Easy Peach Salad - Romain F.

I obviously was not excited to do this one.  I was going to use fresh peaches and forgot until they were gone.  Today I decided to do my last salad.  I was not able to put horseradish and peaches together in my mind.  Besides it is suppose to feed A LOT of people and I didn't want to waste a lot of fruit.  But, I found a way to make it for just 2 people.  I used just a touch of the ingredients.  I used prepared horseradish (1/16th of a teaspoon)   We were pleasantly surprised.  Not something I would look forward to, but it was OK.  It is pretty to look at in a bowl and would add interest to a set table.  It's kind of like spiced cool whip and peaches.
Easy Peach Salad - Romain F.

50  Peach Halves                                                       1  Pint Whipped Cream
1/4  C. Horseradish (drained)                                     1  tsp. Salt
2  tsp. Vinegar                                                           2  Tbs. Sugar
Lettuce Leaves

Fold all ingredients except peaches into whipped cream.  Place peach halves on lettuce leaf and fill peaches with a spoonful of cream mixture.  Yield, 50 servings

Marshmallow Fudge Bars - Mary Mae N.

Once again I forgot to take a photo.  I took them to Pack meeting and they were almost gone and then the locusts at my house finished them off.  That said, they were not amazing.  In the future I would use my favorite brownie recipe and then add the marshmallows and frosting.  The brownie portion was dry and kind of flavorless and way too many pecans, and that is saying a lot coming from me.  There copes.so says to freeze the bars before frosting, but we just frosted them once they were cool and it worked fine.

Marshmallow Fudge Bars

3/4 C All purpose flour

1/4 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

2 T cocoa

1/2 C shortening

3/4 C sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

1/2 C chopped pecans

12 soft lg marshmallows

Combine dry ingredients,  Cream shortening, sugar, and vanilla.  Blend in eggs one at a time, mix well after each.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Add nuts.  Spread in a greased and floured 12x8 (11.5x8) pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Cut marshmallows in half and place cut side down on baked brownies and return to oven for 3 minutes.  Cool then frost with chocolate frosting.

Mince Meat Cookies - Mildred M.

Well I put this one off until last.  As a child they would talk about the "suet" in mince meat.  I never ever ever was going to eat anything that had "SOOT" in it and I didn't.  I was an adult and read a recipe that talked about suet and realized I had interpreted the name wrong.  But, my childhood memory has lasted many years.  Until I was assigned this cookie I had never even found it in the store.  I broke down and bought mince meat.  I read the ingredients on the mince meat and thought maybe it isn't as bad as I thought.  Maybe....  So here it is.
The instructions on this recipe are extremely vague.  It doesn't say to mix or roll out anything.  I could tell it was a filled cookie from the limited instructions.  There is no baking time or temperature.  I added a few instructions in hopes they will make sense.  Not so bad but raisin filled is GREAT!

Mince Meat Cookies - Mildred M.

3  C. Sugar                                                        8  C. Flour
1 pint  Sour Cream                                            1  tsp. Soda
1/2  Cube Butter (melted)                                  6  tsp. Baking Powder
1 pint  Sour Milk                                               2  tsp. Vanilla   
4  Eggs              

Mix all wet ingredients.  Sift dry ingredients and mix into wet ingredients.  Add enough extra flour to make a soft dough that can be easily handled.  I used about 1/2 C. extra.  Refrigerate approx. 3 hrs. as you would a sour cream sugar cookie and the dough will be easier to handle.  Roll dough out until quite thin but will hold together when filling and baking.  Cut out into circles.  (I did large circles and folded them in half to distinguish between raisin filled and mince meat filled.)  Fill with mince meat and rub the edge with a little water and pres lightly to seal the edges.  Bake at 400o F. 12 - 15 min. depending on how dark you would like your cookies.

Banana Cookies by Maurine G

These were good enough.  If you have extra bananas and want to bake something quick and easy, these will work.  Start to finish, it took less than an hour, including baking time.  I didn't ice them, as the directions say, though, because then my son wouldn't be able to eat them.

The cookies have the consistency of an applesauce cookie (as I expected) and a very strong banana flavor.  I don't enjoy strong banana flavors, so I don't really like the cookies.  But all three of my kids love them.  Ben even learned to say banana cookie so he could ask for seconds.

Banana Cookies by Maurine G
3/4 C shortening
3/4 C sugar
1 egg
1/2 t banana flavoring (I left this out since I don't have any, and they still had a very strong banana flavor)
1/4 t salt (I just realized the directions have a big T for tablespoon, but I put in 1/4 teaspoon, and it worked well)
2 mashed bananas
2 1/2 C sifted flour
2 t soda

Cream shortening and sugar.  Add egg, flavor, salt and bananas.  Add flour and soda.  Drop by tsp on greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees until light brown (9 minutes).  Frost with brown sugar frosting.

Coconut Stripes by Carma M.

Egg whites beaten just right

My mom has made these for years and I love them.  The instructions can be a little misleading though.  They say you can dump all the crust ingredients together and stir, but they don't mix very well that way.  They also say to beat the egg whites until stiff, but it really should be until foamy.  I beat them until stiff and they were crumbly and strange.  Foamy makes the cookies crispy and yummy.

Over beaten egg whites

Coconut Stripes by Carma M

1/2 c shortening

1/2 c sugar

2 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

Cream wet ingredients together, add dry ingredients and beat well.  Pat in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

2 egg whites

1 c brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 c chopped nuts

1 c coconut

Beat eggs until foamy.  Add other ingredients and beat well. Pour over crust and spread until even.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  

Cookies - Jenny S.

This is half of a batch.  These are very simple, quick and look like hay stacks.  If you ever needed little hay stacks for children's school classes or a party, these are the ones.  I have had cookies similar to these and I consider them a candy not a cookie.  I am not a real fan of butterscotch chips to just eat like you would a chocolate one but I love them in cookies.  If "you" like butterscotch chips to just eat you would really enjoy these.  They are smooth, crunchy, and sweet all at the same time.  The texture is odd because the Chinese noodles go a little soft.  I expected the noodles to be crunch like the nuts.  Oh well I know we will eat them along with the scouts.
Cookies - Jenny S.

2  bags Butterscotch Drops or Chips                       1  No. 3.5 can Chinese Noodles
1  C. Chopped Nuts                                               1  1/2  C. Miniature Marshmallows

Melt butterscotch drops in a double broiler.  Add remaining ingredients.  Mix well.  Drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper and allow to cool completely before moving or they will crumble.

Honey Peanut Cookies - Virginia S.

These are suppose to post next week.  Oooops. 
I made these cookies for the Teachers Quorum Pres. Meeting.  I set a whole plate out and about 3 were eaten.  It was... Fast Sunday so we will give them the benefit of the doubt.  They were fasting???  After we ate dinner I had one and hoped it would be better the next day but it really isn't.  After stating how we felt about them I would like to say they are a very healthy coolie.  Oatmeal, raisins, honey, nuts, very little sugar.  If you had health issues this may be an option.  They were not bad, they just don't give you the sugar pleasure we look for in a good cookie.


Honey Peanut Cookies - Virginia S.

1  C. Margarine or Butter                                      1  C. Chopped Peanuts
1/2  C. Honey                                                       2  C. Flour
1/4  C. Brown Sugar                                             1  tsp. Soda
2  C. Quick Cooking Oats                                     1  tsp. Baking Powder
1  C. Chopped Raisins                                           1/3  C. Milk

Cream margarine.  Add honey and sugar.  Mix Well.  Add other ingredients in the order given.  Drop by tsp. on greased cookie sheet.  Flatten a little.  Bake for 15 min. at 325o F.  Makes about 3 1/2 to 4 doz.

Fruit Bars - Hilda G.

These cookies are fast, easy, tasty, but....tooo thin.
I think there may be a typo on the size of pan to use because the cookies are so thin.  But, maybe that is right because you are only suppose to cook it 10-12 min.  It states 13" x 18".  This size makes the cookies so flat that the icing almost overpowers them.  I think I would put it in a 9" x 13" next time and bake it about 15-20 min.(?) so that the cookie part is a little thicker.  The icing recipe also says a pkg. of powdered sugar.  As a child I remember 1 lb. boxes of powdered sugar so that is what I started with and then added more because I didn't think I had enough to frost them.  I should have only used the 1 lb.  The icing is a little too thick.  I think this cookie has a lot of potential.  The orange flavor adds a fun twist with the raisins and nuts.  I think Mom made these occasionally, but, as a child the raisins were not my favorite.  Once again I took a short cut with my food processor.  I put all of the dry ingredients with the nuts and raisins and pushed the button.  The nuts and raisins were chopped and ground wonderfully and the flout kept them from sticking too bad to the blade.  Great Shortcut!  I would make these again especially if I needed a cookie that would stay moist for serving the next day.  It has better flavor today than yesterday!

Fruit Bars - Hilda G.

1  Egg                                                               2  1/2  C. Flour
1  C. Sugar                                                       1/8  tsp. Salt
1/2  C. Shortening                                             1/2  tsp. Nutmeg
1/4  C. Orange Juice                                         1/2  tsp. Cinnamon
1  Tbs. Grated Orange Rind                              1  tsp. Soda
1/2  C. Chopped Nuts                                      1  C. Raisins, ground

Cream shortening and sugar.  Add juice and egg and blend.  Add dry ingredients, orange rind, nuts, and raisins.  Dough will be stiff!  Press on cookie sheet 13" x 18".  Bake no longer than 10-12 min. at 400o.F.  While still hot ice with 1 pkg. powdered sugar, 1 heaping Tbs. butter, grated rind of orange and enough orange juice to make a nice stiff frosting.  Cut into bars.  Good hot but better the next day.

Unbaked Cookies - Della G.

There are many different versions of these cookies.  I haven't tasted one I didn't like.  I have tried some that didn't set up very well but these are a great kind of fast, fun, yummy and not messy cookie.  I made them and delivered them to our home teaching families within a half hour of completion.  They set up well and were still soft and yummy the following day.  I was impressed.  The only negative comment I received was, "These have peanut butter in them, don't they.  I like them better without PB."  I consider this a winning recipe as long as PB isn't a problem in your world.  Sorry Natalie and Stephanie.  You better steer clear of these!

Unbaked Cookies - Della G.

3  C. Minute Oatmeal                                            2  C. Sugar
6  Tbs. Sifted Cocoa                                             1/2  C. Milk
1  Tbs. Vanilla                                                       1  Cube Margarine or Butter
                                                                             1/2  C. Peanut Butter

Mix oatmeal, cocoa and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.  Boil sugar, milk and margarine (butter) at rolling boil for 1 minute.  Stir in peanut butter until dissolved.  Pour over oatmeal mixture.  Stir until well mixed, quickly drop them by tsp. or Tbs. on waxed paper and let cool.  Makes approx. 24,  2" wide cookies (used Tbs.).

Cake Donuts - Maude J.

I really wanted these to be amazing, instead they were just good.  There are no real complaints about them other than they were really dry the next day, but that was probably due more to the fact they cooked so fast many were over cooked.  I did make a GF version that Karissa seemed to like, but everyone agreed they were a solid 3.   The lemon extract was nice in them, but when I make donuts I am going to stick with my donut holes recipe from Lion House which I included, because everyone should make them.

I didn't have a donut cutter so I used a cup and a melon baller to make the holes, it worked really well.  Also, the dough is really sticky, the original recipe gives a range for the flour, I would just use the top of the range and then plan on adding flour as you roll (pat) out.

Cake Donuts
1/4 C shortening
3/4 C sugar
1 beaten egg
1 C canned milk
1 tsp lemon extract
2 1/2-3 C flour
1/4 t salt
3 t baking powder
1/2 t nutmeg

Cream shortening and sugar.  Add egg, milk, and extract and combine.  Add remaining ingredients and stir until combined.  Roll on a floured surface and cut.  Cook in deep hot oil and roll in sugar.

Lion House Donut Balls (1/2 recipe of GF measurements)
1/4 t xantham gum
1 1/4  2 1/2 C flour
3/4     1 t Baking Powder
1         2 eggs
3/4     1 1/2 C sour cream
1/2      1 t vanilla
1/8      1/4 t salt
Oil for frying
Powdered sugar, glazed cinnamon sugar, etc.

Combine all ingredients, but oil and powdered sugar, and stir until well mixed.  The batter will be muffin like.  Heat the oils drop by tablespoons into oil (I like to use my cookie scoop).  Fry until golden brown and remove and drain then toss with powdered sugar, glaze, cinnamon sugar, etc).  Makes 25.

Easy Filled Cookies by Jennie S

Please see Raisin Filled Cookies by Lillian G.

Raisin Filled Cookies by Lilliam G & Easy Filled Cookies by Jennie S.

I decided to do both recipes at once, since they are virtually the same.  The only difference in the dough is the addition of vanilla in the one.  The biggest difference in the filling is that one recipe says to use "ground" raisins while the other just says raisins.  After making both fillings, though, I would definitely suggest chopping or "grinding" the raisins, regardless of what the recipe instructs.  The filling with whole raisins was harder to use.  I don't know which recipe the pictured cookies are, since both looked identical after baking.

For the sake of people reading this, I must say I hate raisins.  I will skip dessert before eating a dessert with raisins in it, and I LOVE dessert.  So I used my 4 yr old and almost 2 yr old as taste testers.  The 4 yr old likes these better than the chocolate chip cookies I made.  The 2 yr old just seemed to like them.

The biggest problem with the cookies is how difficult they are to make.  You have to mix up the dough, which is very sticky.  Then you have to chop raisins and make the filling.  then you have to manage to fill the silly things.

I tried to make the dough into a roll and refrigerate it so I could just cut discs of cookie dough off like my mother does.  It didn't work.  The dough was still way too sticky and soft to cut.  So then I dropped it onto the cookie sheet with a cookie scoop, then flattened each scoop with a spoon (trying to make a little well in the center for the filling).  The dough stuck to the spoon, but I managed to make it work.




So then I put on the filling, then plopped more cookie dough on top.
I couldn't think of any way to seal the sides to keep the filling in, so I skipped that part and just stuck them in the oven.  Since the sides weren't sealed, some of the filling leaked out, making them stick like crazy to the cookie sheet.  I thought of greasing it, but thought that might make them spread further.

My suggestion is to just make Mary Algers Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies on pg 47 and leave out the chocolate chips.  It's a boiled raisin drop cookie recipe, and super yummy.  At least that's what my husband and children report.  It's also super easy!!!

Easy Filled Cookies by Jennie Sherratt
1 C shortening
2 C brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1/2 C water
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp soda

Mix shortening, sugar, and eggs.  Add water and vanilla.  Sift together and stir in remaining ingredients.  Drop 1 tsp dough onto cookie sheet.  Place 1/2 tsp filling on top of dough, then cover with 1 tsp dough.  Keep cookies at least 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Filling
2 C chopped dates or raisins
3/4 C water
3/4 C sugar
1/2 C nuts
Cook together until thickened, stirring constantly.  Add nuts to add variety.  Also mincemeat could be used in this recipe.

Raisin Filled Cookies by Lillian G.
2 C brown sugar
1 C shortening
3 eggs
1/2 C water, sour milk or buttermilk
3 1/2 C flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt

Cream sugar, shortening and eggs.  Add flour, soda, salt, and water.  Roll out and add filling.  Bake 8 minutes at 400 degrees.

Filling
1 C washed raisins, ground
1/4 C sugar
2 T butter
1/4 C water
1 t vanilla

Grind raisins, stir and heat until it boils, cool.  Drop dough by teaspoon on cookie sheet, then drop 1/2 tsp filling on dough, then drop teaspoon dough.  Seal sides.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes (yes, this recipe has two, conflicting, sets of instructions for baking)

Butterscotch Oatmeal Drops by Marjorie C.

I'm not a huge fan of oatmeal cookies, but these were really good.  The name made me think they had butterscotch chips in them or something, but I think it just refers to the brown sugar.  They cook really hot, and I think I might turn the oven down a little next time.  Some of the cookies were cripy on the outside and doughy in the middle.  My oven is gas so it doesn't cook as even, it might not be a problem in an electric or convection oven.

Butterscotch Oatmeal Drops by Marjorie C.

1 1/3 c shortening
2 tsp vanilla
2 c brown sugar
3 eggs
2 c sifted flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 2/3 c rolled oats
1 c chocolate chips
1 1/3 c nuts

Cream shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Sift dry ingredients together and add with the oats.  Add nuts and chocolate chips.  Drop on cookie sheet, you can top with a nut half if desired. Bake at 400 (375?) for 7-10 minutes.

Chocolate Tea Cookies - Helen J.

These were suppose to post on the 23 of Sept. with some others but I did something wrong so the other one will come later.....I chose to do two cookies because we have extra ones and I needed some to send on a backpack adventure trip that might hold up while hiking with a pack.  When I got the dough made and it reminded me of  soft tootsie rolls, I remembered tea cookies are usually hard and just bite sized to not leave a mess while eating in your fancy dress.  They definitely don't leave a mess.  They are what they say they are.
I choose to use my small cookie cutters so they would be bite sized.  As you can see on the plate I sprinkled the little cookies with sugar before baking.  The large round ones are dipped in powdered sugar before baking.  The recipe also gives you the option of just doing them as drop cookies so the front one is that.  I wondered if it would bake to the center because the dough was so stiff.  It did.  The flavor is OK, kind of like a tootsie roll.  I probably would not make these unless I was say, the nursery leader and didn't want a mess to clean up.  Little ones would enjoy the little cookies.  It is kind of like having chocolate animal crackers!  For a tea cookie it is good but we seldom use tea cookies with our lifestyle and they don't strike me as a wedding type cookie.

Chocolate Tea Cookies - Helen J.

1  C. Butter or Margarine                                            4  1/2 C. Flour
1  3/4 C. Sugar                                                           1  tsp. Baking Powder
2  Eggs                                                                       1/4  tsp. Salt
4  tsp. Vanilla                                                              4  Tbs. Cocoa

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla, mix well.  Gradually add sifted dry ingredients and mix until dough.  Do not over mix.  Either roll out and cut or drop by teaspoon on baking sheet.  Bake 10-12 min. at 350o F.  (You may leave them plain or dip in sugar or powdered sugar before baking.)

Snickerdoodles - Maurine G. & Chocolate Tea Cookies

I like Snickerdoodles but I am on the eternal quest to find the SOFT Snickerdoodles I have tasted somewhere.  These are not it.  These are quite hard.  The flavor is not very distinct and they are very crumbly.  I found after I tasted one it left a greasy feeling in your mouth.  For a snickerdoodle, this is what a lot of them are like, they're OK.  I guess I expect toooo much from my cookie.  I apparently had tried these before because I had written in to add extra flour.  The recipe as written must make cow pie type cookies.  You know the ones that spread out and are thin and crunchy.  The extra  flour (1/3 C.) really did not improve it very much. 

Snickerdoodles - Maurine G.

1  C. Shortening                                                      2  2/3  C. Sifted Flour
1  1/2  C. Sugar                                                      2  tsp. Cream of Tarter
2  Eggs                                                                   1/4  tsp. Salt
                                                                              1  tsp.  Baking Soda

Cream shortening and sugar.  Add eggs and mix well.  Sift dry ingredients together and Mix into the shortening sugar mixture.  Roll into balls size of walnuts.  Roll balls in a mixture of:
2  Tbs. Sugar                                                          1  tsp. Cinnamon
Place 2" apart on an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake until lightly browned 10 - 12 min. in a 400o F. oven.

Jumbo Raisin (Craisins) Cookies — Betty H.

For starters, I don't care for raisins, at all!  So I substituted Craisins, which I do love.  The recipe just says to cook for 5 min, without it being clear on what temp or whether it is once it boils or otherwise, so I just cooked the Craisins over high heat for 5 min, basically until they boiled.  Then I moved them to another bowl to cool and put them in the freezer to help them along.  Then I made the rest of the cookies.  When it was time for the Craisins I drained the remaining water and added the frozen nuts, which cooled the Craisins the rest of the way.  Otherwise, I would have had to wait probably another 30 min or so, and I am lazy.  I am assuming that if you were using raisins you may not need to drain any water.  Also, once the Craisins were rehydrated they looked just like chopped cranberries, so I am curious if you used chopped fresh cranberries how that would work.

As for the cookies, the dough was tasty, but a little saltier than I prefer.  Then the cookies got baked and they were hard as a rock.  It may be partly my fault.  I added a little extra flour (2-3 T) since I live at such a high altitude, and drained the water since I was worried the dough would be too runny, so I am sure that contributed.   That said, the flavor as just so-so.  I may try them again just to see, maybe even add almond flavoring.  But they weren't my favorite.

Jumbo Raisin (Craisins) Cookies
1 C Raisins (Craisins)
1/2 C water
1 C sugar
 1/2 C shortening
2 eggs
2 C flour
1 t vanilla
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t soda
1/8 t allspice
1/8 t nutmeg
1/2 C chopped nuts

Pour water over raisins or Craisins and cook for five minutes.  Cool.  Preheat oven to 400-degrees.  Combine dry ingredients.  Cream sugars, shortening, and eggs.  Add dry ingredients, mix thoroughly.  Add raisins or Craisins, vanilla and nuts.  drop by tablespoons.  Bake 10-15 min.

Sour Cream Gems by Marjorie C.

So, this recipe has an identity crisis.  It is in the cookie section, but I am pretty sure it is really a muffin, so I am labeling it as both.  I cooked a muffin tin worth and tried the rest as drop cookies to see what would happen, and they work fine both ways.  Obviously, I left out the nuts and raisins, so they could change the recipe a little.  We did feel that they could use a little salt.

Sour Cream Gems by Marjorie C.

1 c thick sour cream* (I think that means the kind I buy at the store)
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 c raisins
1/2 c walnuts
2 c flour
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp soda
Salt ?

Bream the sugar, sour cream and egg.  Sift dry ingredients, add slowly, and beat well.  Add raisins and nuts. Bake at 350, in greased cupcake tins, for 10-15 minutes.

*Can be made with 1 c sour milk and 1/2 c shortening instead of sour cream.

Deep Fry Cookies - Maurine G.

These cookies are quite tasty.  They are a cross between, Ebelskivers (spelled wrong but it won't give me the correct spelling) and Cake Donuts.  They were really quick to make and not much mess because I had everything I needed already.  The flavor is very pleasant.  I thought they would seem more greasy than they do.  I only made half of a recipe and got 14 cookies.  The main problem I had was the tempreture of the oil.  I started when I thought it was hot enough and it really wasn't.  The first two took a minute to start cooking.  The middle ones cooked very well and the grease got too hot by the last ones so the middle was not done.  If I make them again I would cook them a little lower temperature than donuts.  Maybe 325o and make sure the grease is really ready before I start frying. 

Deep Fry Cookies - Maurine G.

2  Eggs                                                                 2  C.  Sifted Flour
1/2  C. Sugar                                                        2  tsp. Baking Powder
1  Tbs. Grated Orange Peel                                  1 tsp.  Salt
2  Tbs.  Softened Butter                                        1/4  C. Orange Juice
1/4  C. Milk

 Beat eggs until thick, beat in sugar, orange peel and butter.  Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk and orange juice.  Drop batter by tsp. into deep fat frier and fry until light brown and turn frying 2nd side until light brown.  Drain on wire rack with newspaper underneith to catch the drips.  Dip in glaze while still hot.
Glaze
1  C. Powdered Sugar                                           2  Tbs. Orange Juice
1/4  tsp. Grated orange rind
Mix all ingredients until smooth and creamy.  Dip the cookies and allow to cool or eat warm like donuts.

Pecan Panoche by Rua J. & Chocolate Crackles by Lillian G.

I started the day thinking I would make a quick batch of penoche, and ended up spending the whole day in the kitchen.  I know how to make penoche, so no big deal, right? I put the ingredients in the pan and started it cooking.  My grandma's recipe usually takes up to 2 hours to cook, so I don't even check it for an hour.  This recipe says to cook it at a hotter temperature, so I decided to wait about a half our.  That is too long!!!  It was way past soft ball and almost past hard ball.  I thought, "That's OK, it will just be a little firmer when I stir it."  Wrong!  When I stirred it, it ended up really hard and crumbly, kind of like a smarty.  It still tasted good, but the consistency was strange and you couldn't cut it, you had to break off a chunk.

 Penoche is my husband's favorite, so he suggested that I try again and see if it is better if you do it right.  I checked it after 15 minutes this time and managed to catch it at a soft ball.  It stirred a lot easier and ended up the right consistency, but still a little crumbly.  The flavor was still delicious.  I put a lid on it and when I went to eat some for my after church snack, I found that it is a lot smoother the next day.  The recipe is really easy and it was nice not to have to buy cream to make it.  It is also a lot faster than my grandma's recipe.  I decided that it is good in a pinch, but, if you really want the good stuff, use Louise's recipe.

I tried to take a picture before the frosting set up

Now I had a pan of good penoche, and a pan of strange, chunky penoche that I didn't know what to do with.  So, I decided, chunky penoche isn't that different from toffee chips, I will put it in chocolate cookies.  I needed to try Chocolate Crackles, so I used that recipe.  I took some of the dough out to chill like the recipe says, and added half of the penoche to the rest.  (By the way, I hate chilling dough.  I don't want to wait, I want the cookies now)  The penoche crumbled enough to thicken the dough a little, so I decided to try to cook them without chilling.  They were flatter than pancakes.  Definitely chill the dough!  The dough is a lot like brownie batter, so I decided to cut corners and bake it in a pan like brownies.  This worked great.  Then I added a little milk to the rest of the penoche and melted it down, cooled it, and added powdered sugar to make penoche frosting.  The end result is a really rich and really yummy brownie.  Too bad I will never be able to duplicate it.

After all this experimentation, the dough was chilled, so I rolled the balls in powdered sugar and baked them.  They were not thick, but they weren't pancakes either.  They are gooey and yummy like a brownie cooked like a cookie.  I just wish the dough didn't have to chill.







Pecan Panoche by Rua J.

3 c white sugar
1 lb brown sugar (2 1/4 c)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
5 T corn syrup
2 c milk (I used 1%, whole milk would probably be better)
2 tsp vanilla
4 T butter
1 c chopped pecans

Combine dry ingredients in a heavy saucepan.  Add syrup and milk.  Stir, over medium heat, until boiling.  Boil on medium heat until mixture reaches softball stage.  DO NOT OVERCOOK!!!!  Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter.  Pour into a bowl and cool until just warm to the touch.  Beat until creamy and pour into a 9x9 pan.  Cut into squares.  Will be better the second day. (I'm not sure when you would add the pecans, my other recipe says to add nuts after you stir it.)

Chocolate Crackles by Lillian G.

4 heaping T cocoa.  (I used a tablespoon from the silverware drawer and heaped as much cocoa on it as I could)
3/4 c salad oil
2 c sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c chopped nuts
1 c powdered sugar

Combine oil and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.  Add vanilla.  Sift dry ingredients together and add.  Add nuts.  Dough is very soft.  Chilll several hours, or overnight.  Roll into walnut sized balls and roll in powdered sugar.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.  Makes 6 doz. 2" cookies

Butterscotch Crunchies by Lillian G

I promise I'm catching up!!  But this recipe is from a few weeks ago.  The cookies were very simple and have only three ingredients: Peanut Butter, Corn Flakes, and Butterscotch Chips.  Because of that, it would be a great recipe for a beginner to use or for someone in a hurry, like if you had kids walking in your door in 10 minutes and they were going to be hungry.  I got a little impatient with dropping the cookies onto the wax paper with a spoon, so I ended up just putting the rest into a pan like you would do for rice krispy treats.  Don't do that.  You must drop them onto the wax paper with a spoon because it's impossible to cut them after they set up (unless, of course, you enjoy cleaning up endless little pieces that break away when they are cut).
I thought the Butterscotch chips made the cookies a little waxy, but they may not taste waxy if you use name brand chips.  So I also tried it with chocolate chips, substituting one cup of chocolate chips for the one cup of butterscotch.  I thought the chocolate tasted MUCH better, and they weren't waxy.  I am a big fan of chocolate over butterscotch, so that may have affected what I thought.  I'm giving the recipe three starts, but any time I make it in the future, I'm sure I'll be doing it with chocolate chips.

Butterscotch Crunchies by Lilliam G.
1 - 6 ounce package butterscotch or chocolate chips (1 cup)
3 cups corn flakes
1/4 C peanut butter
Melt butterscotch chips and peanut butter over low heat or in the microwave, stirring constantly over the stove or frequently in the microwave.  Stir in corn flakes.  Drop by teaspoon onto wax paper and allow to set.  Recipe can easily be halved or doubled, since I tried both.