Recipes

There’s nothing like blessing someone with a dish of homemade food! Check back often for recipes to use for church pot lucks or outreach ministries. Catch funny and poignant stories about food in history and in Karen’s daily life. I’ll also share recipes from the past and how those dishes weave into my historical fiction.

December 2, 2015 by Karen Wingate Leave a Comment

Christmas Cookie Decorating Tips

Here’s my five decorating tips for making stress-free Christmas Cookies.

I woke up this morning, ready to mail a Christmas present to a friend. I found the box for the present. I found the shipping box. Ah! There’s room on the side of the shipping box. Just the right space for a package of cookies.

I had just bought a cool canister of sprinkles from Aldi’s. I’ll make iced sugar cookies. This would be a good time to make Great-Grandma Flossy’s Drop Sugar Cookies. I haven’t made those in years. I could ice them and decorate them and . . .

What am I thinking? I hate icing cookies! I don’t do it very well. I’ve got other things to do. Why not? My husband’s taking a vacation day today and I should too. Here we go.

As I iced my cookies, I learned a few things that probably apply to anytime I need to do something new. Here’s my decorating tips for frosting Christmas cookies.

Learn as you go. I haven’t iced sugar cookies in years. I fret over cake frosting. Christmas sugar cookies, like fudge and other holiday specialties, are one of those thing we don’t do often enough to remember what we did the last time. At first, my frosting was too thick. My husband thought I wasn’t putting on enough frosting. The goo of icing running over the sides made him realize why I was being chintzy. Then I thinned the icing too much. The icing dried before Jack could apply the sprinkles. I was icing cookies too quickly for him to keep up.

If he and I had been tense about every cookie being perfect, we would have ended the cookie icing session with a marital spat and un-iced cookies. Instead, we relaxed and talked through how to make each cookie better.

Do it with someone else. I could have done the cookies by myself. I’m sure many bakers do and they’ve got their method down to a fine art. Because of my vision, I knew the sprinkles part would be more frustration than it was worth. So I asked Jack to help me. He’s on vacation; he’s not doing anything. I’m glad I had the excuse of poor vision to get him involved. The job did go faster with two people. Besides it was fun. Just ask him. J

Enjoy the moment. I mean, someone has to destroy the evidence of burnt and broken cookies, and drippy icing. I should have painted Jack’s nose with icing. I could have added red sprinkles and called him Rudolf!

Give yourself a second chance. As I mentioned, I fret over frosting. My recipe was that of my great-grandma Flossy, a soft sugar cookie that I remember loving as a child but the one time I made them as an adult, they were horrible. My girls found the recipe in my file and wondered why I had kept it. I don’t know what compelled me to try them this morning or to put icing on them. I’m the one who chafes at icing anything. But I’m glad I did. It wasn’t that hard and we had fun. Maybe I have matured and learned to relax over the years. I’m the one that has changed. It’s refreshing to try things again that were difficult or scary in a younger season of life.

Risk it! I made the cookies this morning to ship to a friend in Ohio. What was I thinking? An old recipe, icing I don’t feel competent to apply, and shipping iced cookies that might get stale, broken and smooshed in the shipping process.

Why not? It’s Christmas. I love my friend. I love baking. I love spending time with my husband. Aren’t those things more important than perfect cookies? It’s time for me to observe the advice I gave my daughters countless times: the process is more important than the product.

Here’s Great-Grandma Flossy’s recipe for Drop Sugar Cookies. You can figure out your own icing.

Grandma Flossy’s Drop Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp lemon rind
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp milk
2 cups flour (part whole wheat if desired)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp soda

Blend together margarine ( used butter), salt, lemon rind (I used a ½ tsp lemon juice instead), and nutmeg. Cream in sugar, add eggs and beat well. Stir in milk. Stir together dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

November 6, 2015 by Karen Wingate Leave a Comment

My Best Brownies

A pan of brownies and a place to escape. That will keep any college student happy.

I used to think brownies were finicky to make, had expensive ingredients, and contained more sugar than the food police allowed. Then a friend gave me this recipe and it’s been my go to recipe for something quick and easy to take to group gatherings.

I should have made these when Marcie invited us to the Barn Dance. Instead, I tried to use up some apples and made applesauce bars that didn’t turn out so well. My brownies would have been the failsafe thing to bring.

Marcie owns this 100-year-old large, airy barn that’s been renovated and updated several times in its long life. Every year, Marcie invites college students from the nearby University campus ministry group to come out for an evening of goodies, hot apple cider, and line dancing. This group of kids is great. They set up, enjoy themselves for the evening, and tear down. A small group even came out a week beforehand to help Marcie move furniture.

Marcie reminds me of Betty. When my daughter attended Ohio State University, Betty invited students from the campus ministry and her Sunday School class to a bonfire at her country home several times. They would roast hot dogs, make s’mores, and sing around the campfire. Other times, Betty would invite a group of college girls out to her home.They would pick apples at a nearby farm then return to Betty’s home where Betty taught them how to make apple pie.

“How old is this Sunday School class?” I asked my daughter.

“Oh Betty’s age.”

I got suspicious. “How old is Betty?”

“Probably in her seventies.” Uh huh. Wow. This is the lady whom, Christine tells me, goes on short term mission trips to Nicaragua and Zimbabwe.

The students loved going out to Betty’s house. It was a relief to get away from the compact, claustrophobic campus into the fresh open air of the country. Mingling with the older people was a good reminder of the real world, a world made up of more generations than just college aged students. As they sat around the fire, the older generation would share their wisdom and advice with the young adults.

How memorable. How meaningful. All it takes is a willing hostess no matter how old she might be, a meeting place, and a couple pans of brownies, some apple cider and maybe a few hot dogs. Or let the kids bring the food. They’ll just be happy you asked them to come.

MY BEST BROWNIES

brownies 2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 sticks butter, melted
2 cups flour
½ cup cocoa
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup nuts

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a 10×15 jelly roll pan. Beat the sugar and eggs together. Add butter, flour, cocoa, vanilla, and nuts: beat well. Pour into greased pan, spread evenly. Bake for 20 minutes or until edges start to pull away. Do NOT overbake! Cool in pan ten minutes; cut into squares and remove from pan.

October 28, 2015 by Karen Wingate Leave a Comment

Recipe: Savory Cheese Soup

October feels like a soup month.

The evenings are cooler and the sun sets earlier. We’re spending more time outside raking leaves, clearing the gardens, and taking advantage of late afternoon walks before the brutal force of winter keeps us indoors. Fall in Illinois 11

So October has become soup month for my church’s Women’s Fellowship. We had a great time this month. Kim Jackson who is a missionary liaison with Elder Orphan Care, a Romanian ministry that rescues homeless elderly off the streets was our guest speaker. We presented Kim with 250 cloth Kleenex packet holders for the Christmas boxes her missions group is preparing to give to the elderly folks in Romania.

I love what Kim said. She told how some people question why she doesn’t work with the elderly in the United States. She explained that these were God’s marching orders for her and who is she to argue with Him? Elder Orphan Care is a great ministry that in four years, has expanded from four rescued elderly people to several facilities with a total of 160 beds.

I dug out a recipe for Savory Cheese Soup I remember my mom making when I was still at home. Why I never made it for my family, I do not know. I decided to make it for our group of ladies and it turned out to be just as delicious as I remember it. If you want to take a pot to your next gathering, I prepared it about two hours ahead, put it in my Crock Pot, then added the cheese one half hour before serving.

SAVORY CHEESE SOUP

1 T butter

¼ c chopped onion
½ cup water
1 10 oz package frozen corn
½ c shredded carrot
2 c milk
2 10 oz cans cream of potato soup
¾ c shredded cheddar cheese
2 slices American cheese
½ cup Pepper Jack cheese
½ 8 oz package chopped broccoli
½ 12 oz smoked sausage, sliced and quartered

Sauté onion in butter in a 3 quart saucepan. Add corn, carrot, broccoli, sausage, and water. Simmer together, covered, or 10 minutes. Stir in soup, milk, and cheeses. Heat, stirring constantly until cheese melts and serving temperature is reached. Do NOT allow soup to boil.

CROCK POT: Before adding cheese, put in Crock Pot; heat on low 1 hour. Add the cheese ½ hour before serving.

October 7, 2015 by Karen Wingate Leave a Comment

Jill’s Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies. Care packages. College Students. Campus Ministry. Blended together, those four ingredients can create one awesome outreach.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I love ministry to college students. College is a formative time of life, when young men and women are searching to take ownership of their relationship with the Divine. It can also be a lonely, disorienting time where familiar speeds away with the disappearance of their parents’ car and they are left to figure life out on their own – whether it’s what to eat, when to go to bed, what classes to sign up for next spring, or who or what to believe.

What says the familiar more than a batch of homemade cookies or a homemade meal? My campus ministry friends Jill Vogel (who gave me this awesome recipe for her version of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies) and Barry Reed, ministry director of Campus Students for Christ “get it.’

My church ladies are working hard this week to make 500 cookies so Barry can distribute cookies at five locations throughout one week to university students. It’s not just about the cookies. Barry is praying—and would appreciate your prayers—that a cookie would lead to a meaningful conversation, talks that delve into who and what to believe in.

This particular recipe for chocolate chip cookies became Jill’s signature in her work with a campus ministry at The Ohio State University. Her cookies were sure to show up at most any event the campus ministry hosted. Several times, Jill invited young women to her home to make cookies, then would use the time to teach her secret tricks in making them the best ever cookies. Jill has a natural instinct for drifting the talk into deeper spiritual matters. We grew to love and honor this sweet servant of God who exhibited wisdom beyond her years.

How can you start a conversation about Jesus? Start with a cookie, do a lot of praying, and see where it leads.

Jill’s Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 ½ cups oats
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder½ tsp salt
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 sticks butter, slightly melted (MUST be butter)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
1 12 oz bag chocolate chips

Grind oats in a blender or food processor until part of the oats look like a coarse flour. Mix ground oatmeal with flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix sugars, eggs, butter and vanilla. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; blend well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop by spoonfuls on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes. The cookies will take longer to cook if you use parchment paper. If not, watch carefully to not overcook. How quickly the cookies cook depends on your oven and your cookie sheets. Take out of the oven just before they are done and let them set 3 minutes on the pan before removing to a wire rack.

Makes 6 dozen cookies.