CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES (Makes 8 dozen)

3 cups sifted flour
2 t baking soda
2 t salt
2 cups vegetable shortening
2 cups white sugar
2 cups light brown sugar (firmly packed)
4 large eggs
2 t vanilla
6 cups dry quick cooking oats
2 cups raisins
1 pkg. (12 oz.) chocolate chips (or 2-6 oz. pkgs.)

Preheat oven to 375.

sift flour, soda & salt together and set aside.  In mixer cream both sugars and shortening with eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Add the flour mixture and blend well.  (Transfer to extra large bowl at this point.)  Add oats, raisins and chocolate chips and stir with wooden spoon until evenly distributed.  Lightly grease cookie sheets.  Roll in 2" balls or use small ice cream scoop and place 2" apart.  Bake about 12 minutes or until light golden brown.  Remove after 2 minutes cooling time.  Cool on wire racks.

I made half a recipe and it made plenty, enough to fill a cookie jar.  12 minutes baking time is perfect because one more minute and they would've been too dark.  They're nice and chewy, kinda like an oatmeal cookie with the added bonus of chocolate chips!

TOASTED PUMPIN SEEDS

In 250 oven melt 2 T margarine on foiled cookie sheet.  Sprinkle washed pumpkin seeds over foil and bake.  As they begin to brown, sprinkle with seasoned salt.  Stir every 10 minutes.k  Taste after 1 hour and every ten minutes thereafter until they are crisp and crunchy.  Add more margarine and/or seasoned salt as needed throughout baking process.  Takes about 1 hour and 30-45 minutes.

My mom made this economical snack all through my childhood using the seeds we scooped out from carving our pumpkin!  Hers always came out perfect...my effort was pretty close

EXTRA LARGE SUGAR COOKIES

1 cup butter or mrgarine
1 cup sugar
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t cream of tartar
1/2 t lemon extract
1/2 t vanilla
2-1/4 cup sifted flour

Mix, then chill dough.  Roll or scoop into balls.  Roll in granulated sugar or dry jello.  Flatten with glass dipped in sugar.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.  Makes 3 to 5 dozen depending on size.

Note:  Use large scoop and scrape even with edges.  Roll rounded side in colored sugars.  Bake 350 for 10 minutes on foil covered and Pam sprayed cookie sheet.  Place 2" apart.

These are easy and good.  I didn't try the second option of scooping them and rolling in colored sugar, but that might be fun.

DUTCH BEET CAKE

2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 cups sifted flour
1-1/2 t soda
1/2 t salt
3 whole eggs
1/2 t vanilla
9 oz. strained beets
1 cup cooking oil

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.  Bake in lightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish at 350 for 35 minutes.

Frosting:
Combine 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar with 1/4 cup milk and 1 cube butter or margarine.  Boil for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool.  Beat until thick and creamy and spread on cake.

This is all right.  The beets surprisingly taste fine in this cake, but I wouldn't want to make it again.

CARAMEL CANDY

3 cups sugar
1 cup light Karo syrup
3 cups canned milk
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cream of tartar
2 t. vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
baking chocolate if desired (1 square)

In good sized kettle mix together and stir sugar, cream of tartar, calt and 1 cup of the canned milk.  Cook over medium heat stirring often until 238.  Do not scrape sides of pan hard.

Slowly add second cup of cream as mixture continues to boi.  Cook to 238 again.

Slowly add karo syrup and bring to 238 again.

Slowly add third cup of cream and chocolate if desired and cook to 248.

Stir in vanilla and nuts.  Pour in buttered 9 X 13 pan and let cool.  Do not scrape pan.  Put scrapings on a separate buttered plate.  Do not let it get too hard.  Turn out on lightly powdered sugared board.  Cut in squares and wrap in wax paper.

When you're working over a hot stove and stirring you can only hope it will be worth it.  I used the chocolate option, and it tastes great.  It has a firm caramelly texture.  The only problem is that once it cooled off I got too hard to chew.  Great to suck on, but it lost its chewiness.  Flavor is really good.  Just have to savor that first sample when it's chewy.

GLORIFIED RICE PUDDING

1 cup raw rice
2 cups water
3/4 t salt

Bring to boiling.  Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

1 cup pineapple (crushed or tidbits including juice)
24 marshmallows (or 2 cups miniature)
1 cup chopped dates
1/3 cup sugar
shake or two of cinnamon

Add to rice and stir well.

1 cup whipping cream whipped or 1 envelope of dreme whip made up.  Fold in.  Serves 8 to 10.

I thought this was pretty good.  I really like dates and pineapple, so I was looking forward to trying this.  I still like the traditional rice pudding better however

POPPYSEED CAKE

1 pkg. Lemon Supreme Duncan cake mix
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup Apricot nectar
3 T poppyseeds

Beat 4 or 5 minutes and pour into greased bundt or angel food pan.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or till it tests done.

This is super fast and very delicious and moist.  Great just by itself with no topping even.

CAN'T FAIL DIVINITY

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup white syrup
1/2 cup water

Boil to semi hard ball (250)

While this cooks, beat:

2 egg whites stiff and add
1 pkg Jello (3 oz) - orange, lime or lemon or your choice

Pour syrup over egg white mixture slowly and beat a short time.

When it has a dull look it will mound nicely on wax paper or pour half in lightly buttered 8 x 8 pan and half in mounds.  Sets quickly.

Well, the name of this recipe is kind of funny because I had an epic fail making this!  I believe also that the "white syrup" named in this recipe is Karo corn syrup.  It never turned into divinity but instead turned into a giant blob kind of like taffy which my family kind of pulled off a hunk (kinda stretchy).  Anyway, I ended up throwing it away.  I wonder if I did something wrong?  If anybody else tries this and has it turn out like divinity, let me know!

TOFFEE (XMAS)

1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate pieces

Butter 9 x 9 baking pan.  Spread pecans in pan.  Heat sugar and butter to boiling, stirring constantly.  Boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, 7 minutes.  Immediately spread mixture over nuts in pan.  Sprinkle chocolate chips over hot mixture.  Place baking sheet over pan so contained heat will melt chocolate.  Spread melted chocolate over candy.  While hot, cut into small squares.  Chill until firm.  If difficult to cut, turn out on board and use large knife to cut across.

This is really easy, just the stirring over  hot pot for 7 minutes can be torture.  You can use a little extra chocolate over the top if you want more of a coating.  You do need to cut these right away if you want perfect squares cuz it hardens.

GRAHAM STREUSEL CAKE

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup chopped nuts
3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1-1/4 t cinnamon
3/4 cup magarine, melted
1 pkg. betty crocker cake mix (any flavor)
1 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
vanilla glaze

Heat oven to 350 and grease and flour 13 x 9 baking pan.  Mix crumbs, nuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, and margarine.  Reserve.  Blend cake mix, water, oil, and eggs until moistened.  Beat at medium speed 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Pour half of batter into pan.  Sprinkle with half of the crumb mixture.  Spread remaining batter over, then remaining crumb mixture.  Bake 45 to 50 minutes.  Drizzle cake with vanilla glaze.

This is a pleasant tasting cake and easy to make.  It's a good way to use up a random box of cake mix laying around, and most of the other ingredients you would have on hand. 

OLD ITALIAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

Sift into large bowl:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar

Into saucepan put:
1 cube margarine (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup crisco
1 cup water
4 t cocoa

Bring to a boil and pour over dry mixture.  Mix to blend.

Add:
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 beaten eggs
1 t cinnamon
1 t soda
1 t vanilla

Mix and pour into lightly greased 11 x 17 baking pan.  Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

10 minutes before cake is done make frosting.

Mix in saucepan:
1 cube margarine
4 T cocoa
6 T milk

Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and add:
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts

Beat well and put on warm cake.  Serves 15-18

Well, mmmmmm.  This turned out great!

WALNUT BUTTER CRUNCH

2 cups margarine
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
2 T light corn syrup
2 cups chopped walnuts (coarse)
1 pkg. choc chips (6 oz.)
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Melt margarine over low heat in 2-quart saucepan.  Add sugar.  Stir constantly until sugar is melted.  Add water and corn syrup.  Continue cooking over low heat until thermometer registers 290 F.  Remove from heat.  Stir in coarsely chopped nuts.  Spread in a greased jelly-roll pan, 15" x 10" x 1".  Cool until hardened.  Melt chocolate over hot water and spread on crunch.  Sprinkle with finely chopped nuts.  Break into pieces.

This is pretty good.  It's always a hot job standing over a hot pot stirring constantly until it reaches 290, but it tastes pretty good.

CRUNCHY MALLOW CANDY

2 pkgs (6 oz. each) semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
4 cups miniature marshmallows

Melt chocolate with peanut butter in double boiler.  Remove from heat.  Fold in marshmallows and turn into buttered 9" square pan and chill until firm.  Cut into squares.

This is so fast.  I just melted the chocolate and peanut butter in the microwave, stirred in the marshmallows, and voila!  Tastes super good, almost like little rocky road squares only with a peanut butter twist!

HARVEY WALLBANGER PISTACHIO CAKE

1 (1 lb. 2.5 oz.) pkg white cake mix
1 - 3oz. pkg. instant pistachio pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup almond liqueur (Amaretto) or rum
1/2 t almond extract or vanilla
1/4 t green food color (about)
Chocolate icing

Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, liqueur, almond extract and food color as desired in large bowl.  Mix.  Then beat with electric mixer 5 minutes.  Pour into well greased and floured 12 cup fluted tube pan.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until cake tests done.  Cool on rack.  Ice with chocolate icing.  For icing use 1 or 2 squares melted chocolate, 1/4 cup butter 2 cups powdered sugar and 1/2 t almond extract.

This is really pretty with the green cake and chocolate combo!  I just baked it as a layer cake as once again I don't have a tube pan...one day!  I used rum, and you can taste it but it's not overwhelming.  I thought this had a nice flavor, and the chocolate was a nice contrast with the cake.