Lemon Zucchini Bread (or Cake)

With zucchini growing nicely this year, Mom looked for a new recipe to use some of the extra up. She gave us a loaf of this bread that Adrian decided was a lot better than the chocolate cake we usually make because of the lemon.

The loaf Mom gave us was frozen and it defrosted very nicely. She recommended not glazing it until ready to eat. We decided to only make half the glaze and it was plenty.

Lady Fingers (Savoiardi)

I do not think I ever had a ladyfinger cookie until Mark was teething. We could not find “normal” teething biscuits, so we bought ladyfingers instead. They were also good with tea.

Years later, I discovered they were also a main ingredient in tiramisu. They are available at stores, but not often easy to find. So we learned how to make our own.

Hot Chocolate Mix

Momma used to make this mix for us in her extra large yellow popcorn bowl. I never got the recipe from her. Many years later, Allan’s Mom gave me this recipe. I made sure to pass this recipe to my children 😉

The recipe card is the original recipe but for a smaller batch. However, the printable recipe has been adjusted for our personal tastes.

Angel Wings (Polish Chrusty)

Called by many names, Chruściki, Bowties, Faworki and Angel Wings, these are Polish treat’s that my parents would enjoy when newly married. Daddy said that he would enjoy them with my grandfather around lunch before Lent. Grandpa would buy the treats and he and Daddy would have most, if not all the box eaten before getting home.

These are best the same day they are made.

German Pancakes

We do not make these pancakes often, but they are very good. Allan said that his mom taught the recipe to him when he was 8 or 9 and he has enjoyed making them occasionally since for special mornings. It is a chance for us to enjoy each other as we take the time to enjoy filling our pancakes and eating them individually.

There are many recipes for German pancakes. Most use a different ratio of eggs to flour and liquid. The pancakes are usually rolled or folded in half and then half again (quartered) and the fillings are unique to each family. This is our families favorite recipe though.

Snowball Cookies

It has not snowed much this winter, so we have not had much chance to play in the snow. Andrea decided it was the perfect day to make snowball cookies when it started to snow for a short while today.

The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts (or pecans). We adapted our recipe to use chocolate chips in place of some of the nuts because that is Andrea’s favorite way.

While these are great cookies, they do not stay fresh long. Plan to enjoy them in a day or two, or enjoy them with your favorite hot winter drink.

Lady Fingers-Gluten Free

Andrea commented that she really wanted tiramisu for dessert.  We looked in three stores before finding lady finger cookies.  We did not find gluten free ones at all.  So we decided to try to make our own.

The recipe we tried was very easy.  The cookies crisped up and are wonderful for dunking in hot drinks or just eating plain.

Chocolate Chip Marshmallows

We enjoy learning new recipes every winter.  Adrian decided that marshmallows sounded good to try this year.   He attempted them himself and discovered they were a lot easier to make than he thought.

We used mini chocolate chips, but most of them melted.  The next time we make these, we plan to omit the chocolate chips, but cut the squares larger and dunk them in the chocolate.

These taste great alone, but are also wonderful in hot chocolate!

Lemon Bars

My girl friend Heather and I would often make these at her house.  We almost always doubled the crust and would eat one batch of it as the second batch baked.

Now Adrian loves lemon desserts and this is one of his favorites.

Cream Puffs

When Andrea was nine years old, she discovered cream puffs.  She wanted to learn to bake them and would keep asking for me to teach her.  Finally, I gave her a recipe for French  Profiteroles and let her make a batch.  Was she surprised to learn they were cream puffs.

While we usually eat these with whipped cream and homemade nutella or chocolate sauce, they are also very good with vanilla ice cream.