#54 Soft Gingersnaps

Soft Gingersnaps

¾ cup butter

2 cups sugar

4 egg whites

½ cup molasses

4 cups flour

4 tsp soda

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp ground ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

¼ cup sugar

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg whites. Beat well. Stir in molasses. Sift dry ingredients together. Mix into creamed mixture. Refrigerate for one hour. Roll dough into balls. Roll balls into ¼ sugar and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 6 to 8 minutes. Makes about 48 cookies.

#53 Spicy Garlic and Lime Shrimp

Juice from one lime

1 T olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, pressed

36 peeled shrimp (I used a pound)

1/2 t salt

1/4 t black pepper

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1/4 t dried parsley flakes

1/4 t paprika

1/8 t dried thyme

1/8 t onion powder

Mix all dry seasonings together in small bowl.

Preheat a large skillet over med heat.

Add oil to the pan.

When oil is heated, stir in garlic.

Immediately add shrimp. Squeeze fresh lime juice over shrimp.

Sprinkle entire seasoning blend over shrimp.

Saute shrimp for 5-8 minutes.

#52 Ulla Pie

My friend Ulla is one of the best bakers I know and this is one of my favorite recipes she has given me.  I don't know what the real name of the recipe is but at our house it's "Ulla Pie" even though it's more of a cake.  It can be made with apples or berries or both.  Hmmm, I wonder what this would be like with peaches?

1 stick butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 scant cup milk

Grease pie pan and sprinkle with flour.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat softened butter with sugar until well mixed.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing between each addition.  Stir the flour and baking powder together and then add to other ingredients.  Mix together briefly and add milk.  Beat until well mixed.  Batter will be thick and delicious

Spread dough in to pie pan. and smooth out evenly.

Skin and slice 1 1/2 to 2 apples and arrange on dough.  Sprinkle top with a generous amount of cinnamon and sugar (mixed together) OR use blueberries and raspberries or plain blueberries.  Sprinkle top of berries with plain sugar.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until center comes out clean when poked with a fork.

(I tried frozen blueberries for the first time in my blueberry pie and it needed a little extra baking but was still fabulous)

#51 Bread Dumplings

Never Fail Bread Dumplings

2 c. flour

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

2 eggs

1/2 c. milk

2 slices bread (cubed)

2 tsp. dried parsley (optional)

Stir together flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl.  Lightly whisk together eggs and milk in a seperate bowl.  Add dry ingredients and bread to wet ingredients.  Mix together until well blended.  Divide dough into halves and roll lightly in flour.  Set dough aside for one hour.  Cook in boiling water for 10 minutes on each side.  Slice and serve with gravy.

#50 Fried Apple Pies

My Grandmother used to make these pies but we lost the correct recipe.

I'm happy to say I have worked it out and these taste just like Grandmas!

To see the how of making the pies watch this video of a cute Kentucky woman.

My Filling Recipe:

8 apples (Granny Smith & Jonathans work well but you can use any variety)
sugar and cinnamon to taste
1 tablespoon butter (yes butter, no margarine please!)

Core, slice and peel apples. I like to use the same corer/slicer I use to cut up apples for the kids and then use my paring knife to peel the apples. I then cut these pieces in half so they are chunky. Put the peeled apples pieces into a 3 qt or larger pot, with the butter. Cook on medium to low heat for about 20 minutes with the lid on the pot. Make sure to stir the apples every five minutes or so to make sure the heat isn't too high and to see if they are softening up. Once your apples are soft you can break up some of the apples, but leave some chunks too. I suppose this is really a personal choice.

Add about 1 Tbsp of Cinnamon to the apples and stir. Taste the apples to see if they are already sweet enough, if not start by adding a couple tablespoons of sugar and then tasting the apples as you go. Let the apples cook another minute over low heat and then remove from heat.

Crust Recipe:
2 cups self rising flour
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 - 2/3 cup milk

Measure flour and shortening into bowl. Add 1/2 cup of milk and stir together with large spoon. If the mixture is dry and doesn't come together in a nice ball after stiring add a little more milk until it forms a ball.

On a well floured surface briefly knead dough. Roll dough out very thin. Cut out circles. I have a 4" diameter circle cutter that I used. The woman on the video cut around a small saucer and so her pies are larger than mine.

The size of your circle will determine the amount of apple you place in the middle of the pie. You will need enough filling to fill half the circle and leave a small amount to seal the pie. Once filling is in circle, fold the dough over the filling and seal the edges with the tines of a fork.

Put skillet over a medium heat and add about an inch of oil. I use a combination of canola oil and shortening. The woman in the video uses Lard. This is definately not a diet food! The oil will need to be replenished as you fry the pies because the pies will absorb the oil.

I test the heat of the oil by placing a corner of a pie in the oil. If bubbles form around the pie edge then the oil is hot enough. Do not overheat the oil. Watch the pies as they cook and turn over once they are golden brown. Remove pies from oil and place on paper towels once both sides are cooked to absorb excess oil.

Enjoy by themselves or with ice cream.