Springerles

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsps anise extract

In a large bowl, beat eggs with sugar until fluffy-light and thick, about 5 minutes.

Stir in flour, soda, and anise extract, blending well to form a stiff dough.

Roll out, a half at a time, to about 1/4" (or less) thick. Cut with cookie cutter.

Bake on greased cookie sheet, 15 minutes in 300º oven. Immediately and carefully remove to racks to cool.

Notes: This is Grandma Boo's recipe, slightly amended. Hers were white, wonderful, and authentic, as she had a springerle rolling pin. Just as tasty, though, with dough colored according to one's whim and cut with cookie cutters of choice. These don't spread much on the sheet, tending to rise more than spreading. The thicker you roll your dough, the softer will be the cookies at the end of the baking time. A toothpick or blade can be used to mark unbaked cookies (veins on leaves, faces on people-shapes, feathers on turkeys), and markings will remain during baking.
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Almond Puff

½ cup butter, softened
1 cup flour
2 tbls water
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½ cup butter
1 cup water
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup flour
3 eggs
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glaze & sliced almonds, partly crushed

Cut ½ cup butter into 1 cup flour. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons water over mixture; mix with fork. Divide in half and use your hands to form cylindrical shapes with each half. On ungreased baking sheet, press and pat each half into a strip, 12" x 3". Strips should be about 3" apart on the baking sheet.

Heat oven to 350º.

In a medium saucepan, heat ½ cup butter and 1 cup water to rolling boil. Remove from heat and quickly stir in almond extract and 1 cup flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Beat in eggs, all at one time, until smooth. Divide in half; spread each half evenly over strips, covering completely.

Bake about 60 minutes or until topping is crisp and brown. Cool. Frost with glaze and sprinkle generously with part sliced and part crushed almonds. To serve, cut 1" slices and arrange on serving dish.

Glaze: Stir togeher 1½ cups powdered sugar, 2 tbls butter, softened, 1 to 1½ tsps almond extract, and 1 to 2 tbls warm water until smooth.

This presents well and is simpler to prepare than the directions might lead one to believe.

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Cranberry Relish

4 cups fresh cranberries
1 orange, with peel
2 cups sugar
¼ tsp salt

Grind cranberries and orange. Add sugar and salt. Refrigerate and allow to meld overnight. This keeps very well over time.

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Cranberry Salad

2 cups fresh cranberries, ground
3 cups miniature marshmallows
¾ cup sugar
2 cups diced apples, do not peel
½ cup chopped walnuts
¼ tsp salt
1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Combine cranberries, marshmallows, and sugar. Cover and chill overnight. To serve, add apples, walnuts, and salt. Fold in whipped cream.

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Cinnamon Popcorn

Pop 3 bags of microwave popcorn.

Put 12 ozs cinnamon imperials (little, round, red hot candies) in 2-cup measuring cup, and fill the rest with granulated sugar.*

Pour into saucepan with 2 sticks of butter and ½ cup light corn syrup. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring often until candies dissolve, then stir occasionally.

Remove from heat. Stir in ½ tsp baking soda and 1 tsp vanilla.

Pour over popcorn and mix well. Bake 1 hour at 250º, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container.

*The sugar measuring instructions do seem strange and imprecise, but this is another never-fail popcorn recipe. I pour the sugar over the candies to the 2-cup measure mark, give a very gentle shake, and add more sugar, if necessary, to reach the mark again. For years, I've not been able to find 12 oz packages of red hots, so I buy in whatever quantity they're packaged and divide bags. Most often, I've found them in 9 oz packages, so I use 1 bag + 1/3 of another.

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Caramel Popcorn

6 quarts popped corn (3 bags microwave)
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
½ cup corn syrup (light or dark)
1 tsp salt (omit with microwave popcorn)
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 250º. Butter bottom and sides of roasting pan or another type of pan with equal capacity. In a heavy saucepan, slowly melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for five minutes. (Original recipe gives this no-stirring instruction, but I usually stir it at least 3 times during the 5-minute boil, feeling better assured it won't develop a burnt taste.)

Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour over popcorn and mix well. Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Turn out onto waxed paper and shove it around to separate. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

This has been a never-fail, simple (no candy thermometer) recipe and creates a very crisp and tasty caramel corn.

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Apple Dumplings

2 cups water
1½ cups sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
8 drops red food coloring
¼ cup (half stick) butter
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2 cups flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp salt
¾ cup shortening
½ cup milk
6 small apples, peeled and cored

For syrup, mix first 5 ingredients; cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add butter.

Sift together dry ingredients; cut in shortening till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk all at once; stir just till flour is moistened. On lightly floured surface, roll to 18" x 12" rectangle.

Cut into six squares. Place apple on each square. Sprinkle each apple generously with additional sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg; dot each apple with butter. Moisten the edges of the pastry. Bring corners to the center and pinch edges together, sealing each apple within its pastry wrap. Place 1" apart in ungreased 13" x 9" baking pan. Pour syrup over dumplings. Bake at 375º for 35 to 40 minutes, when pastry is nicely browned and speckled as biscuits would be. Serve warm with cream. Serves 6.

Alternate Assembly: While the above assembly makes a lovely and impressive presentation, our family more often prefers a different method. I roll the pastry to the designated size and spread with a thin layer of butter. Chop the apples (6 small or 4 not-so-small) and distribute atop the buttered pastry. Sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Hereafter, work quickly, as the sugar begins immediately to draw moisture from the apples. Roll as one would cinnamon roll dough and cut into 12 equal pieces. This method is forgiving, so don't worry about holes or escaped apples. Just poke it back together any old way. Lay cut side up in pan like one would cinnamon rolls (4 rows of 3 rolls) and pour syrup over. Bake as directed.

This is actually easier than trying to fit the pastry squares around the six apples, unless the apples are particularly small. And we like the very even distribution of apples throughout the pastry. Serves 12.

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Pumpkin Bars

2 cups pumpkin
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 tsps cinnamon
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(frosting)
8 ozs cream cheese, softened
4 tbls butter
1 tsp vanilla
1½ cups powdered sugar
½ cup chopped walnuts

Mix pumpkin, sugar, oil, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and mix well. Spread in greased and floured jelly roll pan (12" x 18"). Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes. Frost when cool.

Frosting: Thoroughly mix cream cheese, 4 tbls butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Spread and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
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Pecan Tassies

Soften 3 ozs cream cheese and ½ cup butter; blend together. Stir in 1 cup flour. Chill 1 hour. Shape into 2 dozen 1" balls; place the balls in ungreased 1¾" (mini) muffin pans. Use thumb or mini tart press to press dough against bottom and sides, creating a shells.

Beat together 1 egg, ¾ cup brown sugar, 1 tbl softened butter, 1 tsp vanilla, and a dash of salt, just till smooth. Divide 1/3 cup coarsely broken pecans among all the tarts; add egg mixture to each. Top with 1/3 cup coarsely broken pecans. Bake at 325º for 25 minutes or till filling is set. Cool; remove from pans. Makes 2 dozen.

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Coconut Strawberries

14 oz pkg coconut
½ cup almonds
6 ozs strawberry gelatin
1 can sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp almond extract
½ tsp vanilla extract
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red granulated sugar
green toothpicks, broken in half
construction paper leaves

[Place several drops of red liquid food coloring in about ½ cup sugar and stir until sugar is evenly colored deep pink. Break natural wood toothpicks in half and drop in bowl of shallow water which has been heavily colored with green liquid food coloring. Allow to stand 10-15 minutes; drain; place on paper towels to dry.]

Rough-chop coconut in food processor. Grind almonds in food processor. Combine all ingredients in a bowl;this is most easily, quickly, and thoroughly done with your hands.

Use approximately 1¼ tablespoons of mixture to make each strawberry. Form into a ball, then pinch one side to form the elongated part of the strawberry. Roll in red colored sugar.

Press the sharp end of a green half toothpick through the center of a green construction paper leaf. Press the toothpick-leaf combo into the bulbous end of the strawberry.

Note: While forming strawberries from coconut mixture, it's an enormous help to keep a damp paper towel at your side, wipe your hands after each strawberry, and rinse the paper towel as needed. Otherwise, you'll develop a build-up of the coconut mixture on the palms of your hands, and you won't be able to roll the balls.

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French Silk Pie

1½ sticks butter, softened
3 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted & cooled
3 eggs
1 baked pie shell
1¼ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
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2 cups whipping cream, whipped and sweetened
chocolate shavings (sweetened chocolate, candy bar)

Beat butter with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar and beat 2 minutes. Add melted chocolate and beat 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat 2 minutes after each addition. Blend in vanilla. Pour into baked pie shell. Cover with whipped cream and garnish with chocolate shavings.

Gain two pounds.

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Speedy Dinner Rolls

5-1/2 cups flour
2 cups warm milk (or water or combination)
2 pkgs yeast
1/3 cup sugar
3 tsps salt
1/3 cup shortening

Dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add sugar, salt, and 2 cups of the flour. Beat with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Add shortening and beat 1 minute. Work in remaining flour and knead well.

Set in greased bowl and turn dough to grease the top. Cover and let rise 20 minutes, or until doubled.

Punch down. Shape into rolls by pinching pieces of dough to form approximate 2" balls; place on greased baking sheet. Cover with lightweight towel. Let rise again, then bake at 375º approximately 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush tops with butter.

*Original recipe calls for water rather than milk. Most of the time, I use half water (1 cup), half milk (1 cup).

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Sugar Cookies

2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
4 tsps baking powder
5½ cups flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla.

Mix all dry ingredients and add slowly to butter-cream mixture until incorporated. Roll to desired thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut cookies and place on cookie sheet at least 2" apart (cookies grow like crazy). Bake in 400º oven for 7 to 10 minutes. Should be light in color with light browning on the edges. Remove to cool; decorate with Sugar Cookie Icing.

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Sugar Cookie Icing

2 cups powdered sugar
4 tsps milk
4 tsps light corn syrup
½ tsp vanilla or almond extract
food coloring

Stir powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and vanilla or almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. Add more corn syrup to thin, if necessary. Divide and color.

Options: Apply with paintbrush or small spatula. Apply with icing bag and tip(s). Pipe outlines, allow to harden some, then thin icing to flood outlined areas. Your imagination rules.

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Gingerbread Cookie Place Cards

6 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
2 sticks butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
4 tsps ginger
4 tsps cinnamon
1½ tsps cloves
1 tsp pepper
1½ tsps salt
2 eggs
1 cup molasses

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. In an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Add flour mixture; combine on low speed. Divide dough in thirds; wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour.

On a floured work surface, roll dough 1/8-inch thick. Cut with a knife into equal rectangles, using a template to cut strips, then cross-cut. Transfer to ungreased baking sheets; refrigerate until firm, 15 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until crisp but not darkened. Immediately upon removal from the oven, use a straw to poke holes in two top corners of each cookie. Let cookies cool on wire racks.

Use Sugar Cookie Icing to pipe the names of your guests and decorative borders on half of the cookies; decorate the remaining rectangles as desired (borders, acorns, asters, leaves, turkeys, etc.), as these will be the backs of the place cards and seen by guests on opposing sides of the table.

Assembly: Cut approximately 6" - 7" pieces of thin, satin ribbon in a number to match your number of guests. Place one name cookie and one decorated cookie back-to-back, thread a ribbon through the holes you made with the straw in the top corners, and tie in a knot. (After tying, trim ribbon to even lengths.) This enables the cookies to stand on the table as an easel.

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Lion House Dinner Rolls

2 pkgs yeast
2 cups warm water
1/3 sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
2-1/2 tsps salt
2/3 cup instant dry skim milk
5-6 cups flour
1 egg
additional melted butter

Combine yeast and water in a large mixing bowl, stirring until dissolved, and let stand 5 minutes. Add the sugar, 1/3 cup butter, salt, dry milk, 2 cups of flour, and the egg. Beat the mixture until smooth. Add 2 cups more of flour, one at a time, and beat until smooth. Add 1 cup more of flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until well mixed. Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Round into a ball and place in a warm, buttered bowl, turning to coat the top. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise until tripled, about 1 hour.

Brush 1 or 2 large baking sheets with melted butter. Punch down the dough and turn out on a lightly floured surface. Use the last of the flour, as needed, for rolling and molding the dough. (Do not use any more flour if the dough is moist but not sticky.) Cover dough and let rest 10 minutes. Mold or cut dough into desired shapes. Place rolls on baking sheet and liberally brush surface of rolls with melted butter. Cover loosely with waxed paper, then a lightweight towel, and let rise until light, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400º. Slowly peel waxed paper away from rolls, taking care to not disturb roll tops and cause a collapse. Bake rolls 12-15 minutes. Makes approximately 3 dozen.

Notes: To eliminate instant dry skim milk and use milk in its place (not everyone keeps dry skim milk on hand), 1- reduce water to 1-1/3 cups; 2 - dissolve yeast in water; 3 - add 2/3 cup warm milk to the yeast-water mixture.

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Cream Cheese Corn

8 ozs cream cheese, softened
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
2 cans shoe peg corn, drained
1 can chopped green chilies, do not drain
salt and pepper to taste

1. Stir together all ingredients.
2. Pour into buttered casserole dish.
3. Bake at 350º for 20 to 30 minutes, to heat through.

Notes: This should amply serve 6 and is a particular man-pleaser. I triple the recipe for gatherings. Leftovers heat and eat well.

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