Peanut Butter Cookies

We made Peanut Butter Cookies today and they were so good, we thought we would share the recipe.


1/2 cup (or 1 stick) butter
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda


Let butter warm to room temperature. Add peanut butter, brown sugar, milk, vanilla and egg. Beat until well blended. Add flour, salt and baking soda. Beat until all ingredients are mixed together. Roll dough into balls about the size of a large marble. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and mash criss-cross with a fork dipped in sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 10 minutes.


I think you will really enjoy these and they are a snap to mix-up!


Tomorrow we are going to make/build an ice cream birthday cake!

Chocolate - Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

Gabby (along with Joey and Mac) is visiting for a couple of weeks. Yesterday, was Gabby's day to help in the kitchen and she thought we needed some kind of cookies. We settled on these No Bake delights! There are several recipes for no bake cookies, but this one is the best we have tried.

Chocolate - Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar
4 Tablespoons cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk

1 cup peanut butter
1 Tablespoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups oatmeal

Place butter in a large, heavy pot or skillet and melt over low heat. Stir in cocoa, sugar and milk. When ingredients are well blended, increase heat and boil for 1 minute. Turn off heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla. When the mixture is completely blended and nice and smooth, add oatmeal and stir well. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper. (We buttered a 9 x 13 baking dish and placed our cookies in it, later cutting them into bars.)

Hi guys! We just completed our second day of homeschooling! We are still working out schedules, trying to find our rhythm. We have to make sure everyone takes care of their animals, does their share of chores, gets fed and everyone gets the proper amount of time with the books!

Each child (student) is going to have an assigned day to help in the kitchen after our main classes are over. They will help plan and prepare our evening meal. They are also, somewhat in charge of snacks for the day. On the days they prepare something we really enjoy, we will share those recipes with you!

We are also planning on combining a little cooking with geography and possibly with history! We’ll be sure and share those also!

Here is the link to our homeschooling blog. You are always welcome to see what we are studying and talking about!

http://theheartofhomeschooling.blogspot.com/

Until nex time,

Cheryl

Fall Schedule

And that picture has absolutely nothing to do with food, recipes, kitchens or anything else! It is my salute to summer, ‘cause we are going to turn around and summer will be gone!

As of now, I am on the fall schedule for three classes all of which are for adults this time. Strange, uh? One will have to do with comfort foods, another will be the ultimate Thanksgiving dinner, and last will be a candle making class.

It looks like there will be another kids class coming up in late November or early December. We will make all kinds of cookies and candies and students will get to divide up the spoils! So, take the class and take home a pile of goodies!

That's my update.

We are starting school in about two hours. I am going to roll the kids out of bed to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower. After which, I will probably cook a big breakfast and then go back to bed for a while. We will be having homemade hot chocolate in the early morning hours to accompany our viewing. Come on out and join us!

Just a quick note!

When we made the German Chocolate Brownies during our cooking class, I really disliked the recipe we used. It was too chocolatey.....and for me, that is saying a lot!!!

I have since resurrected a family recipe for brownies (that I had managed to lose) and it is so much better! I will be posting it in a few days.

Do you think I am on a chocolate roll of some kind?

Until later, enjoy cooking!
Cheryl

The Ultimate Chocolate Cake

This was my mother's favorite chocolate cake recipe. Growing up, I remember her sending the recipe to my Aunt Ruth. Ruth decided to make this cake for her oldest son's birthday party. She baked it in layer pans, because she invisioned a beautiful, tasty birthday cake. Mom had forgotten to tell Ruth, "this cake would fall." It has to be baked in a sheetcake type pan (cookie sheet with sides).

It is a wonderful chocolate cake and when baked on a sheetcake pan and you can take it anywhere! How about a picnic? or a tailgate party?

Note: I have baked this cake in a glass 9 x 13 baking dish. If you do, it will need to bake about 10 minutes longer or about 30 minutes all together, but it does fine.

Chocolate Sheet Cake

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 heaping T. cocoa
2 sticks butter, melted
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine in a mixing bowl measure, 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.


In a saucepan, melt: 2 sticks butter and add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together. Add 1 cup boiling water, stir mixture and set aside to cool. When cooled, mix with the flour, sugar mixture.


In measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup buttermilk. Add: 2 beaten eggs, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add buttermilk mixture to rest of the cake and beat for 1 minute at medium speed. Make sure all ingredients are well blended. Pour into sheet cake pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is cooking, you will need to prepare the icing.

Icing for choclate cake:

Melt 1 stick butter in a sauce pan. Add 4 tablespoons of cocoa and stir. Turn off heat. Pour into a mixing bowl and add 6 tablespoons of milk, 1 tsp. of vanilla and approximately 4 to 5 cups of powdered sugar. Beat well. You want the icing to be thick, but not too thick. If you want it a little thinner, add a small amount of additional milk. If it needs to be thicker, add a little more powdered sugar.

When cake is done, pour icing over hot cake and spread. You may add chopped pecans or walnuts, if desired. Allow to cool, before cutting. If you love chocolate, you are going to love this! Enjoy!

Lesson Five - Part 3

If we have time, we will also make these simple little treats!

All the kids in the family love ham & cream cheese roll-ups! I hope you will too!


Ham & Cream Cheese Roll-Ups

Ingredients:

1/2 lb square shaped ham (lunch meat Ham)

1 package cream cheese, softened

Seasoning salt and/or garlic powder

Directions:

Lay a slice of the ham on cutting board.

Spread cream cheese over whole slice.

"Rollup" slice, jelly roll style.

Cut this"Roll" into 1/2 inch pieces and secure with a toothpick.