Chocolate Butterscotch Scotcheroos

I made these for our linger longer dessert this past Sunday. They are on the same page as these Chocolate Peanutters that I made for a YM activity last fall.

1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups oven-toasted rice cereal
One 6-ounce pkg (1 cup) Nestle
  Semi-Sweet Real Chocolate Morsels
One 6-ounce pkg. (1 cup) Nestle
  Butterscotch Morsels

In large saucepan, combine sugar and corn syrup; bring just to a boil over moderate heat. Remove from heat; stir in peanut butter. Mix in over-toasted rice cereal. Press into buttered 13" x 9" x 2" pan. Melt over hot (not boiling) water Nestle Semi-Sweet Real Chocolate Morsels and Nestle Butterscotch Morsels. Spread over cereal mixture. Chill in refrigerator until firm (about 15 minutes). Cut into 2" x 1" bars. Makes 48 2" x 1" bars.

There were none left in the pan when we brought it home. They were really good. I had to look to see what oven-toasted rice cereal was. I used Chex. It said it right on the front, and I had a box of it. I think the secret to making these is not boiling the sugar mixture very long.

SURE-JELL Strawberry Jam

While Joanna and Ben and fam were here, we made strawberry jam. Strawberries were on sale at LoLo's for $0.88 a pound.

I can't wait to use that quart of jam.

SURE-JELL Strawberry Jam

5 cups prepared strawberries (buy about 2 qt. fully ripe strawberries)
1 box SURE-JELL fruit pectin
1/2 t butter or margarine
7 cups sugar, measured into a separate bowl

Bring boiling-water canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.

Stem and crush strawberries thoroughly, one layer at a time. Measure exactly 5 cups prepared fruit into 6- or 8-qt. saucepot.

Stir pectin into fruit in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if needed.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

We bought eight containers of strawberries and Jo and Ben bought seven according to my calculations. My calculations were bad because I was misinformed on how many strawberries it would take to make five cups. It made a ton, and we were limited on how much jam to make by running out of pectin and jars. It is good jam, though!

Banana Blueberry Muffins

This is written on an index card in Mom's handwriting. I've had them before.

Banana Blueberry Muffins

2/3 c milk
1/4 c oil
1 mashed banana
1 egg
2 c flour
2/3 c sugar
2.5 t baking powder
1/4 t nutmeg
1 c blueberries

400 degrees
12 muffins
I just cooked until they looked done

We liked these for blueberry muffins. They were light and tender and not too dry.

Golden Ginger Scones

I made this one morning while Ben and Joanna were visiting. A quick search shows it's from the Argo starch and baking powder company. It was written on a university of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville paper, so maybe it's from a trip down to Tennessee?

Golden Ginger Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons sugar, divided
2-1/2 teaspoons Argo® Baking Powder
2 teaspoons Spice Islands® Ground Ginger
2 teaspoons Spice Islands® Orange Peel
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter OR margarine
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk

Mix together first seven ingredients. Cut in 1/2 c butter. Beat egg and buttermilk together. Knead well. Pat into circle, cut into 6 wedges. Bake at 425 degrees, 14-15 min.

It was good, a little dry. I think most scones are dry. The dough was really wet. I added probably 1/2 cup more flour, and it was still too wet to cut individual scones before baking.

Sweet Potato Maple Walnut Muffins

It looks like it was copied out of a cookbook.

Sweet Potato Maple Walnut Muffins

"What a delightful way to get your beta carotene and your potassium in every delicious bite, plus a good helping of precious linoleic acid, which helps prevent harmful deposits of cholesterol and contributes to smooth, beautiful skin."

2 eggs
1/3 c maple syrup
2 T sweet butter or olive oil
1/2 c crushed, unsweetened pineapple with juice
1 t vanilla
1 c grated raw sweet potato
1/2 c raisins, plumped
1/2 c sunflower seeds or chopped walnuts
1 3/4 c sifted whole wheat flour
1/4 c wheat germ
2 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1/8 t ground nutmeg

In a large bowl or food processor, blend together the eggs, maple syrup, butter or olive oil, pineapple, vanilla, sweet potato, raisins, and walnuts or sunflower seeds.

In another bowl, stir together the wheat flour, wheat germ, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease or line 3 dozen minimuffin wells or 1 dozen regular-size
muffin wells.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix only enough to combine the ingredients. Spoon the mixture into prepared muffin tins. Sprinkle a few nuts or seeds on each muffin.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes for minimufffins, 20 to 25 minutes for regular-size muffins or until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

Yield: 3 dozen minimuffins or 1 dozen regular-size muffins.
Approximately 50 calories each for minimuffins, approximately 179 calories each for regular-size muffins.

These have some weird ingredients, but I happened to have everything when I was looking for a muffin recipe this morning, so I made them. We liked them. The raisins were a little overpowering, and I really couldn't taste the sweet potato, but the overall taste was good. I like the sunflower seeds in it. Too bad I only had about 2 tablespoons of seeds. I have lots of other muffin recipes I like, so I probably won't go out of my way to make them again, but they are good.

Linda's Key Lime and Raspberry Pie

I've been waiting to make this for a long time because it sounded so delicious. I finally had most of the ingredients at the same time, so I went for it.

2008 APC Crisco National Pie Championships

Professional Division First Place

Citrus Category

Linda's Key Lime & Raspberry Pie

Linda Hundt

DeWitt, Michigan

Graham Cracker Crust:

6 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

Mix ingredients until crumbly and pat into pan. Bake in 375 degree F. oven for 10 minutes.

Filling:

1 can of sweetened condensed milk - 14 ounces

4 egg yolks

1/2 c plus one tablespoon real key lime juice--no exceptions

1/2 teaspoon lime zest & dash of orange zest

1 cup fresh, crushed raspberries

Whipped cream, white chocolate, and additional lime zest for garnish

Combine sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, and lime juice. Add lime zest and orange zest. Mix 1/4 cup of this mixture to one cup fresh, crushed raspberries. Spread on bottom of pie crust.

Pour remaining lime mixture carefully on top of raspberry filling. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool. Garnish with whipped cream. lime zest and white chocolate.

We liked it a lot! I made a crust from crushed pretzels because we didn't have graham crackers or anything close. It was too salty, but it made a pretty good substitute. I also didn't use key limes, and I had to supplement the lime juice with lemon. Sorry Linda. But it was still really good. 

Brian and I are really happy because the neighbors' raspberries grew under the fence and have taken over a shaded area by our shed. They are doing great and we've gotten about a quart of raspberries from them so far.