Super Fudge Cookies

This recipe is a terrific no-bake cookie. In the summertime, these cookies are great to enjoy without heating up the oven. These cookies are so easy to make. The only challenge is that when the mixture is boiling, you have to keep stirring so that the sugar does not burn.

When making these cookies, let them cool a little bit before shaping them. I found that it was best to pack the dough into a round spoon before dropping it onto the wax paper. These cookies are a bit like homemade granola bars. In fact, you could even shape them into bars. I think they will be great stored in the freezer and taken along for an on-the-go snack.

Super Fudge Cookies 

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 6 Tbsp. cocoa
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cups chopped nuts
• 3 cups quick cooking oatmeal

Boil sugar, butter, cocoa, and milk in a heavy saucepan for one minute. Cool slightly. Stir in vanilla, nuts, oatmeal. Allow to cool slightly more. Drop by teaspoon onto wax paper. Let cookies set. Enjoy!

Grandma Welsman's Chocolate Icing

I like to make a cake for MDS's birthday. For his 46th birthday, I made this delicious chocolate icing to accompany a yellow layer cake. This recipe comes from Grandma Holmes's recipes, and Grandma Welsman is MDS's great-grandmother. 

This frosting is excellent, especially with yellow cake, but would also work with a nice chocolate cake or on sugar cookies. Although it is called chocolate icing, it is more like a frosting than a standard icing because it does not really harden the way that icings can. On the recipe card photo below, the edits noted are from Grandma Holmes. I used the full recipe amounts to use for a triple layer cake, but the amount can be adjusted as needed. Like many recipes from that time period, it calls for margarine, but I prefer using real butter.

Grandma Welsman's Chocolate Icing 

• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 6 Tbsp. milk
• 3 squares of chocolate
• t tsp. vanilla
• 1 stick butter

Melt chocolate and butter together. Add to sugar, milk, and vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread on cake. Enjoy!

Party Beef Balls

I always enjoy meatballs. They are great as an appetizer or as a meal unto themselves. Meatballs all follow a basic recipe but can be modified with seasonings and sauce to have many unique flavors. I found this recipe in Mom's recipe box and thought it would be a great treat. And because the meatballs are made on the stovetop instead of the oven, this recipe is terrific for summertime.

The recipe makes a lot of meatballs and would be great for a party or just a big meal. When I made these meatballs, I had to cook them in the skillet in batches because there were so many. The meatballs could be oven baked in order to cook them all at once. The sauce, made up of a number of ingredients, is especially delicious. The recipe calls for the meatballs to simmer in the sauce for ten minutes, but you could easily let them simmer for longer to absorb the flavor more.

Party Beef Balls 

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• butter or oil for skillet
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chili sauce
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp. white vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. catsup
• 1 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire 

Mix ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, evaporated milk, eggs, salt, and pepper. Form into balls using 1 teaspoon per ball. Brown on all sides in skillet with butter or oil. For the sauce, combine 1 1/2 cup water, brown sugar, chili sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, catsup, ginger, and Worcestershire sauce in a large pan. Cook to boiling. Add meatballs; simmer for ten minutes. Enjoy!

Cardamom Pizzelles

Pizzelles are a summertime favorite because they are delicious cookies that do not require using the oven. Instead, they are made using a pizzelle baker, which looks a lot like a waffle iron. This recipe will make a lot of pizzelles without heating up the kitchen. And because they bake so quickly, it is easy to have pizzelles to feed a bunch even on short notice.

The classic vanilla is always delicious. But I enjoy experimenting with pizzelle flavors. In the past, I have made chocolate, vanilla orange, orange rum, coffee, anise, and chocolate mint. I really like this cardamom pizzelle. Cardamom is not a very commonly used spice, although I frequently use it to flavor my coffee or oatmeal. Cardamom has a distinct taste that can be used in either sweet or savory dishes. 

Cardamom Pizzelles 

• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• powdered sugar for sprinkling

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar. Add the cooled butter, vanilla, and cardamom. Sift flour and baking powder together; add to the egg mixture. Drop by spoonful onto the heated pizzelle baker. Close to allow the pizzelle to bake, about 1-2 minutes. Remove pizzelles with tongs to a flat surface. Allow to cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Coconut Eclipes

As much as I like to eat candy, I do not often make candy. This recipe resulted in delicious candy that looked halfway decent. I made this recipe for a get-together for Father's Day at Mom's house. The candies were a hit, with everyone enjoying them.

Making delicious candy is relatively easy, but making good-looking candy can be tricky. The process of candy coating can be difficult. The chocolate coating needs to be warm, but not too warm, so that it is workable but not flowing. The coating itself needs to give good coverage, but not too much that it all runs off the candy. Learning the techniques can be challenging. But the results are these delicious candies that are similar to Mounds bars, so it is worth the effort.

Coconut Eclipses 

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
• 2 2/3 cup flaked coconut
• 3 squares semi-sweet chocolate

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add water and vanilla. Combine sugar and nonfat milk. Gradually add to butter mixture about one-half cup at a time; mixing well after each addition. Add coconut; mix well. Drop by teaspoon onto wax paper. Let stand until firm, about fifteen minutes. Melt chocolate. Cool chocolate until chocolate feels cool to the touch. Dip bottom of candy in chocolate; place upside down on waxed paper to dry. Enjoy!

Sugared Chocolate Wafers

These cookies are so delicious that I might have eaten them all in one sitting if I had not given some to neighbors. The cookies have a rich chocolate flavor that complements the crisp texture. The recipe calls for placing a walnut in the center of each cookie, but I left that step out. I am sure that the walnuts would have been nice, I just did not have any whole walnuts on hand.

Following the directions, I chilled the dough, but I think they would have come out fine even if the dough was not chilled. I tried using a cookie scooper, but I found that the cookies were not quite round enough, so I shaped the dough by hand into round balls. I did not flatten the cookies as much as the directions stated because I like the thicker cookie. 

Sugared Chocolate Wafers 

• 4 squares unsweetened chocolate
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup firm brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• granulated sugar
• walnuts (optional)

Melt chocolate over hot, not boiling water, cool. Sift floor, powder, soda, and salt onto wax paper. Beat butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and cooked chocolate in a large bowl with electric mix until thoroughly blended. Stir in flour mix. Chill for two hours. Form dough into walnut-size balls. Arrange on ungreased sheets about one-inch apart. Dip glass tumbler in glass and flatten each cookie into a two-inch round. Press walnut into each cookie. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool. Enjoy!

Swedish Meatballs

These meatballs make a terrific meal. In the summertime, I like to look for recipes that do not use the oven. This recipe fits the bill and results in a delicious meal made on the stovetop. The ingredients are easy enough to find. The flavor is terrific, and the meatballs could be eaten on their own or with noodles, rice, or bread.

When I made this recipe, I substituted three-quarter cup of breadcrumbs for the slices of bread, and then increased the milk by another splash. I also added more than a dash of nutmeg because I especially like the flavor. I served these meatballs with noodles.

Swedish Meatballs 

• 3 slices bread, crumbled
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 small onion, grated
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• dash ground nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 (7/8 oz.) packet brown gravy mix
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

Add bread to milk. Mix in next five ingredients. Shape into one-inch balls. Chill. Brown meatballs in oil in a large skillet. Prepare gravy according to directions, using 1 1/4 cup water. Blend in mayonnaise. Add to meatballs and heat. Enjoy!