2014 issue of Cooking Light. It was marked as the "Staff Fave"--I think it's now mine, too!  It reminds me of the "trimmings" I had when I made up gingerbread houses--  now, I can have that taste without the work of assembling/decorating houses.

Yield:  24 Cookies (If you make use just 1.5 tablespoons dough to form each cookie.)

After I made these cookies the first time, I knew I would want to make more cookies at a time-- so the number in parenthesis below is the quantity I used to "4 X" this recipe today.

INGREDIENTS:

1 and 3/4 cups fluffed/leveled all-purpose flour (7 cups)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (4 tsp.)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda (2 tsp.)

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (2 tsp.)

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (2 tsp.)

1/4 teaspoon baking powder (1 tsp.)

1/4 teaspoon salt (1 tsp.)

...........

6 tablespoons butter, softened (3/4 lb., or 3 sticks)

5 tablespoons granulated sugar (20 tablespoons)

1/4 cup dark brown sugar (1 cup)

............

1 large egg (4 eggs)

............

1/4 cup molasses (1 cup)

..........

3 tablespoons granulated sugar to roll dough balls in before baking (12 tablespoons, but 10 Tbsp. was plenty)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.  
2. Combine the flour and next 6 ingredients (through the salt) in a bowl, stirring with a whisk.
3. Place butter, first amount of granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 5 minutes or until fluffy. 
4. Add egg; beat 30-seconds.
5. Add molasses; beat just until combined.
6. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed or just until combines.  
7. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes (longer is fine!)
8. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
9. Shape dough into balls and roll in the second amount of granulated sugar (my dough balls were about 1.5 inches across.
10. Place 2-inches apart on baking sheets covered with parchment paper.  
11. Bake at 350-degrees for 12-13 minutes or just until set. 

      12.  Cool 3 minutes on pan; remove to a wire rack.

Some part of me wanted to drizzle some 

icing on the tops of these

tasty gems-- for "just because".  BUT,... I 

managed to RESIST that urge!!!!

(They do NOT need any extra goodness 

added to what they already are!)

After they cooled, I put them in my

"usual" cookie place-- my enameled

cast iron cookware and covered them.

Eclair Pan Dessert

Some call this "Cream Puff Dessert".

Honestly, the FIRST time I tasted this dessert, I hesitated before getting the recipe!!!  Why?  Well, because it was just THAT good--  I was afraid to have it around for fear of being toooooooo tempted to enjoy one serving after the other.  Yes, ... it is a great tasting dessert.  It "goes down" way too easily and smoothly!!!!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup (or one stick) butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs

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• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature.
• 1/2 cup milk

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• 3.4 ounce box of INSTANT French Vanilla Pudding*
• Another 1 and 1/2 cups of milk

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• 8 ounces whipped topping, defrosted (whipped cream, or something like Cool Whip)
• Chocolate OR Hot Fudge topping to be drizzled over top before serving.  (I used Caramel topping, and I think I liked it better.)

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 400-degrees F.  Lightly coat a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with a non-stick cooking spray.

Making the Cream Puff Pastry:

1. Add the butter to the water in a heavy saucepan and place over MEDIUM heat.  Cook until the butter has melted and then bring the mixture to a boil.  Remove the pan from the heat and use a wooden spoon to stir in the flour until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a soft ball.
2. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl and let it rest for about 5 minutes to cool slightly.  
3. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly with an electric mixer in between additions.  
4. Once all four eggs have been added, continue to mix for a minute or two or until the mixture is smooth.  
5. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan.  Spread the sticky dough out evenly over the bottom of the prepared baking dish.  To make it easier, spray the backside of an offset spatula with non-stick cooking spray and use it to spread the dough.
6. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until puffed up the sides of the pan and golden brown.  
7. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Making the filling:

1. Place softened cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and beat it for about a minute to make it smooth-- then add 1/2 cup milk  and beat thoroughly with an electric mixer until the mixture is mixed well.  IF there are small bits of cream cheese that don't completely incorporate, it's okay.  Just beat the mixture so that it is as smooth as possible (starting with room temperature cream cheese will make this step SO much easier).  
2. Add 1 and 1/2 cups milk and the pudding mix-- beat again for several minutes on high speed until thickened.  
3. Spread the pudding mixture over the completely cooled crust. 
4. Spread the whipped topping over the pudding mixture-- use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to smooth it out.  
5. Chill for about two hours, or overnight.  But, if you chill it overnight, the crust will become "damp" and also be "tougher".
6. Drizzle with thin streams of chocolate sauce or hot fudge or caramel topping.
7. Serve. (Refrigerate any left-over dessert.)

EXTRA NOTES:

* IF you can't find French Vanilla Pudding you can use regular instant vanilla pudding and add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.  It is also good prepared with a variety of different flavored instant puddings-- Cheesecake, White Chocolate, or Coconut Cream are good choices.

Nadine's Fruit Cake

Jokes are made about fruit cake-- 

how it makes for a good door stop, etc.

In my opinion, this fruit cake is 

nothing to joke about-- for sure, I will

never joke about it.  It's a real treat to/for 

me.  It's not a "cheap" cake to make, but, 

again, in my opinion, it is so worth 

whatever it costs to make it.

 My favorite FRUIT CAKE!!!, 

made by my sister Nadine!!!

Years ago, my sister Nadine got this recipe out of an issue of Farm Journal which many farmers subscribed to back them.  She makes this and shares with me.  It is my FAVORITE fruit cake.  I like it so much that I just cut off 1/4" slices at a time in order to make it last longer. 

Just lately, my daughter Cheryl made two variations of Fruit Cake-- both were very good, too.  She wants to try baking this recipe.  She WILL succeed, and I'm so happy about that!!!!!!!!!

Note:  This recipe has no Vanilla, no

other flavoring, and no spices in it.

Mix together, and beat vigorously with a spoon OR electric mixer for 2 minutes:  
1 cup cooking oil (such as Wesson oil, etc.)
l and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
Set aside for a little while.

 Sift together:
2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon salt

Stir this dry combination into the above oil/sugar/egg mixture, ALTERNATELY with the next two "combined" ingredients:

1 cup pineapple OR 1 cup apple juice
1 cup more sifted flour

Set aside this batter until the following fruits are combined.

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Mix together:

1 cup thinly sliced citron (6 oz.)
1 cup candied pineapple (1-inch pieces) ... about 4 slices
2 cups whole candied cherries 
3 cups seedless white raisins (1 lb.)
2 cups nuts left in large pieces

Now, pour the  "set aside" BATTER at the top over this assortment of  combined/mixed fruit, stirring evenly and thoroughly.

Now:  Oil the empty pans, first.  Next, line the two "oiled" loaf pans, 8.5"long x 4.5" wide x 2.5"deep (measured from the open top). with "oiled" brown paper.  Yes, oil the lining paper very well, too. It will look "dark" when it is well oiled.  (You can use the brown paper from brown paper grocery bags to line the pans, but do not use any brown paper with printing on it.  Cut and bend another piece of brown paper to cover  the side/bottom/side; another piece to cover end/bottom/end.  You can let the oiled brown lining paper stick up higher than the pan by about 1/2".)

Pour thick batter into the prepared pans.  

Place a pan of water on the lowest oven rack.  

PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 275-degrees.

Bake cakes 2.5 to 3.0 hours in a very "slow oven" (275-degrees), on the middle rack. 

After baking, let cakes stand 15 minutes before lifting from pan while in the paper liner.  Cool on racks without removing the paper.  Carefully remove the oiled  brown paper liners after the cakes are almost cool.  

Store by wrapping tightly in aluminum foil (I prefer to wrap in something else ahead of the aluminum foil) and THEN add the foil to wrap tightly).  

Place in a covered jar (?) in a cool place to "ripen".  By storing it in the freezer, I can enjoy this fruit cake a year later and think it's freshly made.  

This recipe makes a combined total of 3.25 lbs. of fruit/nut cake(s).

The recipe won FIRST PLACE for a baker at the fair.  

My FIRST Brownies

These days, with brownie mixes often being on sale, I don't know how many people make 'brownies from scratch', but...................... I couldn't resist putting this recipe on here.  It takes me way back to the late 60's when they were my only 'go to' and from my old Betty Crocker cookbook.  The 'addition' of the marshmallow layer and chocolate frosting came to me through Dolores S.  She'd make her brownies like this and treat us whenever there were R.S. doings or parties... she's a great cook/baker, period!

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

• 2-3 cups miniature marshmallows, optional (spread on BAKED brownies)

 Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350° 
2. Grease 13x9x2-inch pan.  (If I'm after very 'neat-looking' cut brownies, I'll line the pan with foil-- one lengthwise piece going up and over each end for a 'grab tab', and another for the width and going up/over sides and grease its surface.)
3. Melt shortening and chocolate over low heat, or in microwave.
4. Mix in sugar, eggs and vanilla.
5. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix only until flour is incorporated.
6. Spread in prepared pan.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, or until sides begins to pull away from pan.  Do not over-bake.
8. Upon removal from the oven, turn oven off; scatter a layer of miniature marshmallows over hot top and put back into hot oven ONLY long enough for them to soften. 
9. Remove from oven and spread marshmallows.  Let cool for an hour.
10. Top the marshmallow layer with chocolate frosting (recipe follows)

Not that it's necessary by any means, but........in order to get clean/exact/sharp cuts for these brownies, I freeze them for a few hours and then remove the 'whole slab of brownies' to a wood cutting board.  While they are frozen, and with using a long/sharp knife, I can get the 'neat/sharp edges'. 

CHOCOLATE FROSTING Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, softened
• 1/3 cup sifted Hershey's cocoa
• 1 and 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Directions:

1.  Melt butter.  Stir in cocoa.

2.  Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on med. speed until it is of spreading consistency.  Add more milk in very tiny quantities, if needed.  Stir in vanilla.  This makes about 1 cup of frosting, or just enough for a thin layer over the marshmallows.  If you like a thicker layer of frosting, double this recipe.

Raspberry "Surprises"

 Originally, this recipe was named Raspberry Treasures from http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Raspberry-Treasures Since I ended up changing things around, I call them my 'Surprises".  I guess because I'm surprised they turned out with how I made them.

INGREDIENTS:

•  1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons sugar (I decided to add this)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• ----------------------------------------------
• 1/2 cup raspberry filling* (Recipe was tested using Solo brand filling-- see my note.)
• ----------------------------------------------
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon water

HOW TO MAKE:

• In mixing bowl, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar together.  Beat in vanilla. 
• Combine flour and salt; add to creamed mixture. 
• Divide dough in half; wrap each portion in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
• **On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness.  Cut with a floured 3-inch round cookie cutter.  Place 1 teaspoon raspberry filling in the center of each.  Bring three edges together over filling, overlapping slightly (a small amount of filling with show); pinch edges gently.  In a small bowl, beat egg and water together until smooth; brush over dough.
• Place 1-inch apart on ungreased or parchment paper-lined baking sheets.  Bake at 375-degrees for 10-12 minutes or until your oven has them a light golden brown.  Cool on pan for 1 minute before removing to wire racks.  Yield:  2 dozen if you make the tripod-shaped cookies.

*  I did NOT have raspberry 'filling' on hand, but I DID have raspberry preserves (jam).  Knowing the jam would run all over the place during baking, I did a search on how I could thicken this to work for me.  This is what I did:  I took 1/2 cup of the raspberry jam and added to it 1 tablespoon corn starch and then heated it until it thickened.  Cooled it on a plate for about an hour.  IT WORKED!!!!!!!!

** As you can see in the picture I posted with this recipe, I did not stick to the original way of making these.  I made just a few of the 'tripod' cookies (too much monkey work for me); then I put some raspberry filling between TWO solid rounds of the dough; after that, I put some filling on top of a solid round that was topped with a heart-cut-out round; and , finally, I spread filling on top of a rectangle of the dough and then rolled it up as I would a jelly roll and cut them into little slices.  It all worked, all taste the same-- some just look better!

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Banana Bread Snack Bars*

I was looking for a healthier kind of "early morning" snack-- something to get our little guy from 5:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. when he gets to school for his Monday-Friday breakfast.   I wanted something not toooooooo loaded with sugar.  First off, I hope you understand that he doesn't eat breakfast at school because of there not being a breakfast option right here at home--  it is because the school offers the breakfast program and students are encouraged to take part in it, so he does. 

My "google-search" took me to these Chocolate Chip Banana Bars--  BUT!, because I think they taste more like a slice of banana bread, that is what I am naming them.    (IF these were just for me, I'd load them up with nuts!  The way it is, I did change the original recipe just a bit--  the first time I made these, I used all coconut oil; this time I used butter as the shortening, and I added three tablespoons of ground flax seeds.)  

 Since our little one gives me a "thumbs up" on these, I am posting this recipe here so that I don't lose it.

INGREDIENTS: 

• 5-6 very ripe bananas (1 and 2/3 cup mashed banana, total).  RIPE bananas add more        flavor and sweetness.
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (I used dark)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted  (OR 1/4 cup warmed coconut oil; OR 2 Tbsp warmed coconut oil/2 Tbsp applesauce; OR 1/4 cup all applesauce.)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 and 3/4 cup flour (or substitute with whole wheat flour if you don't mind these ending up a little "heavier")
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp. ground flax seed (optional)
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips (put half in batter, spread other half on top just before baking).

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350-degrees.  Spray a 15x10.5" pan with non-stick spray.
2. Peel bananas and mash well.  Stir in brown sugar, oil, milk and eggs until combined.
3. Add in dry ingredients and stir.  Stir in the ground flax seed (optional.  Fold in 1/2 of the             mini chocolate chips.
4. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle remaining chips on top.  Bake 18-              22 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
5. Cool completely, and cut into squares.

*Adapted from a recipe from the recipes posted at butterwithasideofbread.com

ANZAC Cookies (New Zealanders called them biscuits)

This cookie was popularized by WWI care packages to soldiers of the Australia New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), since they could be made without eggs, and they kept well on the overseas voyage to Europe.  The dough can seem very crumbly, but if you pack it firmly into balls (walnut sized), you'll have a good shaped cookie.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled quick oat
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup flake coconut
1 cup (2 stick butter)
3 tablespoon white (or golden) Karo syrup
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup boiling (or VERY hot) water

1.  Preheat oven to 350-degree.  Line baking sheets with parcment paper (or aluminum foil, and set aside.

2.  In a small saucepan over medium heat

Rhubarb Custard Squares*

                                    

Advance Preparation:
Gather and cut fresh rhubarb stalks into 1/3" slices-- enough to have 5 cups of cut rhubarb.  Set aside while preparing the next ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup cold butter

• FILLING:
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream (whole milk will work)
• 3 large eggs, slightly beaten 
• One pinch of salt
• 
  
• TOPPING (optional):

6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

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DIRECTIONS

In a bowl, combine the flour and sugar; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Lightly press into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.  (I put the flour, sugar and cold butter in the food processor and it's ready in about thirty seconds.)

Meanwhile, as the crust bakes, start preparing the filling: Combine sugar and flour in a mixing bowl.  Beat in the cream and slightly beaten eggs until well combined.  Add a pinch of salt (optional).  Set aside.
Spread the "set aside" sliced rhubarb in an even layer over the hot (baked) crust.
Pour the beaten custard mix evenly over the layer of sliced rhubarb. Bake at 350° until custard is set, 40-45 minutes. Cool. 


For the topping (optional), beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth; fold in whipped cream. Spread over top. Cover and chill. Cut into bars.  Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 3 dozen.

"Test Kitchen Tips:

Heavy whipping cream gives custard fillings a luscious, decadent texture, but half-and-half cream or whole milk can be substituted with nice results.

This is a potluck hero: It makes a mountain of bars. If you're cooking for a smaller crew, however, just halve the recipe and use a 9- or 8-inch-square baking dish.

If you prefer your bars on the tart side, bump up the rhubarb to 6 or 6-1/2 cups or reduce the sugar in the filling to 1-1/2 cups. 

Go full garden party for your friends and family by adding the seeds of one vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon of rosewater to the filling. Both flavors pair beautifully with rhubarb and take these already fab bars to another level."

* Originally published as Rhubarb          Custard Bars in Taste of Home            April/May 1998, p27 

"Once I tried these rich gooey bars, I just had to have the recipe so I could make them for my family and friends. The shortbread-like crust and rhubarb and custard layers inspire people to find rhubarb they can use to fix a batch for themselves. —Shari Roach, South Milwaukee, Wisconsin"

Nutritional Information:  (Varies with using CREAM vs. Whole Milk)

1 bar: 198 calories, 11g fat (7g saturated fat), 52mg cholesterol, 70mg sodium, 23g carbohydrate (16g sugars, 1g fiber), 2g protein.

Loaded Cauliflower with Bacon

 INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large head of Cauliflower cut into bite size pieces (approximately 6 cups)
• 6-8 strips of bacon already cooked in oven for 20 minutes at 400-degrees, and crumbled.
• 6 tablespoons chopped chives
• 1/2 cup Hellman's Mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 cups Colby Jack Cheese (may use Cheddar), divided into two portions
• 8 oz. container of sliced mushrooms (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pot boil water and cook Cauliflower for 8-10 minutes, drain and let cool.
2. Preheat oven to 425-degrees.
3. In a large bowl combine sour cream, mayonnaise, 1/2 bacon (crumbled), 3 tablespoons of the chives, 1 cup of the cheese, mushrooms (optional), and cooked/cooled cauliflower.  Mix well.
4. Place in lightly sprayed cooking dish and cover with remaining 1 cup of cheese, remaining crumbled bacon pieces.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted.
6. Top with remaining 3 tablespoon chopped chives and serve.

Potato Dinner Rolls

I found this recipe in a folder I started adding to years ago.  This recipe looks so much like the one used by Jeanette-- I wonder if this was a handout from a church meeting a long time ago.  Maybe it was from her!  If so, that just means it will always be a winner.  Yes, a keeper!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup additional sugar
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed potatoes (no liquid added to them)
• 2 and 1/2 cups potato water (from the boiling process)
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups flour
• 4 more cups of flour (about)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Dissolve yeast in bowl with the 1 tsp. sugar and set aside until frothy and bubbly.
2. Mix together the 1/2 cup sugar, salt, mashed potatoes, potato water and shortening.  (This could be beaten with a hand mixer to blend well.)
3. Add the 'rising' yeast mixture.
4. Add first flour (3 cups).  Mix well.  Let this rest for about 5 minutes.
5. Gradually, add the remaining amount of flour (not all at once).  Do not add more flour than recipe calls for.
6. Put into greased bowl and turn to grease top.  Cover bowl and let rise until doubled. 
7. Place 'doubled' dough on generously floured board.
8. If necessary, sift a tiny bit of flour over the dough so it won't stick to your fingers.
9. Now, you can break pieces off and shape into 'balls', or you can just cut off 'squares of dough' with a spatula and put them onto a greased or parchment paper-lined baking pan. 
10. Let rise slightly.
11. Bake 13-15 minutes in oven preheated to 350-degrees.