Golden Peanut Bars

This recipe came from an Eagle Brand Holiday Magic in Minutes recipe booklet. It's not as sweet as I anticipated, but it was still delicious! I mean, I can tolerate super sweet! Some people can't eat straight spoonfuls of brown sugar, though. This is for those people. :) Enjoy! (Mine were slightly over-done so I altered the recipe to reduce baking time.)

2 c. flour
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. (one stick) cold butter
1 cup finely chopped peanuts
1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, brown sugar, and beaten egg in a bowl. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Reserve 2 cups of the crumble mixture and press the remaining crumbles into the bottom of a 9" X 13" pan. Bake 15 minutes or until slightly browned. Meanwhile, beat peanut butter, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla in a bowl. Spread over the baked crust when it comes out of the oven. Top with reserved 2 cups of crumbles. Bake 20-25 minutes or until slightly browned. Cool and cut into bars.

Cast Iron Skillet Brownies

Baking brownies in a cast iron skillet? Yup. Cast iron goes nicely in the oven too!

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1-2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8" diameter skillet and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan on the stove top or in the microwave in a glass bowl. Pour melted butter into a mixing bowl. Add sugar, eggs and vanilla to the bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Pour dry ingredients into wet mixture and combine well as to have no lumps. Spread into the greased cast iron skillet. Bake 25 minutes; brownies should be soft when removed from the oven. Do not over-bake. I used a 10" skillet and should have reduced the time as they were slightly over-done in the picture. Enjoy!

Fettuccine Alfredo II

I got this recipe from my brother who makes the best food! 

¾ lb. dried fettuccine

7 Tbsp. butter, divided

½-1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

2/3 cups heavy cream

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

Cook fettuccine according to package directions with salt, reserving ¼ cup of liquid when finished cooking. Drain pasta. Thinly slice 3 Tbsp. of butter and set aside. When pasta is cooked, melt 4 Tbsp. butter in a frying pan over low heat. Add pasta and toss to coat, lifting strands with tongs. Add cheese, reserved pasta water, cream, the 3 Tbsp. of set-aside butter, salt and pepper. Toss to combine well. Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately.

I love adding crumbled bacon to this, or broccoli. Yum!

Jam-filled Hand Pies

1 ¾ cups flour

1 Tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. salt

¾ cup cold butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

2-4 Tbps. Milk

6 Tbsp. jam (I used homemade raspberry jam)

Stir flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. With a pastry blender, cut in the cold butter until it looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in egg and sprinkle in one tablespoon of milk at a time into flour mixture just until the dough comes together. Knead gently a few times until the dough holds together and can be rolled. Roll about 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut with large cookie cutter hearts or make rectangles or squares using a knife or a small baking rotary blade. Cut pairs of the same size and shape. Spread jam onto the middle of half of the cutouts. Moisten edges of the jam side of the pastry and place a matching pastry cutout on top. Seal edges by pressing with a fork. Brush tops with milk. Bake on a parchment papered cookie sheet for about 17 minutes (oven may vary) or until the tops begin turning golden.

You can also cut out hearts (or whatever seasonal shape) and attach them with milk to the tops of pastries to make them decorative. They can also be glazed for decoration.

Better Homes and Gardens, Feb 2019 p.97

Cake Donuts

2 cups flour

½ cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg

2 Tbsp. melted butter

½ cup milk

1 beaten egg

Oil for frying, about a quart

Heat oil in a deep pan to 375*. (For my stove it was about medium-low.) Stir or sift together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix in butter until crumbly. Stir in the milk and egg until smooth. Knead lightly a few times on a floured flat surface. Roll out to ¼ inch thick and cut with either a donut cutter or large and smaller round cutters. Drop into hot oil and turn over once when golden. Drain on paper towels.

I rolled half of mine in a cinnamon and sugar mix. The other half I glazed with a milk, powdered sugar and almond extract glaze and immediately applied some Valentine sprinkles on top.

Pioneer Swedish Jam Cake

I am not sure if this is super authentic, and I don't recall where I got this recipe, but it sure is good!

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs, separated

Pinch salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

2 1/2 cups sifted flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 cup strawberry jam

Cream butter and sugar; add beaten egg yolks and salt. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk. Sift together flour and spices and add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, adding flour mixture last. Beat well and add jam. Beat egg whites in a bowl and fold into cake batter. Bake in greased and floured 8x8-inch pan at 375° F. for 35 to 40 minutes.

Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

I made this for a Thanksgiving pre-meal snack spread over some cream cheese and served with crackers. The family loved it!

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 large jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tsp. adobo sauce
2 (6 oz.) containers fresh raspberries
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in jalapenos and cook until tender, about five minutes. Mix in garlic, adobo sauce and bring to a simmer. Stir in the raspberries and cook until soft, about three minutes. Stir in vinegar, salt and sugars. Mix well. Simmer until thickened and reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Transfer sauce to heatproof bowl and allow to cool to room temperature before serving, about 20 minutes.