Have you ever walked around the mall and smelled the delicious smells of roasted pecans or almonds? Or walked around Walt Disney World and saw the carts of candied nuts? You can now make your own candied pecans and pretend to be in WDW.
I made these many years ago as part of my Christmas making and baking. However I stopped making them because of family circumstances. Today I made them once again. Yum! My house now smells wonderful!
This blog post was originally posted in 2013. I did not have any pictures of the actual cookie so I’ve added a picture of the cookie.
Sunday was All Saints’ Sunday. I got nostalgic so I decided to make these cookies. I didn’t realize when I made the cookie that it made a BIG batch. I made at least 6 dozen cookies.
So I decided to take some of the cookies to school to share with my co-workers. They thought they were delicious.
Here is the original post: The other night, the Wee One handed me a box and asked me what was in it. As I looked through it, I found blank cards and recipe cards. The treasure was two recipe cards written by my grandma. She died Christmas Eve of ’08 so it was nice to see her handwriting one more time.
My aunt Janet was actually my grandpa’s sister so technically she was my great aunt. I still called her aunt without the great. We spent a lot of time with her. She and my Uncle Mitch had a farm that had willow trees and a pond. I remember going up to the farm for family gatherings and walking around the pond.
She was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2004 and within less than a week had passed away. My whole family misses her.
Pecan Cookies
Stars of the recipe:
1 C. shortening, margarine, or butter
2 1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 C. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C. pecans
Steps:
Cream shortening, margarine, or butter with the sugar.
Add eggs and beat well.
Add flour, salt, and soda. Mix well.
Fold in nuts.
Drop from spoon onto greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.
Cool for about 1 minute and then remove to wire racks to completely cool.
Last November my foodie pen pal introduced me to Chinese five spice and suggested I use it in some of my fall time recipes instead of pumpkin pie spice blend. The five spice really does take it up a notch. If you didn’t know, Chinese five spice is a spice blend of cinnamon, star anise, white pepper, cloves, and fennel. It’s primarily used in Chinese cooking but is found in other cuisines.
With fall around the corner and the pumpkin spice latte already at Starbucks, it’s time to start my favorite flavor season. I love fall flavors! Apples, cranberries, and pumpkins, oh my goodness deliciousness. Cinnamon is my favorite spice. So if asked, my favorite seasons are the transition seasons – fall for it’s bold flavors and spring for it’s beauty.
I got some apples from one of our local produce stands so I decided to make myself an apple crisp. Since the boys do not eat apple crisp, I decided to make myself my own individual apple crisp. Instead of using cinnamon, I used the Chinese Five Spice.
Individual Five Spice Apple Crisp
Before cooking the crispBefore cooking the crispStars of the recipe:
2 c. glass dish
1 med. apple seeded and diced (peeled if you want to)
2 tsp. Chinese Five Spice (1 tsp. and 1 tsp.)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 c. quick cooking oats
1/2 Tbsp. butter, cut into fourths or halves
Optional: 2 Tbsp. pecan or walnuts for topping
Steps:
Spray your glass dish with cooking spray.
Add the apples to the dish. Sprinkle the apples with 1 tsp. of Chinese five spice.
In another dish, mix the oats, brown sugar, and the other tsp. of Chinese five spice.
Evenly distribute the oat mixture over the apples.
If you are using nuts on the top, sprinkle those on top of the oat mixture.
Place the pats of butter over the oat mixture.
Microwave for 2.5 to 3 minutes. Careful it will be hot.
The other night, the Wee One handed me a box and asked me what was in it. As I looked through it, I found blank cards and recipe cards. The treasure was two recipe cards written by my grandma. She died Christmas Eve of ’08 so it was nice to see her handwriting one more time.
My aunt Janet was actually my grandpa’s sister so technically she was my great aunt. I still called her aunt without the great. We spent a lot of time with her. She and my Uncle Mitch had a farm that had willow trees and a pond. I remember going up to the farm for family gatherings
and walking around the pond.
She was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2004 and within less than a week had passed away. My whole family misses her.
Pecan Cookies
Stars of the recipe:
1 C. shortening, margarine, or butter
2 1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 C. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C. pecans
Steps:
Cream shortening, margarine, or butter with the sugar.
Add eggs and beat well.
Add flour, salt, and soda. Mix well.
Fold in nuts.
Drop from spoon onto greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.
Cool for about 1 minute and then remove to wire racks to completely cool.
![IMG_0467[1]](https://cookingwithtraci.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/img_04671.jpg?w=375&h=500)
![IMG_0468[1]](https://cookingwithtraci.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/img_04681.jpg?w=500&h=375)
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