Hometown Get-Togethers - Candace Floyd [67]
Carolyn’s Morsels
Carolyn Hayes, Elba, New York
Makes 6 dozen cookies
“This is my own cookie that I cloned from a secret recipe. It took me two weeks to perfect it—and mine is better.”
2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into tablespoons
1½ cups packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup chopped pecans
One 8-ounce package toffee bits
One 8-ounce package milk chocolate chips
One 8-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cream the butter until light and fluffy with a mixer at medium-high speed. Add the brown sugar and vanilla; mix well.
3. Combine the eggs and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl; beat with a fork. Add to the creamed mixture; beat well.
4. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the pecans, toffee bits, and chocolate chips. Chill for 1 hour, or until the dough is firm.
5. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, until lightly browned on the edges only. Cool on wire racks.
Healthy Heart Cookies
Anne Crawford, Auburn, Kentucky
Makes 1½ dozen cookies
“I come from a large family in southern Indiana, and the most prevalent health hazard for us is heart disease. So I came up with these healthy cookies. They taste good enough to feel like we’re cheating, even when we’re not.”
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
½ cup Splenda brown sugar blend
2 tablespoons Smart Balance buttery spread, not light variety, melted
1½ cups quick-cooking oats
½ cup dried fruit, such as cranberries or blueberries
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup chopped pecans or almonds
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine the yogurt, brown sugar blend, and buttery spread in a bowl; mix until light and fluffy. Stir in the oats, dried fruit, cinnamon, and pecans.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Press together and flatten with a fork for uniform baking. Bake for 10 minutes for a chewy texture or 15 minutes for crisper cookies.
Molasses Spice Drop Cookies
Betty Cochran, West Danville, Vermont
Makes 30 cookies
“I tell everyone this is my husband’s favorite cookie in the whole wide world, and now it has become the same for my grandchildren and great-grandchildren!”
¾ cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
¼ cup molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a baking sheet.
2. Combine the shortening, sugar, egg, and molasses in a large bowl. Beat until well blended with a mixer at medium speed.
3. Sift together the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to the shortening mixture. Beat on low just until blended.
4. Roll the dough into walnut-size balls. Do not flatten. Arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 9 minutes for soft cookies and 10 minutes for crisper cookies.
Pumpkin Pudding Dip
Christine Dellecave, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Serves 32
“I make this recipe quite a bit for family occasions. I made it once on Thanksgiving Day for the doctors and nurses who were stuck at the hospital where I work and couldn’t spend the holiday with their families.”
One 8-ounce package cream cheese or reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
One 15-ounce container ricotta cheese (may use part-skim)
One 16-ounce can pumpkin purée
2 cups sugar or Splenda
1½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
One 8-ounce container frozen whipped topping, thawed
Fruit
Shortbread cookies
1. Combine the cream cheese, ricotta, pumpkin, sugar,