Coffee Cake

This is a recipe that we make every year on Christmas eve for Christmas breakfast. It's very enjoyable and the whole family will love it! :)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking soda, nutmeg and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.
2. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon; sprinkle over coffee cake. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Combine confectioners' sugar and milk; drizzle over warm coffee cake.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I used to love making the chocolate chip cookies on the back of the Nestle Toll chocolate chip bag. I ran across this recipe, and now only make it. They are so fluffy and good. It's nice to get perfect cookies every time.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter flavored shortening or butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter flavored shortening, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Adjust the amount of chocolate chips to your liking, then stir them in by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop dough by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets. Clumps of dough should be about 3 inches apart.
3. Bake for 7 minutes in the preheated oven, until brown around the edges. Let cool for 20 minutes. Eat and enjoy!

Buttermilk Pancakes

These are my go to pancakes. I have tried many different ones, and homemade is always better to me. I hope if you choose to make them, you enjoy them as much as we do.

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1 1/8 cups buttermilk**
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat and lightly grease a large skillet or electric griddle.
2. Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a bowl. Add the egg, buttermilk, and butter; stir together lightly, but keep it lumpy. The batter should look thick, spongy, and puffy.
3. Drop 1/3 cup of the batter onto the cooking surface, spreading lightly with the bottom of the cup. Cook until lightly-browned on each side, 1 to 2 minutes per side.

**If you don't have buttermilk (often in our house), I mix 1/8 cup vinegar and 1 cup milk for a few minutes. Works almost the same and tastes just as good!

Mimi's Spaghetti

This is my grandmother's recipe for spaghetti that I've changed a little over the years, because I don't have the original. It's pretty close to, if not almost exactly how she used to make it.

Mimi's Spaghetti

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 can diced tomatoes
8 oz noodles of your choice
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
sprinkle of salt
sprinkle of pepper
olive oil

Directions

1. Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil into a pan. Add meat and brown. Drain when browned.
2. Add tomatoes to meat. Stir.
3. Add all seasonings, and bay leaves. Taste, let simmer.
4. Boil water, add noodles and cook as directed.
5. Drain noodles.
6. Serve.

Mom's Pie Crust

This is my grandmother's pie crust. We make this in bulk every Thanksgiving, and use it for every pie that we make. Enjoy.

Ingredients


1 stick butter
1 cup flour
dash of salt
1 teaspoon sugar
ice water, about 4 Tablespoons

Directions


1. Cut up butter into flour, salt and sugar mixture until pea size balls.
2. Sprinkle ice water and use fork to mash into a ball.
3. Chill and roll.
4. Can put into pie pan and freeze.

Buttermilk Pie

This is a pie my grandfather made, and then passed down. We make it every Thanksgiving. It is so yummy, very sweet, but tasty. It makes two pies, perfect to make if you're going to someone's house, or if you're having a crowd over! We use my Grandmother's Pie Crust with this and every pie we make.

Ingredients


1/2 cup flour
3 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, melted and mixed into flour mixture
6 eggs barely beaten
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 Tablespoon vanilla

Directions
1. Blend flour, sugar and salt.
2. Blend the eggs, vanilla and buttermilk to add to the flour mixture.
3. Fill two unbaked pie shells.
Bake in 350F oven for 45-50 minutes.

Serves 16.

Dark Chocolate Cake/Mocha Frosting

I posted a chocolate cake a little while ago. While it's tasty, it's a little dry to me. When I found this recipe, I was nervous to try it, but I went ahead. I topped it with a mocha icing. This was/is THE BEST chocolate cake recipe I've ever found and made. Seriously amazing. If you are looking for a chocolate cake, look no further. This is the one to make. You can put any icing you want on top, I was wanting mocha, but I know the buttercream would taste just as good.

Dark Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup cold brewed coffee
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the eggs, coffee, milk, oil and vinegar. Mix until smooth, batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Mocha Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
• 1 cup hot water

Directions

1. To make the Mocha Frosting: In a large bowl, combine shortening with vanilla. Blend in half of the confectioners' sugar. Blend in 2 tablespoons milk. Repeat with remaining confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons milk. Mix in approximately half of the cocoa.
2. Dissolve the 1 tablespoon instant coffee into 1 cup of hot water. While still warm, pour two tablespoons of the coffee into the frosting mixture. Mix in remaining cocoa. Add coffee mixture, a tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is achieved. Fill and frost cake.