Brigham City Peach Cobbler: From The Essential Mormon Cookbook

¾ C packed brown sugar

1 ½ T cornstarch

½ C water

1 tsp almond extract

4 cups peeled and sliced fresh peaches (or combination of peaches and raspberries)

1 T lemon juice

1 T butter

1 C flour

2 T sugar

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¼ cup butter

1 egg, slightly beaten

¼ C milk

Ice cream or whipped cream (optional)

For filling, in a saucepan combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add almond extract. Stir in peaches, lemon juice, and the 1 T butter; heat through and keep warm while preparing topping.

For topping, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the ¼ C butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl combine eggs and milk; add all at once to flour mixture, stirring just to moisten. Turn hot filling into a greased 2-quart casserole. Immediately spoon on topping in 6 mounds. Bake at 400* for 20-24 minutes. Makes six servings.

Pumpkin Chip Muffins

4 eggs

2 C sugar

16 oz can pumpkin

1 ½ C canola oil

3 C flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

2 C semisweet chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until smooth. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; add to pumpkin mixture, mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups ¾ full. 400* 16-20 minutes. Yields 24.

*1 ½ cups is a lot of oil! I've reduced it to 1 cup with pretty good results. I've also tried substituting apple sauce in different amounts, but they are really best with at least ¾ cup oil.

Bethanie's Best Cookies EVER!

1 c softened butter
1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 c flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 c chocolate chips / white chocolate chips / peanut butter chips / nuts / whatever you want!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add butter and sugars together.
3. Add eggs and vanilla after that.
4. Dissolve baking soda in hot water, then add to mix.
5. Add salt and flour.
6. Add chips.
7. Put little balls on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes!

*I like with a little more salt, and my favorite chip combo (so far) is 1 cup white chocolate, 1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate, and 1/2 cup butterscotch. Bake for more like 14 minutes in my oven.

Bulgarian Tarator

*1 large english cucumber, or 2 small, finely diced (I like a little of the peel in mine for the green color, but take it all off if you prefer!)
*4 cups plain yogurt (quality counts, we like Stoneybrook brand, but anything with bulgaricus cultures is usually good)
*2 large cloves of garlic, pressed
*1 TBSP olive oil
*1/4 tsp salt
*1/2 tsp dried dill (or a couple TBSP of fresh)
*1/2 cup (or so) cold water
*chopped walnuts

Remove the seeds from the cucumbers before dicing. Also remove any liquid on top of the yogurt. Combine with garlic, oil, salt and dill. Add cold water until it reaches a creamy, but not thick consistency. 1/2 cup is usually enough. Best if chilled for a couple of hours. Sprinkle lightly with chopped walnuts before serving.

Chocolate Souffle Cakes

Room-temperature butter and unsweetened cocoa powder for the ramekins
1/2 cup butter
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (use only the GOOD stuff!)
4 eggs, at room temperature (important to get the right consistency)
1/3 cup sugar
3 T flour
confectioners sugar for sprinkling

Brush six 5-6 ounce ramekins with room-temp butter. Sift cocoa powder over a sheet of parchment paper, pour the powder into one of the ramekins, and turn it until the inside is coated. Pour the excess cocoa powder into the next ramekin and repeat until all have been coated.
Combine the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir with a whisk or spatula until melted and smooth. Remove from heat.
Combine eggs and sugar and beat on high speed with a stand mixer for about 5 minutes or with a hand mixer for about 25 minutes, or until the ribbon stage: when the beater is lifted, the mixture falls in a wide band onto the surface, forming a figure eight that stays for 5 seconds before dissolving.
Pour egg mixture over the chocolate mixture and fold with a rubber spatula while sifting the flour over the mixture, one tablespoon at a time. Fold until the flour is no longer visible.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared ramekins and smooth the tops. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 425*. Bake the souffle cakes for 17-20 minutes, until risen by almost half. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and serve. If you want to unmold the cakes, run a knife around the inside edge of the ramekins. Turn the cakes over onto plates, lift off the ramekins, and sprinkle with confectioners sugar. Serve warm.

Pecan Fingers

2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups pecans, roasted
confectioners sugar for dusting

To roast the pecans, preheat oven to 350*. Place the nuts on a baking sheet and roast them for about 15 minutes, or until you can smell their aroma.

Sift together flour and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, with a heavy wooden spoon or mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in the vanilla. Process the pecans in a food processor for about 30 seconds, or until finely ground but not oily. Mix the nuts into the butter mixture until evenly distributed. Add the flour mixture and beat just long enough to eliminate lumps. Refridgerate for at least 20 minutes.

Unless using a nonstick pan, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Form about 2 tablespoons of dough into a finger shape about 3 inches long and place it on the prepared pan. When you've formed all the cookies, refrigerate the them on the sheet pan for 1 hour to harden the butter.

Preheat oven to 275*. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until pale brown on the bottoms. Let cool until set, then transfer to cooling racks or let cool on the pans set on cooling racks. Roll the cookies in confectioners sugar. Store tightly sealed in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Pizza Dough

3 cups flour
3/4 cup barely warm water
1/2 tsp active dry yeast proofed in 1 T barely warm water
3/4 tsp salt
6 T extra virgin olive oil

Mix the flour, water and yeast. Add the salt and mix, then add oil. Knead the dough with a stand mixer fitted with dough hook on med speed for about 7 minutes or until dough is smooth and passes windowpane test. Turn the mixer to high speed if necessary to get the dough to slap the sides of the bowl. You may also, during this time, pull the dough off the hook a couple of times so that the dough is mixed evenly. Put the dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to double in volume, at room temp for 1 hour, then overnight in the fridge. As a general rule, the longer it takes dough to rise, the more flavorful it will be. However, it can also be left to rise at room temp for 3-4 hours and used the same day.

Chicken Skillet Stew

1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
chicken breasts (2-3) cubed
3 T butter
1 med. onion
3 celery ribs
2 potatoes
3 carrots
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp thyme
1 T ketchup
1 T cornstarch

Coat chicken with salt & pepper in flour. Brown in skillet with melted butter. Add onion and celery. Cook for 3 minutes. Add potatoes and carrots. Combine broth, thyme, ketchup and cornstarch, stir into skillet. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.