Pumpkin Spice Cake

This is a recipe I found and slightly altered to make it moist and delicious! This was what I used as the main layer of my sister's wedding cake. Goes great with maple cream cheese frosting!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups shortening
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 large can pumpkin puree
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening, eggs, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the pumpkin puree. Beat in the flour mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.

***I have made cupcakes, sheet cakes, and 9 inch round cakes with this recipe, don't limit yourself to a bundt pan***

1. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes for bundt pan, 35-45 minutes for cake pans, or 22 minutes for cupcakes.*** or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Aunt Cheryls Cinnamon Candy

I make this and put it in to jars and give as gifts at Christmas. It is an old fashioned hard candy with a lot of kick. I don't like to make this with kids anywhere near the kitchen. I usually wait till my daughter is asleep. The cinnamon is very strong and the fumes can burn your eyes, and making candy means boiling sugar...I love cooking with my daughter BUT THERE IS NOT a place for a kid in the kitchen with this recipe. It is easy, but you must be careful when cooking this.



Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups of white Karo syrup

1 Cup of water

3 and 3/4 cups of sugar

1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon oil. (I get this from behind the pharmacy counter at walmart. They may look at you like you are crazy when you ask for it, but someone there knows what it is. I get it EVERY year with no trouble. It is behind the counter cause it can burn you, badly. Do not spill this on you, don't add more than the recipe calls for either!)

Red food coloring

Powdered sugar for dusting



Directions:

1. Prepare a 9x13 cookie sheet by lining it with foil and spraying lightly with cooking spray, set aside.

2. Add sugar, water, and Karo syrup to a large (stainless steel preferred) saucepan. Cook over medium high heat stirring constantly till candy thermometer reaches 310 degrees.

3. Remove from heat. DO NOT PUT YOUR FACE OVER THE POT, stand back and add the cinnamon oil to the pan...it will steam up in your face if you are over it, then add a few drops of red food coloring. Stir to mix and immediately poor in to prepared pan. Let set overnight to cool.

4. When cooled sift powdered sugar over the top of pan and lightly hit it with a hammer to break in to bite size pieces. Store in airtight container with a little extra powdered sugar to keep from sticking.

THE incredible SUGAR cookie Recipe

This is THE sugar cookie recipe, my Mom and I get many many many requests every Christmas for these fun, thin, crisp, sugar cookies! We have a set of cookie pans that we press a very thin layer of the sugar cookie dough in to, and then decorate and bake. These taste great with coconut, pecans, mini m&m's, and colored sugar sprinkles on them.


Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 Teaspoon of salt

1 cup of shortening (the baking sticks work wonderfully for this no mess!)

1 1/2 cups of sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract





Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400

2. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together in to a small bowl.

3. Cream together shortening and sugar till well blended. Add eggs beating in one at a time, then vanilla.

4. Slowly mix in dry ingredients to wet ingredients (using a mixer on low speed)

5. Store in refrigerator till ready to use. Be sure to make thin cookies, great for cut outs, or press in pans.

Mom's Chocolate Pecan Pie

This is probably my favorite pecan pie recipe! It is so good and if you have never had it, TRY IT!



Ingredients:

1 unbaked pie crust

3 eggs slightly beaten

1 cup dark Karo syrup

4 oz of a german chocolate bar, melted and cooled ( found in the baking section not the candy aisle)

1/3 cup of sugar

2 tablespoons of melted butter

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 1/2 cups of pecans (I like pecan halves for this)



Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Poke a few holes with a fork in to the bottom of the pie crust to prevent crust from swelling.

2. Mix all ingredients except for the pecans in a large bowl untill well combines. Then lightliy mix in your pecans.

3. Pour in to pie shell and bake for 50-60 minutes. *you may want to keep foil or a baking sheet under pie pan to catch any spillage!

Memaws Chocolate Pies

This has been made by both sides of my family since I can remember...the filling is so good. You will need two of my Meringue recipes for the tops of these pies (makes 2), so be sure to have that ready! Also, two store bought, or two homemade baked pie crusts.




Ingredients:

2 Cups of sugar

6 Tablespoons of cocoa

8 tablespoons of flour

6 egg yolks ( After separating save whites for your meringue recipe)

1 stick of butter

3 cups of whole milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla



Directions:

1. Bake pie crusts till lightly golden brown, keep oven on 350 so that you can cook your meringue at the end.

2. In a large saucepan (I prefer stainless steel for this) combine all ingredients (not the egg whites) and stir and cook over medium heat till mixture boils and becomes thick.

3. Poor hot mixture in to baked pie shells.

4. Cover with meringue, and bake another 15 minutes or until meringue is golden on top.

Homemade Marshmallows

What a delightful treat! You have NO IDEA how wonderful they are, and so easy (a bit messy) to make. I stole these from the Taste of Home magazine last year and they will be at every Christmas party I have or go to for many years to come. Make them fresh, use them with in 36 hours of making them.

Ingredients:

2 Teaspoons of butter (real butter not margerine)

3 envelopes of unflavored gelatin (usually found in the canning or jello section Knox is a name brand)

1 cup of cold water (divided)

2 cups of sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/8 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of CLEAR vanilla extract (you can find this at big/specialty grocery stores or craft stores in the cake section. Regular vanilla will turn your marshmallows brown)

Toppings of your choice: chocolate, colored sugar, crushed peppermint, sprinkles (be creative)



Directions

1. Line a 9X13 pan with foil and grease the foil with butter.

2. In a large metal bowl sprinkle gelatin packets over 1/2 cup of cold water and set aside.

3. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup of water stiring to mix well. Bring to a boil stirring OCCASIONALLY. Once mixture Boils, STOP STIRRING and let mixture cook till candy thermometer reads 240 degrees. Remove from heat.

4. Gradually add gelatin to hot sugar mixture. Beat on high speed (I use my kitchenaid stand mixer) until mixture is thick and doubled in volume (about 15 minutes) Lastly, beat in vanilla.

5. I cover my hands in butter than spread the mixture in to the prepared 9X13 pan. Cover with foil and let set 6 hours or overnight.

6. Use foil to lift out marshmallows, then with a pizza cutter coated in cooking spray, cut in to 1 inch squares. Dip in to toppings of choice, or throw in to some hot cocoa!

7. Store in an airtight container.

Meringue for a Pie

This is the ONLY meringue recipe I will use. It is perfect every time...no drooping, no sogginess, perfect! Several recipes will use this topping. This is a Betty Crocker Recipe that I tried, and after making thousands of meringues, a million different ways...this one takes the... "pie!"


Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Sugar

4 teaspoons of cornstarch

1/2 cup tap water

4 large egg whites

1/8 teaspoon of salt




INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350.

2. Mix sugar and cornstarch thouroughly in a small saucepan (I prefer stainless steel pots for this)

3. Stir in water and cook over medium heat while stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil and continue to stir for one minute, then remove pan from heat.

4.Cool completely while making your pie filling...I like to put mine in the freezer about ten minutes to cool quickly.

5. Beat egg whites and salt in a stand mixer using the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer on high speed till soft peaks form. (A SIDE NOTE, if ANYthing but the egg whites get in your bowl, your egg whites will not form. I like to use a small ramekin to break each egg in individually, then add them one at a time to the final bowl. Yes A minute drop of yellow will ruin your egg whites!)

6. Very slowly poor your cooled sugar mixture in to the whites, mixing as you go. Beat until stiff peaks form.

7. Spoon meringue over top of pie filling and be sure to bring the filling all the way to the edges of the pie to be sure it is sealed, and to help prevent shrinking. Bake for about 15 minutes or until light brown. When cooling, keep away from drafts.