Nutty Nuggets - Gramma Hoover's Recipes

These cookies were one of Gramma's favorites. I remember her talking about them and making them. They are tasty, little, melt-in-your mouth type cookies, and they were a part of our family gatherings from time to time.

This recipe came from another missionary lady that was a friend of Gramma's when they were serving in Tanzania years ago. :-) I don't remember if Mrs. Dilworth's first name was Faith or something else.

Nutty Nuggets

1 C. butter
4 Tbs. sugar
pinch of salt|
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 C. all purpose flour
3/4 C. finely chopped peanuts 
   (1 C. if other nuts used - also good with pecans)

Put together in order given.
Form into small balls - about 1 to 3/4 of an inch in size.
Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake at 350F until they are set and a little golden around the edges. (This is purely by memory on my part, as the recipe doesn't have instructions, as you can see in the picture!)

Roll in powdered (icing) sugar after they are baked. (I think while they are still a little warm, because that makes the sugar stick a little better? Not sure.)

----------

Note:  I've changed it to finely chopped peanuts because you don't want peanut butter - which is what finely ground peanuts would basically be in our current thinking.

I have to kind of love the fact that recipes were often trimmed down to the bare essentials back in the day because they all knew how long you baked cookies on average, etc. Among women who did their own cooking and baking it was just expected that you would know. :-) 

Cowboy Cookies Tutorial

Another yummy recipe from Mary's Nest traditional foods kitchen.

Cookie recipe to print.

I have not control over ads or suggestions.

Make-Ahead Healthy Cake Mixes Tutorial

Here is another tutorial from Mary's Nest. This one is for cake mixed you can store in your pantry or freezer. I would personally put mine in the freezer since we don't make cakes all that often and I can't tolerate foods that have gone even a little rancid. Also, I recommend using the usual canning lids and rings if you store yours in canning jars. I have not found the white plastic lids designed for use on canning jars to be a good, air tight seal. 

Here is the link to recipes on her page. This is where she gives the instructions on how to make the cakes later, so you will need this to print out the instructions to go with the mixes. I recommend keeping them with the mixes, as she does. Mixes Recipes and Instructions.

I am curious to see if her recipes can be used with gluten-free 1-for-1 flours. I may try a couple of them out in single cake proportions. But, then again, I may not. My life is full of good intentions that never quite make it to real life. blah. :-)

Also, as she mentions, these mixes could make nice gifts for people who bake desserts. This could be in keeping with the post from November 14th on changing your gift giving this holiday season - and, hey, why not all of next year?

I have no control over ads of suggestions.

Use It Up - Quick and Easy Summer Dessert

This isn't really a recipe, but I'll name it for you. :-D

Fruit and Cake Jumble

As I recall, we had had some friends to dinner some years back and she brought this yummy fruit mixture, among other things. She left the remnants with us afterwards and I had some cake on hand so I crumbled the cake and mixed the fruit with it. Then I put a few scoops of ice cream on top and it looks like I put some strawberry freezer jam over that. It was really good! 

This is a very simple way to use up stale-ish or leftover cake and chopped fruit. If you don't have enough liquid from the fruit, you can sprinkle it with bottled fruit juice of your choice or even soda. 

Whipped cream or vanilla pudding could substitute for the ice cream.

You could also make this with canned of frozen fruit if you don't have fresh. You might want to thaw the frozen fruit at least partially.

It's really just about being a little inventive with what you have. :-) Be creative and adventurous! And Enjoy!

Grammy Beherrell's War Cake

This recipe was sent in by Gloria C. from California years ago. She says, "Here is one of my favorite recipes from my Grammy for a cake she made during the depression when ingredients were scarce..." Notice that it uses dark brown sugar (used to be the cheap sugar), no eggs, and no milk in the actual cake.

Grammy Beherrell's War Cake

2 cups dark brown sugar
2 cups cold water
3 Tbs Margarine [I recommend butter]
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup raisins
----
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup hot water
2 3/4 cup flour

Mix first 7 ingredients in 2 1/2 quart sauce pan and boil for 5 minutes. Cool.
To mixture add the tsp of baking soda mixed with the 1/4 cup hot water.
Add the 2 3/4 cups flour and beat for 2 minutes.
Pour into greased angel cake pan and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees

Glaze:  [Optional]
1 1/2 Tbs butter
1 1/2 Tbs milk [use a plant based milk for dairy free]
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Heat milk and butter just until butter melts add rest of ingredients and stir until smooth. Drizzle over cake.

Caramel Sauce

Caramel Sauce

1 1/2 Cups sugar
1/2 Cup Light corn syrup
6 Tablespoons margarine or butter
1 Cup light cream or evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 to 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients in a 2 qt. sauce pan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium to high medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for about 3-4 minutes, continuing to stir constantly. Remove from heat and allow to cool. If the oil starts to separate, return to the stove and boil longer. Cool to desired warmth before serving with ice cream.

------------------

I don't use corn syrup any more, and I haven't made this recently, so I don't know what the best substitute would be for that. Maybe there is non-GMO corn syrup available by now.

This syrup goes well on cake, pie, ice cream or even on fresh fruit like apples or bananas. 

Berry Fun - Berries and Chocolate for Breakfast

Early summer or late spring is the time for fresh berries. How about making something simple like pancakes or a bowl of oatmeal into something special by adding chocolate chips and fresh berries on top? These are so good you could practically serve them for dessert, but no one will complain of an extra special breakfast. :-) Make sure the pancakes or cereal are very hot when you put the chocolate chips on in order to get that yummy melted chocolate effect. Besides tasting delicious, this is also a very pretty breakfast!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

In a medium bowl, mix together:

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

In a large bowl, mix together:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
1 12-oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (sometimes I add more than this :-))
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F.

Mix the "wet" ingredients together until everything is moistened, then add in the flour. Mix everything together until well-combined (I've only done this by hand with a big fork, but I suppose you could use one of those big mixers if you don't like mixing stuff by hand. I can't promise the results will be the same though!)

Drop by level tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 9-11 minutes.

Thanks to Elisabeth M. of Texas

----------------------

The sugar has not been reduced in this recipe, so feel free to make adjustments if you wish.

How to Make Your Own Brown Sugar

Photo property of shop.myblueprint.com

Making your own brown sugar is very easy. My mom started doing it years ago because we enjoyed eating it on our hot cereal and it was more expensive than white sugar. (That's one of those ridiculous things where you pay more for something that takes less effort because brown sugar isn't processed as long as white, but I digress.) My mom made hers in a food processor. I make mine in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. This tutorial shows mixing it by hand with a fork.

Make Brown Sugar

Simple Raisin Tarts

I first published this recipe here in March of 2012. These are really easy to make and I hope someone enjoys them! :-) There is no added sugar, but they are very sweet because of the raisins.
---------------------------

These raisin tarts are one of my dad’s favorite “cookies.” My Gramma Hoover used to make them for him as a special favor. Since she is no longer here to do this, I have done it for him a few times (not nearly enough). I made a batch for his birthday this past February (2012). :-)

These are super easy to make. So much so that we have no recipe. We just make them. One thing that you will need is a tart pan or a Madeleine pan, however, it is possible that a muffin/cupcake pan might work if you only press the dough into the lower part of the cups. I used a Madeleine type pan for these since our tart pans had to be discarded a few years ago. (My Madeleine pan makes round shells.)

Simple Raisin Tarts

Make up a single or double pie crust recipe of your choice. (I made these with a whole wheat – all purpose flour mixture I think.) Cut into small pieces and press into the tart pan.

Bake till just slightly browned around the edges. Do not over bake (especially if you use whole wheat flour). Allow to cool slightly in the pans and then remove gently to a rack to cool.

In a sauce pan place a generous portion of raisins – 1 1/2 to 2 cups. Barely cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer till quite soft, adding water as necessary to prevent burning. You may like to add a bit of cinnamon, or at the end you may add some orange flavoring.

When the shells and filling are both cool, spoon the filling into the shells. They are ready to serve!

NOTE: If you end up with too much raisin filling, use it as a spread on graham crackers or toast. If you don’t have enough for your number of shells, simply fill the extras with a little jam or jelly.  We never used a recipe, we just “winged it” with the extra or lack thereof. :-)

By the way, if you don’t want raisin tarts, just make the shells and fill them with jam or jelly to start with. Delicious! :-)

Pecan Pie Bars

This dessert is one of my family’s favorites. We have tended to make it for Thanksgiving, but it is good any time. It tastes pretty much like pecan pie, but the pieces are thinner with a higher concentration of nuts than most pies, and the crust tastes better than plain pie crust. Also, this dessert goes a lot farther since it makes such a large pan full.

I recommend using 60% cacao chocolate chips, partly due to the fact that the dessert is so sweet to begin with. Also, for those who are in the habit of reducing sugar in recipes, I have already reduced the sugar and syrup in this recipe and do not recommend trying to reduce it further. If you avoid corn products you may be able to use honey of some other thick syrup type sweetening. I have never tried anything else, but I no longer use GMO corn products myself, so if I make it again I will have to experiment. 

------------------

Pecan Pie Bars
3 C. all purpose flour
1/2 C. sugar
1 C. butter, softened
1/2 tsp. salt
Filling:
4 eggs
1 C. light or dark corn syrup
1 C. sugar
3 Tbl. butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 C. chopped pecans
1/2 C. chocolate chips (optional)

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, butter and salt until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press evenly into a greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan. (I recommend lining the pan with parchment as these bars are inclined to stick.) 

Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

In another bowl, combine first five filling ingredients. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips. Spread evenly over hot crust. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until set. Do not over bake. 

Cool on wire rack. Cut when cooled. Store leftovers in fridge, but bring to room temperature again before serving.

Yield: 4 dozen

These bars freeze well. I recommend using a box, not a bag. Separate layers with waxed paper to avoid having them sticking together.

(First published here May 2010.)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pizza

This is a favorite recipe of my family.  We have made them for years.  I don't remember now where the recipe originated.

----------------------

Peanut Butter Pizza

1/2 C. butter
1/2 C. peanut butter
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
1/4 C. sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 C. all purpose flour
3/4 C. whole wheat
2 C. miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 C. chocolate chips

Cream butter, peanut butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and mix well. Pat into a 15x10x1 inch backing sheet. Bake at 375F for 12 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Allow to rest a couple minutes then spread the chocolate around with a knife. Sprinkle with marshmallows. Return to the oven for 4-6 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from oven, cool to room temperature on a wire rack, then cut into bars.

------------------------------------------

These bars also freeze well. It’s probably best to refrigerate first, then layer the bars in a sealable container with wax paper between the layers to prevent sticking. I like to box them up in portions that I know will be useful at some future time: 4, 6 or 8 pieces to a box. This is handy for pulling out when we’re having a family time, or a few guests. Also, it keeps us from eating up the whole pan in just a few days – think “too many sugar calories”. :-) Plus, it makes my work go farther and saves time and energy at a later date.

[Originally posted here 6/2010.]

Danish Butter Cookies

[Originally published Nov. 2010. Edited]

After I’d expressed a desire for homemade cookies several times, one evening my husband suddenly decided that we would make some (despite the lateness of the hour).  Was I ever glad he did!  We chose this recipe (the origin of which I no longer know) since I didn’t have any brown sugar at the time.  It is quite simple, but doesn’t make a lot of cookies.  One warning – once you’ve eaten these homemade Danish butter cookies you’ll probably never really like the store bought variety again!

Also, you might try adding some shredded coconut or dipping half of each cookie in chocolate coating to make them a bit fancier or to offer variety.  I think that you could refrigerate them and put them through a cookie press as well to make prettier shapes.  They taste great without any of this, though, so it may not be worth messing with!  Simpler is often better in my opinion. :-)

--------------------------------------
1 C. butter
1 egg
1 C. sugar
1 tsp. almond extract  (or vanilla)
2 C. flour (or 1 C. white whole wheat and 1 C. white flour)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and almond extract and mix. Whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add a little at a time to the butter mixture until it is all mixed in.

Roll into walnut size balls, place on an ungreased cookie sheet and flatten with a fork or spoon.  Sprinkle with colored sugar if desired.  Bake at 350F for about 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.  Allow to cool slightly on the sheet before moving to a rack.  Completely cool before storing in an airtight container.

Makes 2-3 dozen cookies.

Note: These cookies freeze well.

Recipe: Mary’s Banana Cake

This recipe evolved as my mom and I made it together.  I had three overripe bananas in my fridge and I wanted to use them up.  She had come over one afternoon in December to say “hello” and offered to help.  Or did I ask her if she wanted to?  Anyway, we got it made.  :-)  I actually started out with a recipe from somewhere else, but I changed it so much that I’ve decided to change the name too.

This makes a heavier cake due to the ingredients, but it makes a very nice snack cake or dessert.  (Truth: My family had it with brunch one morning. [grin]   What's the point in being grown up if you can't decide to have cake for breakfast?)

Mary's Banana Cake

Whisk together in a medium bowl:
1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
1 C. white whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder

Cream together in a large bowl:
1 C. brown sugar
1 C. butter
1/2 C. sour cream
1/4 C. milk
3 eggs

Add dry ingredients to this and mix well.
Beat in:
3 medium bananas, mashed (should make 1 heaping cup)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Stir in:
1 C. chocolate chips
(You may add 1/2 C. of chopped nuts if you wish.)

Line the bottom of a 9x13 cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides well.  Pour in batter and bake at 350F (175C) for 30-40 minutes or till a golden brown color around the edges and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
Completely cool.

Frosting

Whip together till light and fluffy and spread on cake:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 Tbl. butter, softened
1 2/3 C. powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

I did not freeze any of this cake, so I don’t know how it does in the freezer.  I would imagine that it would freeze well as most cakes tend to do, but due to its heavy consistency it would probably be better fully thawed before using.



The color in this picture isn’t very good, but I thought it was interesting to see the swirls of banana in the cake.  It would make a good snack cake without the frosting too, if you prefer.  Yes, I did take out a slice before frosting it because this was an experiment and I wanted to see how it was right away. :-)



We got this enamel plate at an old fashioned “five and dime” store in Fredericksburg, Texas where we went for a little vacation in October.  The enamelware was a bit pricey, so I opted to get one dessert/salad size plate just for this purpose – photographing food for the web page. :-)  Isn’t it pretty?  I love the color!

Mocha Texas Sheet Cake

 

Ok, I’m very tempted to call this “The BEST Texas Sheet Cake Ever”, but that might be a bit over ambitious!  Anyway, it’s the best I’ve ever had. :-)  My friend Elisabeth shared the recipe with me.  I don’t know where she got the original, but I understood that her mom made some changes to it.  So, here’s how to make the “yummieness” as I’ve experienced it. :-)

Mocha Texas Sheet Cake

In a large saucepan add:
2 sticks butter
1 cup water
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp instant coffee granules

Heat the above ingredients, mixing well, until butter is melted. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking baking SODA
1/2 tsp salt

Whisk above ingredients together until well-combined.

Add:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 tsps vanilla
2 eggs

Mix well. (It helps to use an electric hand mixer). The batter will be very thick and sticky.

Add warm cocoa mixture. Mix well, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl. Pour into greased cookie sheet (15"x10"x1" is a standard size) and bake at 375F for 20 minutes.

For icing:

In a saucepan add:
1 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsps instant coffee granules
1/3 cup buttermilk

Mix well and heat until mixture barely bubbles, then remove from heat.

Add in:
Approximately 3-1/2 cups of sifted confectioners sugar.
You may need more or less depending on the consistency you want the icing to be.  Spread on the cake.

Enjoy!

NOTE:  This cake freezes well in a single layer with the pieces pre-cut.  It can be eaten frozen or thawed and is good either way.  I would recommend not leaving it in more than a month, or two at the most.

(Note: I think when I made the ones used for the photo above I used two cake pans of a smaller size, so mine might have come out a little deeper.)

Below is one my friend made and served with fresh strawberries.  It was very good! :-)  (The photo was taken at my parents’ house where we had gathered for a meal and fellowship.  Happy times.)

Banana Brownies

This was originally published in August 2009.  This recipe can be altered a number of ways as the note at the bottom indicates.

Banana Brownies

Mix together:

2/3 C. sugar

1/2 C. flour (all purpose or whole wheat)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla or almond flavor

2/3 C. mashed, over ripe bananas

1/4 C. cocoa powder

1 egg lightly beaten

Pour into a greased 8x8 inch pan. Bake 20-30 minutes at 350F. Cool 5 minutes and remove from pan to a wire rack to continue cooling.
----------------------------

With white flour these brownies will be more like cake, but with whole wheat they are heavier like true brownies should be, and healthier like true brownies usually are not. :-) 

There are some great ways to dress up or vary this recipe as well. Sprinkle nuts, chocolate chips, or drained maraschino cherries on top and gently push into the batter in the pan before baking. Once I left out the cocoa powder and added spices instead to make a banana spice cake. To do this measure the spices you want (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.) into a 1/4 C. measuring cup. Add enough flour to make up the difference and add in place of the cocoa. Be sure to use vanilla extract for this change, and nuts are a nice addition. You could also add some orange zest for an interesting flavor. (I wonder what this variation would taste like made with canned pumpkin instead of the bananas. Hmmmm.) Also you could try using other flour mixtures for a healthier brownie - 1/4 C. oat flour plus 1/4 C. whole wheat, etc. (Not all flours respond the same in recipes, so remember to make appropriate alterations accordingly.)

Mock Cherry Crispy Treats

Another re-run tonight.  I meant to write up a new post today, but I have not felt well most of the day, so I'm resorting to this again.  This recipe was first published in July 2009. :-)
---------------------

Here is a recipe for crispy rice treats that I found on the Internet. The person who posted it had made some changes to the original, and I made some changes of my own. One thing I did was to substitute dried cranberries for dried cherries and add almond flavoring instead of vanilla. This makes you think that it really is cherries in the treats. For some reason almond flavoring will fool the taste buds that way when combined with dried cranberries (I use Crainsins® brand which are pre-sweetened). My family liked the results quite well!

Mock Cherry Crispy Treats

3 Tbl. butter

1 (10 oz.) bag of marshmallows

1/4 C. white chocolate chips

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. almond flavoring

5 C. crisp rice cereal

1 C. dried cranberries

1/2 C. semisweet or 60% cacao chocolate chips

1 Tbl. butter

Line a 9x9 baking pan with aluminum foil leaving excess foil to hang over the edges of the pan. (Thinner treats may be made by using a 9x13 pan). Butter or grease foil.

Melt butter in a large pot over low heat. Add marshmallows, white chocolate chips and salt. Cook, stirring constantly about 8 minutes, or until melted and smooth. Stir in almond flavoring.

Remove from heat and stir in crisp rice cereal and cranberries until well mixed. Scrape mixture into prepared pan and press into the corners with a greased spatula or spoon. (Use the back of the spoon.) Let cool for about 1 hour.

Melt chocolate chips and 1 Tbl. butter over low heat in a sauce pan stirring constantly just until smooth. Drizzle chocolate over the cooled treats. Allow to cool, about 45 minutes. Using foil overhang, lift treats out of pan to a cutting board. Cut into squares. Sever or store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

Cookie Dough Fudge

 

I got the original recipe for this online, but it had way too much sweetening in it.  It was very sweet as I made it, so for our family it would have been pretty much inedible with extra sugar!  I so often change recipes anyway, so I made some other changes as well, and then renamed it since it seemed more like candy to us, than “cookie bars”.
Enjoy!  :-)

Layer One

Mix together well in medium mixing bowl:

1/2 C. butter
2 tsp. vanilla
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 tsp. molasses
1/2 C. shredded coconut
1 C. all-purpose flour
1 C. oat flour (you may use another preferred flour here)

Mix in:

1 C. chocolate chips
1/2 C. chopped peanuts (optional)

Spread in a 11x7x2 cake pan fully lined with waxed paper.  (It may not completely fill the pan.)

Layer Two

Melt together in a sauce pan over medium heat, stirring well:

1 C. chocolate chips
1/2 C. peanut butter
1/4 C. coconut oil

Spread evenly over dough.  Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.  Cut into smallish squares.  Do not remove from the fridge till ready to serve or the fudge may become soft.

Freezes well.

I did not put in the chopped peanuts on my first go of this, but I think it will be a good addition, so I’m adding it. :-)

For this, I really do recommend fully lining the pan.  I think it would have been nearly impossible to remove it intact without the waxed paper.

The Thousand Word Project – Recently In My Life

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe

Chocolate Dump Cake

 

This recipe came to us from my aunt.  It is very simple since you mix the cake up right in the cake pan!  No bowls, no other messes.  It is not the cheapest or most low-fat cake you will find, but if you need a cake in a hurry this one will certainly go together quickly.

Our family is no longer particularly worried about the oil issue as it turns out oil is not nearly as “unhealthy” for us as the so-called experts claimed at one time.  I do recommend that you use a healthy oil such as grape seed or something similar.  Some olive oils might have an odd flavor in a sweet dish like this, but it could be used as well.  I have not tried coconut oil as yet, but I hope to do so.  I am not sure if melted butter would work or not, but I will probably try that as well at some point just to see.  (That would make an extra dirty dish, though.)

If you want the edges of the pan to look better than this, you will want to wipe them off before you bake the cake. :-)  I used a chocolate butter frosting to frost this cake.

I made this cake in a disposable pan to take to an event where we were asked to help provide cake.  As you can see, I still use some sprinkles occasionally just for fun.  We get very few food colorings in our food any more, so I figure it’s OK for a once-in-awhile treat. :-)

Chocolate Dump Cake

Dump into a 9x13 cake pan:

2 C. flour
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. cocoa powder
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1 C. buttermilk
1 C. oil
2 tsp. baking soda

Mix fairly well. 

Add 1 C. boiling water.

Mix thoroughly.

Bake 30-35 minutes at 350F.

Note: The last time I made this I reduced the oil to about 3/4 C. and it still turned out fine.  I think I also reduced the sugar to 1 C.  I also used peppermint flavoring instead of vanilla, but I was not impressed with how that worked in this recipe, so be forewarned.  Almond would probably be fine.  This cake also keeps well in the freezer.