Sherry Scarpaci

Christmas is right around the corner, so I’m sharing two of my favorite cookie
recipes. After all, what would the holidays be without a few homemade cookies,
right? The Oatmeal Sugar Cookie recipe is from my sister-in-law, Lorie.
Unfortunately, I don’t recall where I got the recipe for Cornflake Cookies, but I’ve
been making it for more than twenty years. Both cookies are easy to make,
tender, and melt-in-your-mouth. I’m also sharing a recipe for Bob Evans Sausage
Cups. This was originally in a magazine advertisement and is a guaranteed crowd
pleaser. I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as my family and friends do.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

Oatmeal Sugar Cookies

1 C Butter
1 C Powdered sugar
1 ½ C All –purpose flour
1/2 Tsp Baking soda
2 Tsp Vanilla
1 C Rolled oats

Preheat oven to 325. Cream butter and sugar until light (approx. 2 min). Add
vanilla. In separate bowl combine flour and baking soda. Mix dry ingredients
with creamed butter mixture. Fold in oats. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons
onto greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with either granulated or colored sugar. Bake
for approx. 15-20 min or until light brown at the edges.

Cornflake Cookies

1 C Butter
1 C Granulate sugar
1 ½ C All –purpose flour
1 Tsp Baking soda
1 Tsp Cream of tartar
1 Tsp Vanilla
2 C Cornflakes (do not crush)

Preheat oven to 325. Cream butter and sugar until light (approx. 2 min). Add
vanilla. In separate bowl combine flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Mix dry
ingredients with creamed butter mixture. Carefully fold in cornflakes. Drop
dough by rounded teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for approx. 10 min.
Cookies should be very light brown around the edges. Let cook on sheet for a few
minutes then remove.

Sausage Wonton Cups

30-36 won ton appetizers
1 16 oz roll of original Bob Evans sausage (I have used other brands as well)
2 C Colby jack cheese
½ C ranch dressing
1 pkg of won ton wrappers

Preheat oven to 350. Spray mini muffins tins with Pam. Place one won ton
wrapper in each cup of mini muffin tins. Try to keep ends from falling in on cup;
it will make it more difficult to spoon in the filling. Bake for approx. 5 min or
until light brown. Cool slightly. Meanwhile, crumble sausage in fry pan and
brown. Try to get the meat as fine as possible. Drain the grease. Add the cheese
and dressing. Spoon into the muffin tins. Bake for an additional 7-10 min or until
bubbly. Enjoy!

With the holidays around the corner, I thought it would be fun to share two of
my favorite recipes. The first, Pineapple Casserole, has been a staple for
Thanksgiving dinner for years. It’s easy to prepare, can be made ahead of time
and reheated, and most important, the flavor is absolutely to die for. (Can you tell
I write murder mysteries?) We serve it with dinner, but it can easily be a dessert.
The Streusel-Topped Sweet Potatoes is adapted from my sister-in-law, Lorie’s
recipe. It’s sweet, and oh, so yummy! Like Pineapple Casserole, it’s quick and
easy to prepare, can be made ahead of time, and reheats well. If you want
leftovers of either of these, you’d better make double batches!

Pineapple Casserole

½ lb. butter
1 C sugar
4 large eggs
1-20 oz. can crushed pineapple in natural juice well drained
8 slices white bread cubed

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar with electric mixer. Add eggs (mixture will look curdled). Add pineapple. Fold bread into egg/butter mixture using a large spoon or rubber spatula. Pour into a greased dish. Bake for 45 min. or until a knife comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

Streusel-Topped Sweet Potatoes

3 lbs. sweet potatoes (may substitute canned sweet potatoes or yams)
¼ C granulated sugar
¼ C brown sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp vanilla
½ C milk
½ C butter, melted
½ – 1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Cook and peel sweet potatoes. Mash and add the above
ingredients. Mix well. Pour into a greased 13X9 pan or 2 qt. casserole dish.

Topping

1 C brown sugar
1 C pecans, chopped (optional)
½ C flour
¼ – ½ C melted butter (approx.)
1 tsp. or more (to taste) cinnamon (optional)

Combine topping ingredients and scatter on top of mashed sweet potatoes.
Bake for 30-40 min. or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Using ½ C melted butter seems to make the topping too wet, so I start
with ¼ C of melted butter and add more as needed until it is the
desired consistency to scatter on the casserole.

Turkey Cupcakes

Just in time for Thanksgiving: turkey cupcakes! WARNING! They are time consuming, but adorable and will receive many oohs and ahhs.

My daughter, Jennifer, and I made these a couple of years ago. I’d like to try making a layer cake with just one cupcake-size turkey on the top and Happy Thanksgiving written beneath it, or maybe just one big turkey that would cover the top!

You will need frosted cupcakes
Caramels, such as Kraft
Wheat Sticks such as Pringles or pretzel sticks such as Snyder’s Dipping Sticks
Cornflakes
Stiff buttercream icing (just add extra powdered sugar to your favorite recipe)
Green candy melts

To make the turkeys, mound stiff buttercream icing in an oval shape on top of the frosted cupcakes. Soften four caramels at a time in the microwave, roll, then using a cookie cutter, glass, or knife with a paper template, cut out a three-inch circle. Place the circle over the mound of frosting and tuck in. This forms the turkey’s body. (You may have to play with the shape a bit.)

Finely crush some cornflakes and mix with a bit of buttercream. This is the “stuffing.” Place a small amount of the stuffing at one end. Cut the wheat sticks to a good length to fit as drumsticks on the body. Soften a caramel and wrap a piece around the wheat stick. Using a drop of water, attach the legs to the body. Pipe some frosting at the end of the wheat stick to resemble the end of the legs. Next, melt green candy melts and toss with more cornflakes. Place the cornflakes around the turkey so it looks like lettuce, and voila!