Almond Roca (kind of :) )

1/2 c coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
1 c butter
1 c sugar
3 TBSP water
1 TBSP light colored corn syrup
3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c finely chopped pecans, toasted
(I didn't toast my nuts, and it turned out okay)

Line a 13x9" baking pan with foil. Sprinkle 1/2 c coarsely chopped nus in pan. Butter sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Melt butter. Add sugar, water and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Clip candy thermometer to pan. Reduce heat to medium, and continue boiling at a steady, moderate rate. Stir frequently until temperature reaches 290 deg. Pour candy into prepared pan. Let stand 5 min until firm. Sprinkle with chocolate. When chocolate has softened, spread. Sprinkle with 1/2 c finely chopped nuts. Chill until firm. Lift out of pan with foil, and break into pieces.

Molasses Crinkle Cookies

These are some of my mom's cookies, that I love. Normally if a cookie doesn't have chocolate in it, I don't have a problem with eating too many, but there's just something about these cookies. Mmmm.

3/4c butter, softened
1c brown sugar
1 egg
1/4c molasses
2 1/4c sifted flour (I never sift it though :) )
2tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger

Mix butter and sugar in blender until light in color. Add egg and molasses, blending well after each addition. Sift together flour, soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger, and blend into butter mixture. Chill dough in the fridge. Roll into balls the size of large walnuts. Dip tops in sugar. (I like the big sugar crystals...they're made by Wilton. Sometimes I have to double check the label because it looks like glitter :) ) Place sugared side up on greased baking sheet. Bake for 10min at 350deg. Bake just until set, but not hard.

Almond Roca, chocolate dipped peanut butter balls, and molasses crinkle cookies coming soon....

(Here are some gingerbread cookies...they're really not that tasty, but are fun to make...if you want the recipe I can put it up, but they're not that special :) )

Crunch Time!

This year for Thanksgiving I'm in charge of rolls, and pies, so I thought I'd get some recipes up there, in case any of you want to try one out for Thanksgiving. As soon as I get them made, I'll put up some pictures. We're having pumpkin, chocolate, peanut butter, apple, and cherry. (The pumpkin was one of the first posts that I did so you can look in October if you want the recipe; for the cherry, I'm making a crust, opening a can of cherry pie filling, pouring it in, and baking it in the oven. :) )
(Here's the cherry, and pumpkin pie...a little overdone, but hopefully it tastes okay.)

Aunt Gabbie's Peanut Butter Pie

Aunt Gabbie's Apple Pie

This is another one of Royce's favorites...Gabbie always finds us the best recipes :) It didn't look at all like I was planning, because my crust was giving me troubles, but I think it will taste really good, because I think I put a little too much shortening in the crust :)

6-7 cups apple—sliced thin w/lemon to keep white (I use Jonagold, Gabby uses Granny Smith & maybe a mix)

1 c sugar (if jonagold’s are sweet, reduce sugar)

½ c flour

1-2 T corn starch

½ t cinnamon

¼ t nutmet

Peel, core, slice apples thinly—put 1T? lemon juice over them to keep them white while in bowl

Mix all dry ingredients together

• 2 choices

  1. Gabby usually layers apples in thin layer, then sprinkles part of dry over them and repeats like a lasagna---trouble is, you have to come out evenly with apples and dry mix

  2. I poured the dry over the apples and stirred it in & poured it in the pie shell. Worked out fine. Gabby does this also

Dot top of apples with butter and top layer of crust

Bake @ 425 for 40-50 minutes

Gabby puts the crust covers you girls gave her over the edges so they don’t get too done

If you want, you can brush the crust with milk or ½ & ½ & sprinkle sugar on it

(My mom sent me the e-mail with Gabbie's recipe :) )

Chocolate Pie

This is my mom's really good chocolate pie that we always have for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

2 squares chocolate

2 cups milk

5 T flour

¾ cup sugar

Pinch salt

2 eggs

1 T butter

1 tsp vanilla

Baked pastry shell

• Melt cocolate,

• add milk gradually stirring constantly until smooth

• heat in double boiler (I just stir it all the time)

• Mix flour, sugar, 7 salt and add to mik

• Stir until thickened and then cook for 15 minutes

• Add butter, cool slightly 7 add vanilla

• Pour into baked crust

• Serve cold with whipped cream