Cornmeal Cookies

I found this recipe among Grandma's recipe cards. I don't recall her making these cookies, but I could see how the use of cornmeal might appeal to Grandma because her mother often made polenta. MDS was skeptical of these cookies because of the inclusion of cornmeal and raisins, but after one bite, he was hooked. The cornmeal in the cookies add a nice crunch to the cookies, and in some ways, the cookies remind me of potato chip cookies.

I made these cookies and took them to Mom's for a typical Saturday night. Like MDS, the kids were skeptical of the cookies, primarily because of the raisins. But the kids who tried the cookies liked them. And Mom, who usually doesn't like to keep cookies around, even kept a few cookies to enjoy later. So give these cookies a try, you might find you really like them.

Cornmeal Cookies 

• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup raisins

Mix butter and sugar in a large bowl; add egg and beat well. Add in the rest of the ingredients, mixing to combine. Drop dough by the teaspoon onto a greased pan. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, or until the edges turn lightly brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Scones

This recipe is not a family recipe, but is a personal favorite recipe of mine. These scones are inspired by pumpkin scones that can be found at Starbucks in the fall. They are easy to make and taste great with coffee or tea, or even on their own. They capture the classic Fall flavors, but are delicious year-round.

However, rather than making the larger size scones, I make these as a mini-sized scone so they are closer to cookie size or about three-bites per scone. I do not put a glaze on them, but you could easily use a powdered sugar glaze. If you make the glaze, consider adding some spice, like cinnamon and nutmeg. The spices that I use are cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon and ginger. But you can adjust the spices to meet your taste.

Pumpkin Scones 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 7 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cardamon
• 1/4 tsp. ginger
• 6 Tbsp. cold butter
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 3 Tbsp. buttermilk
• 1 egg

Preheat oven to 425. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and spices in a large bowl. Cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. In separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, buttermilk and egg. Fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Form one-third of dough into a ball and then roll into a rectangle. cut into small triangles. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake for 14 minutes. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Apple Crunch Cake

This recipe makes a delicious cake, especially during the fall when apple and cinnamon flavors capture the season. I brought this cake to Mom's house for a regular Saturday night. It was a hit with most there. Although not all the kids like cinnamon, all the adults liked the cake.

I used two apples to make this cake, but I could have used another apple to add to the apple flavor. The one addition that I made to the recipe was to use one teaspoon of vanilla in the batter. Good vanilla always improves baked goods. The recipe calls for using an 8X8 square pan, but I do not have that size pan, so I used an 8-inch round pan. My cake ended up being taller than the cake likely should be. The recipe could be easily doubled to use a 13X9 pan.

Apple Crumb Cake 

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cup thinly sliced peeled apple

For the crumb mixture:

• 1/4 cup raw or regular sugar
  
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the egg, milk, vanilla, and melted butter. Add the wet ingredients to the flour ingredients, mixing only until the dry ingredients are moistened. In a separate bowl, prepare the crumb mixture by mixing the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until coarse crumbs form.

Spread half the batter in a greased 8X8 inch square pan. Arrange apple slices on the batter and sprinkle with half the crumb mixture. Spread the rest of the batter over the apples and sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on the top of the cake. Bake at 400 for 35 minutes or until done. Enjoy!