Sunday, May 18, 2008

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. rolled oats
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chopped almonds
2 c. toffee bits

Preparation:
Cream wet ingredients. Sift dry ingredients.
Mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients.
Add rolled oats. Add toffee.
Drop by rounded Tbsp and flatten slightly. Bake at 300F on greased cookie sheet for 10-18 min. The tops should look slightly dry when cooked.

Molasses Crinkles

Ingredients:
3/4 c. shortening
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. molasses
2 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves

Preparation:
Mix together till creamy, shortening and brown sugar. Add egg and molasses. Beat till fluffy. Sift together, flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Mix with wet ingredients.
Roll into balls, set on greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 F for 12-15 min.

NOTE: These cookies will flatten and the top will crackle. The texture will be a mixture of crispy and slightly chewy.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 3/4 c. quick rolled oats
1 c. raisins
3/4 c. butterscotch chips (opt.)

Preparation:
Cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, and vanilla until fluffy. Stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in oats, raisins, and butterscotch chips. Drop by teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8-10 min at 375F until golden brown. Cool slightly, remove to rack and cool completely.
Makes 60 cookies.

NOTE: These cookies are nice and chewy with a slight caramel taste. If you cook them too long they will be crispy. For cooked but still chewy, take the cookies out when there are golden brown spots on the cookie but the middle still looks uncooked and fluffy. These are a family favorite.

Creamy Caesar Salad

Ingredients:
1/2 c. plain Greek-style yogurt
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 large garlic clove, minced and mashed into a paste with 1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 oz.)
1 head romaine lettuce, rinsed, spun dry, and cut into wide strips (about 7 cups)
1/4 c. finely chopped red onion
1/2 tsp. anchovy paste (opt.)

Preparation:
In a small food processor blend together yogurt, anchovy paste, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic paste, 2 T. Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer mixture to a bowl or jar. Chill dressing, covered, for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
Serve romaine, drizzled with dressing and topped with remaining parmesan and onion.

Homemade Croutons:
Cut off bread crusts. Butter both sides of bread slices. Cut into cubes. Bake at 400F for 15 min or until golden brown. Stir ocassionally while cooking. Cool and spinkle on top of tossed Caesar Salad.

NOTE: This is an extremely creamy dressing. SO delicious. I never used the anchovy paste and it turned out very tasty regardless. I didn't have fresh parmesan either, which made the dressing not quite as smooth but still very good.

Amish Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped (and/or) carrot, shredded
2 Tbsp. Dill pickle relish
2 cups miracle Whip
3 Tbsp. Prepared yellow mustard
1/3 cup white sugar
2 1/4 tsp.white vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:
Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook 8-10 minutes, until tender. Drain and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, stir together the eggs, onion, celery, red pepper, and relish. In a small bowl, stir together the miracle whip, mustard, white vinegar, sugar, and salt. Pour over the vegetables and stir in macaroni until well blended. Cover and chill before serving. The flavor is best the second day.

Carmelized Dill Carrots

Ingredients:
3 cups carrots
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp dill, fresh
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions:
Thinly slice carrots in 3 inch lengths. Steam or boil till just crisp cooked. Drain. Set aside. In saucepan melt and bring to a boil, butter, brown sugar, dill, salt, and pepper. Boil till slightly thickened. Add carrots and stir gently till coated.
Serves 3-4