Grandma's Punkin

My Grandma spent many hours baking with me all growing up. In fact, to this day the family doesn't get together without some kind of cooking being started or finished. These are my grandma's favorite cookies. She likes them so much that they are made any time of the year not just for a special fall holiday. Yeah for patient people in our lives who take the time to watch us become the people we are meant to be. They are those who helped to nurture us through the dry spells, without obligation to do so. Enjoy her recipe.
Pumpkin spice cookies with glaze
2 ½ c flour
1t baking soda
1t baking powder
½ t salt
1t cinnamon
½ t ground cloves
½ t ginger
½ t nutmeg
½ c butter
1 c white sugar
½ c brown sugar
1 egg
3 T molasses
1 ½ c canned pumpkin
1 t vanilla extract
2T lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grab 2 or more cookie sheets and line or grease according to personal preference. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and mix to distribute through.
Place butter and sugars in stand mixer and cream. Stop mixer ad molasses, egg and turn on for 1 min. add lemon juice and flour mixture and mix 30 seconds, then add pumpkin and mix until all is just incorporated. Scoop onto sheets leaving 2 inches in between. Cooke 10-12 min cool on wire rack. Glaze with 2 cups powdered sugar 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 1 t cinnamon and enough water to make spreadable, or your favorite cream cheese frosting recipe. You can add nuts, or baking chips to this recipe. Grandma did unless it was for the kids. If you like and glaze is optional. Savor and smile with someone special.
Ms. Brownie.

I do like Spiders and Snakes

I am not crazy about things crawling on or around me. Nonetheless, I am not one of those people who can't handle disposing of an arachnid when called for. My favorite Halloween treat is certainly from a eclectic childhood, where crafts were done on a bare oak kitchen table. This heirloom had scars across the top, and the embedded wood grain was a picture of every wonderful Sunday family dinner, and crazy craft birthday party. Each Halloween my mother would comb the grocery stores to find string black licorice. With a short list of other ingredients Oreo spiders climbed from the woodwork of as we labored over frosting and red hots. The only caution is try not to eat all the goodies you may want to decorate the spiders with.
Creepy Crawlys
1 bag plain oreos
1 bag pull and peel licorice( I love black licorice)
1 small box red hots
1 tub frosting ( any flavor that sounds good)
Optional to bring some color to the spiders, fruit roll-ups, candy corn, m&m's etc. may be pasted on each spider with more frosting.
Twist open as many oreos as you desire spiders. Cut desired length of licorice plus 1/2 inch and place 6-8 around perimeter of cookie. Replace top of oreo, and decorate to hearts desire with eyes, stripes, and spots. Enjoy the time with the little ones, making a great mess. This is not meant to be an clean activity.
Smile bewore you end the life of each spider, or display on a great holiday plate
Ms. Brownie

Inside out

My Mother-in-law makes the best caramel brownies. They are thick, gooey, and to die for. This, is not that recipe. Brian, my dear hubby at times enjoys non-chocolate sweets. So in ode to both him and his fabulous mother, I inside-outed the recipe to create a blondie with a rich peanut butter chocolate filling. I know, it might be a little trendy to inside out, but when the result is this good, no cares if it happens to be trendy or not. Recipe note: warming the peanut butter mixture may help in reaching the desired pourable consistency. For those with a peanut allergy nuts can be omitted and caramels melts with evaporated milk may be substituted for peanut butter mixture.
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
For the Crust:
2 cups Pillsbury Best All Purpose or Unbleached Flour
2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 1/4 cups margarine or butter, softened

For the Filling:
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
One (6 oz.) pkg. (approximately 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped nuts

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 13x9 inch pan. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine all crust ingredients; mix at low speed until crumbly. Reserve half of crumb mixture (about 3 cups) for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture in bottom of greased pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine peanut butter and honey; blend well to thick. pourable consistency add milk if needed.
Remove partially baked crust from oven. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts. Drizzle evenly with peanut butter mixture. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture, and lightly press in with fingers.
Return to oven; bake an additional 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until filling is set. Cut into bars.
Smile and savor to the last bite!
Ms. Brownie

Perishable

Perishable
The Problem with cooking is that all food has a shelf life. No product no matter how expensive or fine will keep forever. The freshness of a product can work for or against the cook at hand. Spoiled can only be thrown out, yet ingredients at their peak are unforgettable and need little to accentuate their natural beauty. For that matter, each dish made is gone in an instant whether it be the trash, the floor or someone's satisfied belly. This fact becomes problematic as at the end of the best cooking day all that is left is a sweet memory, a smell that will forever evoke the happenings of that instant of time. Well, that's life. The good must be savored and cherished, the bad thrown out with the knowledge of how to prevent waste in the future. Have a wonderful weekend, don't hesitate to take a taste of life and hold it for a moment longer than usual. Maybe it will come back in some far off year when a delicious memory will hold you over until reinforcements come along.
Spice of Life Gingerbread
Grease and flour 9 or 10 in. square baking pan
Combine in medium bowl and whisk together
2 cup baking mix,
½ t baking soda
½ t cinnamon
½ t Chinese five spice.
Make well in center and add below.
3 lg eggs beaten
2/3 c brown sugar
2 T canola oil
3 T molasses ( not black strap)
2/3 c. Buttermilk or soured milk
Then combine with a thorough but light hand.
Preheat 400 turn down oven to 350 just as closing oven door on cake. Bake 23-28 min frost if desired with cream cheese frosting or maple glaze.

Something Simple

There are times in life when you just don't feel fabulous. Its a fact. Neither good or bad, because how would you know when things are better than ever if there was nothing on the other side of the scale. So this evening with a draining nose, warn limbs and cloudy head I bring you the quick cheer bars. Yes, I know they are rice crispie goodies, yes I know that this is a microwave recipes, but if you are like me there are days when NO ONE CARES. We all just need something to give away to make another smile, in hopes that is pressing the start button on the microwave we will forget about the long week and enjoy a simple act of service. My friend Danielle was the inspiration for these treats. So thank you for reminding me that serivce is in the thought, not the technique.
Peanut butter Crispies
4 1/2 c crisp rice cereal
place in large bowl
1 10 oz bag marshmallows
4 T butter
3 T cocoa powder
place in medium microwave bowl and cook for 2 min stirring after one minute. If the marshmallows are somewhat melted, add 2/3 c commercial peanut butter and stir. Return bowl to microwave for remaining minute stirring halfway through. Dump peanut butter mixture over cereal and mix to coat. Place in greased 13x9 pan and let cool.
If you are more ambitious than this recipe add anything that sounds good. dried banana chips, or butterscotch chips might be excellent.
Have a great evening and keep smiling.
Ms. Brownie

Sawa Cornbread

I know this is the oddest title for a sweet, moist, decadent cornbread, but it is well deserved. Upon serving this to the missionaries ( we had them over for a simple bbq dinner) I certainly had to name it after the missionary who couldn't get enough so I sent the pan home with him. This is a cheater recipe inspired b how my mother makes cornbread muffins to knock your socks off. There is no oil or butter int he recipe, so that is not a typo. Hope you enjoy this one just like Elder Sawa.
Cornbread
Preheat oven to 400 F. Oil a 9 in square pan or a 11x7 cake pan whichever you have on hand.
1 18.5 oz yellow cake mix minus 1 cup mix- save for another use. You can use the reduced sugar type if you prefer.
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/8 t white pepper (optional)
Whisk the above together in a medium bowl until all ingredients and well distributed.
3 eggs
6 oz non-fat plain yogurt
1 c buttermilk, or milk soured with lemon juice
Beat together the above until well combined
If you want more texture add 1 small can cream or canned corn according to preference (optional)
Stir wet into dry ingredients until just barely combined, scrape into pan and place in hot oven for 22-27 min depending on the pan material and how hot your oven runs.
Enjoy every last crumb. and remember its okay to modify these recipes according to your preferences.
Keep Smiling
Ms. Brownie

Versatile Meatballs

Once upon a time, in a far away place, there lived well.. me. Okay, so joking aside, growing up my mother had one of the best friends in the world. This sweet lady was my step in mother when my own happened to be out of town, sick, or just trying to deal with four overly-active children. Carol, at the time didn't have any young kids at home, and was simply an angel in the community. She had the mildest manner and was a great seamstress. This recipe was inspired by a simple act of kindness she performed for my family when my mom had just come home from having surgery.
Carol, came to the house about dinner time (remember, this would be before any of the kids were old enough to be self-sufficient in a kitchen) with a big tray full of meatballs. To my surprise there was not a bit of pasta or marinara sauce in sight. Carol dished up a plate for each of the kids before leaving us with a hug each. each plate contained a few meatballs, and brown gravy, mashed potatoes, and green peas. Trusting that Carol was a good cook we each took a courageous bite of the unknown combo, and smiled. The meatballs were lite and tasty, savory like hamburger steak for little kids' appetites. It was a delicious meal sent by someone who knew how to push the envelope, by using great flavors in a new preparation.
Now, that I am married I often have kept a bag of homemade frozen meatballs ready to go for any preparation from pizza to, mashed potatoes. The key to keeping these versatile is using simple seasonings that will go with any sauce that happens to be on the menu.
Simple Meatballs
Preheat oven to 400 Degrees F. Line bottom of a broiler pan, or baking sheet with foil. Spray top portion of broiler pan or cooling rack with cooking spray and place on top of other pan. This is a trick from Cook's Country, that keeps the meatballs from getting greasy and cooking in their own liquid.
1 lb ground beef, chicken or turkey
2 eggs
1/2 c instant or quick cooking oats mixed with 3/4 c warm milk
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t salt, or to taste
1/2 t. group thyme
1/2 t. granulated onion
Optional mix in's. 1/2 cup of thawed chopped spinach, 1/2 c complimentary cheese, 1/4 c. finely chopped cooked veggies or fresh herbs.
Mix all above together in a medium bowl with clean hands until mixture is well combined and uniform. The mixture should be soft and loose, not heavy and laden. Shape with a light hand into walnut sized balls, and place on prepared rack. The less you compress the meat the lighter and juicier the final product. Place in hot oven for 12-15 min. Cool and use in whatever you want. Freeze leftovers for a quick fix meal, on a busy evening.
Variation: This mixture can be formed around cubes of cheese, or bread stuffing ( use your imagination, just make sure item in the center of meat is not raw) for a meatball surprise that readily gets high acclaim.
Keep Smiling
Ms. Brownie