Pannukkau (Finnish Pancake)

Ingredients:
4 eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar (I use brown sugar)
4 Tablespoons butter

1. Preheat the oven to 400.  Place the butter in a 9×13 and put into the oven to melt and become slightly bubbly.
2. Whisk together (I do this in my kitchenaid) the 4 eggs until combined.
3. Add the flour, milk, salt, and sugar.  Blend together until batter is thin.
4. Pull the pan out of the oven with the melted butter that is slightly bubbly.
5.  Gently and slowly, pour the batter on top of the melted butter.
6.  Cook for 30 minutes.  When it is done, it will be golden brown around the edges and bubble up especially over the sides.

Serve with fresh fruit, syrup or even plain!  Tastes like creme brulee!

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 1/2 cup Cream Cheese
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 Stick (1/2 cup) of Butter (unsalted)
• 3 1/2+ cups of sifted confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
• 1/8 tsp salt

Mix 

Mom's Pumpkin Pie Dessert

Mix and pour into 9x13 glass pan

2 cups pumpkin (16oz)

1 can evaporated milk

1 ½ cup sugar

4 eggs

2 T pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. Salt

Sprinkle on top

            1 box yellow cake mix

2 sticks butter melted

1 cup nuts

Bake @350 for 50 minutes.

Grandma Link's Famous Cheese Buttons

Dough

2 c. flour

1 egg

Water (enough to make medium soft dough)

Pinch of salt opt.

Filling

2 c. cottage cheese (dry curd-ricotta)

1 egg

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Some green onions (if you like)

Combine dough ingredients.

Roll out to 1/8-inch thickness.

Cut into 4” square pieces.

Put about 2 teaspoons filling on each square.

Fold over and press edges together.

Drop buttons into kettle of boiling salted water.

When buttons rise to the top of the water.

 Remove and either fry in butter on both sides or make a white sauce as a gravy.

With day old bread you can cut or make breadcrumbs and fry the crumbs in butter and baste the buttons.  Serve with or without gravy.

Best Salad Dressing Ever!! No really...it is!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Combine liquid ingredients, then add sugar.  Make your life a LOT easier by using the same container you plan to pour the dressing with (the OXO shaker is my fave).

Add dressing to the salad in the serving bowl just before serving.  Mix/turn the salad to evenly coat with dressing.  A little goes a LONG way...be careful not to over pour.

This recipe can be modified to achieve a different taste depending on what you're looking for.  Be careful to add a little at a time (like a spoonful) since it's easier to add a bit more of 1 ingredient, than to add several ingredients to balance the taste back out.

Low Fat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

•     1 cup all-purpose flour
•     1 teaspoon baking powder
•     1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
•     1⁄2 teaspoon salt
•     1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•     2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
•     1⁄2 cup white sugar
•     1⁄2 cup brown sugar
•     1 large egg
•     1⁄4 cup plain unsweetened applesauce
•     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•     2 cups quick-cooking oats
•     1 cup chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with a non-stick baking mat (I use a silpat, but you can also use parchment paper).

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  I use a plastic storage container with a lid to shake up these ingredients.  Satisfies the "are we done yet" in me!

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars. Beat in the egg, followed by the applesauce and the vanilla extract. Working by hand (or if you're like me and too busy to do anything by hand...a Kitchen Aid mixer works perfectly), stir in the flour mixture and the oats, rotating scoops of each until mixed.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop tablespoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the "shine" is gone from the center of the cookies. 

Let cool on sheet for 3 or 4 minutes. The cookies will continue to bake a little bit on the cookie sheet, which will create a soft chewy center, and a slightly crispy outside.  Finally, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store cookies in an airtight container to avoid losing their chewy texture!

Mom's Granola

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups slivered almonds (OR 1 cup cashews and 1 cup slivered almonds)
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4 plus 2 T dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 t salt (optional)
• 1/2 cup ground flax seed (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix together old fashioned rolled oats, slivered almonds and shredded coconut.

Add oil, dark brown sugar, pure maple syrup and optional ingredients.

Place on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees turning over after the first 10 minutes then every 5 minutes or less until all the morsels are golden brown.  

Let cool.