Elephant Ears

This fun recipe goes way back to when my boys were little.  Tom's sister, Lynn, gave them a little paperback cookbook titled Alpha-Bakery, by the Gold Medal flour company.  I presume she ordered it right off a sack of flour.  Between the covers of our well-worn copy are twenty-six kid-friendly recipes that start with each letter of the alphabet.  A for Apple Crisp.   B for Banana Bread.  C for Chocolate Chip Cookies.  You get the idea.  While we've tried quite a few of them over the years, especially when there has been a youngster in the house learning his/her letters, our all-time favorite by far is E for Elephant Ears.  

The recipe makes four giant, pastry-like, cinnamon and sugar filled cookies, thus the name "Elephant Ears."   I quickly discovered that doubling this amount was the only way to go.  With twice the dough, we can make anywhere from eight to ten of these delicious treats in a hurry.  It doesn't call for any eggs, which is a plus because that is usually the only ingredient I'm ever out of.  

Try these soon!  You're going to be a quick convert, just like we were!

Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Stir in milk and melted butter to form a soft dough.

Flop it on a floured counter and knead about 10 times.

Roll it out to a rectangle, 9X5 inches.  

Spread with remaining melted butter and 

sprinkle with mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

Roll up jelly-roll style, then cut into four equal pieces.

Place cut sides up on cookie sheet or baking stone.  Pat into a big circle!

Bake for 8-10 minutes. 

Let cool on rack.

Elephant Ears
(single recipe)

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoons cinnamon
• more sugar for sprinkling

Heat the oven to 425 degrees.  Grease cookie sheet.  Melt butter and set aside.  Stir flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, the baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir in milk and 3 tablespoons of melted butter until dough forms.  

Sprinkle surface with flour.  Turn dough onto surface.  Knead 10 times. Roll dough with rolling pin or pat with hands into a rectangle 9X5 inches.  Brush with remaining melted butter.  Sprinkle with mixture of 3 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon.  Roll dough up tightly beginning at narrow end.  Cut into 4 equal pieces with sharp knife.  

Place cut sides up on cookie sheet.  Pat each one into a big circle.  Sprinkle with more sugar.  Bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes.  Remove and let cool on wire rack.

Watch them disappear!

Love,