Quick & Easy Jam Bars

Use your favorite jam (raspberry and apricot are nice). These are ready in a flash and folks with a well-developed sweet tooth love them!.

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup quick or old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/2 cup jam of your choice 

 

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Blend in oats and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter (or rub between fingertips) until mixture is crumbly.

Pat 2/3 of crumbly mixture into a 9x9” pan (for thicker bars, use an 8x8” pan). Spread with jam. Top with remaining crumbs and pat down lightly.

Bake at 375° for about 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut into bars when cool.

Orange Juice Sherbet

Quick and easy to make, and so refreshing on a hot summer's day. Make this in the morning for a cool afternoon snack or enjoy as a light dessert in the evening. No cooking, no eggs or heavy cream--all you need is an electric ice cream maker. Kids love making and eating this recipe, too. This sherbet tends to get a little "icy" after a few days in the freezer, but it is unlikely that you'll ever have any last that long!

• 3 cups milk (whole or low-fat)
• 2 cups orange juice
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

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Blend all ingredients together until sugar is dissolved. Transfer mixture to ice cream maker* and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions (takes about 25 minutes in my Deni freezer). Scoop the mixture into an air-tight container and place in freezer for several hours to allow the sherbet to "firm up". If you're really desperate to start eating, you can skip the last step and just dig right in. However, you might need a straw instead of a spoon, as the sherbet will be pretty slushy at this stage.

*Note: Milk and orange juice should be very cold; otherwise you'll get better results by refrigerating the mixture for a few hours before transferring to ice cream maker.

Fudge-a-Mocha Wacky Cake

Yes, there are Wacky Cake recipes all over the internet. But that's because this dense, fudgy cake is so easy to make, plus it's delicious! Like its depression-era cousin Boiled Raisin Cake, this cake contains no eggs. The ingredients can be mixed directly in the pan, so this is a recipe that kids (with some adult supervision) will enjoy making. Not in the mood for mocha? Just omit the instant coffee in the cake and the ganache icing. Unlike some "wacky" recipes, this version uses melted butter, rather than oil, and the amount of vinegar at two teaspoons is more than enough to provide good rise in reaction with the baking soda (some recipes use as much as two tablespoons of vinegar).

• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
  
• 1 cup cold water
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
  

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Preheat the oven to 350º. You will need an 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan (ungreased).

Sift together the flour, cocoa, soda, salt, and sugar directly into the cake pan*. In the measuring cup, measure and mix together the cold water, instant coffee, and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients and melted butter into the baking pan and mix the batter with a fork or a small whisk. When the batter is smooth, add the vinegar and stir quickly just until the vinegar is evenly distributed throughout the batter. If you prefer, you can also mix the batter in a bowl, then scoop into your baking pan (or greased muffin cups, if making cupcakes*).

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Cool completely and spread with ganache.

Refrigerate the glazed cake for at least 30 minutes before serving to set the ganache. You can also forgo the ganache and sprinkle the cake with a little powdered sugar before serving (really delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side!).

Mocha Ganachenocoupons

• 6 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder
  
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  

Heat the heavy cream, vanilla, chocolate chips, and instant coffee in the top of a double boiler over gently simmering water, stirring until chips are melted and blended with cream. If mixture seems too thick, add a little more cream. Use immediately.

* If making cupcakes, grease 10-12 muffin cups (or use paper liners). Mix ingredients in a bowl, using method outlined above. Spoon batter into cups and bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean.

Lumberjacks

Sweet and crunchy
An easy cookie for kids to make

This is the first cookie my mother taught me to make. No need for a bowl or spoon--she just put the ingredients in the pan, mixed and patted with her hands, and voila--lumberjacks were ready for the oven!

• 3 CUPS ROLLED OATS
• 1 CUBE OF BUTTER OR MARGARINE (MELTED)
• 1 CUP BROWN SUGAR (PACKED)
• 1/2 TSP VANILLA

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large bowl, mix together oats and brown sugar (use your hands to mix).
Melt butter over low heat and pour over oats mixture. Add vanilla and mix together quickly and lightly (if you use your hands to mix, be sure not to burn yourself on the hot butter).

Pack into 8x8 pan immediately and bake for 30 minutes. Cut into squares while still warm; remove from pan when cool (if you wait until cookies are cool to cut, they will be too hard).

Paintbrush Sugar Cookies

Fun to make—a little imagination can yield great results!

• 1 CUP SOFT BUTTER OR MARGARINE
• 1-1/2 CUPS POWDERED SUGAR
• 1 EGG
• 1TSP VANILLA
• 1/2 TSP ALMOND EXTRACT
• 2-1/2 CUPS FLOUR
• 1 TSP CREAM OF TARTAR
• 1 TSP SODA

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Mix together thoroughly butter, powdered sugar, egg, and flavorings. Blend in flour, soda and cream of tartar. Cover bowl and chill for 2-3 hours.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough in half. Roll each half 3/16” thick on lightly floured cloth-covered board.

Cut into desired shapes and place on lightly greased cookie sheet cookie sheet. Use small paintbrushes to paint designs on cookies with cookie paint. Bake 7-8 minutes or until lightly brown on edges. Makes 4-5 dozen cookies.

Variation: If desired, omit cookie paint and sprinkle cookies with granulated sugar before baking.

COOKIE PAINT #1:
Divide small amounts of evaporated milk or heavy cream among several cups. Color each with a drop or so of food coloring. If paint begins to thicken too much, add a few drops of water.

COOKIE PAINT #2:
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp. water
Liquid food coloring

In small mixing bowl beat together egg yolk and water. Make one color or divide mixture between 2 to 3 small cups. Mix with 1 to 3 drops of food coloring.

Gingerbread Men

These cookies have excellent flavor and texture, and will keep for a long time. I like to make them at Christmastime—after decorating I wrap each gingerbread man (and woman) in plastic and tie a ribbon at the top--they make wonderful decorations for the tree and are still good to eat when the season is over.

• 2-3/4 CUPS FLOUR
  
• 1/2 TSP BAKING SODA
• 1 TSP GINGER
• 1/2 TSP CINNAMON
• 1/2 TSP SALT
• 1/2 CUP SHORTENING
• 1/4 CUP BROWN SUGAR
• 3/4 CUP LIGHT MOLASSES
• 1 EGG, BEATEN
• 1/2 TSP LEMON RIND
• 1 TSP HOT WATER
• 1 TSP VINEGAR

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Sift together dry ingredients. Cream together butter, sugar, egg and molasses
and beat until smooth. Mix in flour, and then lemon rind, water and vinegar. Cover and chill ‘til firm.

Roll out dough 1/4” thick and cut into shapes with cookie cutter. Place on greased and floured cookie sheets and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Decorate when cool. If icing is used, be sure to let dry thoroughly before wrapping.

Easy Vanilla Ice Cream

A refreshing treat for those hot summer days

• 2 fresh eggs*
• 3/4 Cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy or whipping cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

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Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more.

Pour in the cream and milk and whisk to blend. Add the vanilla and blend again. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following manufacturer's instructions. Makes 1 generous quart.

Variations:
Wait until ice cream begins to thicken, and add chopped or pureed strawberries, peaches, bananas, chocolate chips, oreo pieces, or what have you—use your imagination!
Amount of sugar may be adjusted to taste. Honey may be substituted for the sugar, but remember that honey is sweeter than sugar, so adjust amount accordingly. Also, other flavorings (such as mint) may be used in place of the vanilla.

*This mixture is not cooked. If you are concerned about the use of raw eggs, substitute 1/2 cup egg substitute (such as Egg Beaters).