Food @ GregsHead.net » Dessert

Peanut Butter Cookies

Greg — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 12:28:22 +0000

These cookies are fairly quick and easy, and are a delicious treat! (I know this because they don’t last much longer than it takes to cool them off! They are a hit in the Campbell home!)

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker’s 40th Anniversary Cookbook

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1 egg
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350ºF. (Recipe says 375ºF, but I have found 350ºF to work better with my oven.)

Mix the first six ingredients together until smooth and then add the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Optional extra ingredients include chopped peanuts and chocolate chips. (And whatever else you might want to throw in!)

The recipe says to chill, but I’ve never found that to be necessary. Roll teaspoon size balls of dough and place on a cookie sheet. Press down to about 1/4″ thick with a fork (making crisscross marks by turning the for 90º) or with any sort of styled press for even more fun-looking cookies! Sprinkle each cookie with white sugar and bake for 9-10 minutes, or until cookies look dry and you can see a slight browning around the bottom edge.

Let them cool for a minute or two on the cookie sheet, and then remove to a baking rack to cool more thoroughly.

Recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Greg — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 18:32:29 +0000

One of the things I remember about visits to my Grandma’s house as a kid is her homemade ice cream. She had a little ice cream maker and would make us homemade ice cream on most visits to her house. It was fantastic. I’m still trying to perfect my versions these days, but below is a simple recipe for vanilla ice cream that has worked for me. Remember to get lots of ice and good rock salt for the ice cream maker. (One book I read said 20 lbs of ice for 1 gallon of ice cream! Wow!)

Ingredients:
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups sugar
5 cups milk
1 quart heavy cream
2 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Beat eggs until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue beating until mixture is stiff. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Pour into 1-gal freezer can and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Then enjoy!

(Note: it’s a good idea to plan to “ripen” the ice cream a bit in your regular freezer. Cover the lid and let it freeze for about 4 hours before it’s officially set. Of course, have any amount you’d like before you put it away to finish freezing! It’s too hard to wait!)

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Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Greg — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:56:48 +0000

I found this recipe online somewhere, and though I have tried several, this one always seems to come out the best. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
4 c. sifted powdered sugar
3/4 c. sifted cocoa
3-4 tbsp. milk
3 tbsp. light corn syrup

Lemon Crackers (But they’re really cookies…)

Greg — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:37:46 +0000

When I was a kid, my Mom would make these puffy, soft, delicious treats every once in a while, and we loved them! I eventually found out that they were a recipe passed down through my Mom’s maternal side of the family from some distant Welsh relative. (Her mom, and her grandma used to make them, and so on.) Since the recipe is so old, there are some interesting ingredients in the list below. I’ve included a couple links to purchase the non-standard items at Amazon.com, if that helps. Enjoy this old family recipe!

Lemon Crackers
1 Tbps Bakers Ammonia*
1 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Shortening
1 1/2 Cup sugar
1 Egg
1 Tbps Lemon Oil*
5 Cups flour

Mix ammonia and milk together. Add the rest of the ingredients. Slowly add flour. Mix.

Roll out dough till about 1/4” thick and cut out shapes (the top of a glass will work). Place on cookie sheet.

Bake at 350ºF for 10-12 minutes.

Goes great with a nice cup of tea!

* Baker’s Ammonia is not very commonly used any more and so is slightly difficult to find. I did find some at Amazon.com, for a decent price. Lemon Oil is also not that easy to find, but I’ve included a link here below as well.

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Aunt Leah’s Cinnamon Rolls

Greg — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:40:39 +0000

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 C warm water
2 packages of yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
3.5 oz. instant vanilla pudding
1/2C melted butter
2 large eggs
1 tsp salt
8 C flour
app. 1/2 C melted butter

Topping:
2 C packed brown sugar and 2 Tbsp cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz/ cream cheese – softened
1/2 C soft butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 C powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp milk, just enough for fluffing

In a small bowl, combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved. In a large bowl, make pudding according to package. Add butter, eggs and salt. Mix well. Add the yeast mixture, blend. Gradually add flour and knead until smooth. Adding flour as needed. When dough is smooth, place in a large bowl, cover and let rise until doubled (about 1 hr.). Punch down and let rise again for about 45 minutes.

Roll out onto a floured surface – into a rectangle. Spread 1/2 C melted (I think really soft butter might be better as it won’t run as much) and then sprinkle the topping on. Roll up very tightly. Make a notch every 2 inches. Use some thread to go under dough and criss-cross at notch to make a clean cut. Place on greased baking pan 2 inches apart and press down slightly. Cover and let rise again – 1 h our. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Take them out just as they turn brown. Don’t overbake. Frost when they are warm and serve when they are warm!!

That is a lot of rising. One thing to note is that on the first rise cycle, the dough does not rise much as the ingredients are cold. It rises a LOT the second and third times though!

Enjoy!