Caramel Apple Pie

Caramel Apple Pie (picture taken from google-I forgot to take a picture of mine. Quite frankly it was much messier than this, but it was delicious!)

6 cups apples peeled and thinly sliced (about 8 apples)

1 Tbsp. lime juice

¼ Cup flour

¾ Cup sugar

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Pastry for a 2 crust pie

2 Tbsp butter

¼ cup butter

2 Tbsp. heavy cream

½ C brown sugar

½ C pecans, chopped (optional)

Sprinkle apples with lime juice. In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and spices. Sprinkle over apples and lightly toss. Place in a 10-inch deep pie plate lined with unbaked pie crust. Dot with 2 Tbsp. butter. Top with pie crust pastry. Seal and crimp the edges. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes. In a saucepan, combine ¼ cup butter, heavy cream and brown sugar. Stir on medium heat and bring to a boil for two minutes. Pour over hot pie and sprinkle with pecans if desired. Place on a baking sheet or foil. Return to oven for an additional 3-4 minutes until caramel bubbles. Serve warm. Note: Rome Beauty of Braeburn apples work best in this pie.

G.O.R.P.

I always thought my mom had just made up the name "gorp" as a funny term for this mix. However, I learned from Wikipedia that it actually stands for both "Good Old Raw Protein" and "Good Old Raisins & Peanuts". Hikers are apparently big fans of mixes like these. So, to begin: Mix the following items in a large bowl.

½ box Crispex cereal

½ box Golden Grahams cereal

½ package shredded coconut

1 Cup slivered almonds

Combine the following items in a saucepan:

¾ Cup butter

1 Cup sugar

1 Cup karo

Stir together and bring to a full boil – boil for 2 minutes, then pour over cereal mixture, & mix gently.

Carrot Cake

This is one of our family’s favorite cakes (especially because my dad doesn’t like chocolate). The only tricky part is the frosting; I never seem to get the measurements quite right and my mom has to fix it. She just does it “by taste” - a concept I hope to someday understand. Here are the directions:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

2-teaspoons soda

2-teaspoons salt

3 cups carrots, grated, uncooked

1 ½ cup cooking oil (corn oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil)

2-teaspoons Cinnamon

4 large eggs

Mix the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the cooking oil and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time mixing well. Add grated carrots.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes (approx.)

Frosting

1 pound powdered sugar (approx.)

½ cup butter (I find this is too much and only do ¼)

3-8 oz. cream cheese (soften) (I do about 5 oz)

2-teaspoons vanilla

My mom adds more vanilla and a little milk. You can also add ground raisins or dates & nuts to the cake if desired.

Gingersnaps

This is a classic recipe for gingersnaps. They can be a beautiful gift if you dip them half-way in white chocolate. The only trick is that they must be cooked the day they’re meant to be eaten; otherwise they dry out quickly and turn hard. That’s why I freeze most of the dough balls to make just a few at a time.

2 Cups Sugar

1 ½ Cups Canola Oil

Cream those together.

Add 2 eggs (one at a time)

½ Cup Molasses

4 Cups Flour

4 teaspoons baking soda

1 Tablespoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

Make small ¾-inch/walnut size balls then roll them in sugar. Don’t flatten them! Bake them at 350 for about 8 minutes. The timing is really difficult to say-it completely depends on the size of your scoop or spoon. But 8 minutes seems about right to me (9 if you freeze the dough balls).

Vanilla Dipping: If you want to dip each cookie one third in chocolate, melt 2 packages of vanilla chips in a double boiler then add ½ cup shortening.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

2 pkg. Reeses peanut butter cups
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup peanut butter
3 ½ cups flour

Mix well. Preheat oven to 375. Roll into quarter size balls. Spray mini muffin pan with Pam the 1st time. Bake 4-5 minutes (This is what the recipe says, but I had to cook them almost 8 minutes to get them golden.) Immediately press peanut butter cup in center of cookies. Put in fridge or freezer to cool. (Use Chocolate Kisses, Rollos also).

Sinful and Simple Chocolate Cake

Now, this is not a gourmet cake that I would serve if Julia Childs or Madame Julienne were coming over for dinner; I’m almost embarrassed to post it seeing how simple it is. However, I tried it out and actually combined a couple of recipes: one from Chocolate Never Faileth (The new cookbook that David and Gloria Neeley so sweetly gave to me and I am loving!) as well as one from a “Best of Utah Recipes” cookbook. So, if you’re crunched for time, this is the easiest way to make a simple, yet moist chocolate Bundt cake. I have yet to find a good frosting but I’m working on it. However, it tastes fine on its own due to the chocolate chips.

¾ Cup Sour Cream

4 Eggs

½ Cup water

½ Cup oil

1 (18.25 oz) box chocolate cake mix

1 3-oz box instant chocolate pudding

1 Cup (Or More!) semisweet chocolate chips

(I prefer milk chocolate chips)

Powdered Sugar

Heat oven to 350˚. Beat sour cream, eggs, water, and oil together in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed. Add cake mix and pudding mix. Stir in chocolate chips. Place batter in a sprayed or greased and floured Bundt pan. (Once I even greased it then sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on the sides. It gave it a crusty outside, but still tasted good!) Bake 45-55 minutes (52 in my oven is perfect) or until a fork inserted into cake comes out clean. While still hot, (after about 10 minutes) invert cake onto a serving platter. When cool, sift powdered sugar over top of cake. If you want, you can put something pretty in the middle of the hole :) haha-Bundt cakes always make me think of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Voila!

Caramel Popcorn Balls and Caramel Fondue/Dip

Caramel Popcorn Balls

I got these two recipes from my mother-in-law, Janell Burgon.

¼ C Butter

1 C brown sugar

½ C light corn syrup

(Stir over medium heat until boils)

2/3 Cup sweetened condensed milk (Putting more doesn’t hurt)

(Stir in and stir constantly until soft ball stage)

Take off the heat and add ½ teaspoon vanilla

5 quarts of popcorn already popped sifted to get rid of the kernels, then mix together.

I also wanted to include another caramel recipe that is thinner and can be used for a fondue dip:

Caramel Fondue/Dip

½ C butter

½ C light corn syrup

1 C brown sugar

1 Can sweetened condensed milk

Bring to boil in saucepan and keep in a warmer, chaffing dish, or bowl.

Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Filling Pie

1 9-inch pie shell
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 egg
½ Cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
---
2 eggs slightly beaten
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¾ Cup pumpkin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 2/3 Cup evaporated milk or light cream
¾ Cup sugar
½ teaspoon ginger

Beat cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Spread cheese mixture in bottom of uncooked pie shell.
Blend together the pumpkin with the rest of the ingredients and ladle carefully over the cream cheese to form a second layer. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes then at 350 for about 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. (I used a little bigger pan, maybe 10 inches, and had to add about 15 minutes. Time completely depends on your oven, check often.)
If you wish, serve cooled pie with whipped cream and sprinkles of crushed peanut brittle.

Simple Pie Crust Recipes

Oil Pastry Crusts

8 or 9 inch one-crust pie
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup salad oil
2 to 3 tablespoons cold water

8 or 9 inch two-crust pie
OR 10 inch one-crust pie
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup salad oil
3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

10 inch two-crust pie
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup salad oil
4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

Measure flour and salt into bowl. Add oil; mix until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until flour is moistened and dough almost cleans side of bowl. (If dough seems dry, 1 to 2 tablespoons oil can be added. Do not add water.) Gather dough together; press firmly into ball.

For one-crust pie, shape dough into flattened round. (For two-crust pie, divide dough in half; place one half cut side down and flatten into round.) Place flattened round between two 15-inch strips of waxed paper (or tape two together to make wider strips).

Wipe table with damp cloth to prevent paper from slipping. Roll pastry 2 inches larger than inverted pie pan. Peel off top paper. Place pastry paper side up in pan. Peel off paper. Ease pastry loosely into pan.

Bake 12 – 15 minutes at 475 degrees.

For two-crust pie, roll top crust in same way as bottom crust. Cut slits after peeling off top paper; place over filling in pan.

Coconut Cream Pie: Paula Deen

Courtesy of Paula Deen, here is the most delicious version of coconut cream pie I have tasted. The key to success while making this is keeping the heat down low. If you turn it past medium and the filling heats too quickly, I guarantee (from experience) that the eggs will curdle. So remember: low and slow. Enjoy!

Coconut Cream Pie
(Makes 1 9-inch pie)

1 Piecrust
¾ cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups half-and-half
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups sweetened flaked coconut; toasted and divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 8-ounce container frozen nondairy whipped topping

Prepare piecrust and let it cool. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and flour. Add half-and-half and eggs, whisking until smooth. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until mixture boils and is thickened. Remove from heat, and stir in 1 cup toasted coconut and vanilla. Pour mixture into prepared piecrust. Cover, and chill for at least 2 hours. Before serving, spread whipped topping evenly over pie, sealing to edges. Sprinkle evenly with remaining ½ cup toasted coconut.