Cookies and Milk

I love cookbooks, I own all kinds of them and do like to sit and thumb through them looking for new recipes or ideas.  Of course like most of you, the favorites are ripped, stained , dog-eared and generally pretty ugly. Those are the ones I go back to time and time again.

One in particular is a small paperback copyright 1980  simply called Cookies and published by Nitty Gritty Productions.  The author, Lou Seibert Pappas, apparently wrote tons of cookbooks and and was very well known in the food magazine world. But I only know her kind face from my little old cookie cookbook!  Her recipes are straightforward, written in a logical manner with handy tips included. As you might have guessed, I love this book!

The recipe today is one I have used many times with many variations.  Hope you give it a try.

Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup bran flakes or wheat germ
1/3 cup finely chopped nuts
1/3 cup fine coconut

Please remember this recipe is very forgiving and substitutions are fine with any part of the recipe.
For instance I used bran flakes instead of wheat germ and shortening instead of butter.

Beat butter and sugars together until creamy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  In separate bowl, stir together flour,oats, baking soda, salt, and bran flakes or wheat germ.  Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture.  Then stir in additions of nuts, coconut , and raisins.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of dough onto greased baking sheets, 3 inches apart. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove immediately to wire racks to cool. Makes 2 1/2 to 3 dozen cookies.

Thanks to Lou Seibert for the great recipes I have been using for many years!!

I would love to hear from anyone about their all-time favorite cookbooks. Let me know which cookbooks keep you baking and loving it.!


Enjoy and Keep on Baking!

Bye for now,
Debby

Happy New Year ! 2013 is Here!

I just want to do a final post for 2012. It has been a couple or more months since my last post and I have been feeling guilty about neglecting our little kitchen. But as you know regular life can get crazy busy and other things become more important than blogging. (Sad to say)  I do love my blog and will continue with writing it in the new year.

We had a wonderful Christmas with our family and made a few new memories with our four grandchildren. We also found out that 2013 will bring us a new grandchild! We are ecstatic over the news and can't wait to start buying baby clothes!

Our September tour of France was so much fun and we will never forget the beautiful sights , food, and people we met over there.

So  Happy New Year to All and Good Luck in 2013!!


Bye for now.
Debby

Date and Nut Tea Loaf

Date & Nut Loaf

I think I'll call this a "retro recipe". It is just as good now as it was in the 1930's. I am assuming of course because I was NOT around back then (just saying) . But it is really enjoyable in the 21st century! This loaf is super easy to make and is a nice treat instead of banana loaf. I do love banana loaf but sometimes a girl needs a change,right?
I hope you will give it a try, it really is good.

Now to change the subject, I am going on a wonderful holiday! We are heading to France! A two week tour around the country, starting and ending in Paris. We are So excited and can't wait to get going. Won't be back until the 1st part of October. Hopefully I will have great pictures and lots of food stories to blog about!
I am hoping to try all the french classics like coq au vin, beef bourgignon, and of course the wine.

I will also miss my wonderful grandchildren and my two crazy cats! My daughter has generously offered to come and feed them , the cats that is, so no worries there. She is great!!
So that is it, I am off until next month, please check back in...

The recipe is just below, enjoy!


UPDATE!!!
We are back from our trip to France , but I am not organized enough to compose a new post yet. Hopefully by the weekend I will have new pictures and a new recipe to put up. For now, how about some date and nut loaf?

Date and Nut Tea Loaf

Recipe

1 cup chopped pitted dates
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp, baking soda
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1 egg beaten
13/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts

Combine dates, boiling water and baking soda in a large bowl.Stir well and let cool.Stir in brown sugar, butter and egg. mixing until blended.

Combine flour,baking powder,and salt.  Stir into date mixture along with the nuts.Mix together well . Spread batter into greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

Bake in 325 degree oven for 60 to 70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes then turn out onto rack to cool completely.

Slice thinly and spread with butter or cream cheese or just enjoy it plain. This is very good for a tea or coffee break.

Bye for now,
Debby

Muffins Galore!

Yummy Fresh Blueberry Muffins & Abby's Great Carrot Muffins

One of my favorite things to do with my grandkids is bake!  They love the process of mixing all the ingredients and then tasting the results after baking. ( Of course sneaking
a spoonful of the batter is necessary too)

The two older girls were over one day and we all decided muffins were the order of the day. Since there were fresh blueberries in the fridge, we whipped those up first. Abby (10) had the idea of carrot muffins and I said go for it! She is becoming a good cook and I knew she could handle the recipe herself, away she went and in no time they were in the oven.  We were both very proud of how they turned out and as you can see, we all enjoyed a muffin with a cup of tea.

Here are the recipes:

Blueberry Muffins
1/2 cup butter or marg. softened                  2 cups flour
1 cup sugar                                                 2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs                                                         1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Cream butter or marg, and sugar , add eggs one at a time. Stir in milk. 

In a separate bowl combine flour,baking powder and salt. Make a well in the centre and add wet ingredients, sprinkle with the blueberries and stir gently until moistened.

Prepare muffin tins with liners or grease well. Spoon batter into each muffin cup filling to top.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes  or until golden and firm to touch.
Makes 12 muffins.


Abby's Great Carrot Muffins
1 3/4 cups flour                        1 egg
1/2 cup sugar                           3/4 cups milk
2 tsps. baking powder               1/4 cup cooking oil
1/4 tsp. salt                              3/4 cup shredded carrot
Streusel Topping                      1/2 each of  raisins & chopped nuts (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees and prepare muffin tins with liners or grease well.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour,sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the centre.

In a small bowl mix together,egg,milk and oil. Add to flour mixture and stir until moistened. Gently mix in shredded carrot, raisins and nuts. Batter should be a little lumpy. Spoon batter into muffin cups and sprinkle with Streusel topping if desired.


Streusel Topping
In a small bowl, mix 3tblsp. each of flour and brown sugar, add 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Cut in 2tbsp,. of cold butter or marg. until mixture is coarse crumbs.

Bake muffins for approx. 20 min. or until golden and firm.

Baking goodies with someone you love is the most fun of all. Give it a try and enjoy!

Bye for now,
Debby

Summertime 2012

The last couple of months have been really  busy... I am still baking ... but doing other things as well. Hope these pictures show you a little of what has been going on in my life. Take a look!

Lots of gardening, travelling, grandchildren,sick kitty-cats and eating of course!
Visiting with family.
Lots of reading.
Relaxing in the back yard, admiring our handiwork.
Enjoying lemonade with the grandchildren on a hot day.
Taking care of a sick kitty,who had major surgery , and recovered!

Cinnamon Buns, fresh warm bread...
Iced tea, cold,iced lattes...
And the summer is only half over...
Still so much to do and enjoy.
Have fun!

Bye for now,
Debby

Bran Muffins with a Twist!

I can't believe a whole month has gone by!! It has been so, so ,busy around here, I barely had any time to bake. I have done some old standbys, like Date Squares, Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread and the Aloha loaf. Every time I make the Aloha loaf, it dissappears in no time at all, everyone loves it. I highly recommend it for the office or just when someone drops in for tea. Yummy!

I hope spring has sprung wherever you live. Here we are still getting snowfalls at any given time. Then we have a couple nice days which we all try to enjoy while they last.  My tulips are really trying to come out, they are about 3 inches high right now and fighting. If they ever bloom, there will be pictures!

So I decided to make homemade muffins, so much better for us than store bought. Less calories and less sugar and more fiber  is certainly healthier. And we all should be conscious of that, right?

I have always used Quaker natural wheat Bran and the recipe that is on the top of the box. Always turns out delish and you can make your own additions.  Here is the recipe:

Bran Muffins with a Twist

1/4 cup of shortening                          1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar               11/2 tsps. baking powder
1/4 cup of molasses                            1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs                                                 3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup milk                                           11/2 cups Quaker Natural Wheat Bran
1/2 cup drained crushed pineapple  ( or raisins)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and prepare muffin tin

Cream shortening and brown sugar together.Add molasses and eggs. Add milk, then the bran. Combine dry ingredients , then add to liquid mixture. Stir in drained pineapple or raisins just until everything is moistened, do not over mix.
Place in greased muffin pans or use muffin liners.

Bake in 400 degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes.
These freeze really well , just wrap individually, so you can grab one and go!

In the past, I always used raisins, but this time I tried the crushed pineapple and loved it. They are so moist with a touch of fruitiness, it makes a nice change.

Bye for now,
Debby

Hawaiian Aloha Loaf

Well, I have been back home for awhile. We had a fantastic time in Maui, I certainly did not want to leave. But all good things must come to an end, right?  Then we got home and work and family came first, before the blog. As it should be, I think.

But I still dream of warm sun and white beaches, especially with a ton of snow coming down today! I have been inspired by all the pineapple and coconut  and of course macadamia nuts we consumed in Hawaii. That brings me to todays recipe. I adapted a couple of recipes to come up with this wonderful moist and tasty take on banana bread. Here is the recipe.


Hawaiian Aloha Loaf

1/2 cup softened marg.                 2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar                         1 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs                                          1/4 tsp. salt
1 mashed ripe banana                   1 cup medium flake coconut
1/4 cup milk                                 1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla                                 1/2 cup crushed pineapple (canned)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, cream marg and sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well. Then add mashed banana, milk and vanilla.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture gradually, stirring just until moistened. Fold in coconut, pineapple and nuts. Transfer to a greased loaf pan. (9x5x3).

Bake at 350 about 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean,when poked in the middle. Run a knife around the inside of the loaf pan to loosen bread. Then cool completely on rack.

To make glaze, add milk in small amounts to 1 cup of icing sugar until it reaches your desired consistency. Sprinkle with coconut . Make sure you cool the loaf completely before adding glaze.
This quick bread is really good, and almost has the feel of a coffee cake. I found it kept better in the fridge, because of the moistness. Although it didn't last long in our house, it was so delish!!

Hope you will give it a try for something different!


Bye for now,
Debby