Lemon Drop Cookies

I found this recipe and photo on Taste of Home, and saved it because I LOVE lemon desserts!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon half-and-half cream

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup finely crushed lemon drops

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, cream and peel. Combine the flour, lemon drops, baking powder and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well.
• Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 3 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks. Yield: about 3-1/2 dozen.

Turtles

 I just made two batches of these...they are easy and delicious!

Ingredients:

60 Kraft caramels

2 TBS water

6 small Hershey Bars

1/8# paraffin

3 C pecan halves

Instructions:

Put caramels and water in a bowl; melt in microwave.  When melted, add pecans and mix well.  Drop on cookie sheet by tsp. full.  Put in freezer until firm.  In saucepan, melt paraffin and chocolate.  Dip caramel/pecans in chocolate.  I use a toothpick to dip them.  Set dipped candies on waxed paper to set.   These are really good!

Patty's Fudge

I am making more Christmas treats for Santa and my family today.  This is next on the to cook list.  This is my husband and adult sons favorite candy...they always want it at Christmastime.

Ingredients:

2/3 C Hershey’s cocoa

3 C sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1 ½ C whole milk

¼ C butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c pecan pieces

Instructions:

Combine sugar, salt and cocoa in a pot, mixing well.  Stirring constantly, slowly add milk, and put on burner.  Stir until mixture boils, then stir occasionally.  Cook until it reaches soft ball stage.  Drop a small amount of mixture in a cup of cold water.  If it forms into a soft ball, it is done.  Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla.  Beat until creamy and it loses its gloss.  Quickly stir in pecans and pour onto a buttered platter.  When it sets, cut into squares.

My Aunt Ticky's Southern Divinity

This is my favorite candy in the whole world.  When my Aunt Ticky asked me what I wanted for Christmas...my answer was always DIVINITY!  My family has made this candy at Christmastime for generations.  A true Southern treat, it is a bit difficult to master.  Do not try to make it on warm or damp days.  It does best when weather is cold and dry. I have adapted it for today's cooking methods .  Good luck. It is worth the effort!


Ingredients:
3 c white sugar
3/4 C light Karo syrup

¼ C water

1 tsp. vanilla

2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

1 C pecan pieces

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients except vanilla, egg whites and pecans, and stir over low heat until dissolved well.  Turn up heat and boil without stirring until mixture spins a thread like a hair, (250 on a candy thermometer, which these ladies didn't ever use)  While this is cooking, beat egg whites until stiff.  When candy mixture is done, pour into eggs whites in a steady stream, while beating with an electric mixer (they didn't have those either, so it was mixed by hand...this is an OLD recipe, folks!).  Add vanilla and pecans.  Beat until firm, and candy loses gloss.  Quickly drop on waxed paper or buttered dish.  

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Old Fashioned Tea Cakes

This is another very old family recipe.  My grandmother used to make Tea Cakes for me when I was a little girl.  My  littlecousin (Gwen is her real name) rescued the family recipe by getting it from her Aunt Sarah...my grandmother's niece.  Just another wonderful thing about being a Southern girl...food and family are always an important part of your life!

Ingredients:

1 stick butter                           1 C. sugar (minus 2 TBS)

1 egg                                       ½ tsp. vanilla

Self-rising flour                      ¼ C whole milk

Instructions:

Cream together butter and sugar; add egg, milk and vanilla, mix.  Add self-rising flour to make dough like biscuits.  Knead and make rolls of dough in wax paper.  Let stand in refrigerator.  When cold, cut in rounds and place on cookie sheet. Cook at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Enjoy with you favorite cup of tea!

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Crispy Sugar Cookies

Over the years, I have tried many sugar cookie recipes, and this is by far the best I have tasted. They come out crispy, and not overly sweet. They are good with a cup of tea, and make great Christmas cookies for the kids...and Santa!

Ingredients:
4 ½ C all-purpose flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cream of tarter
1 C sugar
1 C powdered sugar
1 C butter, softened
¾ C vegetable oil
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:
Combine 1 C flour, soda, salt and cream of tartar. Set aside.
Combine sugars, butter, and oil, add eggs and vanilla, mixing well.
Fold in flour. Chill OVERNIGHT.

Shape dough into balls, the diameter of a half dollar. Place on cookie sheet; flatten with a flat bottomed glass dipped in sugar. (I use finer textured colored sugar.) Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. Cool on wire rack. If the cookies are too thick they will not have the great crispy texture.
Sharing with:
Sweets for a Saturday
Tea Party Tuesday

Baby Ruth Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/3 C all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
½ C butter
¾ C sugar
1 large Baby Ruth candy bar, chopped

Instructions:
Mix first three ingredients with flour, or you can use self-rising flour. Cream butter and sugar together; add egg and vanilla. Blend dry ingredients into butter sugar mixture, then add candy. Put by teaspoonful on cookie sheet. Bake at 350* until lightly browned.
Another family favorite from my special mother-in-law. When we went to visit, my boys were always happy to find these in her cookie jar...so was I!

Mom's Potato Candy

Ingredients:
1 medium potato, boiled whole with skin
1 box powdered sugar
Peanut butter, smooth or chunky

Instructions:
Boil medium potato, peel while warm, and mash. Add powdered sugar, mixing until “dough” is stiff. Mixture will be wet at first, so just keep adding sugar until it is stiff enough to roll out on waxed paper coated with powdered sugar. Spread with peanut butter, and roll up like jelly roll by hand. Slice and lay flat on platter. Let sit for a few minutes, and then put in tin with waxed paper between layers. This is an old Southern candy recipe. My wonderful mother-in-law made this candy every Christmas, and it was a family favorite. When we "kids" moved away and had families of our own, she always included it in our Christmas boxes. Great memories of a great lady!

Old Fashioned Tea Cakes

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla
1 C. sugar (minus 2 TBS)
¼ C whole milk
Self-rising flour

Instructions:
Cream together butter and sugar; add egg, milk and vanilla, mix. Add self-rising flour to make dough like biscuits. Knead and make rolls of dough.; wrap and let stand in refrigerator about a hour. When cold, slice, and place on cookie sheet. Cook at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
My grandmother used to make these tea cakes for afternoon treats. This is a very old recipe. I did not have my grandmothers recipe, but my cousin shared this one that our family has used for generations. The exact flour measurement is not given, because these ladies made the tea cake by "feel".