Grandma Peterson's Saltine Cracker Toffee

Elanore has become a big fan of—and an expert at making—this recipe from our friend Laurie Jones.

1 sleeve saltine crackers (or enough to line your pan)
1 C. butter
1 C. brown sugar
2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 C. chopped pecans

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Line a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper.

3) Line saltine crackers in a single layer on the foil-covered cookie sheet.

4) In a small saucepan, combine sugar and butter and bring to a boil.

5) Once mixture is at a boil, continue boiling for 3 minutes. (It should be a deep caramel color.)

6) Immediately pour over saltines and spread to cover crackers completely.

7) Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. (It will get all bubbly.)

8) Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit a couple of minutes to melt.

9) Spread melted chocolate into an even layer, then top with chopped nuts.

10) Cool completely (we put it in the freezer) and break into pieces to serve.

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix for Camping

We love to have hot cocoa while we're camping, which in the past has meant Swiss Miss instant powder. I'm wanting to avoid all the additives and the powdered milk, so we're trying this homemade mix this year. It looks delicious, and it will be so nice to add just a tidge to your coffee and milk for a yummy, homemade, Starbucks-style treat by the campfire!

3/4 C. chocolate chips, frozen
1 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 C. powdered sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. cornstarch

To make the mix:
1. Freeze the chocolate chips for at least 10 minutes or they will melt as you process them! Pulse in a food processor until they are small crumbles.

2. Mix together with other ingredients and store in an airtight container. Makes about 4 C. of mix.

For each serving of hot cocoa:
2 Tbsp. hot cocoa mix
1 C. milk
whipped cream or marshmallows for garnish
flavored International Delight Coffee Creamer for flavors, if desired

This original recipe appeared on the wonderful food blog, Crazy for Crust.

Borax Ant Killer

It makes me cringe to think of posting a recipe for ant poison here on our recipe blog, but it works!!!  I want to share it with any of you who may also have problems with ants in the kitchen as soon as it gets warm outside. The original post appeared on a blog and came to me via a friend on Facebook. (And did I mention that IT WORKS?!!!)

1/8 C. sugar
1 tsp. Borax (laundry aisle)
1/2 C. water

1. Boil water, then pour in empty jar.

2. Add sugar and Borax to hot water and stir until completely dissolved.

3. Soak cotton balls with mixture and place on a piece of aluminum foil.

4. Place near the path where you have ants coming in. 24-48 hours later, they're gone. (Truly!)

I didn't believe this, really. I'd tried Combat and Raid Ant Bait traps. I'd tried Ant Terro. I'd tried natural remedies. I'd tried wiping everything down with vinegar-water. I'd tried spraying ant killer outside along the perimeter of the house. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, has ever worked before to kill the ants. This works. YAY!!

Update NOTE: This absolutely worked amazingly the first time I tried it. Then, two weeks later, the ants were back. I pulled the leftover poison jar back out, and it didn't work at all! It seems to be important for the poison to be fresh, so I've cut the quantities way down in the recipe. Just make a fresh batch each time you need it.

Buttermilk PIe

This recipe originally appeared in the William and Mary Cookbook. It indicates that an alumnus in Iowa created it because she was longing for the Lemon Buttermilk Pie from the Old Chickahominy House in Williamsburg. It's really delicious. Though  my mother likes it warm, the rest of us prefer it chilled, as its delicate sweetness is enhanced that way, and something neat happens to the texture of the top when it crystallizes in the cold. It rarely makes it long enough to get to the fridge, though. As the recipe tagline in the cookbook says, "Better make two!"

1/2 C. butter, softened
1 1/3 C sugar (original calls for 1 1/2 C.)
3 Tbsp. flour
3 eggs, well-beaten
1 C. buttermilk
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice (original calls for 1 tsp.)
1/2-1 tsp. freshly grated lemon rind, optional (good both ways)
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
freshly grated nutmeg, for topping (I usually omit this because I usually don't have it.)
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust

NOTE: This recipe makes a regular-size pie. If you want to make a deep-dish pie, you need to make half again as much filling. It sets up fine even with 1 1/2 times the filling called for above.

1, Cream butter and sugar together.

2. Add remaining ingredients except nutmeg.

3. Mix well and pour into pie crust.

4. Sprinkle with nutmeg and bake at 375 degrees until pie is set and top is golden brown, usually 45-50 minutes. It can handle cooking longer at 350, and I've even cooked the deep-dish version for an hour at 375. It's pretty forgiving.

Blueberry Pie

Philip's request for one of the Easter desserts this year...

"I didn't know you liked blueberry pie," I said.

"I've never had it," he said, "and I figured it was high time."

I couldn't find my good recipe from years back—it was from the mother of a friend from junior high, Diane Whitehurst, whom I haven't kept up with. My kids suggested I call her and ask her for her mom's blueberry pie recipe, but I do not have contact information for her, and even if I did, I figured Easter morning wasn't the time for a conversation along the lines of, "Hi. We haven't talked for 35 years or so. May I have your mom's blueberry pie recipe?"

So, I did what everyone does in the absence of a good, tried-and-true recipe... I looked it up online and chose one that looked good. It set up nicely and filled a deep dish pie pan, my two criteria for this go round. It was also delicious, so it's a keeper until Diane Whitehurst's mom's recipe comes back around sometime. I modified the original a bit, and the new version appears below.

2/3 C. white sugar
4 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
4 C. fresh blueberries
1 pastry recipe for a double-crust pie
1 Tbsp. butter

1. Combine first four dry ingredients and sprinkle over blueberries in a bowl.

2. Line deep dish pie crust with one pastry crust. Pour berry mixture into crust and dot with butter.

3. Cut remaining crust into 1/2-inch strips and form a lattice top to the pie. Crimp and flute edges.

4. Bake pie at 375 degrees until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, usually between 50 minutes and one hour.