Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies

Cream together the following:

1 cup margarine, softened
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar

Add these to the mixture:

1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

Mix together these ingredients and sift into the creamed mixture:

1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt

Refrigerate until chilled. Shape dough into balls about the size of a small jawbreaker. Press down with a fork and sprinkle with colored sugar, red or green. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or less. Do not let them brown. Let them cool before handling. It makes about 10 dozen.

Mrs. Carty gave this recipe to my Mom. It’s now a family favorite!

Nutty Fingers

Nutty Fingers
Also known as Lady Fingers

2 sticks butter (or 1 stick butter and 1 stick margarine)
6 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 cups plain flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Cream together butter and sugar. Add flour gradually with hands. Add pecans. Roll with hands into tiny fingers. Small fingers will spread when baked, so make sure to keep them small! Bake at 325 about 20 minutes or until they begin to brown on bottom.

This recipe makes about 80 fingers. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

This recipe came from Granny. It gets mixed up every Christmas and for weddings.

Cheese Straws

Cheese Straws

10 ounce sharp Cracker Barrel Cheese (Kraft)
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons margarine
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
Red pepper to taste (cayenne pepper)

Squish the cheese with hands. Add butter and squish it into the cheese. Add salt and pepper. Keep squishing. Gradually add flour and keep squishing until it’s all mixed together.

Using a cookie press with a star disk, squirt out mixture in rows on parchment lined cookie sheet. Cut to desired lengths before baking, about an inch. Bake at 375 until lightly browned on the bottom. This takes about 10 minutes. This makes about 150 cheese straws.

This recipe came from Granny. We make it for beach trips, Christmas, weddings. My cousin, Molly Beth, has perfected this recipe and sells them at craft shows for the holidays.

My favorite Cheese Straws are slightly burnt and have an extra dash of red pepper!

Easy Toffee Recipe

Toffee

1 sleeve saltines
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup nuts
1 bag chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease baking sheet. Line with crackers.

In medium saucepan, combine butter and brown sugar. Boil 3 minutes. Pour over crackers and spread evenly. Bake 7 minutes.

Sprinkle chocolate chips on top; allow chips to melt; spread. Sprinkle chopped nuts on top.

Place in freezer for 20 minutes until chocolate hardens. Break up and put in airtight containers.

These babies are seriously addictive! If you are even thinking about a diet, don’t make them!

Enjoy!

Homemade Caramel Popcorn Recipe

Caramel Popcorn

1 bag popped popcorn

1 can nuts

1 stick butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

Spray cookie sheet with Pam. Pour popped pop corn and nuts evenly over pan. Mix butter, brown sugar and honey and bring to boil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Stir constantly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and stir. Pour caramel over nuts and pop corn. Stir to cover pop corn and nuts. Bake for one hour at 250 degrees. Stir every 15 minutes. Allow to cool. Store in airtight container.

This tastes so good and your friends won't believe you made it yourself. If you want to change it up a little, use a can of Spanish peanuts. My favorite is a can of mixed nuts.

Cinnamon Tortillas

Cinnamon Tortillas
1 bag flour tortillas (soft)
Canola oil
Sugar and cinnamon mixed (I like lots of cinnamon)

Mix sugar and cinnamon in a large container. I fill a large bottle and use this to refill a smaller shaker. Cut tortillas into wedges or fold and use scissors to make snowflakes. For Halloween, you can cut out pumpkin faces. Dip tortillas in oil and lay on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon mixture. Bake on 350 for about 10 minutes. Watch closely. Once they are crunchy, remove from oven. They are good warm, cold, with ice cream, dipped in cream cheese or any other way you can think of.

I originally got this as a low calorie recipe. Use Pam spray instead of canola for a lower calorie option.

Unfortunately, I like the high octane version!

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Pecan Spirals

Cinnamon Pecan Spirals

6 tablespoons sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 sheet frozen puff pastry dough

1/2 cup nuts, chopped

zest of one orange, optional

Preheat oven to 400. Combine 6 tablespoons sugar and 1 ¼ teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl. Melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter. Unfold 1 thawed sheet frozen puff pastry dough. Lightly brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Press into dough. Flip dough and repeat. Roll to 11 by 16 inch rectangle. Toss ½ cup pecans with zest of 1 orange and sprinkle half of mixture into dough, covering surface. Fold dough in half to 11 by 8 rectangle. Press remaining nut mixture into dough, covering surface. Starting from a long side, roll into a tight log. Trim edges. Wrap in plastic and chill for 20 minutes. Cut log into 1/3 inch slices. Place 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes.

Makes 30 spirals.

My boys love these. In a pinch, I've used canned crescent rolls in place of the puff pastry dough. You can make up the recipe in advance so you don't spend an hour or so putting it together when you are already hungry! If prepared ahead, just treat 'em like cookies...slice and bake!

Seafoam Candy

Seafoam Candy

2 ½ cups sugar
2/3 cup white syrup
2/3 cup cold water
2 egg whites, BEATEN STIFF
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts

Cook sugar, syrup and water to soft ball stage. Have eggs already beaten in large mixing bowl. Pour ½ of syrup mixture over egg whites, beating with mixer. Add vanilla. While you are doing this, but other half of syrup mixture back on stove and cook to hard crack. Be careful not to overcook. Add to syrup and egg mixture. Beat to drop consistency. Add nuts and drop by teaspoon full. If the mixture hardens while dropping, pop in microwave for a few seconds to soften.

Don't make this on a rainy or highly humid day because it may not set.

This is my Mama's specialty and delicious! She hides it, but I know where she puts it!

Pavlova

PAVLOVA

4 egg whites
Pinch salt
¼ level ts cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
1 level ts cornflour
1 ts vinegar
1ts vanilla

Beat egg whites, salt and cream of tartar until stiff. Gradually beat in 2/3 cups sugar a tablespoon at a time. Lightly fold in remaining sugar, cornflour, vinegar and vanilla.

Spoon onto parchment paper in shape of 10-inch circle on a cookie sheet and bake at 275 degrees for 75 minutes. Cool in oven. Decorate with whipped cream, pudding, honey and/or fruit.

This is an Australian dessert. The first time I had it, my mother-in-law made it. In the Land Down Under, they put passion fruit pulp on it. It's not my favorite, but if you're going for authentic Australian, hunt up some passion fruit. Fresh peaches are absolutely the best!