This is a simple, dairy and gluten free biscuit from my friend Mari G. The biscuit does not contain eggs, but adding a hard boiled egg and fruit is a simple way to make an easy picnic lunch.
Pumpkin Muffins
Home Made Butterfingers
I do not remember where we found this recipe, but it was one of the first candy recipes we learned how to make.
While the recipe is very easy to make, it is also easy to let the temperature get to high. Because of this, I changed our recipe to a slightly lower temperature so that the candy is pulled off the heat earlier and has less chance of being overcooked.
Use your favorite recipe for the dipping chocolate. While confectionery coating is okay, a good milk chocolate or dark chocolate makes the candy taste the best.
Caramel Popcorn with Pretzels and M&M’s
Allan first tried this popcorn when his mom made them for a trip he took with his father. He enjoyed it so much that he made sure that we got the recipe. The recipe called for pressing the warm mixture into a pan and letting cool before cutting into bars.
I have never made this into bars. I much prefer to bake it little to get rid of some of the stickiness and enjoy it as caramel corn. To make it just a little different, add 2.5 tsp cinnamon to the caramel just before pouring over the corn.
Strawberry Shortcake
This is a sweet, but not overly sweet shortcake. It makes a great base for strawberries or other favorite berries. While we often use whipped cream with this, vanilla ice cream also works well.
Elephant Ears
I learned how to make elephant ears in high school cooking class. But I never made them again until after we went to the fair in 2009.
The kids all wanted elephant ears and we were on a tight budget. I told them that we could make elephant ears at home. So we researched recipes and made them.
We often make them after the fair now.
Sugar Cookies
This is our favorite sugar cookie recipe. It is a flat, crisp cookie that is great for decorating. We usually use lemon extract (or 1/2 tsp lemon peel), but almond extract is good in these cookies also.
Graham Crackers
When we were overseas, we could not find graham crackers. We found a lot of other really good cookies and crackers, but sometimes I just wanted a graham cracker to dunk in milk or a good base for a s’more.
Cutting into long thin rectangles, and then baking the crackers until crisp, we often used these for when the children were teething. As they grew older, we cut them into small animal shapes for “animal crackers”. They also enjoyed these cut into large hearts and stars with shaped cut out from the middle.
The recipe makes a lot, but if stored in a cool dry place, they last for weeks. Unless your family enjoys them as much as mine, then the crackers only last a short while.
Two Bite Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
One of the first recipes that Andrea “invented” on her own. She wanted chocolate chip cookies and Audrey wanted peanut butter, so she experimented and came up with these.
Egg Rolls
Even though egg rolls seem to be difficult to make, they really are not. They come together pretty quickly also. Since they are treats that we rarely make, we fry them, but you can also bake them if you prefer.
If you prefer, substitute the pork for chicken or mini shrimp. They are great without meat also!
Biscochitos
Our friend Mike is from New Mexico. He thought this would be a good cookie to add to the girls’ baking portfolio. They are super easy to make and great with tea.