Taffy

From Shirley Evans
Makes 350 to 400 pieces

8 c. sugar
3 c. light corn syrup
3 c. water
cocoa powder (unsweetened), 3 tsp. per plate of taffy to make chocolate
desired flavorings, 1/2 tsp. for most; 1 tsp. for vanilla and lemon

Combine sugar, syrup and water in a large kettle (at least 6 quarts). Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the kettle. Stir mixture until sugar dissolves. Continue to stir occasionally, over high heat using a long-handled wooden spoon, until the temperature reaches 272 degrees. (DON'T GUESS ON THE TEMPERATURE--THIS IS IMPORTANT!)

Immediately pour the taffy onto well-buttered, dinner plates (the whole recipe uses 7 or 8 plates). Add the flavorings and your choice of food colorings (several drops per plate); let cool slightly. When cool enough to touch briefly, lift edge of taffy toward the center of the plate with the tips of your fingers, repeating the process until the taffy can be formed into a soft ball and lifted from the plate. It will still be very hot. Toss from hand to hand, kneading slightly as you toss. As it cools, stretch it out, then double it back again. Keep stretching until it loses its gloss. Stretch into a rope about 1/2-inch in diameter, coil on wax paper and leave a few minutes. Cut into 1-inch pieces, wrap and store in an air-tight container.

Triple Chocolate Peanut Clusters

From Shirley Evans
Makes 3 pounds

6 oz. white chocolate chips
6 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
6 oz. milk chocolate chips
1 (12 oz.) jar unsalted dry roasted peanuts

Melt all chocolates together over low heat in heavy pan. Cool slightly. Stir in peanuts. Let sit to thicken slightly. Drop by tablespoon on wax paper. Let cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and keep in refrigerator or freeze til ready to serve.

Sandbakkels

From Shirley Evans
Makes about 60

1 1/2 c. butter, softened (no substitutions)
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
4 c. AP flour

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and salt. Beat till combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Add the egg, beat till well-combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour till dough no longer sticks to fingers when handled. If necessary, cover and chill about 1 hour or till dough is easy to handle.

Evenly press about 2 teaspoons of dough into the center of each seasoned sandbakkel mold. Press dough into an even, very thin layer along the bottom and up the sides. (You can also press dough into 1 3/4-inch tart tins or muffin cups.) Make sure no dough extends over edges of the molds. Place the filled sandbakkel molds on a large cookie sheet.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 9 to 11 minutes or till edges are firm and very lightly browned. Remove from oven. Turn over each mold, cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Gently tap on the bottom of the molds and carefully remove the sandbakkels. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Krumkake

From Marvyl Hanson
Posted by Shirley Evans

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3 eggs
1/2 c. half & half

Whisk all ingredients together. Place 1 tsp. of batter on hot krumkake iron and bake until light brown. Roll quickly into a cone shape.

Frosted Chocolate Drop Cookies

From Florence Vogel, Austin, MN
Posted by Shirley Evans

1/2 c. shortening
2 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. walnuts
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt shortening and unsweetened chocolate together. Cool 10 minutes. Add brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk. Sift dry ingredients and add to chocolate mixture. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Drop on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool and frost (recipe below). Top with walnut half.

Frosting
1/4 c. hot water
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 c. powdered sugar

Beat all ingredients until fluffy.

Restaurant-Style Hummus

From Shirley Evans
Makes 2 cups

3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. water
6 Tbsp. tahini, stirred well
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 (14 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
pinch cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro or parsley

Combine the lemon juice and water in a small bowl or measuring cup.Whisk together the tahini and 2 tablespoons of the oil in a second small bowl or measuring cup. Set aside 2 tablespoons of chickpeas for garnish.

Process the reamining chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin, and cayenne in a food processor until almost fully ground, about 15 seconds. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the machine running, add the lemon juice-water mixture in a speady stream through the feed tube. Scrape down the bowl and continue to process for 1 minute. With the machine running, add the oil-tahini mixture in a steady stream through the feed tube; continue to process until the hummus is smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Transfer the hummus to a serving bowl, sprinkle the reserved chickpeas and the cilantro over the surface, cover with plastic wrap, and chill at least 30 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil; serve cold or at room temperature.

Banana Split Icebox Cake

From Andie Evans
Makes 10 servings
Time: 30 minutes plus chilling (overnight)

1 carton (16 oz.) cool whip
1 c. (8 oz.) sour cream
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained
24 whole graham crackers
2 medium bananas, sliced
chocolate servings, halved fresh strawberries and additional banana slices, for topping

In a large bowl, mix the cool whip, sour cream and pudding mix until blended. Fold in pineapple. Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag and fill with pudding mixture.

On a flat serving plate, arrange four crackers in a rectangle. Pipe about 1 cup pudding mixture over crackers, top with about 1/4 cup banana slices. Repeat layers five times. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Before serving, top with chocolate syrup, strawberries and banana slices.

Blueberry Angel Dessert

From Shirley Evans
Makes 12 to 15 servings

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
8 oz. cool whip
1 angel food cake, cut in 1 inch pieces

Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Fold in cool whip. Fold in angel food cake pieces. Spread in ungreased 13 by 9 inch pan. Top with 2 cans blueberry pie filling. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Cut into squares and serve.

Angel Fruit Dessert

From Luella Holmes
Posted by Shirley Evans
Makes 15 servings

1 large round angelfood cake
1 apricot and pineapple pie filling
1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cut angelfood in half. Break in pieces in bottom of oblong pan. Spoon apricot and pineapple filling over this. Mix pudding, milk, sour cream and vanilla together and pour over this mixture. Chill in refrigerator.

3-2-1 Cake

From Shirley Evans

1 box angel food cake mix
1 box any flavor regular cake mix

Mix two cake mixes together and store in airtight container.

For a quick treat, mix together in a small single serving size microwave bowl or coffee cup:

3 Tbsp. cake mix
2 Tbsp. water
Microwave 1 minute on high

Almond Puff aka Scandinavian Kringler

From Shirley Evans
Makes 10 to 12 servings

1 c. butter, softened, divided
2 c. flour, divided
1 c. plus 2 Tbsp. water, divided
1 tsp. almond extract
3 eggs
Prepared Glaze (see below)
Chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut 1/2 cup butter into 1 cup flour. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons water over mixture; mix with fork. Round into ball; divide in half. On ungreased baking sheet, pat each half into a strip, 12 x 3 inches. Strips should be about 3 inches apart.

In medium saucepan, heat 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water to rolling boil. Remove from heat and quickly stir in almond extract and 1 cup flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Beat in eggs, all at one time, until smooth. Divide in half; spread each half evenly over strips, covering completely.

Bake about 60 minutes or until topping is crisp and brown. Cool. Frost with glaze and sprinkle generously with nuts.


Glaze: Mix 1-1/2 c. powdered sugar, 2 Tbsp. softened butter, 1-1/2 tsp. almond extract and 2 Tbsp. warm water until smooth.

Potato Gnocchi with Wild Mushroom Sugo

From Andie Evans
Makes 4 servings
Active Prep: 30 mins
Inactive Prep: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour

For the gnocchi:

• 2 pounds russet potatoes
• Coarse salt
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting or use store bought gnocchi (1 pound fresh or frozen)

For the sugo:

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cups mixed wild mushrooms, finely chopped (from about 3/4-pound mushrooms)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon minced shallots
• 1/2 cup tomato puree (from fresh or canned peeled tomato)
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or water
• 1 generous tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
• Parmesan

Directions

For the gnocchi:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake potatoes until very soft on a bed of coarse salt in a baking dish, about 45 minutes. (The salt keeps the potatoes from touching the dish and developing a hard spot.) Cool potatoes until warm, then halve lengthwise and scoop out the flesh. Pass the flesh through a food mill or ricer, or push it through a coarse sieve. You should have about 4 cups.

In a bowl, combine potato, egg yolks, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Work the mixture with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add 1 cup of the flour and knead very gently, patting and pressing the dough with your hands until all the flour is incorporated. Add some or all of the additional 1/4 cup flour if the dough feels too moist, it should be soft but shouldn't stick to your hands. Transfer dough to a work surface and roll into a log about 3 inches in diameter. Cut the log into 8 equal pieces.

Give each piece a quarter-turn so that you are rolling the dough in a different direction, then roll into ropes, a generous 1/2-inch in diameter, as if making breadsticks. Flour the ropes generously, and then cut crosswise at 1/2-inch intervals. You can shape the gnocchi on a ridged butter paddle or on the back of a fork, or you can cook them as is. Let them dry at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before cooking.

For the sugo:

Heat a large saute pan over high heat. When hot, add oil, and then sprinkle in the mushrooms. Don't stir! Let the mushrooms sizzle and caramelize for 7 to 8 minutes. Stir and season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute to release its fragrance. Add the rosemary and shallot and cook for about a minute. Cook briefly to release their fragrance, then add tomato and red wine and simmer until almost evaporated. Add the broth or water. Simmer until slightly reduced, 4 to 5 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Sprinkle with the parsley and keep warm.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi. They are usually done about 2 minutes after theyfloat to the surface, but test 1 to be sure. Lift them out with a skimmer and transfer to a large platter. Pour the warm sauce over the gnocchi. Grate Parmesan over the top and serve immediately.