Korgan's Granola Bars

These are my son's favorite thing to make on a weekend morning.  He is so proud that he can make breakfast for the family all by himself.  Plus, they are delish!!

1 1/4 cup flour
2 cups oats (we use regular oatmeal)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (melted)
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
chocolate chips (approximately a cup)
dried fruit (we use cranberries, I told you we love those little berries!)

Preheat the oven to 350*f.  While the oven is heating up, put the two sticks of butter in a small baking dish and let them melt in the oven.

Mix all the ingredients except the chocolate chips and dried fruit in a nice big bowl until combined.

Take a 9x13 baking dish and line it with aluminum foil.  Make the aluminum foil extra long, that way once you have lined the dish, you can roll up the extra for handles to pull out the granola bars.

Squish all that granola bar goodness into the baking dish.  Then top with the chocolate chips and dried fruit if you want.  Just sprinkle them all over the top.

Bake at 350*f for about 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let sit to cool a bit.  Once it has cooled, just grab the aluminum foil handles and remove the whole thing from the pan. 

Cut and serve!

This batch was half with fruit and half without.

I've had this recipe printed and in my binder for years now.  Unfortunately, I didn't print out the URL to go with it, so I have no earthly idea where I got it.  If you know the original post/website, please share so I can give credit where it is due!!

Cheesecake With Berry Topping

I love cheesecake. I mean I Really LOVE cheesecake! This is the dessert that I would look forward to as a child. It all starts with the buttery homemade graham cracker crust. Then the two different layers of cheesecakey goodness. Top it all off with your favorite fruit topping. Oh man. Heaven in a pan!

Crust
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (one package does the trick)
1/2 cup melted butter

Stir these all together, then squish into the bottom of your pan.

Cheesecake
1 lb cream cheese at room temperature (2 of those 8oz packages)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix these ingredients until smooth.  Pour over the graham cracker crust.  Bake at 375*f for 30 minutes or until top is starting to brown.  Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

Cheesecake Topping
2 cups sour cream (16oz)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

After the cheesecake has had it's 15 minutes of cool down, pour this topping over the whole cheesecake.  Bake at 475*f for 10 minutes.

Cool the cheesecake completely before serving.  Top it with your favorite fruit, chocolate sauce, or just eat it plain!!

Fantastic!

Ginger Cream Cookies

One of my favorite cookies is Ginger Creams.  They are so mild and lovely!  Not too sweet, but enough that they still taste like a treat.  They have a very cake like texture.  I’ve always thought they would be delicious made into a sandwich with cream cheese frosting in the middle.  We have always eaten them too quickly for me to find out though!

Ginger Creams

¼ butter melted
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses
2 cups sifted flour
½ tsp soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves
½ cup water

Cream together butter and sugar; beat in egg.  Stir in molasses.  Sift dry ingredients; add alternately with water.  Drop by spoonful onto greased cookie sheet. (I often forget to grease the cookie sheet, they will stick!) Bake at 400*f for about 8 minutes.

These would be great with frosting, but I never take the time.

Inspired by the Better Homes and Gardens Dessert Cookbook 1960.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Oh, this pie is so heavenly! I was amazed by how many eggs it takes, but it is worth EVERY one! This will give you some good practice seperating eggs if you haven't practiced before. I always crack eggs into a small custard dish, then pour the egg over my hand into the whites bowl. The whites go through my fingers, then I can set the yolk into the other bowl. Many people rock the yolk back and forth between the egg shells. I tend to break the yolk when I do it this way.

This is a time consuming recipe. From start to finish it takes several hours. It is so delicious though, I am willing to work and wait!

Lemon Meringue Pie

Ingredients:

16 eggs

4 cup sugar – divided (2 for filling 2 for meringue)

2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 pie crust (I like graham)

1. Preheat oven to 325*F.

2. Separate yolks and whites of all 16 eggs into separate bowls.

3. Using an electric mixer get the whites started whisking for the meringue. This will take a while to form nice high peaks.

4. In a medium sauce pan, whisk the yolks and 2 cups of the sugar together. Add the lemon juice and stir.

5. Heat on low and stir with a flat ended spoon or spatula until it thickens up. Stir the entire time and keep scraping the bottom of the pan. You want to cook the egg yolks, but not end up with scrambled eggs. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes. Be patient!

6. Immediately transfer the lemon mixture into the pie crust and spread evenly.

7. By now your meringue should be starting to get nice peaks. SLOWLY add the two cups of sugar into the meringue. It will make your peaks fall, just keep it whisking until the peaks form again.

8. Top your pie with meringue! You will end up with extra meringue; I like to use it for meringue cookies.

9. Bake your pie at 325*F for about an hour or until the meringue has a nice golden brown top.

Allow to cool completely before serving.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This is my husband's favorite recipe for totally from scratch cake. I found it in my Betty Crocker’s Cookbook (1970) page 181. I did alter the recipe a bit. My alterations are in red.

¼ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar (packed)
1 can (8½ oz) sliced pineapple, drained
7 maraschino cherries
6 pecan halves
Dinette Cake batter (see below)

Heat oven to 350*. Melt butter over low heat in round layer pan, 9x1½ inches. I just put the pan with the butter in the oven while it preheated. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter. Place pineapple slice in center of pan. Cut remaining slices in half; arrange halves cut sides out around pineapple ring in pan. I use pineapple tidbits instead of rings. Not as pretty, but much easier to cut and eat. Place cherries in pineapple slices; arrange pecans around center ring. I’ve never used the pecans, the cherries are also optional.
Prepare Dinette Cake batter. Pour evenly over fruit in pan.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Invert onto plate. Leave pan over cake a few minutes. Serve warm and, if desired with whipped cream.

Serves 9

Dinette Cake
This is a moist yellow cake. I’ve only ever used it in the pineapple upside-down cake. I found it in my Betty Crocker’s Cookbook (1970) pg 97. My alterations are in red.

1¼ cup flour
1 cup sugar
1½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
1/3 cup shortening I use softened butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350*. Grease and flour square pan, 8x8x2 or 9x9x2 inches. Measure all ingredients into large mixer bowl. Blend ½ minute on low speed, scraping bowl constantly. Beat 3 minutes high speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool.

Monkey Bread

This is one of my go to recipes for a sweet treat for my family.  All my little monkeys really love it!  I don't have exact measurements for any of the ingredients.  It is really adaptable to your own family's taste.

Ingredients:
biscuit dough
cinamon
sugar
butter

Preheat oven to 350*

Use your favorite biscuit recipe.  My cream of tartar biscuit recipe would work great, just don't add as much milk.  You need to be able to handle the dough.

Once you have your biscuit dough, divide it into small balls.  About the size of a ping-pong ball.

Melt the butter in a dish.

Mix sugar and cinamon in a different bowl.

Dip each of the dough balls into the butter, then roll in the sugar mixture to coat.  Place the sugar covered dough balls in a baking dish that has been heavily greased with butter.

Bake at 350*F for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  You will have the cinamon/sugar goo on the toothpick, you don't want biscuit dough raw.

Take a knife and run it around the outside of the baking pan.  Turn the whole thing out onto a plate and let cool just a bit.  Serve while still warm.

Such a nice and easy treat!