: Life is hard. God is good. We need each other.
Have you ever had an ‘a-ha’ moment in the kitchen? I was talking to my dulce de leche loving niece recently about recipes using the sweet elixir of the gods when lightening struck.
One of the easiest cookie recipes I’ve made uses a can of sweetened condensed milk. Dulce de leche is sweetened condensed milk that has been caramelized. TA-DA!
Guess what I made the next day?
Have you boarded the dulce de leche train yet? Thick, rich caramel. Amazingly decadent.
I found this recipe when looking for recipes to make for a girls movie night a couple of years ago. We were watching Evita, and I was searching for recipes from Argentina. These little gems appeared, and I was smitten.
Isn’t it terrible when you like something, but no one else in your family does? Frequently, when we got to potlucks, or other events, I’ll make one of these recipes.
Coconut is one of those things around my house.
I looooovve coconut, but my family won’t eat it. Weirdos.
So can you guess what I made for our church’s annual Harvest Supper dessert on Saturday? Coconut cream pies of course.
Has someone ever gotten you a gift that was more for them than it was for you?
Years ago, my husband and I spent a romantic weekend just north of Duluth, MN. We rode bikes along Lake Superior, walked in the woods, and ate at Betty’s Pies. That year, for our anniversary, my husband got me a copy of Betty’s Pies Favorite Recipes cookbook.
Yeah, I thought the same thing.
Don’t get me wrong…I love to bake, and I love the cookbook. But I had a sneaking suspicion that this gift was as much for him as for me!
I’ve tried a number of Betty’s recipes, but it’s her pecan pie that grabbed a hold and won’t let go. I haven’t made a different recipe since.
Of all the smells that came out of my grandma’s kitchen…from sugar cookies, to dumpling soup, to raised doughnuts…these ginger snaps might just be my favorite.
There is some debate among the family as to whether in their ideal form they are chewy or crispy. I find them delicious either way, but my preference is chewy. Having said that, I am also forgetful, and so invariably, I end up with some crispy cookies as well!
It’s been causing me some stress to decide whether to call this recipe a cobbler or a crisp. I’m no food historian, and I don’t happen to be up on my precise cobbler vs. crisp definitions. Cobblers have always seemed more ‘cakey’ to me and crisps are more…well, crisp.
That’s where my problem comes in here. The delicious topping for this dessert starts out much like a traditional crisp recipe, but there’s one main difference that makes it almost like a cookie topping.
It’s really delicious. It is crisp. But it’s also kind of chewy. I really love it.
And with that eloquent description, let me tell you how to make it!
