Pecan Cinnamon Balls

 So, I have this huge box of cornflakes. I'm not a big cereal fan and Dylan eats bran flakes. Yes, he's kinda strange like that. This huge box (they don't sell them any smaller) is just sitting in my cabinet, staring at me. So I began the hunt. Six cookbooks later I found this recipe in Wisconsin Power and Light Company's 1963 pamphlet Cookies (all kinds). Not super excited about it but the recipe claims it is 'delicious' and, most importantly, it includes a good amount of cornflakes.

Easy peasy looking. Just had to get margarine. Had the cornflakes!

I am little concerned about the lack of liquid. How are these things going to stick together?

He He He. I just thought this was a cool shot. 

Yep. Nothing is sticking together. It is just a large bowl of crumbs. I even tried using my hand to warm up the margarine more but it is not happening.

So, I added more margarine a tablespoon at a time until I got something that I could squish together into a ball. It ended up being almost double the original amount.

But I get pecan balls! They are still crumbly though...

And still crumbly...they are not looking appealing to me but I still have powdered sugar to add.

Oh! These look much better! Almost like Russian Tea Cakes.

They look quite pretty and smell delicately of cinnamon.

They are pretty rocks. I was so disappointed in these. I'm not certain what went wrong but these did not turn out well! It could have been the flour wasn't sifted enough or the cornflakes weren't ground fine enough or a combination of everything. The outside was hard as a rock and the inside just flaked apart. I was not a fan. Dylan like them though. (He also admits that he usually eats the reject cookies so he will eat almost anything.) He enjoyed the light cinnamon flavor and the crunch.

My Rating: Nope. Never again.

Dylan's Rating: Not bad. Not the best but I can eat them.

Maple Walnut Pie

I was organizing some of my cooking pamphlets the other day, trying to keep them from getting torn up. (I need to find a good way to store them but also keep them accessible. Any suggestions?) Anyways. I found this one! I had originally put it aside because I didn't cook at that time. But now time to bring it out and explore. Since my last memories of my Grammie are from Vermont I had to go with something maple related. I'm guessing that the recipe is probably from the 1950s or 1960s but I have no way of knowing for sure. One of the last times I sat in the kitchen chatting with her we discussed her weekly trips to the hair salon to get her hair lacquered.

Luckily for Dylan we did not have to bust out the jello.

A simple recipe. I just happen to have a jar of real Vermont maple syrup on hand. I am spoiled. I cannot eat pancake syrup at all. It has to be real maple syrup or nothing.

You don't need a glass of wine but it may help.

Everything smells so sweet my teeth hurt.

This will make a pie. Or so I'm told.

I used an inexpensive, generic pre-made pie crust. It tastes great and is super easy. I highly recommend them.

My edging sucks. Oh well. I am predicting that this will end up like a pecan pie. Gooey and nutty. Kinda looks like it needs more nuts though.

Yeah! This baked up so pretty and smells amazing! Definitely similar to a pecan pie.

I got to baking a little late in the day for baking so I let the pie sit over night to cool. Then forgot to take a picture before I served it up.

This is a delicious pie! I would put more walnuts into it next time but yum! The texture is like a pecan pie but the taste is quite different. Despite the amount of maple syrup it has a fairly subtle maple taste. Just the right amount and not overwhelming. This would be amazing with whip cram or cool whip. 

My Rating: New favorite pie! This is going to make another appearance at Thanksgiving.

Dylan's Rating: "Very good. Needs vanilla ice cream."

Three Layer Cookie

During the Holidays I like to makes dozens and dozens of cookies for friends and co-workers. It's my gift for everyone. I set them out and then have to listen to everyone complain about their weight as they are stuffing their faces. That's why I make the cookies small, people! Don't blame me for your lack of control. But do tell me which one was your favorite... Ha Ha Ha I actually think that complaining about your weight has become a part of polite society. It reminds me of when you tell someone they didn't need to get you a gift even though you really (really) wanted one. Pretending they don't want goodies...whatever. Just take a plateful! Planet Fitness is open 24 hours.

I got a little tired after baking 10 different cookies so I had to try something a little different. Technically these are listed as cookies but they are bars. Wisconsin Power and Light Company providing another great cooking pamphlet, Festive Traditions 1969!

The only thing I didn't have was the orange juice. This looks like a great recipe looked a little time consuming since it has to cool between all the layers. Looks like a great day to wrap presents!

 I tried to separate ingredients by layers but my kitchen is too small!

 The first layer was very powdery. Not feeling really confidant about this...

 I had to increase the baking time time but it eventually browned up nicely! Now to wrap presents and wait for it to cool.

What a delicious group of ingredients! Nothing bad can come of this.

Looks like pecan pie going in...

 ...Smells like pecan pie coming out! I was concerned about the 'soft' corners on the left but we are going to hope for the best. And more presents while cooling.

The top layer is basically an icing. It was very thin going on so I stuck it in the fridge to harden. Worked like a charm! My sweetie came over for dinner so these became the dessert and I may have forgotten to get a picture before we dug in. Oops.

These are sooooo sweet! It's hard to tell but I cut these into tiny little bars, maybe an inch long.

Lovely layers! Can you feel the sugar?!

These were fantastic! and super sweet! The bottom layer was similar to a sugar cookie, the middle was like pecan pie, and the top layer was icing. I wasn't certain how the combination of flavors would fit together. But pecans, coconut, oj, and walnuts work well together! Neat.
Depending on your oven, you may have to adjust the baking time for the bottom layer. I am still learning how to use a gas oven. I would also recommend adjusting the top layer for a thicker icing. After being cooled the top layer stayed together nicely and softened up perfectly after sitting out for a few minutes. Soft but not runny.

My Rating: Wonderful! Will make again.

Friends and Family Rating: "Sweet. Different. But delicious." "Tastes almost like pecan pie!"

Drop Pineapple Cookies

Gotta stick with the fruit! But this time I grabbed a can. It was much easier. Yeah! Wisconsin Power and Light Company published this Cookies (all kinds) pamphlet in 1963. Pineapple seemed like a really weird choice for cookies but why not. This one promises to be dainty...okay. And they are drop cookies. Extra easy to make.

Everything looks normal except for the pineapple.

One small can of crushed pineapple was enough for the pineapple and the pineapple juice. I used walnuts for the nuts but pecans would also work.

Started off very very liquidy.

Still soft! And I actually chilled the mixture over night. No real reason...It was not because I fell asleep on the couch.

 Lovely little cookies and still quite soft. I am a little concerned about how well they will bake up.

 No need to worry. They baked great!

 You can still see little chunks of pineapple.

Yep, they are dainty! And soft and moist and yummy. They have a light fruity flavor and no overwhelming pineapple taste which is great since some people don't like pineapple. Weirdos. They did not last longer than a couple of days due to how moist they are. They started to stick together after 2 days. Once you make them, you have to eat them!

My Rating: Delicious! I wished they kept better though.

Friends and Family Rating: "What is the fruit I taste?" "Yum! Please refill the bag."

Moldy Mice (Sand Tarts)

Sometimes it's all in the name! I was randomly flipping through the Charleston Receipts, the 1963 edition, and found this gem. To be honest I never looked really looked closely at this cookbook because it did not interested me. It's not that old and I am not into collected recipes.

Apparently these are also called "Sand Tarts" but what is the fun in that?!

 Easy looking recipe with easy ingedrients! It does not look like there is enough sugar though...

 Mix it seperately...

And then together!

 The dough was very dry and made it difficult to roll into small bars. This was definately not going to make 3 dozen cookies!

 Smells so delicious! Every kitchen should smell like pecans cookies!

 Everything is better rolled in powdered sugar!

 Ta Da!

They taste pretty similar to Russian Tea Cakes but a little dryer. All in all not bad but nothing special, except for the name. I still don't know how I was suppose to get 36 cookies out of this and I had to lower the baking time a couple of minutes.

My Rating: Good but not enough to make again.

Friends and Family Rating: "Yum!" "These taste like something you have made before."