Pizza Dip

 This is our very favorite dip.  We make it for most of our big sporting events, and serve it with Triscuits and rye chips.  You can make it ahead of time and stick it in the fridge, and bake before serving.  Enjoy!

Pizza Dip

1 8 oz. package (Neufchâtel) cream cheese, softened

½ c. (light) sour cream

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/8 tsp. garlic power

1/8-1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 

½ c. pizza sauce

½ c. pepperoni, chopped

¼ c. green onions, sliced

¼ c. green pepper, chopped

½ c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°.  Beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, oregano, garlic powder and red pepper flakes.  Spread into a 9-10” quiche dish or pie plate.  Spread pizza sauce over top, and sprinkle with pepperoni, green pepper, and green onions.  Baked until heated through, about 10 minutes.  Top with mozzarella cheese, and bake until cheese is melted and starts turning golden brown.  Serve warm with crackers, rye chips, veggies, or any of your favorite dippers!

Banket

This is a delicious Dutch pastry that I remember having since I was a young child.  My grandmas made it, my mom made it, and now I've been trying to perfect it, and hope to teach my daughter to make it, too.

Banket

1 c. almond paste

1 c. granulated sugar

1 egg

1 egg, separated

1/2 c. corn starch

2 c. all-purpose flour

 1 c. butter

1/2 c. water

Combine almond paste, sugar, egg, egg yolk and corn starch and let stand in bowl about 30 minutes.   Preheat oven to 400℉.  Put together the pastry dough. Cut cold butter into the flour until crumbs start to appear, and stir in water. 

 

I remember cutting cardboard strips to fit the sticks, and covering them in foil, and then wrapping the whole thing in plastic wrap.  You'll definitely want to store it tightly covered, and you can freeze it, but it never lasts long enough around our house for that!  Makes 4 13" sticks.  

Gram's Butter Cookies

According to my mom, these cookies were brought to a family funeral recently, and the family confirmed, "these are Gram's - just like [we] remembered." Like many of the recipes from our greats and grands, the instructions are minimal, but it's a pretty basic recipe.  I love having a recipe from my great grandma to pass on to my kiddos. Enjoy!

Butter Cookies

Grandma Katherine Hertel

3 sticks of butter

1-1/2 c. granulated sugar

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Mix and form in a loaf.  Refrigerate until it's hard.  Slice loaf in thin pieces.  Bake at 325℉ for about 12 minutes.  Cookies will be very light in color. 

Peanut Butter Balls (a.k.a. Buckeyes)

These are a holiday staple, and our grandma made them with a little twist, adding some crunch with Wheaties.  We call them "peanut butter balls" since we're a Michigan Wolverines household, too. ;)

Peanut Butter Balls (a.k.a. Buckeyes)

Gram Hertel

Cream together:

1-1/2 sticks margarine (I use butter and it works fine, too)

2 c. peanut butter

1 lb. powdered sugar

Mix in:

 1 12 oz. box of crushed Wheaties cereal

Mix will and shape with hands into walnut-sized balls (we actually make them a lot smaller now).  Stick in the freezer to firm up while heating the chocolate. 

Melt in a double boiler:

1/2 bar wax (we use 1-2 tbsp. of coconut oil instead now)

6 oz. chocolate chips (We use Trader Joe's big red bar of dark chocolate, or a combination of whatever  bulk chocolate we have on hand, and it's usually about 8 ounces.  If we have leftover, we dip some pretzels afterward.)

Use a small skewer to dip balls into chocolate.  You can leave the top uncoated for the "buckeye" appearance, or go all in - whatever works!  Cool on parchment and store in a cool, dry place (we stick them out on our chilly covered porch or in the fridge).

Imperial Cookies

Imperial Cookies

I remember these as a kid at my grandma's house.  The recipe comes from the Dutch Kitchen cookbook.

Preheat oven to 300℉. Beat the following ingredients together for 15 minutes, until fluffy:

2 sticks imperial margarine
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. vinegar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Add 1-1/2 c. flour, beat just to incorporate.

Stir in 1/2 c. chocolate chips (a generous 1/2 c. )

Bake 30 minutes on greased baking sheet (or use parchment).  Makes about 2-1/2 dozen cookies, so we usually doubled it.

Chocolate Crinkles

Chocolate Crinkles

This recipe was one of a collection from a baking class my mom took, and also one I clipped from Midwest Living circa 2002 (it noted that the pastry chef from Sanford in Milwaukee makes them with her son).  They're great for Christmas, or any time - it's kind of like a chewy brownie in cookie form. 

2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. vegetable oil

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

2 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

2-1/4 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, beat sugar, oil, chocolate and vanilla until combined.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Slowly incorporate into wet ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate, at least 3 hours.  Preheat oven to 350℉.  Shape rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls. Roll each ball in powdered sugar and place on greased cookie sheet (or on parchment). Bake until almost no indentation remains the touched, about 10-12 minuets.  Makes about 6 dozen cookies. 

Peanut Blossom Cookies

Peanut Blossom Cookies

These are a staple around the holidays, and great for keeping the littles busy unwrapping the kisses and squishing them onto the freshly baked cookies.

1 bag (8 oz) Hershey's kisses (original or hugs)
1/2 c. shortening
3/4 c. crazy peanut butter
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
granulated sugar for rolling cookies

Preheat oven to 375℉.  Remove wrappers from kisses.  Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well-blended.  Add 1/3 c granulated sugar and brown sugar, beat until light and fluffy.  Add egg, milk and vanilla, beat well.  Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.  Shape dough into 1" balls and roll in granulated sugar.  Place on uncreased cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a kiss into the center of each cookie (cookies will crack around the edges).  Cool completely.  Make about 4 dozen cookies.