Coconut Lemon Squares

 There has been very little time for baking at my house the past couple of months.  However, I came across this recipe from my mother's box of recipes recently and when it was my turn to bring the goodies for after church coffee hour a couple of weeks ago, I decided to give them a try.

My grandmother loved to bake and this was one of her cookies. You can see that this recipe was well used and well loved.   Seeing it in my mom's recipe box brought back some wonderful memories.  My mom loves to bake too and since she has been staying here with us she was able to walk me through my first time making them for myself.  

Coconut Lemon Squares

First Layer:

1 1/2 cups flour            1 cup brown sugar         1/2 cup soft butter

Mix together and pat down firmly in a 9x13 pan. Bake at 275 degrees for 10 min. Remove from oven and top with filling.

Filling: 

2 eggs      1 cup brown sugar     1 1/2 cup coconut     1 cup chopped walnuts

2 tbsp flour     1/2 tsp baking powder     1/4 tsp salt     1 tsp vanilla

Beat the eggs in a large bowl.  Then add all the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Spread evenly over the baked bottom mixture and return to the oven.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly,  While still warm spread lemon glaze over the top.

Lemon Glaze:

1 cup confectioner's sugar     1tbsp melted butter     juice from one lemon  (3 tbsp)

Cool completely before cutting into squares.

They were as delicious as I remembered! When I brought them to church not a crumb was left.  By the way, I baked up the Amish Sugar Cookies above as well.  That's another scrumptious recipe,  If you have never baked them you can probably find the recipe for those on line.  If you like coconut and lemon, give these squares a try. I don't think you will be disappointed. 

Adieu!

 

 

 

 

 

A Second Wedding, a Rooster, and Apple Time

 As I have mention before, this has been a busy season for us. 

About three weeks after our son's wedding we found ourselves on a plane headed for Wisconsin to attend my youngest niece's wedding in Green Bay.  My youngest brother passed away eight years ago and between our accident and then the Covid shut downs, we had not be able to get back there since then.  It was such a joy to be able to celebrate with his family and know that if it is possible, he was smiling down on his baby girl from Heaven that day. She was a beautiful bride with a handsome groom, No swords present!

 Wisconsin is such a lovely state.  It was so nice relaxing with family on their back porches soaking in the sunshine and green spaces.  I felt like I had stepped back in time. Our four days passed by all too soon and then it was time to head for home with all of us wishing we were staying longer. Needless to say, discussions for a future family reunion are percolating.

 Another summer activity that took place between weddings was our local Lake festival.  Boat parades, carnival food and fireworks were the order of the day.  This year the town's legendary Rooster was on display.  Now many of you have seen roosters like this before, I am sure.  This guy however, has been a local landmark from way before our time living here. 

Beginning back in the 1960's he sat atop of the local Chicken Drive- in restaurant,a favorite place for the local teens to visit after school.  One year for a senior prank, a group of high school students removed him from the roof in the middle of the night and hid him for a few days before parading him around the Senior end of the year events.  Thus, (with the permission of the owner) history was made. From that time forward, every senior class would "steal" the rooster and display him in some way at the annual homecoming game and end of the year events. The tradition lasted many years until the chicken restaurant was finally closed down to make way for a new shopping area. From time to time, he still makes a public appearance. The Rooster will always be regarded with great affection by the locals who grew up here in the community. 

 

 

End of summer has also brought an early harvest of apples from our Gravenstein tree.  Nature waits for no man and apples have been coming whether we were ready or not.  It was a bumper crop this year. When we returned from Wisconsin we found that one of our daughter in laws had come over with our granddaughters to pick a laundry basket full of apples for applesauce.  Even so, there were hundreds of apples on the ground!There was a major heatwave while we were gone and they all ripened at the same time in just a matter of days.

We picked two more laundry baskets full of apples for my DIL and two large wicker baskets full for my mother to make applesauce as well.  I kept one small basket for myself.

Naturally, I had to bake some apple muffins! I tried a new recipe which I found Here.  Delicious!

 

  What better way to start a quiet morning than with a nice cup of coffee, fresh baked muffins and an interesting book.

In a month, there will be more apples from our second tree which will be made into apple pies, apple crumble and of course, more muffins! Yum!

The pears are almost ready to harvest as well.

However, we will be leaving those to the kids and grandkids this year as we are turning our thoughts towards Georgia and the upcoming birth of our newest grandchild who is due any time now.  We will be flying out tomorrow and staying for as long as we are needed. When we return, in a few weeks, summer will be waning, and it will be time to start looking forward to the colors of Autumn.  May the Lord bless and keep you until we visit together again upon our return.

Adieu!

 

Tea with Edgar Allen Poe

It's that time of year for trips to the pumpkin farm, the carving of jack o lanterns, and children dressing up to "trick or treat".  While I don't get overly excited about Halloween, I must say our Tribute to Edgar Allen Poe evening tea party was a great success. 

 My son J is an avid reader, a big fan of Edgar Allen Poe and can recite nearly the entire poem "The Raven".  All the books stacked on the table are his.  My future daughter-in-law C is very talented when it comes to decorating and the final results of her tea table were spot on in capturing the essence of mystery and macabre in a fun and light way.

I believe I mentioned in my last post that we were using my grandmother's tea set.  She loved giving tea parties.  I know she would be thrilled to know that we were using her set and carrying on the tradition of serving tea to friends.

 

Six guests came knocking on my chamber door. Not a one was named Lenore!  It was great fun getting to know these young ladies, many of  whom will be a part of the wedding next summer. C is the third from the left.

My future DIL is diabetic and has several food allergies as well.  Even so, she made some delicious food and her presentation was lovely. With the exception of the frosted cookies, every other baked good was gluten free.  There were scones with orange glaze, apple muffins and pumpkin pie bites.  We made deviled eggs with vegan mayonnaise and chicken salad to spread on gluten free crackers.  I love the pumpkin shaped cheese ball C made. My son J even had a hand in making homemade caramel sauce that was poured over cream cheese and used for dipping apple slices. Yum! Sweet and healthy at the same time.

The girls talked and laughed for hours as they enjoyed their tea and goodies.  I  think the food looked as picturesque on the plate as it did on the serving board. 

Several mornings have passed since our night of revelry. Our raven has flown away to return "nevermore".  Autumn has taken over my dining table where it will remain until after Thanksgiving, not quite as exciting as Poe I'm afraid.

~~

Changing the subject, there were a number of folks who asked about my recipe for the apricot shortbread bars. Here it is. 

 

You can use any flavor of preserves you like.  Sometimes I make half raspberry and half apricot. By the way, they freeze nicely too.

Happy Baking!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn Fun

I have been home from my trip to Georgia for a week now.  More on that later.  Let's just say I have been home for the past eight days or so recovering from Covid.  Once I started feeling better and tested negative I realized I had been really feeling hungry for something buttery and sweet, so I decided to do a little baking over the weekend.  Apricot is one of my more favorite flavors.  For me that means apricot and almond shortbread.  Since these are bar cookies, they come together fast and easy and taste, Oh, so delicious!

First, a buttery almond flavored shortbread crust,

Topped with apricot preserves and sliced almonds.

Then just bake and cut into squares, so easy, and a delightful little treat with a cup of tea.

 

Speaking of tea, my future daughter-in-law asked if she could use my dining room to host an Autumn tea party for her sister and friends who will be a part of her wedding party next summer.  Of course, it was the perfect motivation for me to get the house all decorated. There is still a little "tweeking" to do before her party on Friday, but it's coming along nicely.  The silver teapot set belonged to my grandmother, a gift for her 45th wedding anniversary. 

Of course the decorating didn't end in the dining room.

 

Getting back to my baking.  I also needed to make a seasonal dessert to take to our church's Autumn chili feed and hayride.  I chose to make a pumpkin dump cake.  Everyone loves a dump cake.  Once again so easy and quick, just dump all the ingredients together, pour in a pan, top with a powdered cake mix and melted butter, bake and Voila!  Dessert!

 

 And here it is ready to serve along with all the other yummy desserts and food.  Looks like someone  has already had a sample. Yum!

Getting to sample all the delicious chili recipes was yummy too.

One of our sister churches has a parishioner who owns a large farm outside of town where he hosts many church events for the district.  He graciously allowed us to come out and use his facilities.  The air was a bit smoky from the wildfires that have been burning in the foothills east of us.  Other than that, it was a perfect autumn afternoon for a hayride.

Watching the setting sun through the smoky sky was a bit eerie.The wind doesn't usually blow from the east. After a very long wet spring we have had an even longer dry summer with no real measurable rain since the end of June.

I am happy to say that even though it still hasn't rained yet, the wind has changed and the air is a little better, although it's still not all that healthy. There is rain in the forecast for the end of the week.  Funny how we long for the sunshine and then if it stays too long we pine for the rain. Lord help us to be happy no matter our circumstances Until next time.

Adieu!