Cooking

Nothing beats that smell, or the sensation of eating a warm cookie with a tall glass of cold milk. Because of that, I usually only bake as many cookies as we plan to eat right away. Then, I form the rest of the cookies into balls, place them close together on a cookie sheet, and freeze them. When frozen, I throw them into a Ziploc, pop them back in the freezer, and remove just a few at a time when our stomachs are in need of a little tickling :) And while they are baking, sit back and enjoy the intoxicating aroma of fresh baked cookies... better than any scented candle you'll ever light :) For more on freezing cookie dough, read our article, The Magic Cookie Bag.

Over the years, my favorite cookie has changed. All the standards like peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies made with milk chocolate, and oatmeal cookies with pecans, have held that place of honor. Right now, my "favoritest" cookie is the Grape-Nuts Cookie. My mom first made these 20 years ago. She got the recipe off the back of a Grape-Nuts box. They are crunchy AND chewy! Yum! This recipe makes 6 dozen cookies. Enough to fill your house with the wonderful smell of fresh baked cookies many times. Enjoy!

GRAPE-NUTS COOKIES - Makes 6 dozen

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) margarine or butter
2/3 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
2 c. Post Grape-Nuts cereal
2 c. oatmeal
1 c. dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, etc.)

 
Directions:
Mix flour and baking soda in small bowl.
 
Beat margarine or butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed to soften.
 
Gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy.
 
Beat in egg and vanilla.
 
Gradually add flour mixture, beating well after each addition.
 
Stir in cereal, oats and fruit.
 
Use a cookie scoop and place on an ungreased cookie sheets.
 
Bake in a 375 oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
 
Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely on wire racks.

What cookies are you munching on these days? If you'd like to include a recipe, feel free to include it in our comments! Always looking for my next favorite cookie, hehe!

Over the last couple weeks we have had our share of this nasty heat wave. We came home from the cool mountains of Vermont to sweltering heat and humidity. Of course, the heat helped ripened the all the berries a bit early and we were left to pick in the worst of the heat. We choose an overcast morning to head out to the fields. We were armed with several bottles of water and blessed with a bit of breeze.

 

The kids are becoming quite the pickers and we were able to pick all the raspberries and blueberries we needed before the sun broke through from the clouds. The heat seemed to scare many away and we were left with the fields almost to ourselves. We all relished the quiet of the fields and nobody wanted to break the silence. The kids commented on how peaceful it was as they happily and quietly worked their way up and down the rows.

We enjoyed some cider and donuts before heading home with our newly picked loot. Raspberry jam, blueberry cobbler, raspberry sauce with chocolate over ice cream, fresh berries and cream... YUM!

 

Although Fairy's problems with gluten are not as sever as others, it has made me more sensitive to the plight of those around us that have serious allergic reactions to gluten. Because of that, I dusted off my old 3" x 5" cards to see if I had a recipe for a gluten free playdough, and sure enough, I did! In all my years of teaching preschool I never had a child with a gluten allergy. It really makes me wonder whether it is more prevalent today or if we have just gotten better at diagnosing the problem. Whichever the case, I did want to include a gluten free playdough recipe on the site.

I played with 3 different flour substitutes, and I was happiest with the rice and almond flour playdoughs. Of course, if your child has tree nut allergies you will not want to use the almond flour. My final appraisal of the playdough... it makes up nice and feels wonderful working with it. I do believe it dries out a little faster than the wheat flour doughs, so make sure you cover them well when storing. Since I don't know what the shelf life of them are, I plan to store mine in the fridge. FYI... the dough in the photos is made with almond floor.

Gluten Free Playdough

Makes 1 1/2 cups of playdough

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rice or almond flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon cooking oil
food coloring (I used the neon food coloring)

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a sauce pan EXCEPT for the food coloring and mix well. (You can add the food coloring now if you plan to make the whole batch the same color.)

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture pulls away from the sides and looks like moist mashed potatoes. Do not over cook or the playdough will be crumbly.

Divide into 3 parts. (1/2 cup each)

Make a well in the center of each and add 12 drops of food coloring.

Mix in well.

When cooled, store in air tight containers. 

Every family has their favorite traditional foods they make for Christmas. In Michelle's house, Christmas breakfast always includes a birthday cake for Baby Jesus. Although pancake men are not a part of our holiday celebration, the children enjoyed them just the same :)

In the book Christmas in the Big Woods,

"For Christmas breakfast Ma made each child a pancake man. All the children held their plates next to the stove and watched while Ma made their pancake men one by one out of the pancake batter. Peter ate his right away, but the girls ate theirs slowly to make them last."

Not a shocker that you could have changed out Peter's name for Bug, and the above statements would be true! Bug tends to devour the things he loves to eat, barely coming up for air, while the girls tend to savour their treats!

Below is the recipe I always use to make pancakes from scratch:

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 beaten egg
1 c. milk
2 T. melted butter or margarine

DIRECTIONS
Mix flour with baking powder, sugar, and salt and set aside.
Combine egg, milk, and butter and add to dry ingredients, stirring just until combined; do not over mix! The batter will be lumpy.

Heat a lightly greased griddle or skillet over medium heat (375*F - 400*F). The griddle is ready when a few drops of water bubble and dance across the surface.

For each pancake man, pour about 1/8 cup batter onto hot griddle. Then pour the head, legs and arms. Cook pancakes until surface is covered with bubbles and appear dry around the edges. Turn and cook other side until golden brown. 

Optional: Add chocolate chip or raisin eyes, nose and mouth.
 

We received 2 recipes for pumpkin bread. When comparing the 2 recipes, they were nearly identical, except one recipe made 1 loaf and the other made 2 loaves. There were also some slight variations in the spices. Neither recipe included a photo, so when I had this THING this week, I decided to bake each bread, including minor variations, and take them along. After tasting both breads, and chatting with friends, we decided they were equally delicious. It was decided, therefore, that the very best pumpkin bread was the one your mom made for you, the one with a touch of love added! Now, let me introduce you to the ladies and their recipes!

First, there is Jennie Rae. Jennie Rae is new to our blog... welcome! She is also the webkeeper for Prairie Point Junction. She first wandered into our little world last week when we were having our contest for the Poinsettia Garland Kit Giveaway. Anyway, we are delighted she found us, and tickled that she jumped right in and shared a recipe. Jennie Rae has 2 websites; Primitive Country Designs and The Old Drawin' Board. Thanks so much Jennie Rae!

This is the yummiest (although not the healthiest) pumpkin bread recipe. My mother used to make this every fall and every time I make it I think of her and those cozy fall days when I would come home from school and be greeted with the amazing smell of this bread cooking. I love you mom!

Mom's Pumpkin Bread

1/2 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
2 eggs
1 c. canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 2/3 c. flour
1/2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. ground cloves
1 1/2 t. cinnamon

Combine shortening & sugar, add water, eggs and pumpkin. Mix in remaning ingredients.

Pour in large greased and floured loaf pan. Bake 1 hour at 350.

This next recipe comes from Sandra "the crazy mom" at Crazy Mom Tats. When giving this recipe a try, I decided to use my 2 sided pumpkin pan since it made 2 loaves. I then frosted the center with a cream cheese frosting. The bread was so yummy. It certainly did not NEED the cream cheese frosting, but I needed SOMETHING to hold the 2 sides of my pumpkin together. Make sure you run around Sandra's blog, Crazy Mom Tats, and see all the beautiful things she makes. I so want to learn to tat... one of these days. Thanks so much, Sandra, for sharing the recipe with us, and make sure everyone pays her a visit at Crazy Mom Tats!   

This has become a tradition for me to make at Thanksgiving and Christmas - my kids (now big!) beg for this. And it's super easy....

BTW - if you get canned pumpkin, look at the list of ingredients. There should be only one. Hee.

Pumpkin Spice Bread

Any way you slice it, this pumpkin spice bread won't last long once your kids sample it. That's why this recipe makes two loaves - 3 if you use disposable foil pans

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups canned pumpkin (I use one 15 oz can)
3 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. ground cloves

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, sugar, water, vegetable oil and eggs. Beat until well mixed.

2. Measure the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and ground cloves into separate bowl, then stir until combined (a great job for kids). Slowly add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, beating until smooth.

3. Grease two 9- by 5-inch loaf pans and dust them with flour. Evenly divide the batter between the two pans. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Then remove from pans by inverting them onto a rack and tapping the bottoms. Slice and serve plain, buttered or with cream cheese.

BTW... Here are the special pumpkin pans that I used. I LOVE decorative bread pans!