Pie Crust Cinnamon Rolls

Folks-

I was just going through my old recipes, and noticed in my recipe for Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls, I mentioned that I also make Pie Crust Cinnamon Rolls, and that I would post the recipe later.

Well, more than 10 years later, here it is.

A pie crust cinnamon roll is more like a coffee cake. I often make one along with a fruit pie out of the leftover pie crust dough for breakfast the next day. Unlike bread-dough cinnamon rolls, you don't slice this until after you've baked it. You also don't frost these. That would be gilding a lilly. They're pretty rich and filling on their own, so you don't want to add anything on them. Just slice the finished cinnamon roll into little cookies and serve with coffee!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 Tbsp ground Cinnamon 

1/4 to 1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 of a pie crust recipe like my mom's Foolproof Pie Crust

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Wisk together the sugar and cinnamon. Roll out the pie crust to about 4-6mm thickness (a bit less than 1/4"). Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the pie crust all the way to the edge. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the butter, trying to get it no more than 1mm thick. You don't want dry piles of cinnamon sugar. It should all be in contact with the butter all the way to the edge. Roll the pie crust up into a roll and lightly pinch the ends closed. Place in a baking dish/pie tin/casserole dish/jellyroll pan (something with sides) and bake at 350 F for about 20-40 minutes just until it's starting to turn a bit golden, or until the pie you're baking it with is done. This should be finished roughly at the same time as any pie you're making it with, and they make great "oven buddies."

Allow to cool until it's just warm to the touch or even room temperature before slicing. Slice into 1-2 cm disks, like cookies, and serve with coffee or tea.

Note: Do not slice before baking. The cinnamon sugar and butter will run out while it's baking and burn on the pan.

Easy Peach and Mango Cobbler

 Folks-

I wanted to try to sneak in at least one more recipe before the end of the year, and after my Peach and Mango Cobbler got the most comments at our Christmas dinner (how do you top grilled Emu steaks and grilled whole Lobster? Cobbler, I guess) the recipe to post was obvious.

Here's the recipe! 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup milk

1 15 oz can sliced or diced peaches in syrup 

1 15 oz can diced mangoes in syrup

1/3 cup butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and place the butter in a deep 2 quart baking dish in the oven to melt. Mix together the dry ingredients. Add the milk to the dry ingredients and mix until a batter forms. Once the butter is melted, remove the baking dish from the oven and pour the batter evenly over the butter. Spoon the mangoes, peaches, and most of the syrup evenly over the batter, then bake for 35-45 minutes.

Ed's Overnight Sourdough Waffles or Pancakes

Folks-

Waffle is kind of a fun word, isn't it? Waffle. 

In any case, I've been looking for a good, crisp, tasty waffle recipe for years without success. They always come out limp from my highly-rated Belgian waffle iron. So I finally started to look up what made a waffle crisp, which appears to be vegetable oil in the batter, eggs, and baking soda. Then, after working with the Sourdough Crumpet recipe, I decided it was time to make my own waffle recipe from the beginning. Waffle,

This is not a waffle recipe I waffled together from someone else's waffle recipe; I waffled this one together on my own. Waffle!

The cool thing is this recipe was rather easily adapted to pancakes. I'll include the modifications in the notes.

Waffle.

Ingredients: 

100g Sourdough Starter Discard

310g All-purpose flour

250g water

3 eggs, beaten

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

The night before mix together sourdough starter discard, flour, and water and set on the counter loosely covered to ferment 8-12 hours until active and bubbly. Do not over mix. Batter should be lumpy. The next morning start heating the waffle iron, then mix together the remaining dry ingredients, and beat the eggs. Add the oil to the eggs and give a quick whisk. Fold the egg mixture and dry ingredients into the sourdough leavening and allow to sit for a couple of minutes for the baking powder and baking soda to activate. Bake in your waffle iron per manufacturer directions.

Notes: You can serve these immediately from the waffle iron, or if you want to have a sit-down breakfast with everyone at once, heat the oven to about 200-300 degrees, turn it off, and then place the finished waffles directly on the oven rack or a cooling rack placed in the oven. Do not stack them on top of each other or they become soggy.

To convert this to a pancake recipe, use 2 eggs instead of 3, 2 tbsp of sugar instead of 3, and 3 tbsp of melted butter (cooled to just liquid) instead of 1/3 cup vegetable oil. Everything else is the same.

Waffle.

Overnight Sourdough Waffles

Folks-

I'm a couple of years late to the sourdough scene, but I've been experimenting with it the last couple of months. I started with the King Arthur Sourdough Starter recipe, which took a couple of weeks to really get going, but now that it is, I'm having fun with it.

I found a recipe on The Pantry Mama that I was able to modify to my needs, and they came out better than a couple of other recipes. These have an actual sour flavor, so that's a good thing.

Without further ado, here's my version:

Ingredients:

Night before:

100g sourdough starter, fed & bubbly (fed that morning)

360g whole milk

400g all purpose flour

100g sugar

Day of:

30g sugar

100g (about 1 stick) melted butter (cooled until it's just melted)

4 large eggs, beaten

24g baking powder (about 4 tsp)

10g salt (about 1 tsp)

20g sugar

The night before: mix together sourdough starter, whole milk, flour, and sugar. Cover with plastic wrap and leave on the counter overnight, or 12-15 hours.

The next morning, mix together the sugar, baking powder, and salt, and beat together the eggs and melted butter. Whisk ingredients into the batter from the night before, and allow to sit while heating the waffle iron. Use nonstick spray or a high smoke-point oil on the waffle iron, not butter, if you want crispy waffles. Makes about 8-10 waffles in a Belgian waffle iron.

Note: You can use discard if you haven't thought ahead, but fed starter works just a smidge better.

This recipe is easily halved.

Baklava

 Folks-

This is really a work in progress, so I don't yet consider it complete. I created this by cobbling it together from several other recipes.

Ingredients:

Honey Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp rose water (or orange extract, or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
• 10 black peppercorns (or 5 whole cloves)

Nut Filling:

• 8 oz shelled raw pistachios
• 8 oz raw walnuts (or almonds, or pecans)
• 2 tsp ground cardamom
• 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/4 Tsp salt

Pastry and Butter:

• 2-3 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 lb frozen phyllo dough, thawed

To make the honey syrup:

Combine all ingredients except rose water in a saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature before discarding peppercorns and stirring in the rosewater or other flavoring.

To make the nut filling:

Pulse the nuts together in a food processor until very finely chopped. Set aside about 1 tbsp before you add in sugar, salt, and ground cardamom and pulse together to combine.

To assemble and bake:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Brush a 9x13 inch pan with butter then layer a half-sheet of Phyllo in the bottom and brush with butter, layering 6- 10 more half sheets on top, brushing each with butter. Layer 1/3 of the nut filling on top, and place a half-sheet of Phyllo on the filling, and dab with butter (brushing will slide it off.) Layer 6-10 more half sheets, another 1/3 of the filling, another 7-10 sheets of dough & butter, the rest of the filling, the rest of the dough and butter. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough and filling into squares or diamonds. Place in the oven for 45 minutes, turn it 180 degrees, and bake another 45 minutes or until golden in color. Remove from the oven to a cooling rack then immediately pour the honey syrup through the cuts, leaving the last couple of tablespoons to cover the top of the baklava. Decorate the tops with the saved nut mixture.

Allow to cool for at least three hours, than wrap in aluminum foil and allow to sit for 12 hours before serving.

Notes: Aaron strongly recommends sitting down while assembling the baklava in the baking dish. It takes quite a while with all of the layering, dabbing, and covering with nut filling, and, yeah, I wish I had done it sitting at the table that first time.

Also, this is much better the day after it's baked. Like, a lot. I strongly recommend fixing it a day ahead if you have a party or gathering planned.

And this recipe is great for sharing. One full recipe is too much for my family of six to finish in a reasonable amount of time.

Freezer Jams and Jellies

 My family has been making freezer jams at least since I was a child. It is distinctly different than cooked jams in that it tastes more like the fresh fruit. Freezer jams also have the advantage over cooked jams of being very quick to make.

The disadvantage is that you need freezer space to store them, since they are not sterilized in preparation the way cooked jams are.

My family has always used boxes of dry pectin from Sure -Jell or Ball. These can usually be found near boxes of flavored gelatin in the supermarket, even though they are not at all the same thing. Gelatin is a hydrated colagen that comes from boiling animal skin and hooves, and pectin comes from boiling fruit. Don't get them confused. One is not a replacement for the other in this recipe.

In the past my family always used the "Quick and Easy Freezer Jam" recipe that came in the box of pectin. Sure-Jell recently stopped including it, and instead is directing you to their website. Considering how ephemeral corporate websites can be, and how they've changed their recipes in the past, I tend not to trust them. Hence this blog in the first place.

So, today I am including their recipes, as well as some variations of my own, just to make sure I don't lose my recipes if the last enclosed instruction packet I have of theirs disappears or gets damaged.

Please note that these recipes are for the full-sugar version of Sure-Jell and similar pectins, not the Reduced Sugar or Sugar-Free variants.

Ingredients for All Jams and Jellies

3/4 Cup Water

1 Box Pectin (full-sugar variety)

Specific Ingredients

Apricot Jam:

2 1/2 to 3 1/2 Cups Finely Chopped Apricots, pitted but unpeeled (start at 2 1/2 and stir-in a bit at a time if sugar doesn't dissolve and you've already added all of the lemon juice)

2-4 Tbsp Lemon Juice

5 1/2 Cups Sugar

Blackberry Jam:

3 Cups Crushed or Pureed Blackberries

5 1/4 Cups Sugar

Blueberry Jam:

3 Cups Chopped Blueberries

5 1/4 Cups Sugar

Sour Cherry Jam:

2 Cups Finely Chopped or Pureed Cherries

4 Cups Sugar

Peach Jam:

3 Cups Finely Chopped or Pureed Peaches

2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

4 1/2 Cups Sugar

Peach Vanilla Bean Jam:

Same as peach, but add1 tbsp Vanilla Bean Paste

Homestyle Peach Jam:

Same as peach, but add:

2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 Tsp Ground Allspice

Mango Jam:

3 Cups Mashed Mangoes

1/4 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice

5 Cups Sugar

Raspberry Jam:

3 Cups mashed or pureed Raspberries

5 1/4 Cups sugar

Raspberry-Peach Jam:

2 Cups mashed or pureed Raspberries

1 1/2 Cups finely chopped or pureed Peaches

7 Cups sugar (yes, 7 cups!)

Strawberry Jam:

2 Cups crushed or pureed Strawberries

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

4 Cups sugar

Spiced or Christmas Strawberry Jam:

Same as Strawberry, but add:

1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 Tsp Ground Ginger

2 Tsp Ground Allspice

Strawberry-Blueberry Jam:

1 1/2 Cups crushed or pureed Strawberries

1 Cup chopped or crushed blueberries

4 1/2 Cups sugar

Apple Jelly:

3 Cups bottled or refrigerated apple juice

2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

5 Cups sugar

Apple Pie Jam:

2 Cups bottles or refrigerated apple juice

1 Cup unsweetened apple sauce

2 Tsp ground cinnamon

5 Cups sugar

Grape Jelly (may take 1 week to set):

3 Cups bottled or refrigerated Grape Juice

5 1/4 Cups sugar

Grapefruit (WHY?!?) Jelly:

2 Cups of that horrid bottled or refrigerated Grapefruit Juice (Evil Fruit!)

4 1/2 Cups poor, innocent sugar for the sacrifice

Hot Pepper Jelly (may take 1 week to set):

NOTE: Protect hands with rubber gloves while preparing!

2/3 Cup pickled jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (from 1 10-1/4 oz jar)

2 1/2 cups bottled or refrigerated apple juice

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1-2 drops green food color (optional)

5 1/2 Cups Sugar

Instructions:

Prepare the fruit as called for in the list of ingredients. Stir in lemon juice, if called for. Measure out exact amount of sugar and mix in spices, if called for, then slowly stir into prepared fruit. Allow to sit for up to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to break down sugar crystals.

While fruit is sitting, measure out water and place in a small saucepan. Add pectin to water. After fruit has sat for 10 minutes, turna stovetop burner to high and place the saucepan over high heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add to fruit and sugar mixture and stir for 3 minutes constantly until sugar crystals are mostly dissolved (some may remain.)

Immediately ladle into clean jars or plastic containers with lids leaving at least 1/4 inch (5mm) space at the top of the container for expansion in the freezer. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks, or 1 year in the freezer.

NOTES:

Apricot Jam is especially hard to get to jell correctly. You can't puree the fruit, or you end up with syrup, not jam. Either chop it by hand or use a food processor to get a fine chop on it. If the fruit is too dry, you need to add a bit of water or lemon juice. If you don't, then the sugar won't dissolve. If you want a harder set, you have to add lemon juice. I have messed up apricot jam more times than I've made is successfully. It's very finicky.

I strongly recommend mixing any dry spices into the sugar if the recipe calls for it, as Homestyle Peach, Christmas Strawberry, and Apple Pie do. It keeps the spices from clumping.

Apple Pie Jam has a shorter shelf-life than the other jams. It lasts about 2 weeks in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer. After that it tends to turn into a syrup, but it's still good on pancakes or waffles.

All of the jams listed above are good in plain yogurt to give it a fruit flavor. Just mix in a roughly 3:1 ratio of yogurt to jam if making yogurt pops in the freezer, or 4:1 if you plan to just eat fruit-flavored yogurt. Adjust to taste.

I have not tested Hot Pepper, Grape, or Grapefruit jellies, mostly because I hate grapefruit, and really don't see the point of making a grape jelly that is likely to taste exactly like a jar I can buy in the store. And my stepmom makes a good pepper jelly, so I'm never in need of one. Let me know if they come out for you.

Spiced Strawberry or Christmas Jam adapted from a recipe from Spices and Flavors. It has been said it tastes like Guava.

6/29/2025: You can use granulated pectins besides Sure-Jell, Certo, or Ball, but may have to increase the amount of pectin. Tonight I made Strawberry, Homestyle Peach, and Apricot, but increased the amount of bulk pectin used for the first two to 55g, and 60g for the Apricot. All three jelled, but the Apricot is still a bit soft-set (I'll take it!!!)

Aaron's Banana Cream Pie

My youngest, Aaron, cobbled this recipe together from 3 other recipes that he found on the interwebs one day while he was hungry in class. He came home and made it for us. Cynthia, his older sister, cried when she took her first bite because it tasted so good. I made it for my coworkers and got a very consistent response, which was (paraphrased) "This is great! When can I have the recipe?"

Well, this is it. The crust is from The Spruce Eats, the filling is from Allrecipes, and the whipped topping is from my French Silk Pie recipe.

Here are the crust and filling recipes. I don't recommend making the topping until the crust has been filled and it has cooled, so once you're at that point, head over to that recipe.

Vanilla Wafer Cookie Crust Ingredients

1 1/2 cups fine vanilla wafer cookie crumbs (about 30-35 cookies worth)

2 tbsp granulated sugar (vanilla sugar is good here, but regular is just fine)

5 tbsp softened unsalted butter

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add vanilla wafer cookies and sugar to a food processor an pulse until crumbs are fine (about the same as commercial bread crumbs.) Add the butter and pulse until combined. Turn out crumb mixture into a 9" pie tin and press into the bottom and sides of the dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes and cool completely before filling (it should be cool by the time the filling is done).

Banana Cream Pie Filling Ingredients

3/4 cup white sugar

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups milk

3 egg yolks, beaten

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (don't substitute vanilla sugar-it doesn't work)

Up to 4 bananas, sliced (enough to cover the bottom of the pie crust)

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (if not already hot.) Cover the bottom of the pie crust with banana slices. Place egg yolks in a small heat resistant bowl and beat them thoroughly.

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium saucepan. Gradually stir in milk. Stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, cook over medium-low heat until it boils and begins to thicken, then let it simmer for two more minutes while stirring constantly. I mean stirring constantly! This stuff desperately wants to burn to the pan and ruin itself. Do not stop stirring thoroughly while it's on the heat!

Remove the milk mixture from the heat and whisk about 3 tablespoons into the beaten egg yolks, then whisk the egg mixture into the milk mixture. Return to heat for two more minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and mix in vanilla and butter.

Pour over banana slices and level the pudding in the pie pan. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 1 hour before topping with a whipped topping.

It's quite good if you sprinkle toasted almond slices or some toasted reserved cookie crumbs over the whipped topping.

I intend to try making the filling in the top of a double-boiler just to see if it's easier. I'll update this recipe later with the results.

Bordeaux Candies

Folks-
My mom gave me a small bag of homemade Bordeaux candies yesterday, along with the recipe. They taste a lot like something from See's, but not exactly. Using the right chocolate probably makes these a whole lot better than what you're likely to find in a candy store. I'm sure she used Guittard milk chocolate chips to coat hers, that's her favorite brand.
I'll try this recipe soon, but until then, here's her recipe:

Bordeaux Candy

1 Cup light brown sugar

1/2 Cup butter

1/4 Cup whipping cream

1/2 Teaspoon instant coffee

Pinch salt

2 Cups sifted powdered sugar

12 oz chocolate

Melt butter and brown sugar together in a heavy pan. Bring to a boil for two minutes. Add whipping cream, coffee crystals, and salt and return to a boil. Stir constantly for 30 seconds, then remove from heat. Let cool for ten minutes. Mix in powdered sugar. Cool until mixture can hold the shape of a ball. Form mixture into one inch balls and coat with melted chocolate. Cool on waxed paper.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Folks-
This is a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe with just a couple of subtle changes. Melting the butter, instead of using softened butter, is my dad's contribution. I also often use vanilla sugar thrown into the measuring cup before measuring out the white sugar. Tip: I use a 2-cup measuring cup most of the time. First I pack-in the brown sugar, then I finish by adding white sugar until it reaches the 1-1/2 Cup level. That gives you the most accurate measure of sugar for your cookies!

Ingredients
1 Cup (2 sticks) melted butter
3/4 Cup packed brown sugar
3/4 Cup granulated white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract or 2 tsp vanilla sugar
2 large eggs
2-1/4 Cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 Cups chocolate chips
Optional: 1 Cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Beat together butter, sugars, and vanilla extract until creamy. Add eggs and beat well. Add all other ingredients except chocolate chips and nuts and mix well. Mix in chocolate chips
From into 1-2 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-12 minutes. Allow to cool for 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
Note: It's easy to use a mellon-baller to form these. They can be frozen for up to six months, and baked straight from the freezer.

Eleanor's Peanut Butter Cookies

If you ever wondered how I started cooking, or where I got my tendency to change the recipes of others, this is where both started. You see, this is my mom's Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe. She took the recipe from a '60's-era Betty Crocker Cookbook, and changed it by a single ingredient. The original recipe calls for a combination of butter and shortening, but she found that if you used more butter instead of the shortening (a 1 for 1 substitution) then the cookies came out softer, and more flavorful.
Here's my mom's variation of the Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe:

1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 Cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 Cup peanut butter
1/2 Cup softened butter
1 egg
1-1/4 Cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Mix together sugars, peanut butter, butter, and egg until smooth. Add all other ingredients and thoroughly mix them in. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
Set oven temperature for 350 degrees. Shape the dough into 1 to 1-1/4 inch balls by hand or using a melon-baller, placing them 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press a checkerboard pattern into the top of each cookie with a fork. Bake 9-11 minutes until golden brown around the edges.
Remove from the cookie sheet and allow cookies to cool on a platter (they tend to fall apart if cooled on wire racks, unless supported by parchment paper.)
Optional: dip the fork into granulated (white or party-colored) sugar between pressing the checkerboard pattern into each cookie for an added decoration.
Tip: This recipe makes a lot of cookies, but you don't have to bake them all at once. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days, or four to six months in the freezer. I like to make them into balls using a melon-baller, and then freeze them in a zip-seal freezer bag labeled with the expiration date. When I want fresh cookies, I put the frozen balls on a cookie sheet, press in the pattern, and bake them as directed.

Bread-Dough Cinnamon Rolls

Folks-

I make two different kinds of cinnamon rolls on a regular basis, bread-dough and pie crust. Both are good, but rather different. I'll post instructions for the pie crust cinnamon rolls later. Now, one of my family's favorite breakfast treats!

Bread-Machine Cinnamon Rolls

1lb batch:

2/3 Cup Water

1/2 Egg

2 Cups Flour

3 Tbsp Sugar

2 Tbsp Dry Skim Milk

1 Tsp Salt

4 Tbsp Butter

1-1/2 Tsp Dry Yeast

1-1/2lb Batch:

1 Cup Water

1 Egg

3 Cups Flour

1/4 Cup Sugar

3 Tbsp Dry Skim Milk

1-1/2 Tsp Salt

5 Tbsp Butter

2 Tsp Dry Yeast

Filling:

1/2 Cup Butter, melted

1 Cup Cinnamon Sugar

Put ingredients into a bread machine in the order the manual instructs (usually the order above) and set the machine to Dough Mode. When complete, roll out dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness. Mix melted butter and cinnamon sugar together and spread on dough. Roll dough into a  cylinder and using a sharp knife, cut into 1 inch segments. Place segments into a greased pan giving them 1/2 to 3/4 inch space on all sides and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately frost or glaze. Allow to cool for 3-5 minutes and serve hot.

Tips: These can be frozen prior to cooking. I find a full batch is too much for my family to eat before they start to go stale. I divide a 1-1/2 lb batch into thirds, put the cinnamon rolls into a pie tin sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, and freeze them. To bake them, put the pie-tin into a cold oven and immediately set the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 20-30 minutes--until they just start to turn golden brown.

You can absolutely make 2 or 3 lb batches of these by doubling either of the recipes above, if your bread machine is big enough. Combined with the freezing tip outlined above, this has allowed me to bake 5-8 large trays of these in a single day before taking them to my co-workers as Christmas gifts.

If you don't have a bread machine, you can make it using a stand mixer with a dough hook, or by hand. Heat the water to 90-100 degrees fahrenheit, mix in one teaspoon of the sugar, then sprinkle the yeast over it and allow to bloom for 2-5 minutes. After mixing it together, place in an oiled bowl, cover with oiled plastic wrap, and allow to raise in a warm place until doubled, 1-2 hours. Punch down and make the cinnamon rolls.

If you don't have powdered milk, each tablespoon of milk powder is about 1/3 cup of reconstituted milk. So in both of these recipes use milk instead of water if you don't have powdered milk.

This dough makes more than cinnamon rolls. Use orange marmalade, strawberry jam, or blueberry pie filling instead of cinnamon sugar for those kinds of rolls, and use a vanilla frosting on them. Or after rolling it out, you can cut the dough into doughnuts and deep fry them for raised doughnuts (roll them in cinnamon sugar or pour a powdered sugar and water glaze over them), or cut them onto 1 1/2 x 3" rectangles and bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown and top with a thin chocolate or maple frosting for chocolate or maple bars.

Ongoing experiments: So I decided to try making a 1 lb batch today in the stand mixer and adding 1 cup of potatoes reconstituted from flakes (hot water only.) Result: The stand mixer worked just fine, but I think it was too much potato, and I should try 1/2 cup for a 1 lb batch, or 3/4 cup for a 1.5 lb batch. I ended up adding about 1/4 to 1/2 cup additional flour to make the dough hold together, and it was still a bit too moist when making it, to the point that I didn't roll out the dough, I just flattened it with my hands. The resultant rolls were almost too delicate, moist, and rose too much. So, I'm on to something, but not there yet. Though I'm curious how this would have come out as doughnuts. I may try refrigerating the dough after letting it raise.

Old Time Fudge

Folks-

The computer was on, so I figured I should power out another Zap 190 recipe. This one I intend to try soon, only I want to try it using whipping cream instead of milk. If I try it, I'll post the results!

-Edly

Old Time Fudge
P. Jones

Ingredients:
2 Cups Sugar
¾ Cup Milk
2 Squares (2 Oz) Unsweetened Chocolate, broken up
1 Teaspoon Light Corn Syrup
2 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
½ Cup Coarsely Chopped Nuts (optional)

Line a 9x5x3” loaf pan with foil, extending foil over the edges of the pan. Butter the foil; set pan aside. Butter the sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan. In the saucepan combine the sugar, milk, chocolate, and corn syrup. Cook over medium-high heat to boiling, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Avoid splashing the mixture on the sides of the pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until a thermometer reads 234 degrees (soft-ball.) The mixture should boil at a moderate, steady rate over the entire surface. Remove the saucepan from heat. Add butter and vanilla but do not stir! Cool without stirring to lukewarm (118 degrees.) Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until fudge is just beginning to thicken; add nuts if desired. Continue to beat until the fudge is very thick, and just begins to lose its gloss. Quickly turn the fudge onto the prepared pan. While warm, score it into 1” squares. When the candy is firm, use the foil to lift it out of the pan; cut candy into squares. Store tightly covered.

Crumb Cake

Folks-

I wanted to power out another recipe or two while I still have my Zap 190 cookbook out. This one is my mom's crumb cake and crumb cake topping recipes. They are very good together, and I just may fix them tomorrow. We'll just have to see...

-Edly

Updated 1/12/2022:

I decided to make this tonight due to having a whole lot of milk on hand (it takes over a quart!) So, I decided to make some changes to the recipe. I used coconut oil instead of margarine or shortening, and half of the 2 teaspoons of vanilla without changing the flavor of the pudding just by changing the order of adding ingredients. I've updated the recipe below.

Crumb Cake
E. Perl

Ingredients:

3 Cups Flour

1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Margarine, Shortening or coconut oil
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Cup to 1-1/2 Cups Milk (approximately)

Mix together flour and sugar and cut in margarine, shortening, or coconut oil (I recommend blending shortening with the coconut oil to keep it from being overwhelming) until crumbly. Save one cup of the crumbs for later. Add the baking powder and salt, then add the milk and vanilla extract and mix until it is the consistency of drop biscuit batter. Spread the batter into a greased cake pan and top with the saved crumbs from earlier. Cook at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until done in the middle.

Crumb Cake Topping

E. Perl

Ingredients:

1 Cup Sugar

5 Tablespoons Flour

4 Cups Milk

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Mix together all ingredients except vanilla extract in a pot. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring vigorously and continuously all the way to the bottom to prevent it from burning (warning! It wants to burn! Like really wants to burn!) until it starts to thicken to the consistency of pudding (at about 200 degrees F.) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract, and then serve warm on a slice of the crumb cake.

Melisse's Candied Walnuts

Folks-

I have a few minutes, and the Holidays are coming up, so I wanted to post the recipe for my grandmother's candied walnuts. It's not hard to make them if you have a candy thermometer, and have some candy making experience.

Here it is!

Melisse's Candied Walnuts

Ingredients:

½ Cup Granulated Sugar

1 Cup Brown Sugar

½ Cup Sour Cream

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

3 Cups Walnut Halves

Combine sugars and sour cream in a saucepan. Cook to soft-ball (234-240 degrees fahrenheit) stage and then add the vanilla. Beat until mixture begins to thicken. Add walnut halves and stir until they are well coated. Turn mixture onto a greased platter and separate. Cool to room temperature.

Avocado Milk Shake and Cinnamon Smoked Pork Chops

Folks-
I've got one recipe, and one new grilling trick to relate to you today. Both are the result of looking ingredients up on Wikipedia.
In the first case, I looked up Cinnamon, and discovered an interesting story. According to what I read, the Roman Emperor Nero burned an entire years supply of cinnamon for the city of Rome to mark the death of his first wife. I wondered what that would smell like, thinking it might be sort of incense-like, so I tried burning a stick. I found it didn't smell like incense, but the smell was unique, and I wondered how it would add to grilled meat. Tonight I tried it, grilling pork chops on my gas grill. I soaked an ounce or two of cinnamon sticks in water for an hour and a half, drained the water, and wrapped them in aluminum foil in two bundles. The bundles of cinnamon sticks went directly onto the gas flames in the grill. Everyone in the family liked it at least as much as hickory smoking, with me liking it more for pork. I recommend trying it!
The second experiment I tried on my family (Zhenie went shopping before she had a chance to try it) is also the result of reading Wikipedia. I was looking up Avocados, and discovered that Avocado milkshakes are popular in Brazil. My kids all liked it, until I told them what it was. The flavor is very subtle, but good. Here's the recipe:

Avocado Milkshake
2 Cups Vanilla Ice Cream
1 1/4 Cup Milk
1 Avocado, skinned, pitted, and diced

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

"Just Like Starbucks" Vanilla Scones

Folks-
I've been experimenting with this recipe for a couple of weeks now since I first found it online until my kids firmly approve of the results. I now think that I can publish it without embarrassment. I found it online at 5forks.com, and one other place, but I like the 5forks version more. When I've made them, they come out a bit moister than the Vanilla Bean Mini Scones they sell at Starbucks. As you know by now, I like modifying the recipes I post here. I have made this one using both the Vanilla Extract called for in the recipe, as well as the Vanilla Sugar I taught you how to make in an earlier post. I prefer using the Vanilla Sugar in this recipe. Also, I have found that there is very little difference in flavor using salted butter instead of unsalted butter.
So, tested in Edly's kitchen, here is the 5forks version of the "Just Like Starbucks" Vanilla Scones (with my slight modifications, as usual):

Ingredients:
Scones:
2 Cups all purpose flour
2 Teaspoons baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup sugar
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1 Cup of full-fat sour cream
1 Large egg yolk
2 Teaspoons vanilla extract (or 2 Teaspoons vanilla sugar replacing 2 teaspoons regular sugar.)

Glaze:
1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar
1/4 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 Teaspoon salt
Milk as needed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk together dry ingredients. Using any method you prefer, cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the flour resembles coarse meal (I would recommend using a food processor if you have one, otherwise make sure the butter is cut into very small pieces.) In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg yolk, and, if you are using it, the vanilla extract, until blended. Add just enough of the wet mixture to the flour-butter mixture for it to hold together and stir with a fork until the dough forms a cohesive ball. Use a spatula to get the dry bits fully integrated. (It may not seem like there is enough liquid at first, but the dough will eventually come together.) Split the dough into two equally sized balls and pat them into disks about 1 inch in height, and cut each disk into 8 equal triangular pieces. Place the pieces onto ungreased baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. While the scones are baking, prepare the glaze by putting the sugar into a separate bowl, then adding the vanilla extract and milk one teaspoon at a time while stirring with a fork. Once the glaze has become slightly runny, it is ready. When the scones are done, take them out of the oven and immediately spread the glaze over them using a pastry brush. This will give the glaze a more even and shinier coating than just drizzling.

Chocolate Coated Peanut Butter Candies

Folks-
This is a variation of an old recipe I found in a Betty Crocker's Cookbook. I first tried the recipe when someone else gave me one of these, and I loved them! This is really using their changes from the original recipe. Unfortunately, I don't remember just who it was, except to say that they worked with my mom at Live Oak Elementary School.
Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 1/4 Cups Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Margarine or Butter, Softened
4 Cups Honey Graham Cereal, Crushed into Coarse Crumbs (a food processor works well for this)
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 Tablespoon Shortening
1 Cup Chocolate Chips

Mix peanut butter and butter or margarine in a large bowl; stir in cereal crumbs. Mix in powdered sugar, 1/3 at a time. Press mixture into a melon baller and drop onto an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet, or similar surface. Mix the chocolate chips and shortening in a small bowl and melt in a microwave, stirring the mixture every 20 seconds or so. Dip the candy balls one at a time into the melted chocolate, fishing them out with a fork and replacing them on the aluminum foil lined sheet. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes or until the coating is hardened.

-Edly

Jam "Tarts"

Folks-
This good recipe is from an old friend of mine, Siobhan Spencer. These "Tarts" are much more like a shortbread muffin with a jam center, but I'll use her term for them.

Here's the recipe!

[UPDATED 7/14/2023: Added nutrition facts, reduced jam to 1/2 teaspoon jam each tart.

7/27/25 Changed jam again to 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per tart.]

Jam Tarts

Ingredients:
1/2 C Shortening
3/4 C Sugar
2 Eggs
2 C Flour
1/4 t Salt
2 t Baking Powder
Jam

Cream shortening and sugar. Mix in eggs. Mix in dry ingredients. Divide the dough into about 12 equal parts, form into balls and place into muffin tins. So not flatten the tops or the top edge will tend to burn. Press a thumbprint halfway or deeper into each ball and fill with about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of jam, depending on depth of depression, fill it no more than halfway to the top or it might overflow while baking. Bake for 10-15 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees.

Nutrition Facts: Servings: 12. Serving size: 1 tart. Calories: 222 Total fat: 9.5g (12% DV) Saturated fat: 2.9g (14% DV) Cholesterol: 27mg (9% DV) Sodium: 62mg (3% DV) Total carbohydrates: 32g (12% DV) Dietary fiber: 0.6g (2% DV) Total sugars: 12.6g Protein: 3.1g Vitamin D: 3mcg (13% DV) Calcium: 43mg (3% DV) Iron 1mg (7% DV) Potassium: 116mg (2% DV)

Easy Ice Cream

Folks-
I made this for the first time today, varying the recipe that I found on a British website. I found following their directions exactly caused the ice cream base to be much too sweet (probably due to differences in measurements.)
You do need an ice cream freezer to make this.

Ingredients:
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 1/2 Cups Milk
1/2 Cup Whipping Cream
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 Teaspoon Salt (added 6/16/2011)
Optional (for Chocolate): 4 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

Mix all ingredients together and put into the ice cream freezer and freeze according to directions.
*Edited 6/16/2011: When making this tonight I put in about a quarter teaspoon salt and this improved the flavor. This may now be the best ice cream recipe I've ever tried. At least that's what my kids say!

Classic Cheesecake

Folks-
Here is my variation of the Classic New York Cheesecake recipe I found at Food Network's website. This is just a little bit easier than the method Food Network suggests but comes out just as good. (Baking in a water bath? Really?) Also, this version of the recipe makes use of the Vanilla Sugar I taught you how to make a few months ago (glad you were paying attention now, aren't you?)

Ingredients:

Crust:
6 Tablespoons Butter (Unsalted Optional)
1 1/2 Cups Graham Cracker crumbs
2 Tablespoons Sugar
Pinch of salt (no, really, a pinch)

Filling:
2 Pounds Cream Cheese at room temperature (about 4 packages)
1 1/4 Cups Sugar
3/4 Cups Sour Cream
6 large eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Sugar
About 1 Teaspoon Lemon Zest, finely ground (about 1 lemon)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Melt the butter. Brush a 9 inch springform pan with some of the butter. Stir the remaining butter into the Graham Cracker Crumbs, Sugar, and Salt and press into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes and cool.

While the crust is cooling, beat the cream cheese on medium speed in a good stand mixer until smooth. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl and the beaters as necessary. Slowly beat in the sour cream and eggs one at a time, the vanilla sugar and the lemon zest. Do not whip the mixture. Pour into the cooled crust. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour, 10 minutes, then turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to continue to cook in the cooling oven for another hour. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and run a knife around the edge and allow to cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.