Cowboy Blondies

The race has been on to get the freezer stocked with cookies for wheat harvest. Kind of like Noah's Ark, I package them 2 X 2 in plastic bags and corral them in a 9 X 13 pan in the freezer, ready to pull out for suppers during harvest.

Cowboy Blondies made the "round up" this year. I remember Cowboy Cookies from an old church cookbook. They were drop cookies with coconut, oatmeal, and chocolate chips. I did my usual big drop cookie bake, tripling a tried-and-true recipe, dividing the dough and mixing in different add-ins to make a kaleidoscope of cookie flavors.

But I also made this new-to-me version of the old classic Cowboy Cookie drop cookie. Besides the traditional Cowboy Cookie ingredients, this version also has white chocolate chips. I like the convenience of bar cookies: Spread the dough in a pan and you're done. No filling, then washing, a bunch of cookie sheets.

While we haven't started harvest yet, I've had to pull a few bags from the freezer for suppers during alfalfa swathing and other pre-harvest chores. Lasso this recipe for harvest - or, if you're not headed to the field - just whip it together for a weekend or week-day treat.

Cowboy Blondies

Adapted from Bite Me More

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup shredded coconut
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 10- by 15-inch with cooking spray. Set aside.

Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla, mixing until well combined. Mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture, combining well. Add chocolate chips, oatmeal and coconut. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake for 25-26 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool and cut into bars.

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Today, I'm linked to Weekend Potluck, hosted by these bloggers. Check out the tried-and-true recipes from them and other foodies!

• Served Up With Love ~ Melissa
• The Country Cook~ Brandie
• The Better Baker ~ Marsha
• Sweet Little Bluebird~ Mary
• Mommy’s Kitchen~ Tina

Zesty Italian Wraps

Pheasant and quail hunting season opens in Kansas this weekend. This recipe doesn't have a thing to do with how to prepare the birds harvested this weekend. (I admit it: I'm not your go-to girl on that front!)

But maybe it could be a snack or a lunch packed in an insulated cooler and eaten by orange-vested, boot-wearing hunters ... before they prepare the "catch of the day" after the sun goes down, of course. (I will remain optimistic for the hunters.)

I didn't prepare these Zesty Italian Wraps (and pinwheels) for a hunting trip. But they did make the menu as sandwich wraps when I took meals to the field while planting wheat earlier this fall. I also included them as "pinwheels" for the national Master Farm Homemaker convention the Kansas ladies hosted in August.  They are a spicier addition to a sandwich tray than the Turkey Club Pinwheels I also served.

The Zesty Italian pinwheel is in the center, while the Turkey Club Pinwheels flank it.

I didn't grow up in a family of hunters. Randy may go out for a little while on opening day, but he is certainly not a man obsessed with the sport. He will be more likely to watch college football on Saturday afternoon than go back out and hunt, unless a buddy calls him for an outing. (But I think that's more about the comradery than traipsing through CRP grass in search of the elusive pheasant or quail, who always seem to know when the season stars. (We saw our fair share this summer as we traveled our dirt roads to and from the fields. They will likely be in hiding this weekend, though!)

Since football is also the sport on my mind in the fall, I'll also offer them as a tailgate option. No matter the setting - by the side of the road or in a recliner for football viewing - I hope you'll enjoy!

Zesty Italian Wrap or Pinwheels

From Favorite Family Recipes

Flour tortillas (I used tomato for color)
Ham, thinly sliced
Salami, thinly sliced
Pepperoni slices
Provolone cheese slices
Shredded romaine lettuce
Banana peppers
Zesty Italian dressing

Layer meats, cheese, lettuce and banana peppers on top of a flour tortilla. Drizzle dressing carefully over the top. Roll the wrap up tightly. Serve as a wrap or cut into pinwheels for serving on a sandwich tray. (If you cut into pinwheels, it helps to refrigerate for about 1 hour before cutting.)

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Today, I'm linked to the Weekend Potluck. (Thanks to them for featuring my Apple Sundae Cake last week!) Visit these hosts and see what's cooking in other kitchens across the country:

• The Country Cook~ Brandie
• Sunflower Supper Club ~ Kim & Julie
• The Better Baker ~ Marsha
• Frugal Family Favorites ~ Tabitha
• Sweet Little Bluebird~ Mary

Apple Sundae Cake with Apple Cider Caramel Sauce

Pumpkin passionless people are put in  a precarious pickle.

Come November, pumpkin takes centerstage on dessert plates far and wide. I, personally, like pumpkin just fine. But one of my sisters is not a fan.

So, when it's my turn to provide the dessert for a November women's group meeting, I buck the trend and turn away from pumpkin. Instead, my PEO sisters and their guests got Apple Sundae Cake with Apple Cider Caramel Sauce this week.

While I like pumpkin, I absolutely love Jonathan apples. Just like the ducks and geese who fly in for a momentary visit to our region each fall, the Jonathan apples return to the produce aisle each autumn. I buy them two bags at a time because you just never know when they will again fly from the store shelves.

I've made this Apple Sundae Cake for years and have always topped it with ice cream and caramel sauce. But this year, I found a new recipe for sauce made with apple cider. It gives it even more fall flavor. I topped the dessert with Blue Bunny's seasonal ice cream, Cinnamon Apple Pie, but you can also choose vanilla, butter brickle, caramel swirl ... you get the idea.

It got good reviews at PEO. Hope it gets good reviews at your table, too!

 

 Apple Sundae Cake

Adapted from the kitchen of Lori Fiscus

5 cups chopped apples (I prefer Jonathan or McIntosh)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped pecans
Caramel Sauce (see below)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine chopped apples, 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon, mixing well. Set aside for 10 minutes. Stir oil, eggs and vanilla into apples, mixing well. Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl, mixing well. Stir in pecans. Add to apple mixture, mixing until well combined. Batter will be stiff.

Spread in lightly greased 13- by 9-inch pan. Bake 45-55 minutes (depending on your oven) or until it tests done.

Serve with ice cream and caramel sauce.

Apple Cider Caramel Sauce

From Cookies and Cups blog

1 cup apple cider
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup salted butter, cut into cubes (room temperature)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a heavy-bottomed cooking pot, heat apple cider over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Continue to boil cider for 12 to 13 minutes or until the liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup, stirring only occasionally.

Add in the sugar, butter, cream, cinnamon and salt and stir until combined. Bring the mixture back to a boil and boil for 2 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Allow the sauce to cool slightly before using. (When serving for a ladies' group or holiday gathering, I like to heat up the sauce in a small crock pot.) If you're at a location where you can warm the cake, that's great. But having the warm sauce to spoon over the cake warms each serving - at least, a little bit!

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Today, I'm linked to Weekend Potluck. Thanks to these hostesses. Check out the recipes that others are sharing:

• The Country Cook~ Brandie
• Sunflower Supper Club ~ Kim & Julie
• The Better Baker ~ Marsha
• Frugal Family Favorites ~ Tabitha
• Sweet Little Bluebird~ Mary

In a Twist About Tailgate Treats? Try These!

I've been going to K-State football games since I was in elementary school. I've known the words to the K-State alma mater since I was about 10. I could probably say the words to the pre-game Ceremony of Allegiance right along with the stadium announcer.

While "Eat 'em up! Eat 'em up! K-S-U!" has been part of my game day experience for decades, eating at tailgates has not.

 

We didn't have to arrive early at the stadium when I was a college student in the 1970s. There were plenty of seats. We hiked from the Derby dorm complex and could spread out once we got through the gates. We certainly weren't elbow to elbow, packed into the stands. As the daughter of a true sports fanatic, I grew up staying to the end of ballgames, no matter what. Things like that tend to stick, and I always stayed to the bitter end. And it usually was bitter: Back in the '70s, it was a rarity to win a football game.

Tailgating definitely wasn't a "thing" back in the '70s. My, how times have changed! Now the parking lots at Bill Snyder Family Stadium are filled with tailgaters galore.

When did tailgating begin? I turned to the American Tailgaters Association for the answer:

One of the first tailgating events was first documented during the Civil War, although participants, in all likelihood, were not sharing recipes or playing a friendly game of horseshoes. The event took place in 1861 at the Battle of Bull Run. At the battle’s start, civilians from the Union side arrived with baskets of food and shouting, “Go Big Blue!” their efforts were a form of support and were to help encourage their side to win the commencing battle.

Although this event was a far cry from tailgates today, this is one of the first historical events of passersby cheering on an event. This day also is important in that it documents food being used to celebrate a specific event. Many historians believe that, despite the civilians’ enthusiasm, even for the time, cheering on a war wasn’t exactly considered kosher … or safe. But, despite the dangers that these “fans” may have endured, the rituals they displayed have a direct correlation to the tailgating that is practiced today.

My Wildcats will be doing battle Saturday against Louisiana Tech. If you have a tailgate to go to, these White Chocolate Cinnamon Pretzels will give you the win. I, of course, dressed mine up with white and purple candy melts.

But you can use any color to cheer on your favorite college or high school team. For some, I drizzled the candy coating in careful zigzags. But after awhile, I decided just to stir the candy into the cooled pretzels. They weren't quite as pretty. But it sure took less time. It's up to you: Go for the fanfare or go for the grit. I guess it's not so different on the football field.

White Chocolate Cinnamon Pretzels

Adapted from Your Cup of Cake

1 bag of checkerboard-style pretzels (16-18 oz.)
2/3 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Additional 1/2 cup cinnamon-sugar for sprinkling
1 cup white chocolate chips (or colored candy melts)

Whisk together oil, sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Pour pretzels into a microwave-safe bowl. Pour oil mixture over the pretzels. Stir until well-coated.

Microwave 1 minute; remove and stir. Microwave 45 minutes more. Remove from microwave.

Spread pretzels evenly onto two cookie sheets covered in parchment paper. While still warm, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Melt white chocolate or candy melts over a double boiler (or use the microwave, taking care not to burn). Drizzle over cooled pretzels. Store in airtight container.

Note:  For some of the pretzels, I used a decorator tube and made zigzags over the pretzels. But, I decided that was too much work. So, for the rest, I poured the candy/chocolate over the pretzels and lightly tossed. It worked fine, though you don't have the distinctive pattern with that method. It still tasted good! (See photo below for the more random method of dispersing the candy/chocolate.)

This recipe is great for tailgates because you can use candy melts in the colors of your favorite high school or college team.

For more tailgating recipes, check out this link from the K-State Alumni Association.

For more tailgating snacks from Kim's County Line, click on this link for more K-State themed ideas and here for our experience at a University of South Carolina game, while Brent was in school there. The SEC has another way to tailgate!

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Today, I'm linked to Weekend Potluck. Check out Sunflower Supper Club's recipe for Apple Scones with Maple Glaze and other tasty-looking recipes!  Thanks to these hostesses of the potluck:

• The Country Cook~ Brandie
• Sunflower Supper Club ~ Kim & Julie
• The Better Baker ~ Marsha
• Frugal Family Favorites ~ Tabitha
• Sweet Little Bluebird~ Mary