Gingerbread Men and Women
(makes 3 dozen medium sized cookies)

1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup dark molasses
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter or margarine
4 cups flour
2 Eggs, slightly beaten
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon powdered cloves
1/8 teaspoon allspice
4 teaspoons ginger
11/2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all ingredients except the flour. Add the flour slowly, mixing each addition thoroughly. The dough should be slightly stiff. If the mixture seems too dry, add a teaspoon or two of water; if too wet, add more flour. Roll out the dough on a floured cutting board to about a 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters shaped like little dough people to make the shapes. Place these on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for ten minutes (time is only approx.). Transfer the cookies to wax paper to cool. Give your Gingerbread people features by using colored frosting from a pastry tube.

Pumpkin Pie

(makes two nine-inch pies)

3 cups cooked pumpkin (canned is fine)

11/4 cups evaporated milk

21/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 heaping teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 scant teaspoon salt

1/4 rounded teaspoon allspice

1/2 rounded teaspoon cinnamon

4 well-beaten eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix all ingredients thoroughly and pour into two deep, unbaked pie shells. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a knife comes out of the center clean.

Egg Nog

(makes approx. 1 gallon)

1 lb. confectioners' sugar

11/2 cups whiskey, ale, or dark rum

2 quartz whipping cream

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup tap water

1 cup milk

Mix the egg yolks, suagr, alcohol, and salt and let stand in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, beat the egg whites until just stiff, and mix them and the rest of the ingredients together. Serve chilled.

Hot Cross Buns

(Makes approx. 11/2 dozen)

3 cups flour

3/4 cup suagr

1 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup melted butter or margarine

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 package (1 oz.) dry yeast

1 large egg, well beaten

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon allspice

3/4 cup raisins (optional)

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon milk

2 cups orange juice

Combine all ingredients except yeast and eggs and mix well. Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup hot water. Add yeast and eggs to the rest of the rest and mix well. Cover with a cloth and allow the dough to rise in a warm spot until it has nearly doubled. This will take about an hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Shape the dough into round balls about 3 inches across and place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. After 5 minutes, remove buns and cut into the dough about 3/4 of an inch down, slicing equilateral crosses into the tops. Return to oven. Allow to bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the buns from the oven and drizzle on some honey if desired.

Pecan Pie

(Makes two 9 inch pies)

2 deep-dish unbaked pie shells

6 beaten eggs

1/2 cup butter (real butter is best), melted

2 cups brown sugar, packed

13/4 cups corn syrup

21/4 teaspoons vanilla

21/2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slowly and thoroughly mix together the eggs, butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla. Pour the mixture into the 2 pie shells. As the mixture will not "rise" like some pies, you can fill the shells higher than usual, but not so high that they boil over and leave a sticky, burned mess in your oven. Cover the pie with pecans. Bake for about an hour.

Baked Apples

(Makes 16 oz.)

12 to 14 large apples

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

3/4 cup warm thick cream

Peel, core and quarter enough apples to fit comfortably in a 9x13 baking pan. Corningware or Pyrex pans are better than metal ones for baking. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the apples in the baking pan. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Serve with a scoop of icecream.

Blackberry Pie

(Makes one 9 inch pie)

4 cups of fresh blackberries (thawed frozen berries are ok)

11/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon of salt

1 unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a deep pie dish with the pie crust or purchase a commercially-made one. Set aside. Mix all other ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. If it appears too "wet," mix in a little more flour (about 2 tablespoons). Turn the fruit into the pie shell and dot with butter or margarine. You can bake the pie as is, or cover it with another pie crust. Then score the top several times with a sharp knife. Bake for 1 hour, or until the top crust is a golden brown.

Cornbread

(Serves 4)

3/4 cup flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

11/2 cups yellow corn meal

1 egg

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a 9x9 baking pan. Mix all ingredients. Pour the mixture into the pan and place it in the oven for 20 minutes or until done. Serve hot with butter or honey.

Zucchini Casserole

(Serves 6-8)

5 zucchini, grated

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup sour cream

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated

1 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon ground oregano

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground rosemary

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup fresh or canned mushrooms

1 small chopped tomato

1/2 cup bacon bits or ham cubes

2 cups prepared croutons

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Place the mixture in a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Buckeyes

(Makes 4 dozen)

1 pound melted margarine

21/2 pounds smooth peanut butter

3 pounds powdered sugar

36 ounces semi-sweet chocolate or chocolate chips

1 square of cooking paraffin

To make the insides:

Mix the margarine, peanut butter, and powdered sugar together in a large mixing bowl. It will be thick and heavy. Roll the mixture into small balls about 3/4 of an inch to 1 inch across.

Melt the chocolate (Chocolate chips melt best) in a double boiler with 1 section of paraffin. Dip the balls in the chocolate mixture 3/4 of the way so they look like buckeyes. Lay them out on wax paper and let them set long enough to harden before eating.