Grandma's Recipes #21 - Big Batch Brownies

Big Batch Brownies

Beat together: 

• 1/2 c vegetable oil
• 1 c sugar
• 4 eggs

Add

• 1 c flour
• pinch of salt
• 16 oz can Hershey's chocolate syrup
• 1/2 c chopped nuts

Bake in a 10" x 15" greased and floured jelly roll pan 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.  

Grandma's Recipes #17 - Chocomint Dessert

With a name like "Chocomint," you might expect a dessert with some kind of peppermint in it.  While this dessert appears to look like an Andes Candy with the green filling and chocolate wafer cookie crust, it is, in fact, a lime and chocolate dessert.  Not mint.  Lime. Because nothing says, "Mmm good" like chocolate pudding, Oreo cookies, and lime jello.  

Chocomint Dessert

2 c     finely crushed chocolate wafers

1/2 c  melted butter

13 oz Richwhip topping

3 oz pkg lime jello (lemon)

8 oz   cream cheese

1 c    sugar

several drops green food coloring (yellow) (optional)

1 4.5 oz pkg instant chocolate pudding

1 1/3 c milk

Combine crumbs and butter and reserve 1/3 cup for topping.  Press remainder in 13x9" pan.  Whip the Richwhip topping.  Meanwhile, dissolve jello in 1 cup boiling water; let stand 30 minutes.  Beat together cream cheese and sugar.  Gradually beat in jello and food coloring.  Fold in cheese mixture into the Richwhip topping.  Spread half over crust, chill 1 hour.  Keep remaining mixture at room temperature.  Beat together pudding mix and milk.  Let stand 2 minutes.  Spoon over layer in pan.  Top with remaining cheese mixture, sprinkle crumbs over.  Chill.  

Grandma's Recipes #15 - Blueberry Torte

This recipe is pretty easy to customize by swapping out the canned blueberry filling for any other pie filling of your choice.  I definitely remember it being made with cherries.

Blue Berry Torte

Graham cracker crust

8oz cream cheese

1 c powdered sugar

2 packages Dream Whip

[Make a graham cracker crust in a 9x13" pan.]  Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar.  Blend with 1 package of Dream Whip.  Pour on crust.  Put on 1 can of blueberry pie filling.  Pour on the mixture then mix another package of Dream Whip on top.  Put [graham cracker] crumbs on top.

Grandma's Recipes #13 - Cream Puff

I have made these and they are fantastic.  Unfortunately, I can't find the picture of them.  The recipe is for the shells only.  I think Grandma filled them with traditional plain whipped cream.  I did a chocolate orange cream and then drizzled them with melted chocolate and they were divine.  They're putsy to make and you need to keep them cold or the cream will melt all over and make a mess though, so they do require some planning ahead.  They're definitely worth the effort though.  It's been over a year since I made them.  I believe I baked them at the lower temperature for longer because that was clearly Grandma's note, where the rest of the recipe must have originally come from a friend.

Cream Puff
1 c    flour
1/4    tsp salt
1 c    boiling water
1/2 c butter
1/2 c lard
4 eggs

Add the salt, butter, and lard to water.  When this boils, add all the flour stirring constantly until mixture leaves the pan.  Remove from the heat, add unbeaten eggs, one at a time, beating continually.  Drop by teaspoon on buttered cookie sheet.  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes or 325 for 25 minutes.

Grandma's Recipes #9 - Apple Torte with Meringue Topping

This is another recipe that I don't remember ever having, but it's been clearly well-loved.  This is another one to come back to this fall.  Unfortunately, the bake time in the last instruction is really, really difficult to make out.  I think it's 20 minutes, but will gladly take input from others if they're able to make it out.  

2 c           flour

2 Tblsp    sugar

1 c           butter

Dash        salt

12            large apples sliced

1 c           sugar

1 tsp        cinnamon

2 regular or 1 large vanilla pudding

5 or 6       egg whites

1/2 c        sugar

Combine flour, 2 Tblsp sugar, butter, salt.  Spread in 9x13" pan.  Combine apples, 1 cup sugar, and cinnamon.  Put over crust.  Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Cook pudding following directions.  Pour over apples.  Beat egg whites into stiff peaks.  Add 1/2 c sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time.  Spread over pudding.  Return to oven.  Bake 20(?) minutes or until brown.

Grandma's Recipes #8 - Apple Dessert

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but it resembles an apple crisp without the oatmeal.  It sounds tasty, so I may come back to it this fall once apples are in season and update with a picture of how this turns out.

Apple Dessert
6 or 8 apples (peeled and sliced)
3/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c butter
3/4 c flour

Slice apples into a 9 inch baking pan.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Cream sugar and butter; add flour and mix then cover apples with this mixture.  Bake at 350 until the apples are cooked and the top is brown.

Grandma's Recipes #7 - Angel Lush

This is another one that I'm not sure how to reproduce.  It calls for pudding, but I have no idea how much of what flavor.  My guess is one box of vanilla.  Where does the pineapple go?  And finally, is it Cool Whip or Kool Whip?  The recipe card doesn't seem to know either.

Angel Lush

1 can of ?? crushed pineapple undrained

1 cup thawed cool whip

Mix dry pudding in medium bowl.  Gently stir in Kool Whip.  

Grandma's Recipes #5 - Refrigerator Cheese Torte (No bake)

Refrigerator Cheese Torte (no bake)
2 Tblsp   gelatin (plain)
1/4 cup   cold water
2             eggs, separated
1tsp        salt
1/2 cup   milk
1 cup      sugar
1 lb        cottage cheese
2 tsp      vanilla
1 cup     whipped cream

Soften gelatin in cold water.  Put slightly beaten egg yolks in a double boiler together with salt, milk and sugar.  Cook until mixture thickens, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat, add to the mixture the gelatin.  Stir gelatin until dissolved.  Cool before gelatin hardens.  Beat in cottage cheese and vanilla with egg whites.  When this begins to thicken, fold in beaten egg whites and whipped cream.  Chill 4 hours.

Grandma's Recipes #4 - Poppy Seed Torte

Poppy seed and banana tortes were an ever-present dessert at every family get together.  I found two different recipes in Grandma's recipe box.  I have no idea which one was the most commonly used.  I wasn't a huge fan of the gelatinous goo, so I also won't be the one taste testing to find out.  I'll leave that to my wonderful cousins.  As usual, [gray brackets] indicate things I had to add or substantially edit to make it easier to follow.



Poppy Seed Torte #1 (top)

Crust:
2 cups      crumbs [graham cracker]
1/2 cup     butter
2 tsp         butter

[Combine crumbs and 1/2 c butter.  Grease 9x13" pan with 2 tsp butter.  Spread crumbs across entire pan and press firmly.]

Filling
1/3 cup      sugar
3 Tbsp       corn starch
2 cups        milk
8                eggs, separated
1/2 cup      poppyseeds
2 pgks       gelatin in 1/2 c cold water
1-1/2 tsp    cream of tarter
1/2 c          sugar

Cook 1/3 c sugar, corn starch, milk and 8 egg yolks until thick [to make custard].  Add poppyseed and gelatin / water.
Beat 8 egg whites until stiff with cream of tarter.  Add 1/2 c sugar and beat until stiff, then mix with custard.  Pour over crumbs and refrigerate.


Poppy Seed Torte #2 (bottom)
2 large vanilla pudding as directed
6 eggs, separated
2 tbsp gelatine
1/2 cup poppy seeds
1/2 sugar
9x13 graham cracker crust

Cook [pudding, egg yolks, gelatin and poppy seeds] until thick.  Beat 6 egg whites.  Gradually add 1/2 sugar.  Beat till stiff.  Fold in custard.  Pour over 9x13 graham cracker crust.  Chill.

Birthday week cake

Of the six people on my team at work, three of us were born on November 17 or 18.  That makes for a pretty epic birthday week.  To celebrate, I made this cake, inspired a bit by my wedding cake, but mostly by my overly ambitions nature.

The bottom layer was a New York style cheesecake with oreo cookie crust made using this recipe.  The recipe didn't call for a water bath, and I didn't use one, but I think I should have.  Or at least cooked it just a tad longer.  My cheesecake ended up deflating, but it still had great flavor.

The second layer was an orange scented cake that I adapted from this recipe.  I literally just subbed the lemon zest and juice for orange.

Between the layers is a pomegranate jelly.  I tried to follow a recipe, but then I bought powdered pectin instead of liquid pectin and was left with 5 freshly juiced pomegranates and really no idea how to turn them into jelly.  (For reference, juicing 5 pomegranates by hand is NOT something I recommend.) In the end, I ended up following the recipe for raspberry jam in the pectin box, but cut in half, and without actually canning it.  Basically, I dumped sugar, juice, water and chemical powder in a pot, whisked as if my life depended on it for about 5 minutes, and hoped for the best.  Surprisingly, it turned out.

To top it all off, I made a simple chocolate ganache.  I didn't put any liquor in mine, but I think that a little triple sec or some other orange extract could have been a great way to tie all the flavors together.  When the ganache was still wet, I sprinkled the top with pomegranate seeds.  Beautiful and tasty!

Ginger lemon pears with pomegranate syrup

I whipped these up as a quick and easy dessert for a little dinner party, and they were met with rave reviews.  We're planning on making them again for Thanksgiving.

2 red pears, halved and cored
1 heaping tsp of powdered ginger
2 Tbsp of brown sugar
1 Tbsp of butter
4 Tbsp of lemon juice

Place the pears cut side up in a well-greased baking dish.  Sprinkle them with the ginger and brown sugar.  Divide the butter in four parts and put a pat on top of each.  Pour 1 Tbsp of lemon juice over each pear.  Roast near the top of the oven for 25 minutes.


Pomegranate syrup:
One medium pomegranate
1/3 c sugar
1 c water

Combine and boil while the pears are in the oven.  If desired, thicken with a little corn starch.

Serve pears warm on a dessert plate. Top with vanilla ice cream and the pomegranate syrup.

Amaretto Sour Apple Pie with Whole Wheat Crust

I made this pie for my friend Diana in exchange for an evening of company while Carl was away.  Its not out of the oven yet, but it smells amazing.  I have high hopes.


Crust:
I used this Perfect Pie Crust recipe for an all butter crust, substituting whole wheat flour for the all purpose flour.  I didn't feel like my Ninja food processor did a great job of mixing everything together, and I ended up adding a bit more flour while rolling it out.


Filling:
7 cups thinly sliced peeled baking apples

• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1 Tbsp amaretto
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon water

• In a bowl, toss apples with lime juice. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, and amaretto, and nutmeg; add to apples and toss. Pour into crust; dot with butter. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie; cut slits in top. Place over filling; seal and flute edges. Beat egg yolk and water; brush over pastry. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F; bake 40-45 minutes more or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly.

Filling based on this perfect apple pie recipe.

Relatively guilt-free thin mint cookie milk shake

My husband has a Girl Scout cookie buying problem.  Last year, he bought an entire case of Thin Mints and another case of Samoas, plus one box of Thank You Berry Munch.  This year, he upped the ante and bought 27 boxes.  Despite making Thin Mint cheese cake, giving away boxes to family and friends, and eating an insane amount of them myself, I STILL have Thin Mints in my freezer from last year.    Desperate to use them up before I find two more cases of cookies in my kitchen, I came up with this relatively guilt-free thin mint cookie milk shake recipe.

4 small scoops of Fat Free Vanilla Frozen Yogurt.  I'd guess about 1.5 cups, but I didn't measure.
1/2 c low fat milk - This I did measure :)
4 - 6 thin mint cookies, depending on how chunky and minty you want your shake
Approximately 2 Tbsp chocolate syrup

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth.  I used our Ninja and it worked awesome.

These are really rich, and the best part is that if you use skim milk the only fat in the whole thing is from the cookies.  This will make one large glass of shake.  I was not able to finish mine.  I might recommend doubling the recipe and splitting it between three people.