Last week when we were helping our son and his family move into their "new" home, I took most of the Oatmeal - Date Protein Poppers and Lacy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies up there in case anyone needed a boost of energy. That meant though that my cookie jar was empty when we came home. I had a break from the work Wednesday morning and chose this recipe for Applesauce Nuggets in Phyllis Pellman Good and Rachel Thomas Pellman's from Amish and Mennonite kitchens cookbook. The cookies went together quickly and just hit the spot. I just didn't take pictures along the way like I usually do.
I made a couple of changes in the recipe which I shared in the ingredients. One change I didn't make was with the butterscotch pieces. I don't know what it is, but they really make a cookie taste delicious. My husband noticed them right away. The whole wheat flour works great in recipes that include spices and applesauce. We didn't notice the change, but I use whole wheat pastry flour as much as I can.
APPLESAUCE NUGGETS
1 cup brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup of brown sugar blend)
1/2 cup shortening
1 large egg
1 cup applesauce (I used unsweetened applesauce)
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 1 cup all - purpose flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves (I omitted because I didn't have any - my husband is not real fond of cloves either)
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup butterscotch pieces
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease cookie sheet. (I lined my cookie sheets with parchment paper instead)
Cream sugar and shortening.
Add egg and applesauce and beat well.
Sift together the flour, salt, soda, and spices. Stir into creamed mixture
Stir in chopped pecans and butterscotch pieces.
Drop by heaping teaspoons onto cookie sheet. (I used my scoop that holds 1 tablespoon of water.
I also tried flattening the scoop slightly.)
Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.
Cool on wire rack. The first pan is on the left and the second pan when I flattened them are on the right.
They both taste the same. It's just depends if you have a preference for the "looks" of your cookie.
Here are pictures of my two grandchildren helping unpack their books and putting them in their bookcases. They were so excited to see their new rooms and to also see their "things" again.
Remember if you want to print the recipe using the print icon below, you will have the option to remove images when the print window opens. If you do not see the print icon, you need to tap/click on the title of this post and it will take you to just this post. Then you will see the print icon with the share buttons. Home will return you to my blog's most recent posts.
I made this darling transportation quilt for my hairstylist Ali's little one. She requested cars and trucks or space prints. (The first quilt I made for Becket has dinosaurs and Ali says he loves it.) "Space stuff" was hard to find. We both thought the "transportation" print was perfect. While I think quilts using soft colors are so cute, I honestly prefer the bright colors. I think children like them, too.
Here is part one of the process of making the quilt...assembling the top. The quilting part took so much thought.
I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below.
MATERIALS NEEDED for Becket's quilt
Print C - FOCUS PRINT 5/8 yard - 1 yard if you wish to "fussy cut"
Print A - 3/8 yard
Print B - 3/8 yard:
narrow inner border Print D - 1/4 yard
outer border Print E- 5/8 yard - with no nap ----- 1-1/4 yards with nap
binding Print D - 1/2 yard (TOTAL 3/4 yard)
backing - 1-1/4 yards
batting - min 45 inches square
Cut:
8 blocks from Print C - 8 inches square
2 strips WOF x 4-1/2 - inches from each of Print A and Print B (for fourzies)
4 strips WOF x 1-1/2 inches for narrow inner border Print D
4 strips WOF x 4-1/2 inches for outer border Print E
Prewash and dry in the dryer fabric before cutting.
Cutting blocks from Print C:
Depending on the pattern, you can cut 2 strips WOF x 8 - inches OR you can "fussy cut" 8 squares from the fabric. (This is what I did. I wanted to have no two squares exactly the same so I moved around on the print to have the particular prints showing in the square. This is what "fussy cutting" is. )
If you are cutting the strips, assuming the fabric doesn't shrink much when you wash and dry it, 1/2 yard of fabric would be enough to get the two strips. (It only takes 16 inches for the two strips.) I indicated 5/8 yard which is more than enough just in case the fabric shrinks. (The better the quality of fabric, the less it will shrink.) I bought 1 yard and had leftover - which is better than coming up short in case I decided to "fussy cut" the squares. Anytime you have a "focus print" you can work with the size of the repeat pattern for the print to decide what size you can make the square. I wanted to do a rectangular block but the repeat pattern for the fabric I chose was about 8 inches. I decided to make it a square quilt then. A rectangular block would give you a quilt longer than it was wide which I think is nice.
HOW TO MAKE FOURZIES USING THE STRIP METHOD
The quilt top goes together really quickly when you make the fourzies using the strip method. After sewing two of the strips together to make a panel and pressing them, you simply cut as many twozies as you can get from the WOF.
The strips cut from the two prints....
The strips sewed together...
Press the seams toward the darker print and cut as many twozies as you can from the strips.
The cut twozies....I turned half of them one way and the other half the other way.
Because I pressed the seams toward the darker print, when you match the seams, they will "nest" together perfectly.
You can save some time and thread when you get ready to sew the twozies together by sewing them in a "chain". Then just cut the thread between each set.
Here is a simple way for you to figure how many strips you will need to produce twozies/fourzies using just two prints:
I use 40 inches as a general width of prewashed/dried fabric for math purposes. (It's a good round number to work with.)
What size do I want for the squares?
Decide what size you want the square to be when you finish the quilt. Then add 1/2 inch to that size (which allows for a 1/4 inch seam all the way around.) So if you want a finished 4 - inch square, you will cut 4-1/2 inch squares.
Divide 40 by the size of the cut square.
40 / 4.5 = 8 ....
You will be able to cut 8 squares that are 4 - 1/2 inches square from a strip that you cut the WOF.
When making a twozie or fourzie, this means when you cut the strips WOF x 4-1/2 inches and sew two of them together (one from each print), you can cut 8 twozies 4-1/2 inches wide. That will make half of the required fourzies to make the quilt. Making another set will give you the total 8 fourzies you need for the quilt.
It is also easy to make a fourzie using 4 different prints.
If you want to make a fourzie using 4 different prints, you will make two 2 - strip panels using the four prints, A, B, C, D. For example A and B will make one panel and then C and D will make the other panel. You will cut the panels the same, but will be putting an A/B twozie together with a C/D one. Using my example, you would only cut 1 WOF x 4-1/2 inches from each of the four prints.
ASSEMBLING THE QUILT TOP
Starting with the center section of the quilt, lay out the squares/blocks in the arrangement you want. The center section is 4 blocks x 4 blocks. Each row has 2 focus blocks (Print C) and 2 fourzies. It is important to lay the pieces out to see the pattern that is produced.
When I laid the blocks out for Beckett's quilt I first laid them out this way. I had the fourzies arranged the same way each time.
I then decided to try alternating them by rows.
The interesting thing I noticed was with the first way, I really noticed the diagonal pattern formed with the fourzies. I thought it distracted from the focus prints. Since I wanted the focus print to be the focus, I went with the second design.
Sew the blocks together in horizontal rows.
Press the seams for each row toward the focus print block.
When you sew the rows together, the seams will "nest" together nicely.
Once the four rows have been sewed together, press the seams going in the same way. It doesn't matter this time which way you press them.
You will sew the vertical sides of the inner border on first. You will have plenty of length for this since you cut the strips the wof. You will cut the excess off after you sew them. BTW, cutting the strips the WOF will insure you don't accidentally cut them too short. You wouldn't have a use for the "wasted" part you cut off anyway.
After you have the vertical sides of the inner border sewed and pressed, you will sew the horizontal borders on aka. the top and bottom. It will be sewed on the side borders and the center section.
You will sew the outer border on in the same manner....first the sides (vertical sides). Trim off the excess before sewing on horizontal sides....
and then the top and bottom (horizontal sides).
And the quilt top is finished.
Soon I will share the quilting process. That took a lot of thought.
Our MO son, Patrick, and his family are moving in a new place this week and we have been busy helping them out. It is such an exciting time for them. We hope they will be as happy in their new place as they have been in their first house these last 7 years.
Because we have been able to help them, I haven't been spending much time in the kitchen. When I went to Hillcrest on Tuesday to work my shift and Mark asked me what was for dessert, I had to tell him unfortunately there wasn't any. I told them I had picked out a recipe to try, but hadn't gotten home until 9:30 pm Monday night and was too tired after painting for about 5 hours to make it. They were all very understanding. I do think Mark said laughingly something like, "Well, it's okay, but you will just have to make sure next time...."
Dil Lori and I did spend at least 5 hours painting Monday. She had intended to only paint the baseboard that had gotten messed up when the floor guys had refinished the hardwood floors, but when I showed up, she decided to go on and paint the doors, closet doors, and windows in all three bedrooms and hall. She did end up finishing the doors in the hall and bathroom as I went to "assist" when the internet guy came to put up the satellite dish.
Before my husband and I went up to the new house that morning, my son had told me to bring something that could be used in place of tape to keep the floor from getting painted. It is a pain to have to tape everything before painting trim, etc. So I went prepared with my dustpan, trowel, and a plastic ruler. Most of the time in the past I have used a metal dustpan, but as a last thought I saw my plastic ruler from my school teaching days and grabbed it.
I am so glad I did. It worked great. As I was painting, I realized I should get some pictures and pass the tip along to you in case you might be doing some painting in the future. Here are my pictures.
Before...
Ruler in place....I just pushed it up flush with the baseboard.
I couldn't paint and take a picture at the same time....but this is what it looked like after I removed the ruler... (Depending on condition of baseboard, it may be necessary to go back and do some touch up after it dries, but using the ruler will make this a breeze.)
I purposely chose a spot in the room to take my pictures where the painter didn't paint down to the top of the baseboard when the room was painted. Hopefully they left some paint so Lori can go back and touch up some places with a tiny brush.
Just in case, I did wipe the ruler on a towel after I picked it up each time. I didn't want it to have any excess paint that might get on the floor. I would also recommend that you have a wet paper towel or thin wet towel to quickly clean up any "accidents". Nobody is perfect!
Hope this tip will make it easier for you the next time you are painting trim.
A recipe for Frozen Snicker Pie was at the bottom of the page for the Earthquake Cake I made a week or so ago. When I noticed it, it sounded like something everyone would like. The cookbook was called Angel in my Kitchen, a spirited collection of recipes from St. Ann's Parish and you guessed it, I found it at an estate sale.
I had to buy the ice cream because we don't usually have ice cream in the freezer. Everything else I had.
When I started to make it, I realized the recipe only called for 1 cup of ice cream. I mixed it up like the recipe but then decided to add another cup of ice cream to make 2 cups or a pint.
And then the fun began. I mixed up the ice cream, Cool Whip, and peanut butter first to make sure just to make sure it needed twice the amount of ice cream AND totally forgot the chocolate pudding. I spooned it in the pie plate with a homemade graham cracker crumb crust and took my picture and took it downstairs to the bigger freezer. I came back in the kitchen and realized my mistake...that I had forgotten the pudding. I hurried back downstairs and took the pie out of the freezer and back in my kitchen started spooning it out of the pie crust so I could add the pudding. The problem was I couldn't get all of the mixture out because I had frozen the crust earlier and the ice cream had frozen to it as soon as I had place it in the crust. So when I put the chocolate ice cream mixture in the crust, there was a white border around the edge. I couldn't cover it up.
Well, we ate the pie and ENJOYED it, but I didn't have a picture of what it was supposed to look like for my blog.
Now it is a week later ... and since it was so easy and I needed something to post this week on my blog ... I tried it again. Since the first time I made this, I have made Friend Fran's Frozen Strawberry Dessert and discovered her recipe for a crust that I just love. I may never make another graham cracker crumb crust again. So this time I made that crust instead of the one I made the first time. The recipe will make more than you need for a 9 - inch pie plate, so I crumbled up the rest and froze it to use for something else.
The recipe actually doesn't call for a crust. It says to pour the mixture into a pie tin and freeze. So if you didn't want to fool with a crust at all, you could do that. My husband and I liked the graham cracker crumb crust with the first one I made though.
FROZEN SNICKER PIE
1 pint (2 cups) chocolate chip ice cream (softened)
1 cup Sugar Free Cool Whip
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
1 pkg, (4 serving size) sugar free chocolate instant Jello pudding mix (dry)
Mix together the ice cream, Cool Whip, peanut butter, until smooth.
Add the dry pudding mix in a large bowl.
Use a whisk or big spoon to combine til smooth.
Pour into a 9 - inch pie plate. I had made the crust and placed the pie plate in the freezer for about 30 minutes before adding the "pie".
I was going to show you a picture of what the first one looked like at this point, but I couldn't find one. Then I realized I didn't take a picture of it because I was so disgusted with myself.
Depending on how frozen the pie is when you are ready to serve it, remove the pie 10 to 30 minutes to soften to cut. My upright freezer really freezing food so it takes 30 minutes before I can cut it. But I was able to cut it within 10 minutes after removing the pie from the freezer with our refrigerator. Doesn't it look good enough to right right here?
Remember if you want to print the recipe using the print icon below, you will have the option to remove images when the print window opens. If you do not see the print icon, you need to tap/click on the title of this post and it will take you to just this post. Then you will see the print icon with the share buttons. Home will return you to my blog's most recent posts.
Last week, I published a recipe for some Amish Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were a delicious not - to - sweet semi - soft cookie. When I saw Mary Nichols recipe for a chocolate chip - oatmeal cookie in a recent estate sale find (Apache Appetite Delights from the Apache Elementary School in Overland Park, Kansas), I thought I would give them a try. I like cookies with oats in them and of course, chocolate chips.
When I made them, they flattened so much I decided they were more like a "Lacy" cookie so I renamed them. I experimented with each batch I made and finally decided the ones I cooked using the parchment paper turned out the best. Mary's recipe said to use a greased cookie sheet. Generally speaking the cookies wanted to get browner around the edges while the centers were still baking. They taste really great though so I won't worry if they look a little browner than I like. My husband thinks they are pretty good too.
LACY CHOCOLATE CHIP - OATMEAL COOKIES
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups oats (I used old fashioned)
1 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Cream butter and sugars together til light and creamy.
Add egg.
Sift together the flour, soda, and salt. Add to mixture, mixing well.
Add vanilla, oats, and chips.
I used my cookie scoop and baked no more than 12 at a time on the sheet. Even though they will spread, I did flatten them slightly with my fingers.
Bake for 9 - 10 minutes.
Remove fairly quickly from pan and cool on wire rack.
Remember, if you want to print this recipe using the print icon below, you will be given the option to "remove images" when the print window opens. If you do not see the print icon, you need to scroll back up to the post title and tap/click on it. Then you will see just this post and the print icon will be before the share buttons. Home will take you back to the blog and the most recent posts.
I love the little mini-muffins I call "Poppers". I guess I just like most things "mini". I am always wanting to make breads/quick breads in the smaller mini loaves instead of big loaves. That way I'm not tempted to eat a lot of it before it goes bad or gets stale. I can enjoy one loaf while I freeze the other ones. Then I can bring a loaf out of the freezer whenever I have a hankering for it or need it when friends are going to be dropping by and I don't have time to make something.The same is true for muffins, especially ones I consider "healthy" and not necessarily "sweet".
Recently, my husband went to the grocery store when I guess he was hunger. (Those times are not when you should go to the store.) Anyway, he came back with these (expensive) date protein balls that even though they were small, I could only eat part of one. When I saw them, I told him I had plenty of recipes for similar snack. All he had to do was tell me and I would make him some.
Well, Saturday morning, I got up before he did (which is normal unless he is going to play golf) and looked for something to make. The heat was returning for the weekend, after a couple of days only in the 80s, and I knew if I were going to do any baking I needed to do it before the day heated up.
The first recipe I saw on my little desk was this recipe for Oatmeal Date Protein Muffins that I had copied down on a piece of note paper. I remembered the purchased balls and thought I would surprise my husband and make them.
I really didn't decide to make them in my mini muffin pan until I saw how much the recipe produced. (I was bad when I wrote down the recipe...I didn't include where I had found the recipe or even how much it made.) This new mini-muffin pan that makes 24 muffins that I found at an estate sale was on top of my pans in the drawer under the oven. That's when I decided to make my little "poppers". The recipe made that pan (24) plus 8 more in another muffin pan I found at an antique mall that is just a tiny bit larger than the other mini-muffin pan.I filled each cup with 2 tablespoons of batter...I have a scoop I use for making cookies that holds a tablespoon of water.
They were really good. I ended up eating 2 of them with a glass of milk for my breakfast. Oh, my husband was pleased also.
OATMEAL DATE PROTEIN POPPERS
3 cups quick oats
3 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cinnamon applesauce (I used unsweetened applesauce and just added 1/2 teaspoon more cinnamon.)
1/2 cup light nonfat vanilla yogurt (I used plain nonfat Greek yogurt)
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (15 seconds in the microwave)
1/4 cup raw honey
1 cup milk (I used skim milk)
1 cup chopped dates
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.
In a large bowl combine the oats, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and sea salt. with a whisk.
In a smaller bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, applesauce, yogurt, coconut oil, honey, and milk with the whisk.
Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Add the dates.
Fill the muffin cups full (2 scoops of batter - 2 tablespoons in the mini muffin tin).
Sprinkle the tops with a little oats.
Bake for 12 - 14 minutes for poppers and 18 - 23 minutes for regular size muffins. Bake til the centers bounce back when lightly pressed.
Cool on wire rack. Run a knife around the edges of the muffins to see if they are ready to remove. (I didn't have to wait very long.)
Continue cooling on wire rack.
Remember, if you wish to print this recipe using the print icon below, you will be given the option to "remove images" when the print window opens. If you do not see the print icon below, you need to go back to the title of this post and tap/click on it. Then just this post will open and the print button will be included with the share buttons at the bottom. Home will return you to the blog and the most recent posts.
Drop by heaping teaspoons onto cookie sheet. (I used my scoop that holds 1 tablespoon of water. 
I also tried flattening the scoop slightly.)
Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.
