Amish White Bread

 I cut this recipe out of a newspaper last year so I'm not totally sure where it came from, but this bread is so delicious and so easy to make! 

Ingredients: 

2 cups warm water

2/3 cup of sugar (1/3 less for a less sweet bread)

1 1/2 TBSP yeast (or one packet will work fine)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

6 cups of flour (use 1/2 a cup at a time)

Butter for top of bread after baking

Directions: 

Mix water, sugar, and yeast together. Allow yeast to proof for 5 to 10 minutes. (You should see foam.)

Add in salt and oil. Mix on low using dough hook. Add in flour, half a cup at a time. After 5 cups, check stickiness of dough. Continue adding flour up to 6 total cups until dough pulls from the side of the mixer and doesn't stick to fingers. 

Spray bowl with cooking spray, place dough back in it, and cover with a dry dish towel. Allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour. 

Punch dough down and divide into two loaves. Curl dough under itself to make a pretty top and place in sprayed pans. 

Allow to rise in a warm spot for approx. 30 more minutes. 

Baked uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

Once removed from oven, coat tops with butter.  

English Toffee

English Toffee
Recipe from Cally Carlson
(This is the best toffee I have ever had, and it is super easy to make and tastes better than store bought Almond Rocca.)

Ingredients:

• 2 cubes butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 TSP water
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 (16 ounce) package chocolate chips

Directions:

• Combine butter, sugar and water in a heavy pan over high heat.
• Stir continuously.
• Cook until the candy makes a color change to deep amber (approximately 15 minutes) and is steaming.
• Do NOT mix/scrape sugar from upper level of the pan (the stuff above the level of the candy) as this will change the consistency. Cally quote, "Be sure not to scrape down the sides of the pan while cooking. The sugar will crystallize and the Toffee will come out grainy and chewy instead of crunchy."
• Remove candy from heat and spread on cookie sheet that has been lined with wax paper.
• Let begin to cool 2 -3 minutes.
• Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly on top of hot candy and spread until it begins to melt.
• Sprinkle top with the chopped walnuts.
• Lightly press nuts down.
• Cool in refrigerator until hard.
• Use hands to break into pieces.

Hints:
Call Cally for hints!!! When I made this the first time without her, I didn't let the color change enough before removing it from the heat and then the candy was tougher and didn't break so easily. Cally says, "I am always more likely to under cook than overcook. Let it get a little more brown than you think."
Also, remember to stir it constantly.
But the most important thing to remember....Keep the kids away while stirring and pouring!!! This stuff gets HOT!

Dirt With Worms

(Pictured is dirt with bears since the store was out of worms)

This the the best dirt you will ever eat! Recipe originally from cooks.com. Adjusted for our tastes.

Ingredients 1 pkg. gummy worms 2 pkg. chocolate pudding 3 1/2 c. milk

1 package Oreo cookies

1 package Grasshopper cookies 8 oz. cream cheese 1 1/2 c. confectionery sugar 3/4 c. butter 1 tsp. vanilla 12 oz. Cool Whip Directions

Mix the pudding and milk together. Whip in the cream cheese, sugar, butter and vanilla. When mixed, fold in the Cool Whip. In separate dish, crumble the cookies and mix the two kinds together. In serving dish layer cookies, then pudding mixture and worms. Repeat the layering process until all of the ingredients are used. Make sure to finish with a layer of the crumbled cookies. Chill until ready to serve. Looks beautiful in a tall glass serving dish!

Doc's Banana Bread

Doc's homemade and perfected recipe! We make this bread ALL the time in the fall. Super easy to make and super yummy. Makes your house smell good too. Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup shortening
• 4 eggs
• 2 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 cups mashed bananas (best if bananas are browning)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients together.
• Put even amounts into 2 greased bread pans. (We line the bottoms of the pans with wax paper to help them come out easily.)
• Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 65-70 minutes.
• Check with toothpick or knife to confirm it is thoroughly cooked.
• Take bread out of pans too cool, otherwise the bottom of the bread will be soggy.

Gingerbread

Recipe from MaJo. One of Brooks' favorites! Makes enough for one 8x8 pan. Ingredients for Bread:

• 1/2 cup shortening or margarine
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 tsp ginger
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• cool whip (optional)

Ingredients for Lemon Sauce:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbs corn starch
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup cold water

• 2 tbsp margarine
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions for Bread:

• Grease and flour pan.
• Mix bread ingredients.
• Pour into pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Directions for Lemon Sauce:

• Add all ingredients EXCEPT margarine and lemon juice.
• Boil.
• Remove from heat and add margarine and lemon juice.
• Top with cool whip and serve over bread.

Instant Maple Syrup

For all those times you find you have made pancakes or waffles but are out of syrup! I have no idea where this recipe came from, but it is in my recipe book. I can't think of a single time growing up that we had store bought syrup. It was always homemade! Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Imitation Maple Flavoring

Directions:

• Pour one cup boiling water over 2 cups of sugar.
• Add maple flavor and stir.

For thick syrup:

• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring

Bring to boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Will thicken as it cools.

Orange Julius

Serves 4-6 Ingredients:

• 1 (6 ounce) can frozen orange juice
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla (be careful not to add too much)
• 12 ice cubes

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients in blender until desired texture is achieved.