Aunt Helen's Cobbler Mix

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup buttermilk blend powder
• 3 Tbsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. salt

• 1/2 cup butter, melted (for each cobbler)
• 1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling, or pie filling of your choice (for each cobbler)
• 1/2 cup water (for each cobbler)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients.  Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 6 months.  Yield: 4 batches (8 cups total).
2. To prepare cobbler: Pour butter into an 11x7x2 inch baking dish.  Top with pie filling.  In a bowl, combine 2 cups cobbler mix and water.  Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls over pie filling; spread gently.
3. Bake at 350*F for 35-40 minutes or until topping is golden brown.  Serve warm.  Yield: 6 servings.

Mrs. Field's Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 lb. butter
• 1 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 5 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 4-6 cups chocolate chips
• 2 cups walnuts or pecan

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*F.
2. Cream the eggs, butter, vanilla, white sugar and brown sugar.  Add the salt and soda to the flour and then add to the butter mixture.  Add the chocolate chips and nuts last and mix thoroughly.  
3. Flatten balls of dough before baking.  Bake on waxed paper-lined cookie sheets at 375*F for 7 minutes.

Kristen Turner's Quiche Tarts Recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 lb. grated jack cheese
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• ham or broccoli chopped up finely
• ready made pie crust dough (Pillsbury)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F
2. Soften the cream cheese in the microwave, then blend in blender with eggs and milk.  Pour into a bowl.  Mix with all other ingredients.  You can divide the batter and do half with ham and half with broccoli if desired.
3. Roll out dough and cut into small circles (about the size of a narrow mouth canning lid).  Put it in a tart pan, fill with egg mixture and bake at 350*F for 20 minutes.
4. Another variation, put it all in a 9x13 pan without the crust.

Orange Cornmeal Cake

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for pan
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (or orange juice)
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• finely grated zest of 1 orange
• orange segments, for serving (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*F.  Brush bottom and sides of an 8 inch round cake pan with oil, line bottom with a round of wax or parchment paper, and brush with oil
2. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, 1 cup sugar, and wine (or orange juice) until smooth.  Add flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and orange zest; whisk gently to combine.
3. Pour batter into prepared pan; sprinkle top evenly with remaining 1/3 cup sugar (topping will be thick).  Bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.
4. Cool in pan for 20 minutes.  Run a knife around edges of cake; invert cake gently onto a plate, and remove parchment paper.  Re-invert cake onto a rack to cool completely.  Serve with orange segments, if desired.

Peach Buckle

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus more for skillet
• 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 lb. peaches, pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (4 cups)
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.  Butter a 10 inch cast iron skillet, 9 inch square baking pan, or a two-quart shallow baking dish.  In a large bowl, cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla; beat to combine.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat until incorporated.  Fold in peaches.
3. Spread batter in prepared skillet.  In a small bowl, mix together remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and almonds.  Sprinkle mixture over the top; bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and topping is golden, 45-50 min.  Let cool 20 minutes before serving.

Cream Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

Prep: 30 min.      Makes: 12

Ingredients:
For the Cupcakes:

• 16 Tbsp. (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tins
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for muffin tins
• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature

For the Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme (7.5 oz. jar)
• 8 Tbsp. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350* F.  Butter two 6 cup (each with 1 cup capacity) jumbo muffin tins; dust with cocoa powder to coat, tapping out excess.  In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  On low speed, add half the flour mixture, followed by sour cream, ending with remaining flour mixture; mix just until incorporated (do not over-mix).
3. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25-30 min. rotating tins halfway through baking.  Cool in tins, 5 min.; remove cupcakes and cool, right side up, on a wire rack.
4. Meanwhile, prepare filling.  In a medium bowl, whisk marshmallow creme and butter until smooth.  Chill until slightly firm, 15-30 min.  Transfer mixture to a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag, and seal, cut off one corner of the bag to make a 1/8 inch opening.
5. Using a small melon baler, scoop out center of each cupcake from the bottom, an dreserve (you will use this to plug cupcake after filling).  Hallow out each cupcake a bit more, discarding crumbs.  Insert tip of plastic bag into each cavity, and squeeze to fill; replace plugs.  Using remaining filling in plastic bag, decorate top of cupcakes.

Child Proof Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350* F (175* C). 
2. Mix the sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, and almond extract until creamy.  Mix in the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.  Make several small balls of dough.  Roll out dough to about 1/8 or 1/4 inch thick.  Cut into desired shapes with well floured cookie cutters.  If desired, press candies, raisins, nuts, or sprinkles into cookies.  Place cookies onto the prepared sheets.
3. Bake at 350* F for 8-10 minutes.  Remove cookies and let cool on a rack. 

Norwegian Pancakes

Norwegian Pancakes are thin, almost like crêpes… but better!

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. melted butter, cooled a bit
• 1/2 to 2 cups flour
• milk, as required

Directions:

1. Beat the eggs.  Add sugar, vanilla, and the cooled melted butter.
2. Add a bit of milk, then a bit of flour.  Continue alternating like this until all the flour is added, and you have a thin batter.
3. Pour a bit of batter onto a hot, buttered pan.  Tilt the pan around so the batter spreads out.  The batter should be runny enough to spread out in the pan when it is poured.  If the batter is too thick, add a bit more milk and try again.
4. When the bottom side of the pancake turns a lovely golden brown color, flip and cook the other side.

When you are ready to eat a pancake, spread a bit of jam or sugar on it, or fresh berries.  Then roll the pancake up.  Or, stack each pancake with layers of butter and cinnamon-sugar until you have a tall stack.  Cut pie wedges to serve, like serving a piece of cake.

'Cheesecake Factory' Style Avocado Egg Rolls

Prep: 30 min.        Serves: 2-4        Yield: 3 egg rolls

Ingredients:

Dipping sauce:

• 3/4 tsp. white vinegar
• 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. tamarind pulp
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 pinch powdered saffron (if you can't find it, leave it out)
• 1/2 cup chopped cashews
• 2/3 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 green onions
• 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 cup olive oil

egg rolls:

• 1 lg. avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 2 Tbsp. sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. minced red onions
• 1/2 tsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 egg roll wraps
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

1. Stir together vinegars, tamarind, honey, and saffron in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave for 1 minute.
2. Stir until tamarind is dissolved.
3. In a blender, puree tamarind mixture, cashews, 2/3 cup cilantro, garlic, onions, sugar, pepper, and cumin.
4. Pour mixture into a bowl and stir in oil.
5. Refrigerate until ready to use.
6. Gently stir together avocado, tomatoes, onion, 1/2 tsp. cilantro, and salt.
7. Distribute filling evenly onto center of each egg roll wrapper.
8. Position a wrapper so that a corner is pointing toward you; fold the bottom corner up, 1/4 of the way over the filling.
9. Brush remaining corners and edges of the wrapper with egg, roll up from side to side, fold top corner over all and press to seal.
10. Repeat with remaining wrappers.
11. Continue by deep-frying the egg rolls in 375* F oil for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown.
12. Drain on brown paper bags.
13. Slice egg rolls diagonally across middle and serve with prepared dipping sauce.

Feta Custard in Phyllo Cups

Prep:  30 min.          Bake: 15 min.        Makes: 30 appetizers

Ingredients:

• 30  1 3/4 inch baked miniature phyllo shells (two 2.1 oz. pkg.) or Homemade mini-phyllo shells
• 1   4 oz. pkg. crumbled feta cheese
• 1   3 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
• 1/2 tsp. olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• dash ground cumin
• dash ground red pepper
• snipped fresh parsley or snipped fresh oregano

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325* F.  Place phyllo shells on a large baking sheet.  For custard filling, in  a medium mixing bowl combine feta cheese, cream cheese, egg, lemon juice, and flour.  Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until nearly smooth.  Spoon mixture evenly into phyllo cups, using a scant 2 tsp. of mixture for each cup.  Bake for 15 minutes to 17 minutes or until shells are lightly brown and crisp.
2. For olive topping, in a small bowl, stir together olives, dried oregano, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, cumin, and red pepper.  Sprinkle olive topping evenly over tops of baked custard.  Sprinkle each with snipped parsley or oregano.  Serve immediately.  Makes 30 appetizers. 

Homemade Mini Phyllo Shells

Ingredients:

• 4 sheets of frozen phyllo dough (18x14 inch rectangles)
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350* F.  Grease 36 1 3/4 inch muffin cups (or use paper); set aside.
2. Thaw phyllo dough sheets.  Keep phyllo dough covered with plastic wrap to prevent it from becoming dry and brittle.
3. Lightly brush 1 sheet of phyllo dough with some of the butter.  Stack 3 more phyllo sheets, brushing between each layer with melted butter.  
4. Cut phyllo stack lengthwise into 6 18 inch long strips.  Cut each strip crosswise into 6 rectangles.  Press each rectangle into a prepared cup, pleating as needed to fit.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden.
6. If not using immediately, shells may be carefully wrapped and frozen for later use.

Pecan Crusted Atrichoke Spread

Prep:  25 min.      Makes:  4 cups spread (64 1 Tbsp. servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach
• 1  14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1  8 oz. pkg. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup fat free mayonnaise dressing or salad dressing
• 2 cups shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 dashes bottled hot pepper sauce
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
• Baguette style French bread slices, toasted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350* F.  In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat.  Add onion and garlic; cook for 3 minutes.  Add spinach; cook for 3-5 minutes more or until onion is tender and spinach is cooked, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat.  Stir in chopped artichoke hearts, cream cheese, mayonnaise dressing, cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, and hot pepper sauce.
2. Transfer to an ungreased 1 1/2 qt. casserole dish.  Bake for 40 min.  Top with pecans; bake for 10 minutes more.
3. Serve with toasted bread slices.  Makes 4 cups spread. 

Nutrition facts per serving (1 Tbsp)

• calories: 23
• total fat: 2g.
• saturated fat: 1g.
• cholesterol: 4mg.
• sodium: 71mg.
• carbohydrate: 1g.
• fiber: 0g.
• protein: 1g.

Fast and Fancy Chicken (from Katrina Fujisaka)

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 6 slices Swiss cheese
• 4 oz. sliced mushrooms (canned is fine)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 cups herbed stuffing mix
• 1/2 cup melted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350* F.  Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2. Place chicken in a single layer in the baking dish.  Top each piece with a slice of Swiss cheese.  Sprinkle mushrooms over the cheese. 
3. Mix together the soup and the wine and pour over the chicken.  Spread the dry stuffing mix over the top.  Drizzle melted butter over the stuffing.
4. Bake, uncovered, for 50 minutes.

THIS IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES!!!

Decadent Triple Layer Mud Pie

Prep: 15 min.      Serves: 10

Ingredients:

• 3 sq. semi sweet chocolate, melted
• 1/4 cup canned sweetened condensed milk
• 1 oreo pie crust (6 oz.)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 2 cups cold milk
• 2 pkg. (4 serving size each) chocolate instant pudding & pie filling
• 1 tub (8 oz.) whipped topping, divided

Directions:

1. Mix chocolate and condensed milk until well blended.  Pour into crust; sprinkle with pecans.
2. Pour milk into large bowl.  Add dry pudding mixes.  Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended.  Mixture will be thick.  Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the pudding over pecans in crust.  Add half of the whipped topping to remaining pudding; stir with a wire whisk until well blended.  Spread over pudding layer in crust; top with remaining whipped topping.
3. Refrigerate 3 hours.  Store in refrigerator.

French Crêpes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. white sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla (opt.)

Directions:

1. Stir together flour, sugar, and salt; set aside.  In a large bowl, beat eggs and milk together with an electric mixer.  Beat in flour mixture until smooth; stir in melted butter and vanilla.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat.  Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using about 2 Tbsp. for each crêpe.  Tip and rotate the pan to spread batter as thinly as possible.  Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Makes 12 servings