Classic Pizzelle

I usually make the recipe out of the book that came with the iron (shut up) but here is an alternative, again from the King Arthur Flour Baking Banter Blog.

Classic Pizzelle

No Italian holiday is complete without crisp, buttery pizzelle. Read our blog about these cookies, with additional photos, at Bakers' Banter.


3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup melted butter

Directions

1) Beat the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla until well combined.

2) Stir in the flour and baking powder, mixing until smooth.

3) Add the melted butter, again mixing till smooth; the batter will be thick and soft.

4) Heat your pizzelle iron. As it heats, the batter will stiffen.

5) Cook the pizzelle according to the instructions that came with your iron. In general, they'll take between 45 seconds and 2 1/2 minutes to brown.

6) Remove the pizzelle from the iron, and cool on a rack. If desired, use a pair of scissors to trim any ragged edges.

7) Dust cooled pizzelle with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Chocolate Pizzelles

I've never tried these but I found a recipe on the King Arthur Flour blog, so I may.

Chocolate Pizzelle

Pizzelle cioccolatte — chocolate pizzelle — are a delicious variation on the usual almond, anise, and rum-flavored cookies. Snapping crisp yet tender, pizzelle are a must-have at any Italian celebration.


3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
3/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 2/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup melted butter

Directions

1) Beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, espresso powder, and salt till smooth.

2) Add the cocoa and baking powder, again beating till smooth.

3) Add the flour, mixing till well combined. Add the melted butter, again mixing till well combined.

4) Bake pizzelle according to your pizzelle iron instructions. A tablespoon cookie scoop works well for scooping batter onto the iron; a level scoopful of batter is the right size for most standard pizzelle makers.

No Bake Cookies

My mother used to make these cookies fairly often while I was growing up. My favorite part was licking the warm yumminess off of the spoon.


No Bake Cookies

In a pan over medium-high heat (you know I am impatient and turn it up to high) add the following ingredients and stir until the mixture comes to a boil:

1 stick butter/marg
2 cups sugar
3 Tbs cocoa
1/2 cup milk

Once boiling reduce the heat a bit and boil for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the following:

3 cups oats
1/2 cup PB
1 tsp vanilla


Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper and let cool.

Mmmmmmmm..... *drool*

Sister's Sugar Cookies

Sister makes these every year. She makes some special ones with me with blackberry brandy in the icing. Purple penquins are Aunt Hopie's special cookies. Just top with powdered sugar icing from the BH&G or Betty Crocker cookbook.


Sister's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
dash salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp grated lemon peel
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Beat butter; add sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat. Beat in sour cream, egg, vanilla and lemon peel.

Beat in as much of teh flour as you can. Stir in rest by hand. Chill one to two hours.

Try to work it as little as possible, roll out quickly and cut into shapes. Transfer to ungreased cookie sheet. Cook at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes.

Sweet Potato Casserole

I know this is a little late for Thanksgiving, but it's also tasty for Christmas dinner. My nephews call this stuff candy it's so yummy.

This recipe is fondly referred to as our "stolen casserole". We had been wanting to find a good version of sweet potato casserole and it was before the internet recipe explosion. Mom, sister and I were doing some Christmas shopping in the mall and decided to check the cookbook section in Waldenbooks. Well, we found what looked like a fabulous recipe, but the rest of the cookbook, eh, so not worth the money.

Waldenbooks doesn't have those cozy little nooks with chairs for you to sit, browse and drink your high dollar coffee, so we snuck around the store until we found a less crowded section. Mom and Sister stood guard while I frantically copied the instructions on a scrap of paper we found. Once done, we put the book back and made our escape, giggling the whole time.

Yeah, I know, we're wild and crazy girls.


Sweet Potato Casserole

2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, cooked (we use canned, drained and rinsed)
1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
2 lg eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Mix the above ingredients with mixer. Put in buttered dish.

Topping:
3/4 stick butter melted
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix and then crumble on top of filling.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Secret Pumpkin Pie recipe

The women on my mom's side of the family have always made the best pumpkin pies (well except for my Aunt Darlene, but that's ANOTHER story). They all obviously used the exact same recipe and had always referred to it as the "secret family recipe".

Now pumpkin pie is one of my all-time favorite foods. I will even eat it for breakfast the morning after Thanksgiving, it's best that way, ice cold from the fridge. I'm a pie purist too, while the rest of the family uses Cool Whip, I enjoy it plain the way nature intended. Mmmm...

My first Thanksgiving living on my own, I decide to make my own pie. I called my Aunt Carol and asked for the secret recipe. She said sure, no problem, but that I HAD to make sure I used Libby's pumpkin, no other would do. Luckily I had a can of Libby's so I was ready to go and I told her that. She said really? Right in front of you? Turn it over.

The family's secret family recipe was the one from the back of the can. Oh, but wait, they use pumpkin pie spice instead of the separate spices! My Aunt was still laughing at me when I hung up on her.


The Brammer Family Secret Pumpkin Pie Recipe (thanks Libby's)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (can use more, it's a personal thing)
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin (not the pie mix!)
1 can (12 fl. oz.) Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell (I use the Pillsbury ready made pie crust)

Directions:
Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie shell.

Bake in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.