Apple Cookies

Ahhhh, my house smells like fall this morning! I altered this recipe from Allrecipes.com and came up with a delicious cookie. No need for icing, in my opinion—the apples, craisins and spices provide the perfect amount of sweetness.
Interestingly enough, I left out milk in the first round of baking. I think I may like the [...]

Chocolate Raspberry Torte

This recipe came from one of the first books I ever worked on as a project editor. The final product looks harder to make than it actually is — that can be your little secret. It’s super rich, so cut it into small pieces.
Ingredients

2 ounces (2 squares) unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
dash of [...]

Strawberry Cream Pie

This recipe comes from Jason’s mom. It’s one of our favorites.
Ingredients

2 cups fresh* strawberries, sliced
3/4 cup sugar, divided
2 8-0unce packages of cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 container Cool Whip
1 premade chocolate crumb or graham cracker pie crust (extra large)

Directions

Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar over strawberries and let set 3 hours or overnight in the refrigerator [...]

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Straight from the old church cookbook, this recipe is always good, especially for potlucks or Easter dinners. And since my dad asked for it the other day, I figured I would post it on Needs More Butter for easy accessibility.
Crust:
3/4 C butter, softened
3 T sugar
2 2/3 C chopped, crushed pretzels (not too fine)
Creamy layer:
8oz [...]

Hershey’s Oatmeal Scotchies

My husband’s favorite cookie.
Ingredients

3/4 C butter or margarine, softened
3/4 C granulated sugar
3/4 C packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla extract
1 1/4 C flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t salt
3 C quick cooking or regular rolled oats
1 3/4 C Hershey’s butterscotch chips

Directions

Heat oven to 375.
Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in [...]

Shortbread Hearts

2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C sugar
dash of salt
1 C cold butter, cubed
1 T cold water
1 t almond extract
1/2 lb dark chocolate candy coating, melted
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water and almond extract until mixture forms a ball.
On a lightly floured [...]

Esther Bolick’s Orange Marmalade Layer Cake

Fans of Jan Karon’s Mitford series will appreciate this recipe. (And yes, I am a huge fan of the series. Loved those books and read them voraciously. Didn’t want to even open the first one, but that’s another topic for another day.) After reading about Esther’s famous Orange-Marmalade cake for so long, my mom got [...]

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Shelli and Neil made these cupcakes for their son Ezra’s first birthday this weekend (minus the raisins and walnuts for the little guys, Ezra and Simon). They were delicious, and I’m already thinking about when I can make them myself. (I took the recipe directly from the Barefoot Contessa’s website.)

2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups [...]

Best White Cake Ever

A guest post today from Lindsey, who made this cake for a first birthday party (and some delightful little butterflies for the birthday girls).

White Butter Cake:
1 3/4 cups sifted cake flour*
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated white sugar, divided
2 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup [...]

Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Pie

I ate half a piece of pie for breakfast–oh yes, I did. Here’s the recipe, straight from the NZC (New Zion Cookbook) courtesy Gage and Hinrichs kitchens. It’s simple and requires items I usually keep in my pantry.
2 lg eggs
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C white sugar
1/2 C flour
1.5 sticks butter, softened (not melted)
1 C [...]