written by marieann

I can’t even tell you how amazing this bread is. The cranberries cook up and give you this burst of wonderful flavor. The top is crunchy and sweet. This bread would make a great Christmas gift to a neighbor. You can also make them as muffins and freeze em. Pop em out in the morning and you’re ready for a wonderfully fresh tasting muffin by lunch.

Ingredients:
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1 c. cranberries

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease a pan. You can also make them as muffins but honestly they don’t taste as good that way. Not as moist.
2. Mix everything together! You can either chop up the cranberries but that takes forever and it not as fun as smashing them between your fingers. They make a nice pop.
3. Pour into pan. This is important!!! Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, this makes the bread have a great crunchy top.
4. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until the top is slightly browned.
5. Eat warm!

written by threadslinger

My mother taught me to be a firm believer in celebrating fall despite the fact that after October 31 it seems that stores are overwhelmed with Christmas. I decided I needed to celebrate fall by making fall-ish cookies. After looking for awhile, I found a recepie for Pumpkin cookies. These are great if you like pumpkin and rather unusal (but delicious) tasting cookies.

Ingredients:
1 cup Shortening
3/4 cup Sugar
1 cup Cooked, strained Pumpkin(or canned)
1 Egg
2 cups Flour
1/2 cup Molasses
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Cup chocolate chips or rolled oats

Preparation Directions:

Step 1: Pre-heat oven to 375.

Step 2: Cream shortening and sugar. (Tip: for softer cookies use brown sugar)

Step 3: Mix in pumpkin ,egg, and molasses. It will be like a goopy mess at this point but have faith, it gets better.

Step 4: Stir in dry ingredients, spices and chocolate chips or rolled oats. You can choose which you prefer, but it is nice to have something because I think it makes them taste more like cookies and less like scones.

Step 5: Drop by the spoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet. A little tip here, you can use an ice cream scoop to make it so that all your cookies are the same size. Plus, if you have the kind with the “scoop blade” (my made up word for that thingy that makes the ice cream come out) then your fingers don’t have to get all doughy.

Step 6: Bake 10 to 12 minutes, depending on your oven. And then, embrace and enjoy fall!

written by marieann

Who woulda thunk that corn could taste so irresistable? This is great because it’s much more moist and sweet than your average cornbread. Cut slices and freeze em in ziplock baggies for snacks when you need it. That is, if you don’t eat it all from the pan when the bread is hot!

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
5 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, slightly beaten

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease bread loaf pan. You can also use a 8 inch pan but then it’s not nearly as cute.
2. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. If you have a sifter, you should use that too.
3. Form a well in the mixture and add the milk, oil, and egg. Stir just until everything is combined – there should still be very small scattered clumps of flour.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 24 to 30 minutes, until the cornbread is starting to brown slightly (especially at the edges) and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
5. Pile on the butter and sigh with glee!

written by marieann

This is my dad’s recipe for pancakes. He’s made them for me every time I do something special and on random days too. They’re the best tasting breakfast cakes you have and will ever taste. I stake my entire reputation that you will enjoy these pancakes. I could circulate a petition of everyone who agrees with me on this point, but the list would be too long to be worth the effort.

They taste much much better than Bisquick.

Ingredients:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
1 tbs. baking powder
1 tbs. sugar

Directions:
1. Mix the first three ingredients until fluffy with the whisk in a bowl. The eggs should be totally blended in. This is the key to the fluff so be sure to whisk really well. (Whisk it. Whisk it good.)

2. Mix the last three ingredients in another bowl.

3. Pour the wet bowl into the dry. Mix with the whisk. Be sure to fluff again! It’s okay if there are a few small lumps of dry mix, but try to get it all worked in.

4. Pour by the 1/3 cup onto hot griddle/frying pan. This is the hardest part because the pan cannot be too hot. If you have a gas burner like me, it is really difficult to keep the temperature low. But this is essential. Otherwise, you’ll get burnt cakes with raw centers. Disgusting.

5. Flip the pancake when when the top looks really bubbly. It is about two minutes. The second side doesn’t cook nearly so long (less than a minute).

6. Lots of butter! Look how fluffy!

written by threadslinger

These cookies are excellent for the holidays (my mom makes them at Christmas every year) or for those times when you want to make cookies but you are tired of making chocolate chip. Plus, this recepie calls for ingredients that you probably already have in your home so it is easy and quick.

Ingredients:

2/3 C butter (soften)
2 egg yokes
1 t cream of tartar
1 t vanilla
1 and 1/2 C flour
1/2 C sugar
2 egg whites
1/2 C jam or preserves (any flavor you prefer)
Chopped walnuts (optional)

Materials Needed:

Cookie sheet
Mixing bowl
Mixer
Spoons
Oven

Instructions:

Step 1: Set out butter a few hours before starting cookies to make sure its soft. Then, in a mixing bowl (medium size is fine) mix together butter and sugar, beat for about 30 seconds.

Step 2: Add vanilla, egg yokes, cream of tartar. Mix together until blended. (Remember to separate the egg yokes and whites. I usually do it with the egg shell shifting them back and forth. Some people have those fancy egg separaters which work well too.)

Step 3: Add as much flour as you can, mix together until dough is smooth (remember to scrape the sides).

Step 4: After dough is finished refrigerate for 1 hour or until you can eaisly roll the dough into balls. Spend hour dreaming of how good your cookies will taste.

Step 5: About 10 min before taking dough out of fridge start pre-heating the oven to 350. Grease cookie sheet. I always use the wrapper from the butter by rubbing it on the cookie sheet but if you want to use Pam or whatever else that will work too.

Step 6: Take dough out of fridge and measure out about spoon full size of dough. Then, roll dough into balls. Here is where you have the option of rolling the dough balls into the egg whites and then into the chopped walnuts. If you don’t like nuts (or are too poor/lazy to go buy them as I was when I made these) then skip that step and just roll dough into balls.

Step 7: Place dough balls on cookie sheet, I can usually fit 9 cookies in 3 x 3 rows on my cookie sheet but I have a gigantor mother of all cookie sheets so you may only be able to fit 6.

Step 8: After placing dough balls onto cookie sheet use your thumb to make a indentation big enough to fit about 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of jam in.

Step 9: Bake for about 10 min depending on your oven.

Step 10: Remove from oven and just before serving cookies scoop jam into the hole. If your cookies don’t have an indentation for the jam when they get out of the oven try pressing them with a spoon while they are still warm to form an indentation for the jam.

Step 11: Eat and enjoy these wonderful little treats.