Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Harvest Pumpkin Cookies

Harvest Pumpkin Cookies
from: Homemade Cookies and Bakery Treats Cookbook

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground all spice
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin (can be either regular or pumpkin pie mix)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup dried cranberries
Pecan halves (about 36...for decorating cookie)

Preheat oven to 375. Combine flour baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and all spice in a medium bowl.

Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture. Beat at low speed until well blended. Stir in chopped pecans and cranberries, if desired.

Drop heaping tabelspoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten slightly with back of spood. Press one pecan into center of each cookie.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cookies stand on cookie sheets for 1 minute and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature or freeze for up to 3 months.

Makes about 3 dozen.

Pumpkin Pie Playdough

Pumpkin Pie Playdough
Shared by Denise Pugh

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 TBSP Cream of Tartar
1-2 TBSP Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 cups water
3 TBSP oil
Orange Food Coloring (2 parts yellow, 1 part 1)

1. Mix water, food coloring, and oil in saucepan over medium heat.
2. In a separate bowl mix flour, salt, cream of tartar, and pumpkin pie spice
3. Gradually add this mixture to the water mixture.
4. Cook and stir over medium heat until lumps disappear.
5. Kneed on a floured surface until smooth
6. Cool slightly and store in air tight container

My cousin used quart sized freezer bags and she said those work well and keep the dough fresh. Since I doubled the recipe when I made it, I am keeping it in one of those big ziplock plastic containers and it seems to be doing well.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Crock Pot Hashbrowns

Crock Pot Hashbrowns
From Hannah Reed

1 bag shredded hashbrowns that have thawed over night (I usually leave them on the counter for a few hours and then refrigerate over night)
1 8oz bag of cheddar cheese
1/4 cup soft/melted butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
Salt and Pepper to taste (I usually don't add either- the soup and cheese make it salty enough for me)

Mix together soup, butter, and some cheese. Add hashbrowns to mix. Put in crockpot, top with cheese. Bake for 3-4 hours.

It's helpful to either spray the crockpot with Pam or coat it with butter so you don't have a nasty mess to clean up.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Dijon Pork Tenderloin

Dijon Pork Tenderloin
By Stephanie

1 Pork Tenderloin
3-4 TBSP Dijon Mustard
Pepper (to taste)
Dill (fresh is best, but dry is fine)

Preheat oven to 375

Place Pork on a foil lined (with non-stick spray) cookie sheet
Slather Dijon Mustard all over tenderloin
Add pepper and dill to your liking

Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes


***I usually let the left overs sit in the fridge a day or two and then I take then and stick them in a crockpot
with one can of beef broth (all day on low). Then about a half hour before we are ready to eat, I use two forks
and shred the pork in the crockpot, add some BBQ sauce and make pulled pork sandwiches***

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Muffins
From the kitchen of Renee Hill

1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 15 oz can solid-pack pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice (a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice)
1.25 cups plus 1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

12 foil or paper muffin liners; a muffin pan with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups

DIRECTIONS:
Put oven rack in middle positiona nd preheat oven toe 350F. Put liners in muffin cups.

Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.

Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, 1.25 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.

Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full), then spinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a wodden pick or skewer inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.