Glazed Apple Pan Pie

I haven't made one of these in years, but I use to make them every Christmas. It's basically a delicious apple pie made in a 15 x 10 x 1 baking pan. It's great for taking "apple pie" to a large family gathering because it makes 24 servings. My Dad is probably the pickiest apple pie connoisseur I know & even he said it was delicious.

The original recipe came from Taste of Home Magazine, Oct/Nov. 1998 issue. Unbelievably, I haven't really tweeked this recipe.

Glazed Apple Pan Pie

Crust
5 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 cups shortening
2 egg yolks
2/3 cup ice water

Filling
14 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples (I always use Jonathon apples..It takes about 10 lbs. for this recipe).
4 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tblsp. butter
2 Tblsp. milk

Glaze
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 Tblsp. water
1/8 tsp. vanilla

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt & baking powder.
Cut in shortening until crumbly.
Beat egg yolks & water.
Add to flour mixture, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball.
Divide dough in half.
Roll out one half to fit the bottom of an ungreased 15 x 10 x 1 baking pan.

Toss apples with lemon juice & vanilla; set aside.
Combine sugars, cinnamon, & salt.
Place half of the apples over the crust.
Sprinkle with half the sugar mixture.
Repeat.
Dot with butter.

Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie. (This does not have to be smooth & pretty. You can actually piece a top together & it will look fine after it's baked.)
Seal & flute edges. (Okay, let's be honest, I didn't "flute" the edges. I sealed them & called it good. Homemade crust & I do not always agree :/)

Brush with milk.
Bake at 375 for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool for 10 minutes.
Combine glaze ingredients & drizzle over pie.

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Since getting this recipe in a email years ago, I've since seen similar ones on websites via Pinterest. Including a site here that has about 2 zillion types of cakes you can make in mugs...ok, maybe not 2 zillion but A LOT! Anyway, this is the only one I've personally tried (& I only post recipes on here that I've tried myself) so I'm going to share this one. If you try one of the others from the above website, let me know how they turn out :)

Labeled as the most dangerous cake recipe ever ('cause let's be honest, do we really NEED to be able to make chocolate cake in 5 minutes with stuff we usually always have around the house?)

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

4 Tblsp. flour
4 Tblsp. sugar
2 Tblsp. cocoa
1 egg
3 Tblsp. milk
3 Tblsp. oil
3 Tblsp. chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug & mix well. Add the egg & mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk & oil & mix well. Add the chocolate chips, if using & vanilla extract & mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave & cook for 3 minutes.@ 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't freak out!

Allow to cool a little & tip out onto a plate if desired.
Enjoy!!!

This is enough for 2 if you really want to share....

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I enjoy Christmas baking (when I have the time) & I have an absolute FAVORITE Christmas goodie: Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Years ago, Crisco came out with Crisco Sticks & on the packaging was a recipe for the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies. You can still find a similar recipe here.  These quickly became known in our house as the best chocolate chip cookies ever. I've given them as gifts to teachers at Christmas time & had them request them again even after they no longer had Livi in class LOL! And, in case your wondering, Santa LOVES them! :)

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup (3/4 stick) butter flavored Crisco shortening

1 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 Tblsp. milk

2 Tblsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (6 oz)

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, optional (I've never put nuts in my chocolate chip cookies)

Heat oven to 375. Place sheets of foil on countertop for cooling cookies. 

Combine butter flavored Crisco, brown sugar, milk & vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended. Beat egg into creamed mixture. 

Combine flour, salt, & baking soda. Mix into creamed mixture just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips (& nuts if using). 

Drop rounded tablespoonfuls approx. 3 in. apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake one sheet at a time at 375 for 8-10 minutes for chewy cookies or 11-13 minutes for crisp cookies. DO NOT OVER BAKE!! 

(This I can not stress enough!!! We prefer chewy, gooey cookies. I usually bake mine for 8-9 min. Take them out & let them sit on the cookie sheet for approx. 1 min. Then I take a spatula & literally slide them off onto the foil on the countertops. They are still squishy & appear to not be done. You could not pick them up at this point. When they cool completely they are perfect!)

Makes about 3 dozen cookies. 

**If nuts are omitted, add an additional 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips...let's be frank, I just dump the whole bag of chocolate chips in :) 

Robert Redford Dessert

I've heard this recipe called "The Next Best Thing To Robert Redford Dessert", "The Next Best Thing To Sex Dessert", "Better Than Sex Dessert" & I'm sure it has many other names. Personally, being better than Robert Redford in my opinion doesn't take much...now if it was "The Next Best Thing To Ian Somerhalder (or Adam Levine)"...well, anyway, the point is this is a fairly simple dessert that tastes INCREDIBLE!! I got the recipe from the wife of an old boss.

I know you won't be surprised to hear I've modified it a bit. I've increased the powdered sugar, cream cheese & cool whip so that that layer would be thicker in a 9 x 13 pan. You could cut the amounts of these 3 ingredients in 1/2 if you want a thinner layer. I also came across a picture of this dessert made with BOTH a layer of chocolate & a layer of lemon pudding. I'm not a big fan of lemon pudding, but it might be interesting to put double pudding layers in. I don't see any reason you couldn't use other flavors of pudding as well.

Robert Redford Dessert

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup nuts, optional
1 stick of margarine, melted
2 cups powdered sugar
16 oz of cream cheese
2 cups of cool whip
2 small packages of instant pudding mix (chocolate or lemon - I've always used chocolate)
2 3/4 cups milk
cool whip to top with (the recipe uses a total of 2 tubs of cool whip)

Directions:

Mix flour, nuts & margarine & press into bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Cool. Mix powdered sugar, cream cheese & cool whip. Place over cooled crust. Beat pudding & milk til smooth & thick. Place over previous layer. Top with whipped cream.

Refrigerate for several hours or over night.

Enjoy!

Cookie Balls

I'm not sure where I originally found this recipe, but you can find it at AllRecipes with close to 100 user photos so I'm thinking it's probably a family favorite for many families. =) My recipe is jotted down on a notepaper with LiviGirl's name at the top so I'm going to guess that she had something to do with the finding of this recipe. 


She & I made these several years ago. They're messy to make (think Oreo crumbs everywhere), but they are delicious & messing up the kitchen with your cooking buddy is really part of the fun, isn't it?

Cookie Balls

1# chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed (*read "Oreo" here. I think we used the double stuffed ones)
8 oz. cream cheese
1 # vanilla candy coating (I probably used white chocolate almond bark, because I've found it to be the easiest to use white chocolate coating.)


Combine crushed cookies with cream cheese. Roll into balls & dip with a fork into melted white chocolate/candy coating. Set on wax paper to cool. 


Makes about 36. 

Cherry Delight

This recipe for Cherry Delight comes from my Aunt Beth (Dad's sister). I probably 1st had it when I was 9 or 10 yrs old. It instantly became my favorite dessert & I proceeded to request it for EVERY family gathering. Finally, when I was early in my teen years, my Aunt Beth said, "Why don't I just give you the recipe?"  (Poor lady was probably sick of making Cherry Delights!)

Cherry Delight


Topping:
2 cans of cherry pie filling (I try to get the "more cherry" kinds)


Crust: 
9-12 Tbsp of butter melted
2 cups of crushed graham crackers
1/2 cup of sugar


Mix these together & press into the bottom of a 9x13 dish.
Place in freezer while making filling.


Filling:
2 cans of sweetened condensed milk
2-8 oz blocks- Philadelphia Cream Cheese


Mix these together until smooth & then add:


1 tsp of vanilla
1/2 cup lemon juice


Continue to mix on high until well blended.  Filling will become thicker & "fluffier".


Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the crust. 


Refrigerate overnight. Put cans of cherry pie filling in refrigerator overnight as well. The next day, pour cherry pie filling on top of cream cheese mixture. 


ENJOY! 

Frosted Pecans & Cow-Patties

Lastly tonight, something for your sweet tooth...


Livi's Grandma King made these a couple of Christmases ago.  I'm not much of a nut eater, but I couldn't get enough of these.  It's not hard to make, but because it uses pecans it's not necessarily cheap to make.  However, as a once-in-a-while special treat...it's awesome!

Frosted Pecans

1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
1# pecans (chopped or bite-size pieces)


Mix sugar & sour cream & bring to a boil. Boil for 5 min. stirring constantly.
Remove from heat & add vanilla & pecans.  Stirring until pecans are well coated.


Spread mixture out onto wax paper to cool.  Separate after cooled. 

Cow-patties (aka No-Bake Cookies)

I grew up calling these cookies "No-Bakes" but Toby's family always calls them "Cow Patties".  Let me preface this recipe with a few things:

#1) I think most people already know how to make these.  However, since this blog is for Livi, I'm adding them to it because they are a family favorite.

#2) I can count on one hand the times that I've made these blame cookies & them set up right, but my family is use to this & still requests them...even if they have to be eaten with a spoon :)

Lastly, my father-in-law requested these cookies for Christmas this past year.  Now being a diabetic he didn't need me to make a double batch for him. However, I have come to realize something about my dear FIL:  He is not necessarily overly-impressed with my cooking or of the mindset that I am a fabulous cook, BUT he has learned that I AM the pushover in the family & have the hardest time telling him "no".  

So, when I said, "You know I can't ever get those cookies to set-up.  You'll be eating them with a spoon!"  And he replied, "I'd eat 'em through a straw if you'd just make me some. *insert sweet smile here*"...yeah, I made 'em for him.  See what I mean?  PUSHOVER :) Still, these will probably always be "his" cookies from here on out...

The recipe I use is actually from Livi's Grandma Snell (my mom).  For whatever reason the one I use to use had the ingredients added in the wrong order & NEVER set up.  This recipe does work if you boil it just right & the weather cooperates & the cookie gods are on your side that day - LOL! 

So, without further ado...the recipe: 

1 stick of butter (no substitutes)

1/2 cup milk

2 cups sugar

2 TBSP peanut butter

Heat in a saucepan.  Mix well & boil for 1 min. Remove from heat & add 1 tsp. of vanilla.

In a separate dish, combine 3 cups of quick oats & 2 TBSP of cocoa. Stir into heated mixture & drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper.  

** Pray they set up like they're suppose to :) **

Trevor's Cherry Cobbler

See, I didn't forget about Mom's Kitchen.  It's just been chaotic around here.  Things are finally calming down.  We're settled in the new place, classes are over until Aug. and I'm finally finding some spare time to work on my projects. 

Today's recipe is from Toby's mom, Sharon (Grandma King to Liv).  Her cherry cobbler was a favorite of Toby's brother Trevor which is why I decided to name it after him. None of us can eat it without thinking of him, so I just made it his.  The great thing about your own kitchen, is you can do that kind of thing :). 


Unfortunately, Trevor was called home way too soon and I never got to meet him. I hate that & I don't guess I'll ever stop wishing I could have got to see his smile that everyone always talks about for myself.  I'm told Liv has his laugh & I treasure that she carries a part of him with her. 


This cobbler recipe was what he requested instead of birthday cake each year.  Later on Toby's other brother, Trent, would also request this instead of birthday cake. It's just that good! Sharon had said she'd make it for me sometime as I did not have a cobbler recipe.  This past weekend for Mother's Day she decided to make her famous cobbler & I got my first taste.  Talk about YUM!!!  


Having been making this cobbler since the 70's, she's received MANY compliments.  One of Toby's cousins even pronounced it the best cobbler ever & proceeded to prove it by eating nearly the whole cobbler!  Try it for yourself & you'll see why it's so requested! 

Trevor's Cherry Cobbler

Never Fail Flaky Pie Crust (the boys grandma Bessie's recipe)

2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of Crisco oil
1/4 cup cold water

Stir together with a fork till well blended, you might need to add a dab more oil. This recipe makes enough for a double crust pie. I halfed the recipe again to make enough crust for the cobbler baked in an 8" iron skillet. After you mix it well, take out and separate the dough, pat and make a ball and roll out between wax paper. You can lay your rolled out dough on your pan and just peel the wax paper off. I used about 3/4th's of the dough for the bottom and saving the other 1/4 for the top. Another nice thing about this dough, if your short some place, just pinch off a piece and flatten it right where you need it.

The filling:

For this size cobbler, use
2 cans of red tart pitted sour cherries. (do not use pie filling)
2/3 cup of sugar per each can of cherries used
About 4 T of cornstarch to help thicken (use an amount for the thickness you like, if you like juicy cobblers, use less, etc)

Stir all this and heat in a sauce pan, pour into your skillet or 8x8 pan with the dough already in the bottom, then roll out remainder of the dough to cover the top, sprinkle with sugar and dot with butter. Bake at 400º for about 40 minutes.

Christmas Baking

No, I'm not wishing it was Christmas yet, even though this the 2nd blog this week about a Christmas recipe! haha! My mom (Grandma Snell to Liv) recently emailed me 2 of her recipes along with one of her favorite kitchen memories: our annual bake day.  So, even though it's not Christmas time, I thought I'd go ahead and share them. I'm sure they're just as tasty any other time of the year too! 


The first of Dec. each year mom and I would take one day and do nothing but bake. Mom remembers, "We baked dozen after dozen of cookies, peanut butter, chocolate chip, pineapple, and chocolate cherry.  We made batches of candy, peanut butter fudge and chocolate fudge."  We laughed, made a mess, and enjoyed each other's company.  One thing that sticks out in my mind is the HUGE coat boxes we filled with cookies and candy.  We would take the majority of what we made to the church who used baked goods from the church members to make baskets to take to the elderly and shut-ins. I wish I had a pic of one of those boxes.  Most people wouldn't believe how big they were and how much food you could put in them!  Still, even after we had filled at least 2 of those boxes, mom would make a smaller box for the mailman, my bus driver, maybe a teacher or two, for dad to take to his office, for her to take to her work, and yet there'd always be some left for us to eat on too...yeah, we made THAT many goodies! 


Anyway, mom says her favorite was always the pineapple cookies and I always thought the chocolate cherry cookies looked so festive. Don't take our word for it though...try 'em out! 

Pineapple Cookies

Old recipe from Granny Moore (Liv's great-great grandma)

2 eggs
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup nut meats
1 tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup strained crushed pineapple
½ tsp salt
3 ½ cups flour

Cream shortening, sugar and vanilla. Add pineapple and nut meats. Sift salt, baking powders and flour together and add to other ingredients. Blend and drop on greased baking sheet. Bake @ 350 degrees until brown. Drop with spoon on cookie sheet.

Chocolate Cherry Cookies

(The recipe came out of a paper called Grit dated Nov. 30-Dec. 6th, 1986)

2/3 cup butter or margarine
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
1 ½ tsps vanilla
1 2/3 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
6 tbsps unsweetened cocoa
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
18 maraschino cherries, well-drained and halved

Cream butter, sugar egg and vanilla until fluffy. Stir together dry ingredients: add to creamed mixture (dough will be still). Shape into 1-inch balls. Place on increased baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Press a cherry half into center of each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until almost set. Cool on wire rack. Prepare Chocolate Glaze. Frost each cookie, leaving top of cherry showing. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Glaze

Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons water in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat: immediately add ½ cup chocolate chips, stirring just until melted. Cool until glaze is of spreading consistency.

Grandma's Homemade Ice Cream

Let me start by saying that I LOVE ice cream.  Quite possibly more than any other human has ever loved ice cream...OK, maybe not quite that much - but close :)  This recipe is my Grandma Patton's (Liv's great-grandma) homemade ice cream recipe.  

Several years ago I asked her for it & ended up learning 3 things besides how to make her ice cream. 


#1 - Grandma Patton is known for forgetting to tell you important parts of the recipe that she's changed.  So when she gives you a written copy & says "Here you can copy it down"  always assume that she doesn't do it like the recipe says.  Lesson learned (2 batches of ice cream later - haha!)


#2 - This recipe uses raw eggs & is made without cooking the mixture.  Now all of today's "experts" will throw a fit & want us to believe that we can die if we eat this stuff.  However, my Grandma wants us to all know that she has been eating this recipe since she was a little girl & she is now 86 years young so she's fairly certain it is no more dangerous than most of the processed junk we stuff our faces with.  I tend to agree with her.


and #3 - No amount of recipe copying can actually duplicate the flavor of ice cream made by Grandma.  Apparently, her sticking her finger in it DOES affect the taste.  But this recipe will get you a close replica.  As with most replicas, it will never be as good as the original :) 

Grandma Patton's Homemade Ice Cream

6 eggs
3 + 1/8 + 1/4 cups of sugar (or 3-3/8 cups if that makes it easier :)
7.5 cups of milk (2%) - Use 32 oz. of half & half and add 2% milk to get a total of 7.5 cups 
6 cups of milnot
6 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. salt


Beat eggs, gradually add sugar to beaten eggs.  Continue to beat until mixture is very stiff.  Add remaining ingredients & mix thoroughly.  Pour into ice cream maker & freeze as directed.  


You can make the mixture the night before & put it in the refrigerator until the next day when you want to make the ice cream. 


I usually use the ice cream maker to make the ice cream & then remove the "bucket" & put it in the freezer to freeze solid.  I've just never had Grandma's knack for getting it to freeze using the rock salt & ice method after the churning is done.  I'm going to lay the blame on not having one of those old rag rugs & a bunch of newspapers to throw over the maker because I'm sure it has NOTHING to do with my incompetence with the science involved in using rock salt & ice...


This recipes makes enough ice cream for the 6 qt. ice cream makers. 


Don't forget...You're gonna need rock salt & probably 2-3 bags of ice too.

(I didn't take this pic, but this recipe makes ice cream that looks just like this :) 

If you're like my MIL & husband you can ruin this ice cream with toppings or even try creating other flavors.  I always shudder when one of them hollers "Got any Hershey's", but you can eat it that way if you must.  I'm just not sure WHY you'd want to :) 

"What in the world is 'oleo', Granny?"'

Years ago, while nosing...er, I mean, looking through my Granny's (this would be Liv's great, great grandma on my Dad's maternal side) things I came across a recipe calling for "oleo".  Being the nosey...er, inquisitive, child that I was, I quickly went looking for the answer to what this silly word meant.  I still remember my Granny chuckling at me & saying, "Oh, it's like butter. You can't find it much anymore, but butter will do basically the same thing."  So, if your recipe calls for oleo, use butter.  That's just one of MANY things I learned from my Granny. 


While looking through some old recipes today I found a recipe for Persimmon Pudding that was my great, great Grandma Boyd's (Granny's mom, Liv's great, great, great grandma).  I never knew Grandma Boyd, but have blessed enough to have been given her very first set of housekeepin' dishes.  Talk about a real treasure!!  Anyway, I don't care for persimmon pudding, but it is one of Liv's favorites.  I'll have to admit, I have never made this recipe myself, but for the sake of preserving the use & meaning of "oleo" I'm going to include it here. 

Mamaw Boyd's Persimmon Pudding

1 ½ cup persimmon

2 cups sugar

1 egg

1 stick oleo ( ½ cup)

1 1/1 cups sweet milk

2 tsp. baking powder

½ cup flour

cinnamon and allspice

Bake 1 hour at 300°

As was customary with old recipes, I guess you have to just figure out how to put it together & how much cinnamon & allspice you want to use.  Gotta love those old ladies & their pinches & smidgens!