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."

Banana Drop Cookies

Despite the crazy one day of snow and the single obnoxiously cold day, spring weather is in the air. Daffodils are blooming! And it is time to do a little spring cleaning. Goodie. My house is too messy so I decided to tackle the fridge and freezer and what do I find?! Frozen bananas! So I took a break to bake. I really wasn't in the mood for breads or muffins so cookies from The Cookie Jar were perfect. Bonus: I found my missing mini chalk easels! And I think I need to work on my handwriting. In my defense, they are tiny easels and the chalk is huge.

 Looks super simple with no unusual ingredients. I used walnuts.

 I did not include the bananas in the picture. They looked really gross.

I love directions with a little bit of mystery. These instructions and directions were not well laid out. I am assuming that the nutmeg is part of the group sifted together with the flour. The mixture is quite dry.

 See, I told you the bananas looked gross.

These came together easily. I made them smaller to have more to share.

 My house smells like banana bread! So yummy! Yes, there is a missing cookie. So what?

These looks so nice! A pleasant change from all the holiday chocolate.

These are delicious little bites. A mixture of banana bread and banana muffin tops that you can pretend is a healthy snack. The spices are very subtle and you almost can't taste them at all. I would add more cinnamon and larger nuts. They were not quite as popular at my workplace as other cookies but people are "dieting." And they are chocolate fiends.

My Rating: Great and a unique way to use leftover bananas hiding in the freezer.

Friends and Family Rating: "These are really good! I hope you have more." "Yum!" "10 out of 10"

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."

Honey Butter Cookies

One of my holiday traditions is to bake a ton of different cookies and share them with friends and coworkers. Sometimes I take requests (snickerdoodles are a favorite) but most of the time I just meander through cookbooks and pick what interests me. I have lots of holiday pamphlets to choose from! It appears to be a very popular thing to do.

This cool little one was published by Employers Mutuals of Omaha but does not have a date. I am guessing 1950s. The recipes are separated by country and filled with great illustrations!

 I chose this Dutch cookie since I had all ingredients on hand. You can make many different cookies with powdered sugar, nuts, and butter!

 Ta Da! I used walnuts this time because minus the honey, it is very similar to my Russian Tea Cakes and those use pecans. Gotta mix it up!

 Mixing it up! again...

 The dough is very thick so you really have to use muscles to mix in the nuts. Wine helps too.

 So cute! And so similar to other cookies.

 I had this adorable cookie press that I received for Christmas one year so I had to use it! The bottom of my drinking glasses were no fun.

 Looking delicious even before the powdered sugar! My kitchen smells so good.

 A light shower of powdered sugar complete them!

 Tiny buttery goodness!!!

I made these smaller than usual in order to share more. Easy to make with ingredients you probably have one hand! I don't know how 'Dutch' these actually are but they are delicious! As I said before they are very similar to other cookies from around the world such as Russian tea cakes (my all time favorite) and Mexican wedding cakes.

My Rating: Delicious and easy! Definitely going to make again!

Friends and Family Rating: No one has said anything but they are one of the first cookies gone on the office cookie tray, after the chocolate cookies of course.