Holiday baking takes me back to my Grandma and Mom’s kitchen every year. I immediately can’t help but think of Grandma’s harvest gold KitchenAid Mixer and her very detailed instructions on how to properly cream sugar and butter. She was gentle but firm.
A new treat for my house is Pepper Nut Cookies. I have had numerous viewers and readers through the years asking me if I made Pepper Nuts. So, naturally you can imagine this has always peaked my interest. The problem was that I did not know anything about these little cookies. Luckily, last week at our Football Mom Prayer Group my friend, TiffanY Self, said she had to hurry and go because she was going home to bake Pepper Nut Cookies with her Mom. I begged her to teach me how to make these little ginger spice cookies! So here is Tiffany’s recipe! The secret is using HEAPING TABLESPOONS of the spices and strong black coffee!
Tiffany’s Pepper Nut Cookies
2 cups Crisco shortening
2 cups sugar
1 cup strong coffee
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 heaping tablespoon of each of these: cinnamon, black pepper, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
11-12 cups all purpose flour
Preheat oven to 375 degree. In a large stand mixer beat together the shortening, sugar and coffee to thoroughly blended. Add in all of the spices, baking soda and baking powder. On low speed, slowly add in the flour beating in the flour till combined. You want the cookie dough to be firm not sticky. So, on the 12th cup of flour just add only if the flour is needed.
To form the cookies: roll out the dough into “snakes.” They should be the diameter of your pinky finger. Then cut the cookies about 1/2 inch apart. and place on an UNGREASED baking sheet 1/4 inch apart. Fills the pan with cookies and bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown. Store the cookies in mason jars. The longer they sit the yummy they become!
Mom was an expert at quick breads. She could whip up a loaf of Banana or Pumpkin bread in a flash. Now, I find myself teaching my own children and their friends how to cook those delicious breads. They truly are a staple of any holiday table. Easy to assemble and yields great results. Kids love that they bake a loaf of bread! Kind of like it is the “pinnacle of cooking” for them! So, we bake a ton!
Chunky Monkey Banana Bread
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 large bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks
1 cup pecans, chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 1 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium sized bowl beat together the butter and sugar till creamy. Stir in the eggs, bananas and vanilla till combined. Stir in the baking soda, salt and flour until there are no large lumps. (some lumps are ok). Add in the chocolate chunks and pecans. Stir. Pour the bread batter into the bowl and smooth the top with a spoon. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool before slicing.