Chapter 25

COOKIES, BARS AND OTHER SWEETS

A cookie, or maybe several, with a glass of milk soothes the soul and feeds the hungry sweet tooth. Easily prepared, wonderfully suited to an array of nuts and always welcome as a quick snack, as a proper dessert, as gifts or during holidays, cookies, fruit or nut bars and similar small treats have universal appeal. In both our families, they were popular, prepared with regularity, often used as a little gift and always present around the holidays.

Oatmeal Krispies

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup shortening

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal

Sift flour, salt and baking soda and set aside. Cream shortening with both sugars. Add eggs; mix well. Add vanilla; mix well. Add dry ingredients; mix well. Add oatmeal; mix well. Once you’ve completed these successive steps, roll dough into long rolls and wrap in foil or wax paper. Chill for at least 1 hour. Slice chilled rolls into ¼-inch slices. Bake at 400 for 6 to 8 minutes or until light brown.

TIP: Rolled cookie dough will last several days in refrigerator or may be frozen for future use.

—Tipper Pressley

Cherry Crisp

3–4 cups pitted cherries

1 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup oatmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

½ cup melted butter

Place cherries in a greased 9" × 13" baking dish. Mix sugar, flour, oatmeal, baking powder, vanilla and egg until crumbly. Sprinkle atop cherries. Dribble butter on top and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

TIP: Other fruit may be used in place of cherries.

NOTE: A scoop of vanilla ice cream takes this dessert up a notch.

—Tipper Pressley

Peach Bars

So very tasty! A really delicate crisp crust, and the peaches aren’t overly sweet. Perfect with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk.

Dough

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter

1 egg

Filling

5 cups peeled and diced peaches

2 tablespoons lemon juice

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

To make dough, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut butter in using a pastry knife. Add egg and cut it into the dough. Divide dough in half. Pat half into a 9" x 13" baking pan. Place the other half along with the pan in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

To make filling, place peaches in a large bowl and gently mix in lemon juice. In a separate bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over peaches and gently mix. Spread peach filling over chilled dough. Sprinkle remaining dough, which will be quite coarse and crumbly, on top, on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Cool completely before serving.

—Tipper Pressley

Dollie’s Black Walnut Cookies

Black walnuts are native to the Appalachian region and play a role in many traditional Appalachian desserts. This recipe has been handed down through generations of my husband’s family back to his great-grandmother. That type of generational “pass it on” is typical of Appalachian foodways.

¾ cup shortening

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup black walnuts

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup evaporated milk

Cream shortening and sugar; add eggs and mix well. Mix in black walnuts and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift flour, salt and baking soda together. Alternately add flour mixture and evaporated milk to sugar mixture. Beat vigorously. Drop teaspoon-size portions of dough onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes or until cookies are light golden brown.

NOTE: Cookie dough can be kept in the refrigerator and used as needed for up to two weeks.

—Tipper Pressley

A halved black walnut with meat waiting to be picked. Tipper Pressley.

Black Walnut Bars

Crust

½ cup butter

½ cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup flour

Filling

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1½ cups shredded coconut

1 cup black walnut meats

For the crust, cream butter and brown sugar. Slowly add flour and mix until crumbly. Pat into 7" × 11" baking dish. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 350 degrees until nicely browned.

For the filling, combine brown sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla. In a separate bowl, add flour and baking powder to coconut and walnuts. Blend into egg mixture and pour over baked crust. Return to oven and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until done. Cut into bars and place on wire racks to cool.

—Jim Casada

Oatmeal/Chocolate Chip/Walnut Cookies

1¼ cups butter, softened

½ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 large egg

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

3 cups quick-cooking oats

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

¾ cup chopped and toasted black walnuts

Beat butter at medium speed with a mixer until creamy and gradually add sugars, beating well. Add egg and vanilla, beating until combined. Mix flour, baking powder and salt and then gradually add to the butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in oats, chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool cookies on baking sheets for a minute and then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

—Jim Casada

Candy Roaster Cookies

A candy roaster is a type of squash once grown widely in Appalachia that is making a sort of modern comeback. It is an orange-pink color and cylindrical in shape. The flesh of a candy roaster is like that of a pumpkin, only it has a richer, sweeter taste.

⅓ cup shortening

1⅓ cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup cooked candy roaster

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 teaspoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup raisins

½ cup chopped nuts (pecans, English walnuts and black walnuts are all suitable, but the latter nut has a delightfully distinctive taste)

2½ cups self-rising flour

Cream shortening and sugar and then add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add candy roaster, vanilla, lemon rind, lemon juice, ginger, allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix well. Add raisins and nuts. Mix well. Add flour and mix until combined. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. The cookies spread as they cook, so keep that in mind. These cookies are so good; every bite is like a taste of fall.

—Tipper Pressley

Chocolate No-Bake Cookies

These sweets are sometimes called Preacher Cookies, because they can be quickly made when the preacher shows up unexpectedly.

1 stick butter

½ cup milk

⅓ cup cocoa

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup peanut butter

3 cups one-minute oats (a little less for a more chocolaty cookie)

Combine butter, milk, cocoa and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat. Heat until boiling. Boil one minute. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and peanut butter. Once peanut butter has melted, stir in oats until thoroughly mixed. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper or aluminum foil.

—Tipper Pressley

Chocolate no-bake cookies. Tipper Pressley.