Butterscotch Brownies

Today is just a lazy day. There is no other way to put it. Last night's weather forecast was for 1 to 2 inches of snow. We did not see any. That is very disappointing for children living in Mississippi. It is so rare that we have snow. The whole state basically shuts down at the mention of the 's' word. When we woke up this morning, I ran to the windows...no snow. So we have just sat around all day in a funk. I did finish a book, Coffee Rings by Yvonne Lehman. My family wanted something sweet to eat. I dug out a recipe that I received from Cats Recipes. Cat is a real recipe freak. She has catalogued over 1 million recipes. Her philosophy is to try to save family recipes. She goes all over her area and purchases estate recipes. Check out her yahoo group-Catsrecipes.

Butterscotch Brownies

1/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup coconut

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in brown sugar and cool.
Add well beaten egg and vanilla.
Fix and sift dry ingredients then stir into butter mixture.
Add chopped nuts and coconut.
Bake in small cake pan at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Graham Cracker Cake

This recipe definitely makes me think of days gone by. When I hear the words 'graham crackers',my mind quickly returns to my childhood. I remember when one of my favorite snacks was graham crackers and milk. Just to take those plain graham crackers and dip them in cold milk. They would get slightly soft and tasted fantastic. Today we are bombarded with snacks. Children have so many to choose from. Perhaps, I will share the remaining graham crackers with my children. We can dip them in milk and talk about their day. Hope yours is good-

Graham Cracker Cake

24 graham cracker squares, crushed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
3-oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 TBS. butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 TBS milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 350. Grease(not oil) 9-inch square pan. (Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off.) In large bowl, combine 8 ingredients; beat 1 minute at medium speed. Stir in nuts. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool. In small bowl, blend frosting ingredients until light and fluffy. Spread over cooled cake.

Source: Pillsbury Fireside Favorite Recipes 1978.

Peanut Butter Balls

Today is overcast and cold. Well, cold for the deep south. Today's high is 45. Yesterday the high was 80 degrees. We had a terrible storm. The sirens went off several times. Since today is dreary, I decided to make something of a comfort cookie. This recipe is from a small pamphlet that I got at a thrift store. The title is Party Jewels for Modern Living Using Swift's Jewel Oil. I believe it was published in 1957. The artwork is very 50's-ish. Whoever owned it had labeled the pictures with names of people in their life. A picture of a child's birthday party is labeled with the names of Jenny, Robin Lee and Mary Sue. Personalized notes in cookbooks really excite me. I love to think of the fun times someone must have had. I hope my notes in my cookbooks will make someone smile one day.

Enjoy-

Peanut Butter Balls

1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Beat together oil and egg. Stir in sugars and vanilla. Mix in peanut butter. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Blend into peanut butter mixture. Shape into small balls, about 1 inch in diameter. Place on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 for about 12 minutes. Store in a loosely covered container to keep cookies crisp.