Sweet Potato Casserole

2-3 sweet potatoes (enough to make 4 cups)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
4 T butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
3 T butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325.  Place sweet potatoes (with skins on) in a medium saucepan with water to cover.  Boil 20-30 minutes, until tender.  Drain potatoes and peel skins off with a knife. You might want to wait for them to cool a bit or run cold water over them. Once peeled, mash with a half held masher or electric beater.
In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, white sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla.  Mix until smooth.  Spread in a 9x13 baking dish.
In a medium bowl, mix the brown sugar and flour.  Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse (sometimes the mixture gets smoothly blended and that's fine, too).  Stir in the pecans.  Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown. Other signs that it is done are dry edges and it is set in the center.

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Mix 1 envelope Knox gelatin with 1/2 cup cold water; set aside.
Separate 3 eggs and add yolks to a sauce pan; beat slightly. Save whites for later (no need to refrigerate).
Add to the sauce pan 1/2 cup sugar,
1/2 cup milk, and
1/2 tsp each: ginger, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon.
Cook in a double broiler until thick.
Add gelatin/water mixture and combine then cool thoroughly.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites to stiff peak while adding 1/2 cup sugar slowly.
When pumpkin mixture is cooled, pour that into the meringue (egg whites and sugar) and gently fold together.
Pour into precooked pie shells and cool completely. The pies will turn more orange as they cool.

Pecan Pie

In a sauce pan mix
3/4 cup sugar
2 T flour
1 tsp salt.
Add 1 cup dark corn syrup
and heat until sugar is dissolved.
Cool until luke warm and beat in
2 eggs, one at a time.
Mix in
1/2 cup canned milk
1 cup pecans
1 tsp vanilla
Pour mixture into 9 inch unbaked pie crust.
Bake 375 50 minutes or until firm.  Cool before serving.

Classic Pie Crust

Makes two pie crusts.
2 cups flour mixed with
1 tsp salt
Add 3/4 stick well chilled crisco shortening stick (3/4 cup).  Cut the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two butter knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized pieces remaining.
Sprinkle 2-4 T ice water over the flour mixture; mix gently with a fork.  Add more water by the tablespoon full, mixing until dough holds together.
Divide dough into two balls and flatten each into 1/2 inch thick round disks.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
Place one disk on lightly floured counter top.  With floured rolling pin, roll dough outward from center into a circle two inches wider than your pie plate.  Ease crust into pie plate, trim edges if needed and flute around edges.
Bake according to pie directions or fill and then bake.
Repeat with other disk.

Basics of Frosting

A basic frosting consists of butter, vanilla, and milk mixed together and then powdered sugar added to the right consistency.  I usually use about 1 T butter (melted), 1 tsp vanilla and 3-4 T milk, then add teh powdered sugar.  Buttercream frostings have more butter and it's not melted, so you get a thicker, stiffer frosting with more butter flavor.  You can also add cocoa (1 T?) to make chocolate frosting.

Sugar Cookies - Mauri's

from Mauri Winder

2/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
Cream together
Add 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
Beat until creamy
Add 2 T milk and beat again until fluffy.
Add
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Mix thoroughly.

Divide dough in half; chill 1 hour (or more).

Roll out and cut desired shapes.
Note: one key to a good sugar cookie is not getting the dough too thick or too thin.
Note: an easy way to roll out dough is to use saran wrap on top and bottom.

Bake 375 6-8 minutes, do not overcook!  They should be just slightly brown underneath and on the very edge.

Sugar Cookies - Heather's

from Heather Hartman

1 cup butter, softened
cream with 2/3 cup sugar, then 2 eggs, adding one at a time.
1 T vanilla, mix in.
2 1/2 cup flour + 1/8 tsp salt
Combine.
Roll out and cut desired shapes.
Bake 400 6-8 minutes.