Joy in the Kitchen!

  The weather is cooling down here. Today was overcast with some drizzling rain.  Finally some beautiful FALL baking weather!  With daytime temperatures in the mid 60's and night-time lows in the low 40's, having the oven on for a bit takes the chill off in here.  Ahhh. There are so many flavors and scents that celebrate fall.  Today I've had a simmer pot going with apple slices, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Oh! and one clove. A perfect scent to enjoy as I looked out the window at the trees changing color and the fields around in various stages of grain and potato harvest.  I almost baked Cinnamon Streusel Apple Muffins , but I had one cup of pureed pumpkin in the freezer leftover from last weeks batch of Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins  (one of our family favorites!), so I decided I'd better use that before I forget it's in there.  Sometimes I just delay throwing food away by putting it in the freezer to age first.  Not particularly thrifty or effic...

  I brought home an old cookbook from my Mom's stash of recipes.  I wish I'd have asked her more about it when she was alive, but now I'm just making guesses as to it's history.  This book is the Larkin Housewives Cook Book .  Copyright 1915,16,17, and 1923.   I love old books.  My Mom was born in 1929.  I would guess this is her mothers' cookbook.  Her mother passed away when Mom was 6 years old.  My grandpa cooked and had housekeepers to come watch after the house and children for several years after.  Any of them could have enjoyed using this cook book.    There are a few recipes with "good" or "very good" penciled in to the side.  A few small notes in lovely handwriting. (There are even pencil scribbles from a child on a few of the back pages - I had fun imagining my Mom or her brothers doing that while their mom's back was turned.)   One way I can tell the best recipes is in play in this book though, th...

S'More's   are one of our family's favorite camping treats.  A beautifully browned marshmallow and a few pieces of chocolate bar pressed between two crispy graham crackers.  Yum!   They are sticky and messy to eat and only the most patient of marshmallow roasters get them beautifully browned, but even S'More's with blackened marshmallows are tasty! I don't remember where I got the base recipe for these S'More's Cookie Bars, but we've been making them for about 20 years.  It's like a taste of camping anytime!  No fire to build, coals to wait for, or smoky clothes and hair when you're done!  Right now our firepit is buried in snow drifts as well so this is a much better option for this chocolaty marshmallow treat! Today I'm making these for my son to take to a get together with friends.  They need about half an hour to cool enough to cut and then a little longer to cool enough for the chocolate to set, so be sure to bake with time to spare....

This was the first cookie I learned to bake. I think I was about 11 years old, maybe 12.  What warm memories of using my Mom's old mixer.  By the time I was adding the last cup of oatmeal I had to have help to stir it in by hand.  I remember eating about as much dough as baked cookies.  Some things never change!!!   However, some things DO change and now I have an awesome KitchenAid mixer than can mix up a double batch all by itself without batting an eye!    I'll type in the recipe just like Mom's, but I do make some changes.  Most of the time I add 1/2-1 tsp. of cinnamon.  I've read about the health benefits of cinnamon so in my mind, this qualifies these cookies as a health food. LOL!  Seriously though, if you're going to have a cookie, one with oatmeal in it at least provides more nutrition than one with straight white flour, and once in a while I substitute 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup of the white flour.   ...

Today feels like a baking day.  It's chilly outside and nothing warms the house up like the aroma from a busy oven. Especially when that aroma includes chocolate! These chocolaty cookies are delicious!  I don't often put nuts in my recipes because my children don't love them.  However, I DO love them and did you know that pecans are a pretty healthy nut?  We'll focus that direction and forget about the cup of butter in these that might offset the health benefits! Every bit as easy to mix up as regular chocolate chip cookies, but a nice change of pace when you're in a nutty mood. Double Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies 1 C. butter, softened 1 C. brown sugar 3/4 C. white sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 1 T. water 2 eggs 2 1/2 C. flour 1/3 C. cocoa 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking soda 2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 C. chopped pecans Preheat oven to 375. Blend the butter, sugars, vanilla and water until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and beat until w...

Anytime is a great time for Dusty Miller Molasses Cookies, but the ginger in them makes me LOVE them in the fall!  LOVE!  These tasty cookies remind me a bit of a snickerdoodle but with a lot more flavor.  I love the full flavor molasses adds and these cookies are soft and chewy.  So very good with a glass of cold milk. Dusty Miller Molasses Cookies 3/4 C. shortening or butter  1 cup sugar 1 large egg 1/4 C. molasses 2 1/4 C. flour 2 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. ground ginger 1 tsp. ground cinnamon a few tablespoons of sugar for rolling the dough in Beat shortening or butter, sugar, egg, and molasses until well blended.  Add flour, baking soda, ginger and cinnamon, and mix well.  Roll into walnut sized balls and then roll in sugar.  Place on cookie sheet a couple of inches apart and flatten with the bottom of a glass.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Joy's Notes:  In my oven, I can take these out at 8 minutes a...

This bar cookie recipe comes from Grandma Evelyn, my husbands grandmother.  She sure had the best cookie recipes ever!  These are actually on the healthy side of cookies.  The base is mainly oats, sugar, and butter.  (And if you count the butter as a dairy serving, all the healthier, right?!)    These are quick and easy to make.   My sister makes a similar cookie but hers has a different name.   I would venture a guess that these are as healthy as your average chocolate covered granola bar and MUCH tastier! O'Henry Bars 6 C. quick oats 1 C. melted butter  1 1/2 C. brown sugar 1 tsp. vanilla Mix together well and press into an 11 x 17 inch pan.  Bake 15 minutes at 375. Mix in double boiler or carefully in microwave: 3/4 C. corn syrup 1  1/4 C. chocolate chips (I like semi-sweet) 3/4 C. chunky peanut butter Heat and stir until melted, spread on hot cookie bar crust.    Cool, cut, and serve!

I just LOVE Valentine's Day!   I love baking and doing nice little things for my husband and the children. I bake and do nice things throughout the year, but it is fun to have a theme for it once in a while!   Some years I have more time than others to do treats and sweet things.   This year I found this cute candy/cookie mold on clearance and thought I'd give it a try.  How can you go wrong with chocolate and Oreo's?  I mean really?! You can order one of these on the Wilton website.   Hearts Cookie Candy Mold   is what it's called and it's very inexpensive.   The mold does 8 cookies at a time.  It takes maybe 45 minutes to chill them enough to turn out and do the next set. I used some red candy melts to add the accent colors and then I just melted some of my 10 lb chocolate block I got for holiday candy  making and melted for the rest.  Candy melts are easy to use, but I love the dipping chocolate best if I need plain, del...

This week I've had some banana's that look like this sitting on my counter.  They were screaming at me to be used! This stage of banana ripeness usually turns into banana bread.  NOT TODAY!   I found a few that looked okay but the one I followed closest was this one:   Banana Cookies  at Simply Recipes.    I changed it up a bit for my own tastes (and because it's hard for me to leave a recipe alone) and these cookies turned out delicious!  (I'm curious to see if my banana despising daughter will eat them when she gets home from school today - they do have chocolate chips in them to tempt her!) As you mix this you'll notice it is more of a batter than a dough.  I used my 1 oz. cookie scoop to place them on the parchment paper.  I love my cookie scoop!   I have a few.  I like the one on the left best because I love the squeezey handle rather than the thumb squeeze,  and my girls like the one on the r...

We love rice crispy treats.  Today I cleaned out my cupboard and found a few partial bags of marshmallows that really needed using.  These treats were the perfect choice!  Dress up your regular crispy rice squares with a delicious chocolate peanut butter topping.  So good! Chocolate Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Treats 1 10 oz bag or 4-5 cups marshmallow or a few more if you like extra marshmallowy treats. (if the marshmallows are getting a bit firm, add more)  1/3 C. butter or margarine 6 C. crispy rice cereal 1/2 C. chocolate chips In large pan, over low heat, melt butter and marshmallows until they're smooth.  Add chocolate chips and stir until melted and blended in.   Mix in crispy rice cereal until it is all coated with marshmallow mixture. Grease a 9x13 pan and press cereal mixture firmly into pan.  (You can use a greased spatula to do this or I just spray my  hand with cooking spray and press quick to avoid a burn)   L...

It seems that certain recipes come and go in our menu's and some things that we just loved for a while get pushed aside by new loves and forgotten. I was hunting through my piles of recipes today and came across one I haven't made for several years.  I mixed up a batch of these Easy Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies this morning and my kids love them!  And they were so easy!  I don't know why I set this recipe to the back of the cupboard!  I love bar cookies and brownies partly because you just mix them up and bake all at once rather than changing out pans of cookies every 10 minutes.   I like to double this recipe and spread it in a large 18x13 baking sheet with sides. Easy Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies 3/4 C. butter or margarine 1 C. brown sugar 1 egg 1 tsp. vanilla 2 C. buttermilk pancake mix (just add water kind) 1/2 C. chocolate chips 1/4 C. chopped walnuts In a large bowl cream butter and sugar, add egg and vanilla and mix well.  Stir in remai...

My son loves the Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies from Subway.  These were an experiment to try imitating those.  It's been a while since I've had one of those cookies from Subway, but whether they compare exactly or not, this experiment turned out really well!  My son gives them two thumbs up so I will continue making these cookies!  YUM!    I used my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe with some modifications.  I left out the regular vanilla and chocolate chips and added a block of cream cheese, a little extra flour, raspberry flavoring and raspberry "bits".  These raspberry bits I ordered through Alison's Pantry a while back.  They haven't been in the catalog but will be for the September order!  You can find a similar product on Amazon Here.   The products aren't exactly the same but I imagine either would work. This does make a large batch but they freeze really well in either dough or baked form! Raspberry Cheesecake...

Happy Valentine's Day!   I decided to bake cookies to decorate for my family for Valentine's Day this year.  I usually make sugar cookies but I don't always do more than slather frosting across them and sprinkle with pretties.  Sometimes I have time and it's fun to make them pretty - my girls who are 11 & 13 and my granddaughter who is 7 will LOVE these. (and I'm pretty sure my sons and grandson won't pass up a cookie just because it's pink and prettied up!) I used to work with Shirley at a restaurant years ago.  She was like a second Mom to me for several years as we worked and chatted together several evenings a week.  One year for my birthday she gave me a Dough Disc which you can see HERE  .   It's a plastic disc with a cotton cover that you slip on when you're ready to roll dough.  It works AMAZING!  Holds the flour nicely and when you're finished you just shake it in the trash & toss the cover in the laundry.  ANYW...

Dave's Grandma Evelyn was an amazing baker.  When Dave and I were first dating he took me by Grandma & Grandpa's to introduce me.  The first thing he did after a quick "hello" was take me to the kitchen to show me Grandma's cookie jar.  It wasn't a particularly fancy container, in fact, it was a large tin can that she had made a cover for with plastic canvas.  The special thing about Grandma's cookie jar though, was that it ALWAYS held cookies!  She was always ready for grandchildren to visit.  Most of the time she'd have bags of chocolate chip cookies in the freezer so if company came unexpectedly she could thaw them quickly and fill her cookie jar.  That first time we visited I was appalled to see my future husband take a large handful of cookies to eat as we left!  I came to find Grandma expected him to enjoy her cookies like that.  She made those cookies with love and they were eaten with love in return.   ...

My husband is awesome.  Sometimes I forget that briefly and give him grief, but he really is awesome.  Here is the plate sized sugar cookie I made for him today using the sugar cookie recipe HERE .   I made smaller cookies for the kids - just lunch plate sized.  I love how soft this recipe turns out.  I used regular decorating icing recipe for these cookies but the rest I frosted with my favorite Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting because it tastes SO good!   Dave was thoughtful and cooked dinner.  Pineapple Chicken Stir-fry with a wild rice blend.  It was delicious!  Definitely a "cook-it-again" recipe! Happy Valentine's Day!

Pinwheel cookies always look festive!  We usually make chocolate pinwheels at Christmas time, but I decided to try exchanging chocolate for red food coloring to celebrate Valentine's Day.  My girls especially loved the pink swirls. I used the  Refrigerator Pinwheel recipe I posted a few years ago.   Once the dough is all mixed.  Split it in two, and instead of adding the cocoa powder as directed, add 1 tsp. of red food coloring.  Mix it in well and then continue to follow the recipe directions. Once the cookie rolls are ready to cut, pour your choice of sprinkles onto a cookie sheet and roll the dough until sides are coated.  Cut into 1/4 inch slices and place on cookie sheet 1 inch apart.  If you'd like heart shaped cookies rather than round,  squeeze the circle into a triangle and then press a dent in one side with a wooden spoon handle or  shape gently with your fingers. Food is always a fun way to celebrate a ...

My husband's Grandma was such a cookie maker.  Each Christmas for years she baked cookies and made candy.  Lots of it!  She packaged it in boxes and sent to her children and grandchildren.  These O'Henry Bars often made it into those packages. They're really similar to a granola bar. At least those chocolate covered granola bars.... which I think are just a glorified candy bar most of the time.   I don't think you'd be out of line (much) to eat one of these for breakfast or a keep you going sort of snack.  Sometime I'm going to try adding craisins or rice crispies in the dough. These are easy and quick to make.  We did have a hard time getting them to cool in the house though so we put them in the freezer for a bit to speed things up.  Perfect!   You will want to have a glass of milk close by, they are rich! O'Henry Bars 6 C. quick oats 1 1/2 C. brown sugar 1 C. butter, softened 3/4 C. corn syrup 1 tsp. vanilla...

Is there really anything better than a good chocolate chip cookie , Other than TWO good chocolate chip cookies?  That's an emphatic NO!  There are so many recipes for chocolate chip cookies out there and I've tried quite a few of them.  I've posted a few already on my blog.  This is one of my favorites.  I got the recipe at a church dinner from Margaret.  Margaret has 7 children... 5 of those are boys.  They're all grown now, but I'd bet you that when they were all home, she knew how to cook a big batch of a lot of foods to keep those tummies happy!   This makes at least 6 dozen average sized cookies. (I use a normal sized cookie scoop - or about a walnut sized piece of dough rolled into a ball)  If you don't need to EAT 6 dozen cookies today, go ahead and roll the dough into balls and freeze.  If you'd rather, you can roll the dough into logs and freeze.  When you're ready to bake, just thaw a few minutes and sl...