Favorite Pie Recipes

A couple years ago I finally started making pies.  My favorite flavors to make are apple and peach.  These pies aren't too hard and they don't involve making complicated top crusts or difficult meringues that always veered me away from every wanting to make pies.  Hope you enjoy these recipes, I certainly do!

Perfect Peach Pie with a touch of Spice Pastry for 9-inch pie crust and top crust of cookie cutter cut shapes ¾ cup sugar                                                      3 tablespoons flour ¼ teaspoon nutmeg or cinnamon                     Dash of salt 5 cups sliced fresh peaches                              2 tablespoons butter  Line 9-inch pie plate with pastry.  Combine sugar, flour, spice, and salt.  Add to peaches; mix lightly.  Fill pie shell.  Dot with butter.  Dash with extra spice if desired.  Roll out additional pie dough and cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters.  Lay these shapes on top of your pie to form a crust.  Bake at 400˚ (375˚ if using glass pan) for 40-45 minutes.

Apple Crumb Pie Mix together 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 5-6 apples and place in a crust lined pie pan.  Dot with 1T buter. Crumb Topping:  Mix together 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 cup flour.  Sprinkle topping on pie. Bake at 425˚ for 50-60 min.  If using glass pan bake at 400˚ Pie Crust 1 C flour          1/4 C vegetable oil 3/4 tsp. salt     2 1/2 T ice water Sift together flour and salt.  Pour oil and cold water into measuring cup.  Do not stir.  Add all at once to flour mixture.  Stir lightly with a fork.  Form into a ball. Roll between two 12” squares of wax paper.  Peel off top sheet of waxed paper and fit dough, paper side up, into pie plate.  Remove paper.  Trim edge and flute by pressing dough with forefinger against wedge made by finger and thumb of other hand.

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Something Sweet

I can assume that I am not the only person who hits a point in the day (normally afternoon) when I am really craving something sweet.  Of course that something sweet is preferably something chocolate.  With it being so hot nowadays (in Kansas at least) whatever chocolaty something sweet you want is much preferred to be non-baked so you do not have to turn on the oven and roast all occupants in the house.  Therefore, the only logical solution considering the above criteria is ...

No-Bake Cookies!!!
1 stick margarine or butter
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup milk
Bring to a boil.  Stirring continuously, boil for 2 minutes.  Take off heat and add 1/2 cup peanut butter, 3 cups oatmeal, 4 tablespoons cocoa, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  Stir.  Drop onto wax paper and let cool.  Refrigerate.

ENJOY!

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Tea and Scones

Tea parties are pretty much a thing of the past unless, like me, as a little girl (if you are a guy forget it, your luck is out when it comes to tea parties) your mother let you have tea parties with your sisters or friends.  However, I look back on those days fondly and I wish tea parties weren't a thing of the past.  Even now I like to have my own mini tea party with a cup of tea and some cheese, cookies, or whatever other finger food is available.  One of my sisters' and my favorite tea time treats as children was hot apple scones.  There was something very English, and therefore very tea timeish about having our scones with tea.  Since then we have continued to make these scones, and we haven't only confided our scone making to our tea parties.  So for all of my fellow tea lovers I am dedicating this post and giving them a childhood favorite recipe of apple scones to enjoy with their tea.  If you are not a tea lover, you are missing out on the tea but you can still enjoy the scones for they are still just as tasty without the tea. :)

Apple Scones

1 medium cooking apple         6 T butter

1 C all purpose flour               1/3 C sugar

1/2 C whole wheat flour         1/4 C milk

1 1/2 t baking powder             2 T milk (see below)

Preheat oven to 400˚. Spray cookie sheet. Peel and chop apple. Measure flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl and stir. Rub or cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Stir in the sugar. Add the apple. Stir in the milk and make a ball of dough. Pat the ball of dough into a round shape about 1 in. thick. Cut the dough into 8 wedges then place on cookie sheet. Brush with milk. Mix together ground cardamom, cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle some on each scone. Bake for 20-25 min.* at 400˚. They are ready when golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!  
Makes only 8 scones so if you have a large family like mine then you may want to double or triple this. :)


*Note- You may need to adjust the time because I remember having a little trouble with it. :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

The Joys of Cooking, The Trials of Dishwashing

There are few things I enjoy more then cooking, especially when it comes to something like cookies, cake, brownies, pies and anything else that is sweet.  Bread isn't bad when it actually turns out and boring old main and side dishes aren't too bad either.  However, there is nothing so wonderful as getting to mix up a batch of cookie dough, tasting it at various intervals, just to make sure it hasn't spoiled since five seconds ago.  Then of course while you are baking the cookies you have to make sure the dough still tastes fine.  I suppose that is why you make an extra big batch so you don't end up short a dozen cookies.  Unfortunately with the joys of cooking come the trials of dishwashing.  I love cooking as much as I hate dishwashing.  Once I am done making my scrumptious dessert, dishwashing is last on my list.  However, they tend to just sit there until my conscience wears down on me and I slump back into the kitchen to wash them up.
I suppose that one has to take the rough with the smooth, or as in this case, a sink full of dishes with a cookie jar full of cookies.

A Favorite Cookie Recipie :)

Snazzy Snickerdoodles

1 3/4 C. all-purpose flour                     1 C. sugar

1 tsp. cream of tartar                          1 egg

1/2 tsp. baking soda                            1 tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. salt                                        1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 C. butter, softened                       2 T. sugar

Preheat oven to 375˚.  In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix butter and 1 cup sugar until well blended and creamy. Stir in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture, stirring until soft dough forms. Do not refrigerate. Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Roll dough into balls and then in sugar/cinnamon mixture & place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes or until cookies are set.  

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Tea Oatmeal?

     Yes I mean it.  Tea oatmeal.  It really tastes delicious.  All you do is make a cup of tea and combine it with a half cup of oatmeal and then cook in the microwave for a couple of minutes.  Then let set for a bit. For best results finish off with mixing in a bit of honey and butter.  It tastes just like the flavored oatmeal you can get at the store but is probably a good bit healthier.  I couldn't say if it is cheaper or not though.  I like it because it livens up the boring taste of oatmeal.  I enjoyed some today and had tea to drink with it as well. :)  

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

For a Change... A Recipe!!!

I am sure you are all sick of my novelette, so I am going to post a recipe today instead. (Don't tell anyone but the real reason why I am doing this is because I ran out of time to write more on the novelette.) 

The recipe is for peanut butter cookies. It is really easy and quite helpful when you have to make something last minute.  One of its bonus features is its small number of ingredients.  So anyways, here is the recipe and enjoy!!!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

1. One egg

2. One cup of peanut butter (crunchy or creamy it doesn't matter)

3. One cup of sugar

Beat egg and then add peanut butter and sugar.  Mix and then drop onto greased pan. Back at 350˚ for 10-12 minutes.  Let set on the pan a couple minutes before taking off so they don't go SPLAT. ;)  Then you may eat them. :)

Makes: 30 Cookies

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

TOO MUCH SNOW!!!

Sara, Dan, Tim and I have spent half the afternoon shoveling snow! :(  Not the most enjoyable experience! However, when one is able to come inside to hot chicken soup and of course a cup of tea, it doesn't seem quite so bad.  I would like to share an absolutely superbly delicious recipe (obviously this an extra special recipe)!!!

Apple Cinnamon Rolls

1 recipe sweet roll dough

1/4 C. butter, softened

1 1/2 C. finely chopped apples

1 C. sugar

1/2 C. chopped pecans

1 tsp. cinnamon

Prepare dough.   When ready to shape, divide dough in half.  Roll out each half into a 9X12 “ rectangle.  Spread with butter.   Combine finely chopped apples, sugar, pecans and cinnamon.  Sprinkle over dough.  Roll up the long way so it is 12” long.  Cut into 1 inch pieces and place them into a 9X13” pan sliced side down.   Let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.  Bake about 20 minutes in 350˚ oven.  Drizzle with powdered sugar icing.  Best when warm but also good when made Saturday night and eaten for a special Sunday morning breakfast.  Makes two 9 X13 pans. 

You can serve my apple cinnamon rolls with what else but a hot cup of apple cinnamon tea!  Apple cider would also be tasty with these. 

Well enjoy baking and have a wonderful day!

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.