Kären's Mom's Butter Cookies

It's truly feast or famine on my blog.

I stay away forever then hit you with back to back dessert recipes.  So, here is another blast from the past recipe that I've enjoyed making since 1977.  This one comes courtesy of another high school friend from Yokota.  Kären's mom hailed from England and had the beautiful, lilting accent to prove it.  True to her heritage, she could bake a mean butter pecan cookie.  One day we popped into her kitchen after school and found a plate full of these delicious morsels waiting for us.  She promptly discovered it wasn't safe to set cookies in front of Laura Lee.  I feel sure I ate way more than was socially acceptable for a 14 year old girl.  And then I sweetly requested the recipe, which she was gracious enough to supply.

The ridiculously simple dough is just barely sweet.  Powdered sugar adds only a wee bit of sweetness to these melt-in-your-mouth treats which are fabulous with tea or coffee for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up.  

Trust me.   Would I lead you astray?

Cut butter into the flour and sugar.

Add chopped pecans.

Roll into balls and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
 For best results, be sure they are perfectly round like mine.

Roll in powdered sugar while still warm from the oven;  

then, watch them disappear!!

Mrs. M's Butter Cookies

• 1/2 lb butter --let it sit out a while to soften
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

****

• powdered sugar for rolling

Cut butter into flour and sugar with a pastry blender or fork.  Stir in pecans.  Shape into small balls and place on baking sheet or stone.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  Roll in powdered sugar while still warm.  

Love,

Peanut Butter Cake

 

I haven't blogged in so long, it's really a wonder anyone still comes here to check for new posts.  You'll be glad you did this time, though, because you'll want to try this delicious peanut butter cake.

I had the wrong first impression of this cake when I read the recipe.   Needing something simple that didn't require chocolate, I found this one in an old Newcomer's Club of Decatur, Alabama cook book.  I pictured a pea-nutty flavored cake with pea-nutty icing, and honestly, I wasn't sure if that was what I was going for.  But pressed for time with dinner guests arriving in a couple hours, I decided to go with it since I had all the ingredients.

Surprisingly, it has no peanut butter at all in the cake part and only a smallish amount in the boiled, brown sugar icing.  Nevertheless, the combination of rich, moist cake with an almost fudge-like icing was perfect.  One of the guests remarked, "I'm going to have to have this recipe!"

Unlike many cakes which dry out over time, this one just gets better the longer it sits.  For real.  I made it on Monday afternoon, and here it is Friday.  Still as yummy as it was the day I made it.  Not that I've slivered away at it all week long.

Who does that, anyway?

Certainly not me.

So here you go.  Thanks to Kelsey and Katherine, who both gave it rave reviews, I offer it now for your baking pleasure.

 Start with four eggs and two cups of sugar.

 Mix until well blended.

 Add flour and baking powder.

 Melt butter in milk on top of stove.

 Add butter and milk to bowl and mix well. 

 Pour into greased 9X13" pan.

 Bake until golden brown~ about 25-30 minutes.  (Wow, my kitchen lighting is terrible.)

 

 This picture of the icing ingredients is as far as I got with the photography.  You'll boil this for about 10-12 minutes, until it reaches soft-ball stage on a candy thermometer or until a small amount of the liquid forms a soft, pliable ball in a dish of cold water.  Just like your grandma used to.

Peanut Butter Cake

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 stick butter 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  

Beat eggs and sugar until well blended.  Mix flour with baking powder and add to egg mixture.  Melt butter in milk and then gradually add to flour mixture.  Bake in 9X13", greased baking pan at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Icing

• 1 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 stick butter 
• 4 Tablespoons peanut butter 

Mix all the ingredients and cook on top of the stove over medium heat until it reaches the soft ball stage.  (I use a candy thermometer and cook till it reaches the "soft ball" line.)  Cool completely, then ice the cake.

Have yourself a great weekend!  

Love,