Good Cooks’ Recipes

As a little girl in grammar school in the 1960′s, we had a lunchroom dessert occasionally that was my absolute favorite. Loved it! Was so excited when we had them. I’ve hunted the recipe all these years since. The only thing I could remember was that were peanut buttery, they were not cooked and were chewy. Finally, in some old recipes I bought, there it was. Had to be it. So I made them — and yes! These are the peanut butter bars of my childhood!

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1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2/3 confectioners’ sugar
1 cup nonfat dry milk

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.
Stir peanut butter and corn syrup in a medium size bowl until blended and smooth.
Stir in sugar. Gradually stir in dry milk until blended.
Form rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. Place on cookie sheet and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
Store with wax paper in tightly covered containers.

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Were they as good as I remember? Maybe not quite, but still very good. VERY. My husband couldn’t stop eating them.

The recipe, which was clipped out of a magazine, says it’s great for the kids to make themselves since there is no baking. But let me say that I don’t believe a child could do this with just a wooden spoon like the original recipe suggests. I couldn’t. It calls for a heavy duty mixer to blend it all together. I used a hand held mixer and it kept bogging down and the beaters would fall out. Next time, my Delonghi will be put to use.

Tags: Other sweets by wanda
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1 small can of sliced pineapple
2 small oranges
6 or 8 marshmallows cut in pieces
1/2 cup chopped cherries
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup whipped cream
Juice from pineapple and enough water to make one cup
3-4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg

To the sugar add flour and stir in pineapple juice. Place in double boiler and allow to cook until mixture begins to thicken. Add well beaten egg, then butter. Stir thoroughly and allow to cool. Beat the cream until thick. Chop the pineapple, orange, nuts, and cherries. Mix with the cream and add to the cooked mixture. Pour in freezing trays and allow to freeze. May be used as dessert or salad.

Tags: Other sweets, Salads by wanda
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Famous Chocolate Dessert Recipe

About 28 whole cinnamon graham crackers
4 small packages or 1 large package Dream Whip
1 jar (15 oz.) Fudge topping – NOT chocolate syrup!

Beat Dream Whip according to directions; fold in fudge topping. Line a 9″ x 13″ pan with half of the whole graham crackers. Cover with half of chocolate mixture. Add another layer of graham crackers and remaining chocolate mixture. Sprinkle chopped nuts over top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Cut in squares to serve.

Tags: Other sweets by wanda
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Waxie Pecan Bars Recipe

1 package brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pecans, chopped
4 egg whites
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

Mix together brown sugar, unbeaten egg whites and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to egg mixture and blend. Stir in pecans.

Pour in shallow greased pan and bake at 275°, 15 to 20 minutes. Don’t beat egg whites, this is your liquid in the cookies.

Tags: Other sweets by wanda
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Recipe for:

Butterscotch Pecan Dainties

1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water

1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup scalded milk
1 well beaten egg
3-1/4 cup enriched flour

Soften 1 package active dry yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Let stand 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, measure 1/2 cup shortening, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon salt into a large mixing bowl.

Scald 1 cup milk. Pour over shortening mixture. Stir until shortening is melted. Cool to lukewarm.

Start mixer on medium speed and while beating add 2 cups enriched flour. Beat for 1 minute or until gluten strands are practically visible. This brisk beating will take the place of kneading for these easy to make batter rolls.

Stop mixer. Add softened yeast and 1 well beaten egg. Beat batter smooth on medium speed 1/2 minute.

With a spoon stir in 1-1/4 cup enriched flour. You’ll have a stiff, somewhat sticky batter that will follow the spoon.

Beat batter at medium speed 2 minutes until smooth. Since the batter is quite stiff, occasionally you will need to push it away from mixer beaters with a scraper.

Cover the bowl of dough. Set it in a warm place and let the dough rise until it is bubbly on top and appears very light. This will take about one hour. The dough should rise until it is at least double in size.

Stir down and beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Let rise again until double (about 30 minutes). Stir down and shape into pretty rolls with with the following coating.

Put in the bottom of each muffin cup:
1 teaspoon butter
2 drops water
2 teaspoons brown sugar

Mix. Arrange pecan halves over mixture. Drop the dough by tablespoon into muffin tins, filling them half full. Let rise until double (20 minutes).

Bake at 375° for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove rolls from cups or muffin tins immediately. Makes 2 dozen.

Tags: Breads, Other sweets by wanda
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Blueberry Tea Cake

2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg unbeaten
1/2 cup milk
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Cream butter or margarine, gradually beat in sugar. Add egg and milk. Beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients and fold in blueberries. Spread batter in greased and floured 8 x 9 inch square pan. Sprinkle with crumb mixture. Bake at 375° about 45 minutes or until done.

Crumb topping:
Mix together sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter to form coarse crumbs.

Tags: Cakes, Other sweets by wanda
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This recipe is from my grandmother, one of the best southern cooks around. She never used a recipe, so this is rather vague. She’d say things like “butter the size of an egg”, which I suspect is the case in this one.

About 4 cups of apples
1-1/2 cup sugar
Butter (the size of an egg?)
Biscuit dough
1-1/2 to 2 cups boiling water

Peel and cut apples. In deep pot put a layer of rolled out dough, half of apples and 3/4 cup sugar. Put strips of dough on top of this and dot with butter. Layer rest of apples, 3/4 cup sugar, some butter and boiling water. Top with more strips of dough dotted with butter. Bake at 350°.

Tags: Other sweets, Pies by wanda
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Another recipe I grew up with. It probably came with the ice cream freezer my parents bought in the 1950s or 60s. So deliciously rich.

3 eggs
1 can condensed milk
1 cup sugar
2 quarts milk
1 tablespoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients and follow the instructions with your ice cream freezer.

Tags: Other sweets by wanda
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Nothing could be easier than this and it’s so good, you might want to eat it right out of the bowl before it hardens!

Microwave Fudge

1 lb. confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup cocoa
1 stick butter
1 Tablespoon vanilla
Add some nuts if you like or crunchy peanut butter. If you prefer smooth fudge, use plain peanut butter and no nuts.

Bake first five ingredients in microwave until the butter melts. Add vanilla and nuts. Mix. Pour into a greased pan and refrigerate.

Tags: Other sweets by wanda
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It might be easier to make banana pudding with a pudding mix, but not as rich and delicious as this!

Banana Pudding

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg yolks
2 bananas
3 cups vanilla wafers
2 egg whites
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat egg yolks. Add mixed sugar and flour alternately with milk until all the milk has been added then add salt. Place in double boiler and cook until mixture thickens, then add vanilla. Cool pudding mixture. Place a layer of vanilla wafers in bottom of Pyrex dish, slice a banana and place over vanilla wafers, then pour half of the pudding over bananas. Repeat. Top with meringue and brown lightly at 325°.

To make meringue, beat egg whites at high speed until stiff. Add 1/3 cup sugar, continue beating then add vanilla.

Tags: Other sweets by wanda
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