Drop Sugar Cookies

Makes 24-30

1 cup salted butter

2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons cream or half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, cream, and vanilla; beat well. Whisk together dry ingredients and add to wet mixture, mix  well. Drop by heaping tablespoon onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 375 degrees for 8 minutes or until golden.

Hash Brown Casserole

12-16 servings

1 -2 pound package frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed

1/4 cup melted butter (I use salted butter and add no additional salt)

1 can mushroom soup

1 - 8 oz container sour cream

1/2 cup chopped onions

1-1/2 cups shredded Velveeta

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Ground black pepper to taste

Optional: 1-2 cups browned sausage or ground beef, bacon bits, or diced ham - I like 2 cups browned maple sausage

Topping:

2 cups crushed cornflakes cereal

1/4 cup melted butter (Or you can just sprinkle parmesan cheese on top, which is what I did; bread crumb or Panko crumb topping is good too.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, combine hash browns, 1/4 cup melted butter, soup, sour cream, chopped onion, cheeses, and pepper. Place mixture in 9 X 13 baking dish sprayed with baking spray.

Over medium heat, sauté cornflakes in 1/4 cup melted butter, and sprinkle the mixture over the top of the casserole. Or may use Panko. I sprinkle Parmesan over mine.

Cover with foil sprayed with baking spray and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, removing cover the last few minutes to brown top. Mixture should be bubbling. Let sit about 10 minutes before digging in! 

Weezie's Sweet Potato Souffle

3 cups yams, boiled, drained, mashed
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup melted (salted) butter

Mix all ingredients and place in greased casserole dish. It's best if you mix everything while the potatoes are still hot.

Top with the following:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
2-3 T melted (salted) butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Mix together and sprinkle on potatoes. Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Serves 8-10 people

Sweet Sourdough Rolls

4 cups King Arthur bread flour, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dry yeast
2/3 cup warm milk plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup sourdough discard
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons salted butter plus 2 tablespoons Crisco, melted together

Mix yeast with warm milk and teaspoon of sugar, let sit until bubbles appear. Add discard, sugar, honey, and eggs, mix on low speed until combined. Mix 3 cups flour with salt and slowly add to milk/yeast mixture; switch to dough hook and knead for 5 minutes. Add melted butter/Crisco and knead at least 5 more minutes, making sure butter is completely incorporated. Add more flour if necessary but keep dough fairly sticky. Cover and let rise until doubled, at least an hour.

Punch dough down and shape - may be used for dinner rolls or cinnamon rolls. For rolls, shape, cover, and let rise until doubled. Bake at 375 until brown, about 10 minutes.

Blue Cranberry Sauce

1 - 12 oz pkg fresh cranberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup water or fruit juice (orange, apple, raspberry, etc)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla
*1 tablespoon salted butter

Place cranberries, sugarss, honey, and water in saucepan or pot and heat on medium until cranberries pop. Cook on low for about 10 minutes, then mash with potato masher. Add blueberries and cinnamon and cook on low for 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla and butter. Cool.

*I add butter at the end because it adds another depth of flavor to the cranberry sauce. If you prefer not to use it, then add a pinch of salt to the mixture while cooking.

Brown Sugar Honey Pecan Pie

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons salted butter, melted
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 heaping cup pecans (preferably toasted in 325 oven for about 20 minutes and cooled)
1 9-inch unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix sugars, corn syrup, honey, butter, eggs, and vanilla together in bowl. Mix in pecans. Pour mixture into pie shell. Bake pie about 45-60 minutes or until top is bubbling and brown. Allow to cool several hours or overnight.