Promise Lodge (31 page)

No wonder Noah can't resist these moist, chocolaty treats with a surprise burst of mint in the middle! This recipe was originally featured as a Christmas cookie recipe, but why wait for the holidays to enjoy them?

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9” x 13” baking pan with nonstick coating. In a large bowl, stir together the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time and stir until well blended. Stir in the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Reserve 2 cups of batter.

 

Spread remaining batter in the prepared pan. Arrange peppermint patties in a single layer over the batter, about ½ inch apart. Carefully spread the reserved batter over the patties. Bake 50–55 minutes, until the center is set. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cut in 4 columns of 9 rows for 36 brownies. Freezes well.

 

 

 

This is a go-to recipe in many Plain households. It resembles other no-bake recipes that use crispy rice cereal, except the peanut butter makes the bars a bit looser and more crumbly—and adds some protein! This will be a hit with peanut butter lovers!

Melt the peanut butter, marshmallow cream, butter, and brown sugar, stirring until well blended. Stir in the peanuts and dry cereal. Press into a greased/sprayed 9” x 13” pan. Cool and cut into squares.

 

 

 

This is a quick bread that doesn't require yeast, so prep time is short and you don't even need a mixer! As the bread bakes it makes its own cinnamon swirl, and your house will smell heavenly. Might as well double the recipe and make two loaves while you're at it.

 

Preheat oven to 350° and grease/spray a 9” x 5” glass loaf pan. To make the batter, combine the egg, milk, vanilla, and yogurt or sour cream in a large bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar and stir everything with a spoon, just until blended. Pour into the prepared loaf pan. To make the swirl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Drop by spoonfuls across the batter and use a knife to swirl it into the bread.

 

Bake for 45–50 minutes or until the center tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan and cool completely on the rack. Stir the glaze ingredients together and drizzle over the top of the bread.

 

 

 

If you love dense, moist, flavorful cakes, this one's for you! Because it's chock-full of bananas (I used 5 large bananas, total), you can serve it with a glass of milk and call it breakfast!

 

Preheat the oven to 350° and grease/spray a 9” x 13” baking pan. In a large bowl, combine the flour, soda, salt, sugar, and cinnamon. With a fork or spoon, stir in the eggs and oil, just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in the vanilla, pineapple, pecans, and bananas. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40–50 minutes, until center of cake is firm and a toothpick comes out clean. Gently pierce the cake surface with a fork in several places.

 

When cake is nearly done, combine the glaze ingredients in a small bowl and mix until smooth. (I was glad I had a hand mixer for this part.) Frost cake while hot from the oven, spreading the glaze that flows toward the edges back onto the center so it will soak in. Cool completely. Freezes well.

 

 

 

 

I confess that shoofly pie is not my favorite—but the lemon in this recipe cuts some of the heavy sweetness of the molasses.

 

Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, combine ingredients for crumb topping until you have an even-textured crumb mixture, and set aside. Stir together all filling ingredients until well blended and pour into the pie shell. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the filling. Bake for 45–60 minutes, until center of pie is set.

 

 

These soft, spicy cookies are a hit with young and old alike! Easy to make, easy to eat, and they freeze well.

 

Preheat oven to 375°. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, cream the sugar and shortening, then add the eggs, molasses, and vanilla and beat well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger, and add to the sugar mixture alternately with the buttermilk until well combined. Stir in the nuts and raisins. Drop by spoonful on the prepared baking sheets about 2” apart. Bake about 8 minutes, until set but not browned. Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes on baking sheet before removing to a wire rack.

 

Mix the frosting ingredients until smooth. Spread on cooled cookies.

 

 

 

These are fabulous cookies. You can make them on the spur of the moment—and they're gluten-free! Might as well double the batch, because these disappear fast.

Preheat oven to 350° and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Stir the first three ingredients with a fork until well blended. Roll dough into balls, roll in additional sugar and place on the cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with a fork to make a crisscross design. Bake about 7 minutes or until firm. Makes 6–8 cookies, depending on size.

 

 

Here's a wonderful bread that stands up well to slicing, toasting, or any sort of filling you care to put into a sandwich! Amish women would mix this by hand, but using a mixer makes the dough smoother and easier to handle.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the milk, water, sugar, and yeast. Cover for about 5 minutes, allowing yeast to foam. Stir in the salt and olive oil. Using a mixer with a paddle or dough hook, add one cup of flour at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix until all flour is incorporated. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place about an hour or until doubled in size.

 

Punch down the dough and divide into two equal pieces. Shape into loaves and place in two greased 9” x 5” bread pans. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until loaves rise about an inch above the pans. Preheat oven to 350°. With a pastry brush, very carefully brush the tops of the loaves with the egg wash, if using. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from pans and with a pastry brush, lightly brush melted butter over the tops. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.