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This is a cookie recipe that my mother made many, many times when I was growing up.  We loved it!  My mother got it from my grandmother who the family lovingly called “Muzzie.”  One of her toddlers said Muzzie for Mother and she was called Muzzie as a term of endearment the rest of her life by family members and very close friends.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Optional – 1 cup nuts

Cream the first 3 ingredients.  Mix all of the dry ingredients and add to the butter mixture.  Using waxed paper, make a long roll of the dough, about 2 inches in diameter, and wrap well in the waxed paper.  Chill well, slice and bake at 350 degrees. Bake 8-9 minutes for a soft cookie and 10-11 minutes for a crisper cookie.

The dough can be made a day or two (or longer) before you need to bake it. If it’s going to be kept several days, it would be good to store the dough in a large gallon size plastic bag after wrapping with wax paper. It’s interesting how people had slice and bake cookies decades ago!

These cookies sound so good.  I think I’ve had the crispy version before, and they were delicious!  Let me know if you make them and which you prefer, the soft & chewy ones or the crispy ones.  Here’s the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 3 large egg whites
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar)

DIRECTIONS:  Line 2 baking sheets with foil.  Sift together cocoa, salt, and 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl.  In a large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar at medium-low speed until soft peaks form.  Beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tablespoon at a time until the meringue is glossy and stiff peaks form.  Fold in cocoa mixture and vanilla extract.  Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls one inch apart onto foil-lined baking sheets.  Bake for 25 minutes at 300 degrees (preheated oven).  This will make soft & chewy cookies.  If you prefer crisp cookies, bake for 40 minutes.  After they have cooled, dust cookies with powdered sugar.

Makes 24 cookies.  Each cookie has 25 calories, 1 gr protein, 6 gr carbs, 0 gr fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0.5 gr fiber, 13 mg sodium.

Since there’s wintry weather in many areas of the country, I thought this would be a fun recipe for kids who are at home due to school closings.  Like S’mores?  Here are more variations I found in a Walmart ad one time:

• Basic S’mores – Put square of a Hershey’s Chocolate Bar (or other chocolate) on top of a graham cracker.  Top with marshmallows.  Put in microwave for 10 seconds or so, until marshmallow doubles in size. Top with another graham cracker.  (or put in regular oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees)
• Peanut Butter Chocolate S’mores – Fix basic S’mores.  Spread peanut butter on the graham crackers that go on top, then place on top of S’mores.
• Strawberry S’mores – Heat marshmallows on graham crackers.  Spread strawberry preserves on the top graham crackers and then place on top of S’mores.
• Chocolate Chip Cookie S’mores – Substitute chocolate chip cookies for graham crackers and then fix like basic S’mores.
• Rolled-Up S’mores – Place marshmallow on a skewer and heat it.  Next, roll the marshmallow in melted chocolate.  Finally, roll it in dessert sprinkles or peanuts to suit your taste.

I love this recipe because it’s so quick and easy, and I don’t have to use canned milk which I rarely have in my pantry.  It’s like a crustless pumpkin pie, and so it has a lot less calories and fat…just the healthy pumpkin which is loaded with Vitamin A and Carotene.  I wish I had a can of pumpkin on hand (I usually do) so I could make this today.  It’s a cold, icy day here in the Metroplex area of North Texas, and warm pumpkin custard would be soooo good!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can pumpkin
• 1 cup milk (I use 3/4 cup)
  
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 3/4 cup sugar (I use 1/4 cup sugar & Stevia equivalent for nearly 1/2 cup sugar – 7 KAL spoonfuls)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix ingredients together.  Pour in a greased baking dish (or pie plate).  Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 20 minutes and then at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Let cool for 10-20 minutes and then eat while it’s warm.

Optional: serve with frozen vanilla yogurt, vanilla ice cream, or canned whipped cream

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Question of the week: What four teas do you like (or dislike)? I’m a big tea drinker, so here are some of my favorites:

* Lipton Tea, freshly brewed

* Green Tea:  regular, decaf, & Lipton’s Green Tea with Lemon (&) Ginseng

* Celestial Seasonings Peppermint Tea

* La Madeleine’s Mango Iced Tea

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This is a delicious pie that is easy to make.  Bake your flaky pie crust ahead of time and let it cool.  Mix the ingredients together and spoon into the crust.  Top with Cool Whip and decorate with chocolate syrup and chocolate  chips.  Chill in the fridge for several hours.  It’s that simple!

INGREDIENTS:

• German Sweet Chocolate, 4 ounce bar
• Milk, 1/3 cup
• Cream Cheese, 4 ounces
• Sugar, 2 tablespoons
• Cool Whip, 12 ounces
• Pie crust, baked
• Chocolate syrup
• Chocolate shavings or chocolate chips (we use dark chocolate)

Bake pie crust and let cool.  Melt German Chocolate and 2 tablespoons milk in the microwave, stirring from time to time until smooth (1-2 minutes depending on your microwave).  Beat in the cream cheese, sugar and rest of the milk until blended.  Gently fold in 12 ounces of Cool Whip until completely mixed.  Spoon into crust.  Top with Cool Whip. Decorate the top of the pie with chocolate syrup and chocolate shavings or chocolate chips.

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Here’s this week’s question.  Tell me four things that you like cold or uncooked almost as much as you like cooked.

Val’s answer:

• Stuffing

• Lasagna

• Meatloaf

• Oh my, I can’t think of a fourth.

Hmmm…I had to think about this one.  I’d say:
1. Fried chicken
2. Salmon patties

That’s all I can come up with for now.  Maybe I’ll think of two more.

Hope y’all have a great week!  🙂

This German Sweet Chocolate Pie sounds like a good pie to make ahead of time and freeze for unexpected company.  Or it would be good to have the ingredients just in case you needed a quick but impressive dessert to take somewhere.  Here are the ingredients to have on hand:

• German Sweet Chocolate, 4 ounce bar
• Cream Cheese, 4 ounces
• Milk, 1/3 cup
• Sugar, 2 tablespoons
• Cool Whip, 12 ounces
• Prepared Oreo Crust or Prepared Graham Cracker Crust

Go to Allrecipes.com to get the recipe.