Snicker Doodles

Have you ever heard of Snicker Doodles? They are an old fashioned cookie that I first baked when I was in my teens. They are buttery, flavorful, covered with cinnamon, and very chewy.

I found this particular recipe on the back of a sack of King Arthur’s flour. Wondering if they were as good as the ones I remembered from my childhood, I made a batch. They taste just as good now as they did years ago. The preparation for these cookies doesn’t take long and they bake in about eight minutes. Try them out on your munchkins. They'll love them and want to help you bake them too.

                                                  

Ingredients:

½ cup soft butter

¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 1/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Process:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease two cookie sheets.

Mix butter, sugar and vanilla in large mixing bowl. Blend in egg.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, and then add to butter mixture.

Mix two tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon on a small plate.

Drop dough by small teaspoons on to cinnamon sugar and gently coat. Lay one dozen coated balls on each pan. Use a flat bottom glass to flatten each cookie slightly.

Bake in preheated oven for about eight minutes until slightly browned. Remove from oven and cool on rack for a few minutes. Remove to wax paper and cool. This recipe makes about 2 ½ dozen. Enjoy.

 

Cream Puffs

                                                               

Have you ever eaten homemade cream puffs? I was about 11 years old when I first tasted these delectable tender treats. My older brother and I were taking a walk past the farm where Rachel lived. She was in my brother’s class at school and he was sweet on her. She was cavorting on the lawn and invited us to join her. We wasted no time taking her up on the proposition.  

It was a hot summer day and we soon rested in the shade on the porch to drink a glass of cold lemonade. A wonderful aroma was escaping from the screen door and I could no longer contain my curiosity.

“Rachel, is your mom baking cookies?” I asked.

“No, that’s cream puffs.”

“What’s a cream puff?”

My brother looked at me and frowned. I could read his mind—Mom said it was impolite to ask people for food, but I wasn’t asking.

“It is a pastry made with lots of eggs, butter, and sugar, with pudding inside,” she said.

“Would you like to try one?”

I looked at Buddy then back at Rachel. “Oh, we don’t want to bother y’all.”

“Oh it’s no bother. Mom is a great cook. When she makes cream puffs she makes a lot.”

Buddy interrupted, “We’d love to.”

Before you know it we were in the kitchen, our mouths watering, looking at all the cream puffs sprinkled in powdered sugar—vanilla, chocolate, and butterscotch. I chose the butterscotch and wanted seconds, but my mother taught us manners. I knew that someday I would make cream puffs and I did.

At the age of 19 my first cookbook, by Meta Given, had a recipe for cream puffs.  No time was wasted in gathering the ingredients needed, and, all my guests raved at the production. Try this recipe yourself and see if you get the same reception.

                                           

Pastry ingredients:

1 cup water

1 stick butter

1 cup flour

4 large eggs

Directions:

In a medium sized pot bring water and butter to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir vigorously until smooth and clumped together. Remove from heat and allow dough to cool for 10 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and beat with a wooden spoon until well blended.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease two large cookie sheets. Drop dough by heaping tablespoons full—12 on each pan and bake for 15 minutes. Switch shelves and lower temperature to 300 degrees. Continue baking until 30 to 40 total minutes are reached or until light brown. Cool on wire rack. Slice top from each puff and remove any dough inside that is not baked. Fill with whipping cream, or thick pudding and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Pudding filling for Vanilla Cream Puffs:

1 cup white sugar

½ cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups scalded milk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Substitutes for white sugar

Use 1 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons butter for butterscotch pudding, or ¼ cup cocoa powder to basic vanilla pudding recipe for chocolate.

Combine all ingredients sugar through milk. Cook and stir at a simmer.

Whip eggs in small bowl and beat until smooth, add to pudding and return to a simmer until thickened. Add vanilla. Cool completely and use to fill each puff. Don’t forget to sprinkle with powdered sugar. The kids will love making these.

Peanut Butter Fudge

While shopping at the grocery store the other day, my sister, Wilma, met an elderly woman who was so excited about a recipe she had discovered that she couldn't wait to tell everyone.

That's one thing about being a senior citizen--it's okay to talk to total strangers in the middle of the baking isle at the grocery store. So I would like to thank the creative chemist who thought up this recipe with only two ingredients! Yes, you read that right--just two.

Ingredients:

2 cups peanut butter
1 can vanilla or white icing (or chocolate if you prefer)

But wait, there is a caveat. Make sure you buy the cheap peanut butter, not the all natural with just peanuts and peanut oil ( The fudge will turn out too soft.) If you prefer to use natural, try peanut butter with coconut oil or something that makes it homogenized--in other words, it should have a spreading consistency without having to stir it.

1. Pour the can of frosting into a medium-sized microwave safe bowl.

2. Heat in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes.

3. Add peanut butter and mix until smooth.

4. Pour into a buttered 8x8 baking dish.

5. Place in refrigerator until set.

6. Cut into cubes and serve only when you are having guests. Otherwise you're likely to eat the entire dish yourself--not good for you, unless you are a senior who is of a mind that you should have dessert first because life is short.

I used Chocolate icing for this batch:
 

This is great to make with children, but be sure only adults handle the icing while it is hot. Making goodies with your kids is great fun. Make enough to give some to their favorite people, like Grandma, Grandpa, and their teachers.
Wrap it in a gift bag and see if they can keep a secret until the holidays!