Spicy Fruit Cocktail Cookies

December means that it is time to make cookies. Mom's recipe box has many cookie recipes. While I do not remember this cookie from childhood, I definitely remember having fruit cocktail often. All the fruits in fruit cocktail--pears, pineapple, grapes, peaches, and cherries--are delicious. The best fruit is always the cherry.

The spices in the name of these cookies are cinnamon and cloves, giving the cookies a very wintry flavor. I made these for Thanksgiving, but the cookies lost attention to the various pies and whipped creams. Nevertheless, these cookies are a tasty treat that are worth giving a try.

Spicy Fruit Cocktail Cookies 

•  3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. rum flavoring
• 1 cup fruit cocktail, thoroughly drained
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 tsp. grated orange rind

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices together. Cream sugar and butter until light. Add eggs and flavoring; mix well. Stir in sifted dry ingredients. Blend in fruit cocktail, nuts, coconut, and orange rind. Drop by spoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until done. Enjoy!

Fresh Green Bean Casserole

For Thanksgiving 2024, Laura made Fresh Green Bean Casserole. It was amazing. Don't get me wrong; I still like green bean casserole made with canned green beans. But the fresh version is so much better. The green beans are slightly crunchy and much more flavorful. So in 2025, I asked Laura to make Fresh Green Bean Casserole again.

This post is based on Laura's 2025 Thanksgiving casserole. The only difference is that blanched green beans replace the can of green beans. To blanch green beans, clean and cut the beans, then drop them into salted boiling water for about 2 to 4 minutes removing them to a bowl of ice water.

Fresh Green Bean Casserole

• 1 pound green beans, blanched
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounce) condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• dash of salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups french fried onions

Heat oven to 350. In a bowl, mix together soup, milk, salt, pepper, green beans, and 1 cup french fried onions. Pour into a 1.5 quart casserole baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes, until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the mixture. Then, top with the remaining french fried onions. Bake 5 more minutes. Enjoy!

Apple Harvest Cake

Many of Mom's recipes feature treats that are not often available in grocery stores or bakeries. This apple cake is a prime example. The cake uses fresh apples, nuts, and cinnamon for a fantastic cake perfect for Fall. While you might be able to find apple products, such as apple cider donuts, this apple cake is so much better.

The ingredients in this cake are pantry staples, except I did not have any whole wheat flour on hand, so I just used all-purpose flour. The cake turned out just fine. Any type of apple or nuts could be used for this cake. I used walnuts for this version. The glaze frosting is standard. Next time, I might add some cinnamon to the glaze to compliment the cake's flavors.

Apple Harvest Cake 

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 cup oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups peeled and finely chopped apples
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 2-3 tsp. milk

Mix together the flours, sugars, cinnamon, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, blend together the salt, baking soda, oil, vanilla, and eggs for three minutes. Add the flour mix and blend. Stir in the chopped apples and nuts. Pour into a greased 13x9 pan. Bake at 325 for 50 to 65 minutes. Allow to cool. Make the glaze by blending the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Spoon over cake. Enjoy!

Pecan Bars

I look forward to pecan pie as part of Thanksgiving, so I thought I would try this recipe from Mom's recipe box as a preview for Thanksgiving. These bars are something of a shortcut pecan pie. When I made this recipe, I did not do a good enough job sealing the perforations in the crust so the filling slipped though and ended up on the bottom instead of the top of the bars. The bars were still delicious but an absolute mess to get out to the pan and eat.

These bars use canned crescent roll for the crust, which is a nice shortcut. Next time, I will have to take more time and care to seal up the seams and perforations to prevent the filling from seeping under the crust. When I made this batch, I used closer to one cup of pecans for a nuttier bar.

Pecan Bars 

• 8 ounce can crescent rolls
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1 Tbsp. melted butter
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease a 13x9 pan. Separate crescent dough into two large rectangles. Press rectangles over bottom of pan and 1/2 inch up the sides of prepared pan to form crust; seal perforations. Bake crust for  minutes. In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Pour over partially baked crust. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool; cut into bars. Enjoy!

Easy Cheesy Fudge Brownies

Mom has many brownie recipes in her recipe box. Brownies were in the regular rotation of sweets when we were kids. I am sure Mom tried out different brownie recipes, but knowing my family, likely went back to basic brownies often. What I liked about this recipe was the addition of cinnamon for a nice flavor. These brownies are only somewhat fudgy but are delicious nonetheless.

This recipe is easy to make. The brownie batter is made and then the cream cheese mix is swirled into the batter. After baking, I found the cream cheese mix might have blended in too much, so next time I might do a little less swirling. I did not add nuts to these brownies.

Easy Cheesy Fudge Brownies

• 1 cup butter
• 4 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Cream cheese filling

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Prepare cream cheese filling by blending ingredients until smooth. Prepare the brownie batter by heating the butter and chocolate on low heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Cool. Beat the chocolate mix, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl on medium speed, scraping occasionally about one minute. Beat in flour and salt on low speed, scraping occasionally. Beat on medium about one minute. Stir in nuts. Spread half of batter in a greased 9x9 pan. Spread with cream cheese filling. Gently spread remaining chocolate batter over filling. Swirl the batter with a spoon for a marble effect. Bake at 350 for 55 to 65 minutes. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Apple Pudding

This recipe is a terrific recipe for the Fall because of the apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Although it is called a pudding, it really is a cake. It is especially delicious when topped with a bit of whipped cream. I finely chopped the apples. A courser chopped apple would also be good for this recipe. 

When I make desserts, I sometimes do not include nuts, but this time I included the nuts. The walnuts added a nice crunch to this cake. I used a 9x9 pan, which resulted in thin cake. Other pans could easily be used for different sized cakes. Next time, I might make this using a muffin pan. 

Apple Pudding 

• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 apples, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup walnuts, optional

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat thoroughly. Sift flour with soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add flour to creamed mixture. Beat until blended. Stir in apples and walnuts. Turn into buttered 9x9 pan or 11x7 pan. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. Enjoy!

Campbelled Eggs

This recipe came from the Campbell Soup Company. It is a variation on scrambled eggs that is flavorful and rich. The recipe is very easy and would make a good meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The basic recipe is easy and can be dressed up with different vegetables, meats, or cheese. The key to this recipe is mixing a cream soup with the eggs for great flavor.

The recipe is pretty basic using bacon, bell pepper, onion, cream soup, and eggs. I decided to try this recipe because I had a can of cream of celery soup that I wanted to use. The recipe calls for cream of chicken soup but any cream soup can be used. Also, you could leave out the bacon or swap in another meat such as ham or turkey.

Campbelled Eggs 

• 4 slices bacon
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 can cream soup
• 8 eggs
• dash pepper

Cook the bacon until crispy. Remove and crumble. Meanwhile, cook the green pepper and onion until tender. Add bacon back in. In a bowl, stir soup until smooth. Add eggs and blend well. Pour eggs into skillet. Cook over low heat. As mixture sets, lift edges to allow uncook portion to bottom. Continue until eggs are completely set. Enjoy!