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.)

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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. :-) 

A Recipe for Hummus from the Deeply Snowy North Country

 

Photo property of Jennifer at My Cubby Crafts.

Here's a recipe for hummus from Jennifer at My Cubby Crafts, along with a little about their very snowy winter life where she lives. :-) I like the idea of hummus without tahini since I'm not a big fan of tahini myself, although I like sesame seed otherwise. Hummus is one of my favorite foods. I would eat it every day if my body would tolerate it. I hope you can enjoy trying this recipe out. Eat a little for me too. ;-)

Here is the link:

Homemaking Mondays: Snacks and Snow

Cowboy Cookies Tutorial

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

Cookie recipe to print.

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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

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

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.
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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! :-)

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. :-)

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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!

Easy Cheesy Crackers

 

Here’s a simple Hors d'oeuvres to make for a special meal or just for a snack.  They present very nicely on a special occasion but are easy enough to make for a family movie night or even lunch.  They would also be nice for tea.

Triscuits (or other cracker of choice)
Cheese (I think used something like Jarlsburg or Edam, but many types would work fine with this as long as they don’t melt into a goopy mess.)
Sun dried tomatoes in flavored oil
Garlic powder (optional)

Lay the Triscuits or crackers out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  (You can skip the paper if you don’t mind the clean up. In either case, I recommend you use a cookie sheet with sides to keep them from sliding off when you’re moving the trays.)

Cut cheese into slices in a size that will fit on the crackers and add.

Using kitchen scissors, snip sun dried tomatoes into small strips putting 2-3 strips on each cracker.

You may sprinkle lightly with garlic powder if you wish.

Bake at 450F just till the cheese melts to your preferred point.  Keep a close eye on it!  I think mine was a little overdone.

You can make this in any size batch.  I suppose you could heat them in the microwave, but pay close attention so that your cheese isn’t ruined.

Almond Butter Cookies

 

This recipe came about as the result of allowing my almond butter to get too old.  It was near it’s expiration date and we hadn’t even opened the jar yet!  I started with a peanut butter recipe and made a lot of alterations, including doubling the recipe.  You may wish to half it for a single recipe.  You may also use peanut butter in place of the almond butter and then use 2 tsp. of vanilla extract instead of the almond extract.  Enjoy!

Almond Butter Cookies

2 C. butter
2 C. almond butter
2 2/3 firmly packed brown sugar
2 – 3 tsp. almond extract
6 eggs
3/4 C. white whole wheat
1 C. oats
4 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 C. chocolate chips
1 C. coconut flakes

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, almond butter and sugar.  Add almond extract.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add whole wheat, oats, salt and baking soda, mixing well.  Add all-purpose flour gradually mixing till is well combined.  Shape into 1 inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. (I recommend lining it with parchment.)  Dough should be slightly sticky, so you may need to flour your hands.  Flatten with a fork.  Bake at 375F for 7-8 minutes or until golden.  Remove to wire racks and cool.  Store in air tight container.

Yield:  This makes a large batch.  I did not count them.  You can half the recipe for a single batch.

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These cookies kept well in the cupboard in a sealed container. They seemed to me to stay fresh longer than the average chocolate chip cookie.

Also, I pressed some of the cookie balls onto squares of parchment and stored them in the freezer.  The dough froze well, but I recommend bringing the cookies completely to room temperature before baking them.  This does not take long if you set them out on the cookie sheet preparatory to baking.

Me in my new-this-year cotton apron. :-)

Garden Fresh -- Cream Cheese Stuffed Peppers

 

A couple of years ago or so my dad grew these yummy but somewhat spicy banana peppers in our garden.  I also had basil in the garden that year, so it was an easy matter to cut the pepper lengthwise, remove the seeds, spread with cream cheese and then sprinkle with snipped basil.  Delicious.  A great simple “salad” too. :-)

Other options:
Use non-spicy peppers or spicier peppers
Use cheddar cheese paste instead
Use other fresh herbs: chives, oregano, cilantro, thyme
Add green onions

By the way, the cream cheese helps to moderate the heat.

Graham Crackers

My sister made some graham crackers once years ago.  They were pretty good, but quite different than “store bought”.  We never made them again.  A couple years ago or so I told a friend I’d try to find that recipe for her.  Turns out it wasn’t in the book my mom and I both thought it was in.  I found this one in a magazine I’d saved, but I’m not sure it’s the one my sister made since there were no smudges or telltale marks to show it had ever been used before. ;-)  Anyway, I finally got around to trying this recipe out this year, and here it is.

Graham Crackers

1/3 C. oil
1/2 C. honey
1 Tbs. molasses
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/2 C. wheat flour (presumably meaning whole wheat)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 C milk

Mix liquids first except milk.  Add dry ingredients alternately with the milk. If dough is too sticky, add more flour.  Roll into smallish walnut size balls and flatten with your hands.  Place about 1/2 an inch apart on lightly greased OR parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Prick with a fork.  Bake a 300F until edges are slightly browned.  Cool on cookie sheets about 5 minutes before removing to wire racks.  Can be frozen in airtight containers.

Note: I added a bit of lemon juice to this recipe to try to make it taste more like the graham crackers my friend and I enjoy at a restaurant.  The change may have added some flavor, but it didn’t make these taste more like the restaurant’s variety.  These are good, not very sweet, and quite filling.

I also changed the method of rolling them.  The recipe calls for rolling them out and cutting them into squares.  The dough seemed to me to be of the sort that would stick to the surface, so I opted for rolling them into balls and flattening by hand.  It worked very well, and saved some frustration I suspect. :-)

Curried Cheese Ball

I invented this recipe for my dad’s birthday and he enjoyed it thoroughly. :-)  It was a combination of one or two other recipes and my own ideas.  It can be served with crackers and celery.  I didn’t actually roll it into a ball because it was rather soft.  If you wish to actually roll it into a ball, I suggest you chill it well first.
Curried Cheese Ball
14 oz. softened cream cheese
1/2 C. feta cheese crumbles
2 Tbl. butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder (or to taste)
1/4 C. coconut cream concentrate
3 baby carrots, minced
1/3 C. dried cranberries
Scant 1/4 C. green onion tops, finely chopped
Chopped peanuts
Orange juice
Garnishes – dried cranberries and celery leaves (or parsley)
Place cranberries in a small dish and add just enough orange juice to cover.
In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese, butter, feta, coconut cream and curry powder till creamed.  Add carrots, green onions and cranberries with orange juice to the mixture and mix well.  Scoop into a bowl and form a rounded top.  Pat on chopped peanuts.  Cover and refrigerate till ready to serve.  Add garnishes if desired.

Leftover Oatmeal Cookies

I had quite a bit of leftover oatmeal recently, but I wasn’t that keen on making Cooked Oatmeal Cake.  The thought crossed my mind that there should be a recipe for making cookies from cooked oatmeal, so I looked it up online and sure enough there was!  It looked good, though, as usual with a few changes. ;-)  (I reduced the sugar already, in case you like to do that with cookie recipes.) 
Most of my family here enjoyed these quite well.  Ahem!  There was one dissenter who takes exception to raisins in his cookies, but that makes more for the rest of us, right?  My husband liked them at any rate, and after all, that’s what counts for me. ;-)

2 C. brown sugar
1 C. butter
3 eggs
2 C. cooked oatmeal
2 C. all purpose flour
2 C. white whole wheat (or regular whole wheat)
[Note: You can use 4 cups of all purpose flour.]
3 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. vanilla
3 C. chocolate chips
1 C. coconut
1 C. raisins
Cream sugar, butter, eggs and cooked oatmeal.  Mix in the flour, baking soda and salt; then the coconut, chocolate chips and raisins.  Scoop onto baking sheets by tablespoonsful about 1 – 1 1/2 inches apart and flatten slightly. Bake at 375F for 10-15 minutes or until cookies are set and starting to brown slightly.  Allow to cool on baking sheet about 5 minutes before removing to racks.
(I put mine on parchment, so I had no trouble with them sticking.  I don’t know if the baking sheets need to be greased.  The original recipe said nothing about it, but it was a little short on instructions.)
These cookies freeze well.

Links – It’s All About Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles are one of my favorite cookies. They are not only delicious, they are nostalgic for me. My Gramma made them. Maybe both of my grandmothers made them. My mom has made them. I have made them for my own family and have probably made them for my husband.
But, why limit them to cookies? Just for fun I thought I’d see how many different snickerdoodle recipes I could come up with and here’s the results! :-)
Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
Snickerdoodle Cake
Snickerdoodle Muffins
Snickerdoodle Ice Cream
Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches
Snickerdoodle Chex® Mix
Snickerdoodle Cheese Cake
Snickerdoodle Pie
Snickerdoodle Blondies
Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Dip
Snickerdoodle Pie Crust (This recipe calls for gluten-free packaged cookies. Use your own snickerdoodles if you don’t want the packaged ones.)
Snickerdoodle Trifle (This recipe is full of poison, er, I mean dangerous chemicals with all the sugar-free ingredients and Cool Whip. However, with a few changes – regular pudding mixes and real whipped cream – I think you could make it more health friendly instead of diet friendly, whatever that is.)
Toffee Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles
Whole Wheat Snickerdoodles
Peppermint Snickerdoodles
Gluten-free Snickerdoodles (That should make someone happy!)
And, last but not least, my own Gramma’s recipe:
Gramma Hoover’s Snickerdoodles

Caramelized Pecans

I found this recipe on the internet and then made my own adjustments to it.  It was a hit with my family!
1 Tbl. butter
1 heaping Tbl. brown sugar
1 tsp. white sugar
3/4 C. pecans
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
A pinch of salt
Pre-measure all ingredients.  You will need to add the sugars, nuts, etc. quickly before the butter browns.
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add sugar, cinnamon and nuts and increase heat to medium-high.  Stir constantly until sugar loses its grainy appearance – about 5 minutes.  Pour nuts onto sheet of aluminum foil and let cool about 15 minutes.  Store in an airtight container.
These nuts are very good added to a salad of lettuce and fresh strawberries with a sweet-sour dressing!

National Pretzel Day

My husband loves pretzels – soft or hard.  Since today is National Pretzel Day, I thought it would nice to share some photos of the pretzels he made for us last Thanksgiving.

For the past two years Peter has made a point of taking time to bake yeast bread on Thanksgiving weekend.  This is his annual baking fling, since it’s the only weekend in the year when he feels like he can take a real vacation and do something as time consuming as baking bread. :-)  And, the best part is that he is a good baker!

This past Thanksgiving weekend he made some yummy whole grain bread for our Thanksgiving meal (which we had on Friday) as well as the soft pretzels to share with the family on Thursday evening.

He wants to perfect his pretzel technique sometime and alter the recipe slightly.  Since I don’t know for sure what recipe he used, I won’t post it at this point, but I’m sure you can find some online that you might like to try.  My mom declared them the best soft pretzels she ever had, despite Peter’s hesitance. :-)  They were very good!

Here is a picture of the whole grain bread he made also:

By the way,  I’m going to try to remember to bake some frozen soft pretzels to go with dinner tonight.  They are not homemade, and not as good ingredient-wise, but Peter likes them and they taste good, especially with some butter on them. :-)

Garlic Spread

In rummaging through some recipes in my pile I ran across this recipe from a friend for Garlic Spread.  Garlic Day was the 19th of this month so it seemed appropriate to share it here.
Garlic Spread
8 oz. goat cheese (feta)
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves
Process all in a blender or food processor till smooth.
Serve with pita bread, chips, or garlic toast bites.
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You may wish to add some fresh or dried herbs to this as well.  Basil or oregano would make a nice addition.  If you use dried herbs you may want to allow it to stand for 10 – 15 minutes before serving.

Dark Pfeffernusse

This is my dad’s all time favorite cookie.  A batch of these will last him a good long while since he made a habit long ago of eating them very slowly in order to make them last as long as possible. :-)  They are German in origin and Daddy used to receive a box of them every Christmas from a Mennonite friend in his home church.  He says he could usually make them last till Easter. 
If they are hardened properly they will last a very long time and stay fresh.  Consequently, these would probably be good cookies to send to troops overseas.  They are also best eaten with a hot drink such as tea or coffee if you don’t happen to like gnawing hard cookies.  My husband calls these “dog biscuits”. :-)  They are not quite that hard, but they can be pretty “firm”. 
  This particular batch was made with candied citrus peel in it that Mom and I made recently.  It made the cookies moister and they never did get really hard.
Dark Pfeffernusse
Mix:
1/2 C. shortening
3/4 C. packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 C. molasses
mixture of 3 drops of anise oil and 1 Tbl. hot water
Mix:
3 1/3 C. flour
1/2 tsp. soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. white pepper
(Increase spices if you like a stronger taste.)
Mix dry ingredients into wet gradually with hands.  Knead dough until right consistency for molding.  Roll into strips and cut into bite-size pieces with scissors.  Bake on greased baking sheet at 350 degrees about 8 minutes.  If you want them hard allow to sit out till hardened.

Just A Bite

I am a snacker first and last.  I get the munchies on a fairly regular basis.  Eating smaller meals and having a late morning and later afternoon snack can actually be beneficial, and is sometimes necessary for me, but eating healthy snacks is sometimes the challenge, especially with my sweet tooth.

I do not happen to eat a lot of bread.  I used to, but since our whole grain bread is heavy and carbohydrate rich, I like to get my carbs from things that I like better.  Because of this I don’t always get all the jam I’d like – especially our wonderful homemade jam.  When I have a craving for some jam, instead of spreading it on a cracker or piece of bread I will sometimes eat it on a slice of cheese. :-)  I probably get more jam than I should sometimes, but with some of our recent efforts at lower sugar jams this is not as much an issue as it once was.  Also, the freezer jams are more like eating fresh fruit spreads to me.

It’s not only tasty, it’s colorful too!  Yum!

Trail Mix Day

August 31st is National Trail Mix Day.  This is a good opportunity to share my trail mix recipe, which I learned from my mom.


Trail Mix
Use the quantities that you like, but the “base” is the nuts.
Peanuts
Mixed nuts
Coconut flakes (large)
Dried cranberries
Raisins
Banana chips
M&Ms®

Mix in a large bowl. Store in an air tight container.
This trail mix is a nice combination of protein, fruit and carbohydrates.  It makes a great take along snack for trips or to carry on a long shopping day.  It is also quite filling.  You could add some pretzel bits or small cookies as well if you wish.