Easy Bagels

Easy Bagels

35 years ago fresh bagels couldn’t be found in our city, Visalia. In fact, you were lucky if you found frostbitten bagels in the freezer section of your favorite grocer. Rather than driving the long distance to the big city to scout out bakeries for this hard to find treat, I made them!

I was never much at bread making then and was a bit fearful … believing bagels to be more complex. My husband was so impressed … So let’s keep the secret. Bagels are easy!

Bagels are very forgiving. This is a one bowl mix. 2-3 hours start to finish with only about 40 minutes total prep time. Top the water cooked bagels with sesame seeds and poppy seeds before popping them into the oven for the final baking. No one thought beyond plain, egg or onion bagels … not so long ago.

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Filled Mini-Cupcakes For St. Patrick’s

Filled Mini-Cupcakes

These filled mini-cupcakes are a great treat for both children and adults. My sister-in-law, Ruth, had suggested these mini-cupcakes for my blog … They are such an easy change up treat. Use my quick white cupcake recipe here, your own, or a box mix. You can change up the flavor of both the cupcakes and frosting-filling … And the color of the frosting-filling. This dessert will work for so many occasions … baby showers, bridal showers, holidays, birthdays….

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Three Berry Cobbler

This is what happens when berries are a bargain price at the grocers. And it was such a beautiful day here .. This Berry Cobbler was enjoyed on the patio.

The rustic looking crust makes this so easy. Just wash the berries, add a few simple ingredients and place the crust over it all. Use your 10 inch skillet or an oblong baking dish. I just like the look of the skillet cobbler.

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Country Cornbread

Is cornbread a personal thing? There are so many cornbread recipes … very good ones. Many have a similar sweet cake like texture and taste. But I long for the recipe my mother made … Crunchy  crust with just a little bit of gritty texture. Not a bad gritty but something like the gritty bottom layer of the best handmade pizza crusts. The texture of cornbread means everything. Try this recipe and see if you don’t agree.

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Chili Beans Country Cornbread

Chili Beans Country Cornbread

These Chili Beans have a little bit of everything … definitely a main dish. Spicy and hot if you are into it. OR the dish can be tamed. It’s up to you. This recipe is easy but does take time to cook to bring out the flavors. After the first few steps it can be cooked in a crockpot if you have one large enough. This recipe tends to grow. I suggest an eight quart stock pot just to provide even heating and easy stirring … no worry of spilling over.

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Valentine’s Day Cookies

Decorated Cookie Cakes have a new face. This recipe was first posted December 12, 2013.

Now a Valentine!

I really love this recipe. Two cookies with a layer of frosting, then slathered all over and topped off with coconut, become a delicious surprise for Valentine’s Day. This cookie cake was always a Valentine’s Day cookie … Made many times for a classroom full of children. Those days are gone but my children still love these. We hope you will give this recipe a try. Continue reading


Oatmeal Raspberry (Valentine’s Day) Cookies

Oatmeal cookies With A Taste Of Raspberry Or If You Like, chocolate

This not too sweet Oatmeal Raspberry Valentine’s Day Cookie is a mouth-watering surprise. This recipe is not labor intensive but gives that impression. Your family, your Valentine will enjoy this tasteful treat. If raspberry is not your favorite try strawberry. Or for a really decadent surprise sandwich these with a chocolate filling … maybe even white chocolate with a drip of red food coloring mixed in for the occasion.

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Best Peanut Butter Cake

Peanut Butter Cake

Eating habits have changed over the years. And so have many old recipes. We are more conscious of the nutritional value of what we eat. We scrutinize  ingredients. We change up recipes adding good ingredients and eliminating the bad. One of the ingredients we now change out is vegetable shortening, substituting vegetable cooking oil or butter. Vegetable shortening has had a facelift, too, however. Crisco, for one, changed their almost 100 year old formula to remain in the competition. Trans fats have been eliminated. But still we gravitate to the oil and butter. What really competes well with the taste of butter!

Old cake recipes most often use shortening as the fat ingredient. Substituting oil or butter for the shortening can be tricky. The texture of the cake changes and often times not for the better. There are just some cake recipe ingredients better left alone. This Peanut Butter Cake’s ingredients are from the 1950 edition of Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book with slight variation. I’ve just simply made this a quick one bowl mix.

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Buttery Chewy Oatmeal Cookies with a Crunch

Buttery Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe is a keeper. Not only are these cookies buttery and chewy they have a surprise crunch from the nuts and cereal flakes. A Great Sweet Treat! This is another one of those recipes I inherited years ago from someone who liked to bake herself happy. We know you will be happy with these cookies too. Yummy ingredients. Take a look.

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Moist and Chewy German Chocolate Cake Cookies

German Chocolate Cake Cookies

What do you do when your family would like a slice of homemade German Chocolate Cake but you don’t have the time to put this cake together not to mention the expense. You make these German Chocolate Cake Cookies!

Do use German Chocolate which is not from Germany but is Mr. German’s creation for the Baker’s Company. It is a sweeter semi-sweet chocolate. Deliciously so! But these German Chocolate Cake Cookies are not too sweet. Just right!

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