Peanut Brittle

Every Christmas my mother made peanut brittle.  I remember that it was a little tricky, but very worth the effort.  It is the best peanut brittle in the world.

Peanut Brittle:
2 cups sugar
1 cup white Karo syrup
1 cup water

Prepare a cookie sheet by buttering it and have it sitting on top of a cooling rack on the counter or table with plenty of room to work.

Mix ingredients together then turn on heat.  Bring to a boil using medium to medium high heat but do not stir.  Cook on medium heat and let boil until the thread stage or hard crack. (Dip a wooden spoon into the mixture and lift up the spoon.  When it is ready, it will have a thin little thread of candy fly off to the side. (If using a candy thermometer then cook until about 235 degrees -- about 35 minutes.  My mom never used a thermometer so that is a temperature I got by ready other recipes.  You may need to adjust it.)
Reduce heat a little (medium) and add 2 cups of raw peanuts while stirring constantly until the mixture is a light brown.
Turn off heat and stir in 1/4 lb. butter, 1 tsp vanilla.
Next add 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda.  The mixture will bubble up.
Quickly pour mixture onto the buttered cookie sheet.  Using forks, begin carefully pulling the candy around the edges and stretching it out.  Continue working your way from the edges toward the center -- pulling and stretching the candy into thin, small pieces.
The secret is that is peanut brittle is in nice small thin pieces that are easy to eat.

--Sharon Kaye

Penuche Frosting

Both my Grandma Goff and my mom made this frosting recipe.  It is especially good on white or yellow cakes.  It just adds such a yummy flavor.

Penuche Frosting:
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. milk
3 1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar

In a saucepan melt butter, stir in brown sugar.  Cook and stir until bubbly.  Remove from heat.  Add milk and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth.  Add sifted powdered sugar.  Beat by hand until smooth and easy to spread.  Use frosting immediately.  Frosts top of 9 x 13 cake.
--Sharon Kaye

Grandma Allred's Frosting

When we were little we lived with Grandma and Grandpa Allred for about a year.  Grandma made wedding cakes on the side and our favorite days were when we came home from school and Grandma was in the middle of making one of these delicious cakes.  Although it meant we had to stay away from the dinning room, it also meant that we got to eat the cake scraps along with her delicious frosting.  I'm not a big fan of frosting, but to this day I LOVE Grandma Allred's wedding cake frosting.
--Elise


Wedding Cake Frosting:
1/4 c. meringue powder
1/4 c. warm water
2 tsp. salt
1 TB flavoring
Beat until meringue powder is dissolved.

Add in 2 c. Crisco and mix well.
Add in 2 1/2 lb. powdered sugar and 1/2 c. water.  Mix well.


Buttercream Frosting:
1/3 cup half and half (or 1/4 c. milk)
1/3 c. Crisco
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. flavoring
1 pound powdered sugar

Mix together and frost cake.

Grandma Allred's Buttermints

Buttermints were a popular item at wedding receptions when I was a child and was one of my favorite things to eat anytime we went to one.  I recall making them with Grandma Allred a couple times and they were a special treat.
--Elise

The real name is "Creamed Cheese Mints"
Crumble 3 oz. pkg. cream cheese into large bowl.  Knead in 1 pound box of powdered sugar.  (Reserve 1/2 cup to dust your hands with.)  Stir in desired flavoring and color (i.e. mint and food coloring).   Roll small pieces into balls.  Keep unused portions covered as it will begin to dry immediately.  Roll ball into super-fine granulated sugar and press into mold.  Level by adding candy or pinching off excess.  Bend the mold and the candy will fall out.  Allow candy to dry several days before using.  Store in air-tight containers.

Sour Dough Cinnamon Rolls

My new favorite cinnamon rolls is whole grain sour dough rolls.  This is what I now make for breakfast at General Conference time.  I love this recipe because it feel so nourishing and healthy.  You don't have to eat a lot.  In fact one or two will fill you up because you feel nourished and full.

You do have to have a sour dough starter though.

SOUR DOUGH CINNAMON ROLLS
Note:  This works best if our sour dough starter has been fed within 12 hours.
1/2 c. sour dough starter
1 c. milk
1/4 c. natural sweetener (rapadura  or organic sugar)
1/4 c. melted butter or coconut oil  (I like the coconut oil)
2 to 3 c. whole grain flour
Add later:
1 tsp. Real salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
Glaze:
1/3 c. butter
1/3. c. rapadura or maple syrup
Filling:
1/4 c. butter
 1 1/2 TB cinnamon
1/3 c. brown sugar

Mix first group of ingredients to make dough.  Cover and let stand for about 8 hours or longer.  You could make this and set it aside overnight. When read to make the rolls, mix the glaze by putting butter in a baking pan (I use round cake pans).  Place in preheated 375 degree oven.  When butter melts, remove the pan. Add the maple syrup or rapadura.  Set aside.  Take the dough and sprinkle on the salt, baking soda, and baking powder.  Knead 3 or 4 minutes to mix in those ingredients.  Roll dough into a rectangle.  Spread with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar.  Roll up tightly and slice.  Place in pans that have the glaze.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until light brown.  Turn pan upside down onto a place so the glaze is on top.  Eat warm.  Yum!

--Sharon Kaye

Quick Cinnamon Rolls

When my children were very young, I discovered this recipe in the Friend Magazine for cinnamon rolls that you can make in a hurry.  It quickly became a favorite because I didn't have to spend hours waiting for them to rise.  This is the recipe I would use when I made Christmas morning cinnamon rolls.




QUICK CINNAMON ROLLS
1/3 cup sugar
3 TB yeast
1/2 cup oil
1 1/4 cups warm water
2 beaten eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
5 1/4  cups flour
1/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 TB cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar

Combine sugar, yeast, oil, and warm water.  Dissolve and let stand in warm place for 15 minutes.  Blend eggs into yeast mixture.  Add salt to flour then gradually add to yeast mixture.  Knead. Divide dough in half and work with half at a time.   Roll into rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.  Brush dough with melted butter. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over dough.  Roll up dough tightly and pinch edges together.  Cut in 1 inch pieces.  Place in ungreased pan.  (I like to use a round cake pan.)  Let rise 10 minutes.  Bake at about 385 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 c.hot water
1 tsp. butter

--Sharon Kaye

Cinnamon Twists

When I was growing up, one of my favorite treats was cinnamon twists.  My mom got this recipe from her sister, Dora.  Mom always made cinnamon twists for Christmas morning breakfast.  She also made them whenever my mom and dad went to the temple.  They would take some to eat on the way home and they would leave some for us kids to enjoy at home.

CINNAMON TWISTS
1 cup soured half and half  or cream (you can sour the cream by adding 1 TB vinegar) or use  buttermilk
2 TB oil  (I would use coconut oil)
3 TB sugar
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 TB yeast in 1/4 c. warm water
3 3/4 c. flour

1/4 c. butter
2/3 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Warm the soured cream to just before ready to boil.  Remove from heat and add oil, sugar, soda, and salt.  Mix well and cool to luke warm.  Mix in eggs and yeast (softened in water). Stir in flour.  Knead.  Let rise for 5 - 10 minutes.  Divide dough in half. Work half at a time.  Roll into rectangle.  Spread butter lengthwise down half of the dough.  Spread with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Fold dough in half and pinch edges.  Cut into 1 inch strips.  Twist strips and place on greased cookie sheet. Cover with damp cloth and let rise 1 1/2 hours.  Bake in 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. If desired frost with powdered sugar and milk frosting. 

--Sharon Kaye

Yum Yum

When I was in elementary school, someone gave my mother a recipe called "Chinese Noodle Casserole".  We all loved it so much that we started calling it "Yum Yum".  It is so easy and makes a good meal to freeze. (Just cook the rice when you are ready to serve the meal.  Rice doesn't freeze well.)  In fact it is so easy, I don't have a written recipe.  I just make it from  memory.

1 to 1 1/2 pounds hamburger
1 onion (or dry onion)
chopped celery
salt
2 cans of creamed soup (either cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, or cream of celery)  You can mix or match.
about 1/2 to 3/4 can of water
Cooked rice
Chow Mein Noodles (optional)

Brown hamburger with onion and celery and salt.  Add canned soups.  Stir in water, mixing well so soup is smooth.  Heat thoroughly, and serve over cooked rice.  Top with chow mein noodles.

English Tea Buns

My great-grandparents came to the United States from England. When my mother (Marie Goff Allred) was growing up, she recalls going to her Grandmother Scholes house every Sunday afternoon and eating English Tea Buns. Years later my mother enlisted the help of her mother (Sarah Scholes Goff) to adjust and modify the recipe to translate to modern times. Below is a copy of the original recipe and then the modified recipe.

English Tea Buns:
1 cup yeast [ This may have referred to using a cup of sour dough starter as the natural leavening.]
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 cup raisins
2 tsp. salt
1 sifter flour [That was tricky to figure out. How much flour is in a sifter full?]
grated rind of lemon
[Note that there is no liquid called for in this recipe. My mother couldn't figure out why her recipe never turned out right. One day she watched as her mother made the tea buns. Marie asked Sarah why she had added a cup of milk. The recipe didn't call for milk. Sarah replied, "Everybody knows that you have to add a cup of milk!"]

So, here is the revised, modified version:
1 Tb. dry yeast softened in one cup of warm water
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 cup warm milk
6 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. lemon flavoring or zest of one lemon
2 cups raisins
Mix all ingredients except raisins. Knead to a soft dough. Add raisins. Let rise until double in bulk (1 hour or more.) Punch down, form into small buns. Try to have the raisins covered as they burn easily. Dip the top of the bun in milk (about 1/4 cup flavored with 1/2 tsp. lemon flavoring) then dip in sugar. Place on greased pan. Let rise until light. Bake at 250 to 300 degrees until golden brown.

Apple Pie

Pie has a central place in our family.  My Grandpa Allred loves pie--but only round pieces (meaning the entire thing!)  As I recall, my Grandma Allred learned to make a good pie crust because Grandpa loved the crust so much.  And it seems she always seemed to win the ward pie contest.  And instead of cake for his birthday, my dad always chose to have a cherry pie.  
The first time I really remember making pie was my freshman year at BYU.  I had watched my mom make it a million times and she had helped me make some in high school but I had never done it on my own before. Somehow at college word got out that I made pie.  Boys would bring me a big bag of Granny Smith Apples in exchange for a freshly baked pie.
After I married and moved away our little town hosted a pie contest--and I won the first place apple pie!  --Jeanine

Apple Pie:

Double Crust:

3 cups flour
1 cup Crisco shortening (frozen if possible)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
7-9 ice cold water (sometimes more!)

Mix flour and salt.  Cut in shortening.  Slowly add ice water while mixing until you have dough.  Don't over mix!  Roll out on floured surface.

Filling:
 6 Granny Smith apples--pared, cored, thinly sliced and sprinkled with lemon juice
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
2 TB flour
1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt
dash of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Combine sugar, flour, spices, and salt.  Mix with apples.  Line pie plate with pastry.  Fill with apple mixture; dot with butter.  Adjust top crust, cutting slits for steam.  Seal.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 450 for 15 minutes.  Lower oven to 400 and cook about 35 minutes more or until golden brown.

Vitamina-De-Banana

This refreshing drink was always a treat growing up. My dad served his mission in Brazil and this is one of the beverages they would drink there. Vitamina means smoothie in Portuguese, and when I was young my dad would make us banana vitaminas. I loved when my dad would teach us about Brazilian culture by showing us pictures, singing us songs, and making Brazilian food. This drink is so simple to make and brings many memories with it.

-Rachelle

Vitamina-De-Banana:

Bananas

Milk

Sugar
Ice

Blend the ingredients and enjoy.

Chicken Noodle Pea Salad

This salad was always a favorite of mine growing up. I especially loved it when my mom would put frozen peas in the salad because they added the perfect coolness to every bite. As I was talking to my mom one day about how much I loved this salad she told me that when she was pregnant with me she craved this salad all the time and would eat it often. Maybe that's the reason this has become such a special favorite of mine.

-Rachelle

Chicken Noodle Pea Salad:

Chicken breasts

Ditalini noodles

Peas

Celery

Mayonnaise

Salt

Garlic powder

Lemon Juice

Cook the chicken and boil the noodles. Combine them in a bowl with the peas and chopped up celery. Add mayonnaise, salt, garlic powder and lemon juice to the bowl and mix all together. Refrigerate and then serve.

Apple Nut Pudding Cake

My Grandma Allred (Ada May Gilchrist Allred) passed away when I was 11 years old. This is the only recipe I have that belonged to her. I don't make it often, but I love it and think of her whenever I eat it. --Sharon Kaye

Apple Nut Pudding Cake:

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/4 tsp. almond extract (optional)
1 1/3 cups diced raw apples (2 large)

Beat eggs until fluffy. Add sugar gradually and beat thoroughly. Stir into mixture of sifted flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add almond extract, apples, and nuts. Mix well. Pour into 8 inch greased square pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or favorite sauce.

I like the following sauce:
Daffodil Lemon Sauce:
Mix together 1/2 c. sugar, 4 tsp. cornstarch, dash salt and nutmeg. Gradually add 1 cup hot water. Cook until bubbly. Stir in a little of the cooked mixture into 2 beaten egg yolks. Return the egg mixture to the remaining sauce. Cook for 1 minute. Add 2 TB butter and 2 TB lemon juice and lemon zest.

Pecan Cake

This was a carefully guarded secret recipe for many, many years. All during my growing up years, the only people who had this recipe were the members of the elder's quorum in my parents ward -- and my mom. At Christmas time the elder's quorum made these pecan cakes and sold them as a fund raiser. These pecan cakes were much better than any kind of "fruit cake" and were highly sought after. They were advertised as made by the elder's quorum and never touched by female hands. Of course, once the church did away with fund raising, there was not a need to keep the recipe a secret any longer. So, it is lovingly passed on to my children.
--Sharon Kaye

Pecan Cake:

1 1/2 lb. pitted dates cut in pieces (about 3 3/4 cups)
1 lb. candied pineapple cut in coarse pieces (2 1/2 cups)
1 lb. candied cherries cut in coarse pieces (2 cups)

2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 lb. pecan halves (8 cups)

Place cut dates, pineapple, and cherries in large bowl. In another bowl mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift dry ingredients onto fruit mixture and mix well using fingers to coat all of the fruit with the dry ingredients. Beat eggs until frothy. Gradually add sugar. Add egg mixture to fruit mixture. Mix well with a large wooden spoon. Add pecans. Mix with hands until nuts are evenly distributed and coated. Prepare baking loaves by greasing then lining with parchment paper and grease again. Press mixture into pans to fill any empty air spaces. Bake at 275 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes or until cakes look dry but not brown. Makes four 8 1/2 " x 4 1/2 " loaf pans.

Mom's Rice Pudding

Whenever we had too much leftover rice from dinner I always knew what my mom was going to do with it. As she began making rice pudding, I got very excited because that meant we could eat rice pudding for breakfast in the morning. Now I've tried a few different rice puddings and they always seem to be so mushy with not a lot of flavor. I really love my mom's rice pudding because it has just the right amount of cinnamon and nutmeg flavor. Rice pudding has become one of my favorite breakfast dishes over the years and nothing compares to my mom's delicious recipe. My mom got this recipe from her mother and they would often eat it as a breakfast cereal too.

-Rachelle
















Rice Pudding:

1 1/4 c. cooked rice
2 eggs (beaten)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. heated milk
1 c. raisins
1 tsp. vanilla
cinnamon/nutmeg

Combine eggs, sugar, salt. Gradually add scalded milk. Add rice, raisins, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour into buttered 1 quart casserole dish. Set dish in shallow pan and pour hot water into pan about 1 inch deep. Bake in 325 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours. Serve warm or cold with extra milk.

Mom's Cheesecake

I have never been the biggest fan of cheesecake. However, I seem to love my mom's homemade cheesecake. She got this recipe from her mother (Marie Allred). I love the creamy sweetness with the crumbly graham cracker crust. Her cheesecake just melts in your mouth. If I'm not making a pie for dessert, then I seem to be making my mom's cheesecake recipe, and I find that everyone who tries loves it just like me.

-Rachelle

Cheesecake:

Crust:
12 graham cracker rectangles crushed (2 1/2 cups)
1/2 c. melted butter
Mix and pat into a 9 inch pie pan

1 lb. cream cheese at room temperature --beat until smooth then gradually add 3/4 c. sugar, 3 eggs, 2 tsp. vanilla. Beat until thick and creamy.
Pour into pie shell. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Take from oven and cool for 20 minutes. (Lower oven to 300 degrees)

Mix the following together in a bowl: 2 c. sour cream, 3 1/2 Tb. sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla. Pour on top of pie and spread around. Bake 300 degrees for 10 minutes.
Set on counter to cool down then refrigerate.

Grandma Goff's Banana Cream Pie

My favorite banana cream pie recipe is from my Grandma Goff. When I first got married, Brent thought that banana cream pie was made from a box of instant jello pudding. He came to realize that Grandma Goff's homemade recipe is far superior. It is not only good in a banana cream pie, but it is also good just to eat as vanilla pudding.
--Sharon Kaye

Banana cream pie was always one of my favorite pies growing up. I loved the creamy filling with the yummy banana taste. I remember going to a friend's house one day and being offered some banana cream pie. I was very excited because I love banana cream. As soon as I put the first spoonful into my mouth I soon realized that it was not a fresh homemade pie, but one bought from the store. The taste was very strong and I did not enjoy it at all. My Grandma Goff's banana cream pie is so delicious with the perfect flavor. I rave to my friends about how good this pie is and have given it to many of them to try. This recipe will always be one of my favorites.

-Rachelle

Banana Cream Pie:

· 2/3-3/4 c. sugar
· 2 c. scalded milk
· 1/3c. +1 TB flour
· 3 egg yolks
· ¼ tsp. salt
· ½ tsp. vanilla
· 2-3 bananas
· 1 TB. butter

Mix dry ingredients together. Slowly add the scalded milk into the dry mixture. Pour mixture into a pan and heat until thick. After pudding has thickened, slowly pour some of the pudding from the pan into the egg yolks and whisk until smooth. Pour egg yolk mixture back into pan, heat while stirring. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and butter. Layer bananas on cooked pie crust, add the pudding mixture and continue this until all bananas and pudding are gone.

Whipping cream: add powdered sugar and vanilla to whipping cream and whip.