My Favorite Recipes

My Favorite Recipes

Carolyn Bramblett

carolyn @ bramblett . com

These are recipes I have collected over the years from cookbooks, magazines, etc.

Strawberry Glace Pie

Ingredients:
6 cups strawberries--about 1-1/2 quarts
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp. cornstartch
1/2 cup water
1 package--3ounces--cream cheese, softened

Bake pie shell. Mash enough strawberries to measure 1 cup. Mix sugar and cornstarch in 2 quart saucepan. Stir in water and strawberries gradually. Cook over medium heat. Stir constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute; cool. Beat cream cheese until smooth; spread on bottom of pie shell. Fill shell with remaining strawberries; pour cooked strawberry mixture over top. Refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours. We never could wait this long. I love how the cream cheese obviously seals the crust from getting soggy. I think this recipe can't be beat.

Pecan Pie

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup butter-melted
1 cup corn syrup--I used the dark because that's what I had--I think it adds a depth of flavor
1 cup pecan halves
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Heat oven to 375. Prepare pastry, beat eggs, sugar, salt, butter, and syrup--plus Vanilla-- with hand beater. Stir in pecans. Pour into pastry lined pie pan. Bake until set, 40-50 minutes.

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 cups sliced peaches --about 6 medium
1 tsp. lemon juice
3 tbsp. shortening
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk

Heat oven to 400. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, the cornstarch, and cinnamon in 2 qt. saucepan. Stir in peaches and lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir one minute. Pour onto ungreased 2 qt. casserole; keep peach mixture hot in oven.
In bowl--mix flour, 1 tbsp. sugar, the baking powder, and salt---then cut in shortening until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk. Drop dough by 6 spoonfuls onto hot mixture.
Bake until topping is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Blueberry Cobbler - Omit cinnamon. Substitute 4 cups blueberries for the peaches

Cherry cobbler - Substitute 4 cups pitted red tart cherries for the peaches; increase sugar in cherry mixture to 1-1/4 cups, cornstarch to 3 tbsp and substitute 1/4 tsp almond extract for the lemon juice.

Plum cobbler--Substitute 4 cups sliced plums --about 14 large--for the peaches; increase sugar in plum mixture to 3/4 cups, cornstarch to 3 tbsp. and cinnamon to 1/2 tsp.

Blackberry Dumpling Cobbler

Basic All-Purpose Baking Mix
Ingredients:
6 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. salt
1-1/4 cups vegetable shortening--butter flavored or plain

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse corn meal. Store in a container with tight-fitting lid. Will keep for up to 2 months.

The Cobblerish Thing
Ingredients:
2 (16 ounce) packages frozen blackberries
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup milk
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour baking mix
3/4 cups uncooked oats

Bring blackberries, 1-1/3 cups sugar, and butter to a boil in large saucepan over medium heat, stirring gently until butter is melted and sugar dissolves; remove blackberry mix from heat. Beat cream cheese and remaining 2/3 cups sugar at medium speed with electric mixer until fluffy; add 2/3 cups milk, beat until smooth. Stir in baking mix and uncooked oats. Spread 2/3 cream cheese mix (about 3 cups) onto bottom of lightly greased 13x9 baking dish; spoon blackberry mix evenly over cream cheese mis. Dollop remaining cream cheese mix evenly over blackberry mix. Bake until golden brown.

Apple Pie Pastries

Pastry
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup cold butter
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
1/2 cup milk

Filling
Ingredients:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
5 tbsp. cold butter, divided
6 small tart apples, peeled and cored
1/4 cup sugar

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle with vinegar. Gradually add milk, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until easy to handle.
Meanwhile, in another bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in tbsp. butter until crumbly; set aside. Melt the remaining butter. Cut apples into 1/2 inch rings.
Shape dough into sixteen 1-1/2 inch balls. Roll each into a 5 inch circle. Brush with 2 tbsp. melted butter. Place one apple ring in the center of each circle. Top each with 2 tsp. brown sugar mixture. Fold edges of dough over apple rings, leaving centers uncovered; crimp edges. Brush dough with remaining melted butter; sprinkle with sugar. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and apples are tender. Serve warm.

Apple Pie and Crust

Crisco Double Crust
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup crisco
1/4 cup water

Mix the flour and salt. Cut in the crisco. You want it to look crumbly--don't cut so much that it gets mushy. Better to not cut too much. I always use ice water. I put ice in a glass, fill it with water, let it get good and cold for a few seconds and start drizzling it in and stirring it with a fork. Just put in enough water so that the dough will form a ball. If it gets too much water you'll just have to use more flour when you roll it out. And I don't worry about the amount of water---really.

This is the apple pie recipe we always use:
Ingredients:
3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash of salt
6 cups apples--about 6 medium---I usually use big "golden delicious"--piled high because they will sink down when cooked 2 tbsp. butter

Oven 425. Mix sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt together. Stir in apples. Turn into pastry lined pan; dot with butter. Cover with slittled to crust. Seal and flute edges. Cover edge with 3" strip aluminum foil---remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking. Bake until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits. 40 to 50 minutes.

Blueberry Corn Muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup plain cornmeal - I used extra finely ground white
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1-2/3 cup blueberries (fresh or drained frozen)
2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk - I prefer whole buttermilk, not the low fat stuff 'Bavarian Style'
6 tbsp. melted butter
1 large egg (beaten lightly)

Preheat oven to 400. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners---is what the recipe recommends but I grease the muffin tins, go around them with a butter knife when done, and lift them out with a fork. Sift cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Mix together cool melted butter, egg and buttermilk. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour in buttermilk mixture. Stir until just combined (do not over stir). Fold in blueberries and fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for about 20-25 minutes.

Cream Puffs

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs

Heat oven to 400. Heat water and butter to rolling boil in saucepan. Stir in flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute; remove from heat. Beat in eggs, all at once; continue beating until smooth. It may look like it won't become anything and then suddenly it's smooth dough. Drop dough by about a tbsp full several inches apart onto –I like to use a parchment lined cookie sheet. The recipe calls for ungreased pan. Bake until puffed and golden. Since I just use about a heaping tbsp of dough I only bake them for about 20 minutes. Cool them away from drafts. Julia Child recommends a slit with a sharp knife in the top to let out the steam and let them dry inside. I use the slit now to pump in the good stuff. If you drop about a tbsp you should have about one dozen puffs—maybe a few more. You can actually just cut the tops off later and fill them with sweets or savory foods.

Cream Filling—the goooood stuff
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 tbsp butter---the recipe says 'softened' but what for?
2 tsp vanilla

Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in 2'qt saucepan. Stir in milk gradually. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir at least half of the hot mixture gradually into egg yolks. Blend into hot mixture. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla; cool. I put saran type wrap over my pudding so that it doesn't get a film on it. I let it cool for awhile and then refrigerate. If I'm not making eclairs sometimes we just eat the pudding hot. Sometimes we like to find out how delicious it is cold. For anyone who doesn't understand this part---the eggs are in a bowl. I'll have a whisk in my mixing hand and will slowly start pouring the hot mix into the egg yolks as I'm whisking. I pour at least if not slightly more than half the mix in slowly and whisking away. Then I do the opposite and whisk the yolk/mix back into the original mix. Stir it up then put it back on the heat. I leave my burners on all that while because I have electric and my mix will instantly start to reboil.---Again--all things that have to thicken seem to have to boil that ONE minute.

Frosting
Heat 1/2 square (1/2 ounce)unsweetened chocolate and 1/2 tsp butter over low heat until melted. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup powdered sugar and about 1 tbsp hot water. Beat until smooth. I usually use cocoa but it doesn't matter. And I always now—put a dribble of vanilla in. I like to make it so that it just drizzles over the top of all of them. I usually make the pudding the night before just to get a fresh start putting them together. The puffs cool off in like ten minutes. You can just dust the tops with powdered sugar.

Angel Food Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cup egg whites (about 12)
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract

Heat oven to 375. Mix flour and powdered sugar in medium bowl and set aside. [Meringue] - Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl on medium speed until foamy. Beat in granulated sugar 2 tbsp. at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy. Add salt, vanilla, and almond extract with last addition of sugar. Sprinkle flour-powdered sugar mixture, 1/4 cup at a time over meringue.--folding in just until flour mixture disappears. Push batter into ungreased tube pan, 10" x 4". Cut gently through batter with metal spatula--I just use a butter knife. I just sort of drag the knife through the batter gently. I think it lets out air. And it's one more thing you get to lick when done with. Bake until cracks feel dry and top springs back when lightly touched. 30-35 minutes. Invert on funnel; let hang until cake is cold.