Coconut cream pie

Total: 1 hour and 20 minutes; Active: 10 minutes; Chilling: 1 hour; Serving: 6 to 8

Flaky pie crust	1
Sugar	½ cup + 1/3 cup
Cornstarch	¼ cup
Half-and-half	2 cups
Egg yolks	4
Butter	3 tablespoons
Coconut, sweetened flaked	1 cup
Vanilla extract	2 ½ teaspoons
Whipping cream	2 cups
Coconut, toasted	Garnish

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Fit crust to 9-inch pie dish, folding under edges and crimp; prick bottom and sides with fork.
3. Line with foil, and bake for 10 minutes using pie weights or dried beans to keep the crust from bubbling, remove weights, and bake for another 12 to 15 minutes; set aside.
4. In a heavy saucepan, combine ½-cup sugar and cornstarch.
5. Whisk together half-and-half and yolks; gradually whisk egg mixture into sugar mixture.
6. Bring to boil over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1 minute more to thicken, and remove from heat.
7. Stir in butter, flaked coconut, 1-teaspoon vanilla until butter melts.
8. Cover with plastic wrap, placing directly on the filling; let stand 30 minutes.
9. Spoon custard into prepared crust, cover with clean plastic wrap, and chill 30 minutes, or until set.
10. Using an electric mixer, beat cream at high speed until foamy.
11. Gradually add 1/3-cup sugar and 1 ½-teaspoon vanilla, beating until soft peaks form.
12. Spread or pipe whipped cream over pie filling; garnish with toasted coconut.

Recipe from Southern Living 1001 Ways to Cook Southern.

Reesie's squares

Butter, melted	1 cup
Graham cracker crumbs	1 ½ cups
Powdered sugar	16 ounces
Peanut butter	1 cup
Shortening	2 tablespoons
Chocolate chips, semi-sweet	12 ounces

1. In a mixing bowl, combine butter, crackers, sugar, and peanut butter; mix well.
2. Press into 9x13-inch (smaller pan for thicker portions).
3. In a saucepan or double boiler over low heat, mix chocolate and shortening, stirring constantly.
4. Pour melted chocolate mixture evenly over the peanut butter mixture.
5. Cool completely; cut into squares, and enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Tammy, neighbor extraordinaire to my aunt Kay.

Tammy's fudge

Chocolate chips, semi-sweet	18 ounces
Nuts, chopped	2 cups
Butter	½ cup
Vanilla extract	2 teaspoons
Marshmallow cream	7 ounces
Sugar	4 ½ cups
Evaporated milk	12 ounces

1. In a mixing bowl, combine chocolate, nuts, butter, vanilla, and marshmallow.
2. In a large heavy pan over medium heat, combine sugar and milk, bring to boil, and continue boiling for 8 minutes.
3. Immediately pour over chocolate mixture; mix well.
4. Pour into 8x8-inch or 9x13-inch pan; cool completely.

Recipe courtesy of Tammy, neighbor extraordinaire to my aunt Kay.

Lemon meringue pie

Flaky pie crust	1
Sugar	1 cup + 6 tablespoons
Cornstarch	¼ cup
Salt	1/8 teaspoon
Eggs, yolks and whites separated	4 yolks 6 whites
Milk	2 cups
Lemon juice, fresh	1/3 cup
Butter	3 tablespoons
Lemon zest	1 teaspoon
Vanilla extract	1 teaspoon

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Roll pie crust into a 12-inch circle; fit into a 9-inch pie dish, folding edges under and crimping.
3. Prick bottom and sides of piecrust with a fork; freeze 10 minutes.
4. Line piecrust with parchment paper; fill with pie weights or dried beans.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, remove weights and paper, and continue baking 12 to 15 minutes more, or until crust is lightly browned; shield edges with foil if they brown too quickly.
6. Reduce oven to 325°F.
7. In a heavy medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
8. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks, milk, juice, and then whisk into the sugar mixture over medium heat.
9. Bring to boil, and continue boiling, whisking constantly for 1 minute.
10. Remove pan from heat; stir in butter, zest, and ½ teaspoon vanilla until smooth.
11. Pour into piecrust; cover with plastic wrap, placing directly on the filling surface.
    Proceed immediately with the next step to ensure that the meringue is spread over the filling while it’s still warm.
12. With an electric mixer, beat whites and ½ teaspoon vanilla at high speed until foamy.
13. Add 6 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat 2 to 4 minutes, or until stiff peaks form and the sugar dissolves.
14. Remove plastic wrap, and spread meringue evenly over warm pie filling, sealing the edges.
15. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Time: 1 hour 17 minutes (25 minutes active; 10 minutes freeze; 42 minutes baking) • 8 to 10 servings

Recipe from Southern Living 1001 Ways to Cook Southern.

Beer bread

	1 ½-pound loaf	2-pound loaf
Beer	9 ounces	12 ounces
Olive oil	2 tablespoons	3 tablespoons
Bread flour	3 ½ cups	4 ½ cups
Sugar	¼ cup	1/3 cup
Salt	¾ teaspoon	1 teaspoon
SAF yeast	1 ¾ teaspoons	2 ½ teaspoons

1. Use a good, dark beer; let it set until it's flat and at room temperature.
2. Add all ingredients, in the order provided, as layers in your bread machine bucket, ending with the yeast as a pile on top.
3. Select Basic, choose the loaf size, set your bread machine on dark, and then Start.

Recipe from The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger.

tips, tricks & techniques

Buttermilk Substitute
Add 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to a measuring cup, and fill to the 1-cup line with whole milk; let set about 5 minutes.

Peach cobbler

Filling
Peaches, halved, pitted, cut into wedges	4 pounds
Sugar	¾ cup + 2 tablespoons
Flour, all-purpose	¼ cup
Lemon juice, fresh	2 tablespoons
Vanilla extract	¼ teaspoon
Cinnamon, ground	¼ teaspoon
Topping
Flour, all-purpose	2 ¼ cups
Sugar	6 tablespoons
Baking powder	1 tablespoon
Salt	¾ teaspoon
Butter, unsalted, chilled, cut into ½-inch cubes	¼ cup
Vegetable shortening, nonhydrogenated solid, chilled, cut into ½-inch cubes	¼ cup
Buttermilk	¾ cup + 2 tablespoons
Egg, lightly beaten	1
Vanilla extract	1 teaspoon

1. Preheat oven to 400°F, and position a rack in the center.
2. Mix all filling ingredients in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.
3. Bake 15 minutes; mixture will be hot but not bubbling.
4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix flour, 4 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt.
5. Using fingertips, rub in butter and shortening until mixture resembles a coarse meal.
6. In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk, egg, and vanilla to blend.
7. Add to flour mixture, and stir until soft dough forms.
8. Remove fruit mixture from oven.
9. Spoon dough over hot filling in 12 mounds, spacing evenly.
10. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
11. Bake until juices thicken and topping is golden, about 40 minutes.
12. Cool on rack at least 15 minutes before serving.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe from bon appétit Desserts by Barbara Fairchild.

Great grandma’s popcorn balls

Popcorn, popped	3 quarts
Molasses	2/3 cups
Sugar	1 ½ cups
Vinegar	½ teaspoon
Salt	½ teaspoon
Water	½ cup
Vanilla extract	3 tablespoons
Butter	2 tablespoons

1. After popping the popcorn, keep it warm in a large metal bowl in the oven at 300°F, until needed.
2. In a large saucepan over low heat, combine molasses, sugar, vinegar, salt, and water.
3. Stir constantly until the mixture boils, and reaches the hard boil stage (250°F).
4. Remove from heat, and thoroughly mix in butter and vanilla.
5. Slowly pour mixture over the bowl of popcorn, and gently mix so as not to break up the popcorn kernels.
6. Butter your hands, and form baseball-sized balls by pressing the mixture together gently but firmly.
7. Place popcorn balls on a lightly buttered cookie sheet or wax paper.
8. Cool completely before wrapping.

Great grandma Patterson would wrap her popcorn balls with a large sheet of brown butcher’s paper, and hand them out to Halloween trick-or-treaters in the tiny town of Ripley, Oklahoma. Hopefully such comfort food isn’t the last remains of our simpler, more trusting times in small communities.

Recipe courtesy of my Mom, who helped grandma prepare the popcorn balls for the masses. As I'm told, about 30 children knocked on great grandma's door and chanted 'trick or treat?' to earn their prize. I was one of them for 6 years before she ended the tradition.