Grandma Sillitoe's Greek Cookies

The story goes that a little Mexican lady taught my mother-in-law how to make Greek cookies.  I took a few to her and they passed the Donna test so I guess this is my new Christmas assignment.

1 pound unsalted butter*
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
3 or more cups flour
powdered sugar

Melt button on low heat.  Pour into another bowl and refrigerate for 1 - 2 hours.  Whip butter until creamy.  Put in egg and whip some more, then add vanilla.  Put all dry ingredients in sifter and add to mixture.  Bake 15 - 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Upon removing from the oven immediately drown them in powdered sugar and let them cool.  Gently place them in an airtight container with powdered sugar on the bottom.

* It has to be real butter.  If you use salted butter, skim salt off of the top after melting and before refrigerating.

Homemade Crescent Rolls

A Sunday meal never feels quite complete with out bread.  Rhodes rolls are okay but homemade is so much better.  Yesterday I wanted rolls but it was getting late so I checked my handy Pinterest account and found this recipe.  The original recipe called for bread flour which I didn't have so I used all purpose flour and they turned out great.  This recipe is definitely a keeper and I think I might try to use half whole wheat and half white.

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup water, warm (100-110F)
1/2 cup milk, warm (100-110F)
1 tbsp sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter, room temperature


In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, or in a large bowl if you prefer to mix by hand, combine yeast, water, milk and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy. Add in bread flour and salt and mix well with a dough hook. Cut the softened butter into three or flour pieces and drop them into the dough, letting the mixer blend them in.

Knead (with a mixer or by hand) for about 2 minutes. Cover the bowl and let rise for 45 minutes in a warm place.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Turn risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press it out into a circle with your hands, then use a rolling pin to roll it out into an even, 10-inch circle.

Use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to divide the circle into 12 triangles (just like slicing a pizza).
Starting with the outside edge of one of the triangles, roll the edge towards the center of the “pizza.” Once rolled, curve the roll slightly into a crescent shape and place on a parchement-lined baking sheet. Repeat with all rolls. Cover rolls with a clean dish towel and let rise for 20 minutes.

Melt additional 1 tbsp butter in a small bowl. Brush tops of rolls with butter butter.

Bake for 14-18 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 12 rolls.

Mini Apple Pies

Four Granny Smith apples were in my Bountiful Basket and Steve will eat about every apple on the earth except these.  I like Granny Smiths with salt on them but pie sounded better.  I found this recipe on Pinterest and I like individual portions to help control what I put in my mouth but I have to remember to stop at one.

Pie Crust I made homemade but you could use store bought, I did have left over dough which I froze
4 cups apples, cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 heaping teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter

Mix apples with flour, sugar and cinnamon.

Roll out pie crust and cut 4" circles.  I have a graduating set of cookie cutters so these worked great because I used the smaller 3" circle for the tops.  Line each muffin tin with a crust.  Fill the crusts with your apple mixture, they will be mounded.

Divide the butter into 12 pieces and place one piece on top of each apple mound.  Cover with dough and bake at 400 for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown.

Especially good served warm with vanilla ice cream. 

If you want just a little larger pie you can use the Chicago Metallic Nonstick Cup Pie Set.  The portions below will make 2 mini pies with tops.

 1 cup apple, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon & 1 1/2 teaspoons flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons butter

Bake at 400 for 20 to 25 minutes.

Pear Bread

Received a lot of pears in my Bountiful Basket and needed to do something with them.  I found this recipe and I really like it.  I sliced pears and placed them on top but most descended into the bread.  Steve liked the bread just not the chunks of pear.  Next batch they will be omitted. 


Handy tip - to shred pears, peel the pear while it is whole and grate until you get to the middle.  You will end up with a square core when you are done but it is better then having your fingers in the grater.  I finally figured this trick out when I was on the last pear, up until that point I was coring and peeling and trying to grate the slippery pieces.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups peeled and finely grated ripe, firm pears
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or two 9″x 5″loaf pans.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Scoop out about 1/4 cup of this mixture and combine it with nuts to coat. Stir back into the flour mixture.

In a separate bowl, combine butter, eggs, sugar, pears, and vanilla. Add the pear mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until flour disappears and batter is evenly moistened.

Pour batter into prepared pan(s). Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until bread is browned and firm on top. A pick inserted into the center should come out clean.

Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then, remove from pan and place top side up on a plate or wire rack to cool completely.