My Grandmother's German Cream Cheese Brownies

4 oz. Baker's German sweet chocolate
1/4 c. butter
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/4 t. almond extract
1/2 c. flour

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring constantly. Stir sugar into chocolate mixture. Add in 2 eggs and flavorings until well blended. Combine flour, salt, & baking powder. Stir in with egg mixture. Add nuts. Spread in sprayed 8x8 pan.

Cream Cheese Layer:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1 T. flour

Combine all ingredients. Blend until smooth. Place spoonfuls over brownie batter. Swirl with knife or spatula to marbelize.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool in pan. Cut in squares. Yields about 16 brownies.

Fruit Cocktail Cake

1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 1/2 t. soda
2 c. fruit cocktail, reserve juice
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Cream sugar with eggs. Mix flour and soda with juice from fruit cocktail. Add fruit cocktail and sugar mixture. Turn onto large, long pan (jelly roll?) that has been greased. Sprinkle brown sugar and pecans over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Topping:

1/2 c. evaporated milk
1 stick margarine
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. angel flake coconut

Boil evaporated milk, margarine, and sugar 2-3 minutes. Add coconut. Spread on cake and return to oven for 2 more minutes.

*This is another one of my grandmother's recipes I've got to try!

My Grandmother's Jam Cake

3 eggs, beaten
2 c. sugar
1 c. crisco
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. ground cloves
1 t.. allspice
3 c. flour
1 1/2 c. blackberry jam
2 c. buttermilk*
1 c. chopped nuts
1 c. raisins
1 1/2 t. soda
1/4 t. salt

Cream sugar with shortening. Add eggs and blend. Sift dry ingredients together and add alternately with buttermilk. Stir in jam. Add other ingredients. Pour in 3 sprayed cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.Remove from pans when cooled.

Caramel Frosting:

2 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. milk
3/4 stick margarine
1 t. vanilla

Place 2 1/2 c. sugar and milk in large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Caramelize 1/2 c. sugar in skillet. Add to milk mixture. Cook until soft ball stage. Spread on cooled cakes or stack for layer cake. Be sure to frost all sides and top.

*buttermilk can be made by combining 1 c. milk with 1 T. vinegar or lemon juice. Allow to set for 12 minutes then add to batter.

My Grandmother's Magic White Cake

2 c. sifted flour
1 1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. crisco
1 t. salt
2/3 c.milk
3 1/2 t. baking powder
4 unbeaten egg whites
1 t. vanilla

Blend together flour, sugar, crisco, and salt. Stir in baking powder, egg whites, milk and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes. Pour in sprayed layer cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-30 minutes.

My Grandmother's Hearty Bean Soup

2 1/2 c. dried white beans
4 c. water
1 medium minced onion
1 t. bacon drippings
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 c. ketchup
1 T. liquid aromatic bitters (this used to be sold in drug stores before the war. It was used as a flavor enhancer for soups and stews, and some claimed medicinal cures. It was made from berries and herbs)

Thoroughly wash and cover white beans with cold water. Allow to soak overnight, until the skins are no longer wrinkled. Add enough water, when ready to cook,  to make 4 c. water. Simmer for 1 hour. In a skillet, saute onion and drippings. Add to the beans. Add salt and pepper. Simmer another 2 hours. Before removing from heat, add ketchup and bitters. Stir well and spoon into dishes. My grandmother's recipe has -->be sure to include the bitters for it is this blend of spices in liquid form that gives the special aroma and savor to this simple soup so good.

**as far as I know Bitters are not sold anywhere except liquor stores now, and I don't think that is what this recipe is referring to...just use what you normally would to enhance the flavor of your soups. (such as liquid smoke, etc...)

Summer Cooler

2 c. sugar
2 qts water
1 qt can orange juice
1 qt pineapple juice
juice of 2 lemons
6 c. strong tea
1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple
2 qts. gingerale, chilled

Combine sugar and water over heat until syrupy. Cool. Stir in remaining ingredients, except gingerale. Chill. Before serving, add gingerale. Makes 2 gallons.

*This was another of my grandmother's recipes : )

My Grandmother's Pineapple Coconut Cake

1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple
1 can coconut
1 yellow cake mix*
1 stick margarine
chopped nuts

Place undrained pineapple in sprayed 9x13 dish. Sprinkle coconut over top.Sprinkle dry cake mix on top of coconut. Cut margarine over top. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly brown. RICH!

*cake mixes used to be 18 oz, but now they are 15 oz. Add another 2/3 c. cake mix to make recipe turn out right.

My Grandmother's 5 Cup Salad

1 cup mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup flake coconut
1 cup sour cream

Combine all ingredients and chill until ready to serve.

Chocolate Chip Turkey Cookies

Basic Chocolate Chip Cookie
2 1/2 c. SR flour
1 c. margarine
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed
2 t. vanilla
2 eggs
12 oz. pkg chocolate chip morsels*

Decorations:
hand shaped cookie cutter
1 c. white frosting
chocolate frosting
food coloring
white chocolate chip morsels
candy corn

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients, adding chocolate chips last. Add more flour to dough to make stiff, if needed. Press dough onto cookie sheet and use hand shaped cookie cutter to make turkey shapes. Remove extra dough scraps and repeat. Place each turkey 3" apart. Once turkey hands are cut out, refrigerate on baking sheet for 15 minutes*. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Divide white frosting into 4 bowls. Tint each with a different food coloring: red, orange, green, and yellow. Frost fingers of turkey hands with icing for feathers. Spread chocolate frosting on thumbs for heads. Place 1 white chocolate chip morsel upside down for eye and use a toothpick dipped in chocolate to make a pupil. Add candy corn for a beak Place cookie on plate and use chocolate icing to draw legs on cookie and plate.

*I've also made with 1/2 chocolate chip and 1/2 butterscotch chips.

**refrigerating the turkey hands before baking will  help them retain their shape during the baking process.

***can also be made with sugar cookie dough

Cute for a family project or as a special treat : )

My Grandmother's Strawberry Preserves

1 qt. strawberries
3 c. sugar, divided

Put berries and 1 1/2 c. sugar in large saucepan and boil for 5 minutes. Add remaining sugar. Boil 15 minutes longer.. Spoon into earthenware jar. Skim off foam. Cover and let stand for 24 hours. Stir occasionally. Put cold preserves in sterilized jars. Seal.

*The short cooking time and small quantity of berries are the secret of this recipe. Never cook more than 1 qt.of berries at a time.

Joan's Apple Dumplings

This is my sister in law's recipe which gives the dumplings a nice orange taste to them. (reminds me of the Pillsbury orange rolls, but with apples, too) I usually double the recipe and make it sugar free by using splenda. Here is her original recipe and mine is below:

Joan's Apple Dumplings recipe:

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
1 can crescent rolls
1 c. orange juice
1 c. sugar
1 stick butter
1 t. vanilla
1 t. cinnamon

Roll each quarter apple up in a crescent roll. Place in greased baking dish. Mix and boil orange juice, sugar, butter and vanilla. Pour over dumplings. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Sherri's variation:

2 Granny Smith apples, sliced in 8 pieces each, I don't peel them (that's where the vitamins and nutrients are) I have also used red delicious, Fuji, and honey crisp apples
2 cans crescent rolls
2 c. orange juice*
2 c. splenda or sugar
2 sticks butter or margarine
2 t. vanilla
2 t. cinnamon

Same directions as Joan's, except I added the cinnamon to the orange juice mixture, too. *Depending on what size apples are used,  you may not need this much liquid. I like my apple dumplings to have enough liquid to pour over them when they are done baking, but not so much that they spill over when transporting them in the car. Bake in a sprayed 9x13 dish for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream. YUM!! (I've made this the day before and baked for 40 minutes, since it has been in the refrigerator. Still yummy!) *May need to cook longer than 40 minutes if the apple qtrs are very big. Cover dish with foil to keep the dumplings from burning.

**another friend substituted mountain dew for the orange juice, pouring it over the dumplings before baking, (after boiling the margarine, sugar and cinnamon) and baked for 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees. and said it was wonderful! I haven't tried that yet..