Colorful and sweet. Muffins are always welcome at my breakfast table, though they never get to stay there long.
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Category Archives: Vanilla Extract
Easy Granola Bars
I have a love-hate relationship with granola bars. I love to eat them, but hate to pay money for something that’s full of corn syrup and other additives. I’ve tried several different recipes over the years, but they were all too much work — until now. This recipe is quick to make, the bars stay together reasonably well, and there’s no corn syrup involved! –Mellyn
Raisin Thumb-Print Cookies
Grandma C’s specialty!
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Grandma Elva’s Baked Raisin Pudding
Grandma Elva always had a crew to cook for, and she usually had little or no notice about the number of mouths she would be feeding each day. This never stopped her from whipping up delicious desserts to accompany any meal! Her Baked Raisin Pudding is a well-loved dish filled with raisins, sauce, and a whole lot of memories.
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Morning Muffins
It took me a long time to think of a name for these babies. I love them because they add carrots (and Vitamin A) into my food storage. The kids helped me with finding a name. We went from “Two Fuits and a Veggie,” to “Can I just have another?” Okay, the latter was not really a name suggestion, but an uninterested child. We finally picked one and decided as long as the muffin is good, who cares what the name is?
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French Toast a la Food Storage!
French toast is truly one of the most divine foods on earth, and my mom makes the best French toast in the world! I was honestly shocked at how well this recipe converted to food storage ingredients. Made with powdered eggs, wheat flour and powdered milk, we all wolfed it down — just like our usual white toast version. I’m sure the syrup didn’t hurt the taste either! –Mellyn
Mini Raspberry Vanilla Cakes
My friend, Jane, made the most delicious cake that she would cut in half and fill with jam. This recipe was inspired by her! To me, the texture (due to the beans) is between regular cake and angel food cake. I think it’s especially delicious topped with a pudding-cream filling and fresh strawberries (in non-emergency times, of course) In emergencies we’ll just have to make due with jam and buttercream frosting! –Mellyn
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Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
Sometimes cookies are just necessary. And I love these because I feel like they do have some redeeming qualities — beans and whole grains — along with enough sweet to satisfy my cravings! –Mellyn 
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Peanut Butter Bars
–From Kristen K.
Perfect for picnics and potlucks, these peanut butter bars are sure to please! Kristen used to bring them to all of our big gatherings and whenever our family makes them now, we think of her.
I couldn’t resist playing with the recipe just a little. I had good results cutting back the sugar and replacing some of the butter with (surprise!) beans. With the sweet, creamy frosting on top, my family didn’t even notice! –Mellyn
Baked No-Bake Cookies
Delicious bar cookies, filled with oatmeal!
Peanut Butter — crunchy or creamy –it’s one of my favorite things! Whether we’re eating it by the spoonful, slathering it on our sandwiches or enjoying it in a main dish or dessert, we just can’t seem to get enough. This week I’ll share a smattering of our favorite standbys, in addition to some new recipes we came up with especially for peanut butter week!
Ooey gooey chocolately…that’s how I’d describe this bar cookie! It’s kind of a cross between a granola bar and a no-bake cookie. –Mellyn Continue reading
Dad’s Oatmeal Cake
From Julie L.
Oatmeal cake was my dad’s favorite — and after sampling it a few times in preparation for this post, my whole family understands why. You just can’t get a much richer dessert than this one! Try the frosting as an ice cream topping or just eat it by the spoonful. It’s pretty hard to resist. Talk about decadent! –Mellyn
No Bake Cookies
Many people make no bake cookies. They are great for hot summer days, when you don’t want to heat up the oven, but honestly, I like them any time of year. This recipe was one of my first loves. I got it from my Young Women’s leader at church and I think of her every time I make them.
Recipe courtesy of Ann S.
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Date Bars
The best place to find easy recipes with simple basic ingredients is my grandmother’s recipe box. As the wife of a dairy farmer she cooked with what she had and that is what her recipes call for. I loved her cooking as a child and I am still looking toward her, through her recipes, for advice!
Recipe courtesy of Grandma C.
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Ginger Graham Pear Bake
These pears remind me of the fall baking season all year long! The butter powder makes them quick, easy, and always an option.
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Continue reading Peaches n’ Cream
Cool and light — this “dessert” is a perfect way to top off a meal. This topping is also great over warm cobblers, in place of ice cream. And any extra topping is really good added to hot chocolate!
- 1 7.6-ounce can table cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 29-ounce can peaches
- 1/2 cup granola
- Chill table cream and peaches for at least 1 hour.
- Pour cream into a bowl and stir in vanilla and powdered sugar.
- Spoon peaches into individual bowls and pour cream over the top.
- Sprinkle granola on top.
Yogurt Sugar Cookies
Christmas time is full of traditions. This is one of our family’s, but the original recipe calls for sour cream. Now that I have a way to make my own yogurt I can substitute with yogurt and make these traditional cookies no matter what my family’s current situation is.
Original recipe from Karen
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Brownies
Who doesn’t love brownies?! This is one of our all-time favorite recipes! I couldn’t resist trying it with beans instead of butter, and the result was surprisingly good! My kids thought they’d died and gone to heaven when I let them eat brownies for breakfast! –Mellyn 
Peanut Butter Balls
With a creamy center and a chocolaty outside, who wouldn’t love these?! Beans replace the butter, so they’re even a tad healthier than the traditional variety! –Mellyn
Aunt Beth’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
–From Beth L.
The perfect chocolate chip cookie! I’ve been making these since I was 8-years old, and I’ve never found another chocolate chip cookie recipe that could rival it! Of course I had to try them with beans, and I got good results using half oil and half beans in place of the butter. However, even with the butter flavoring, I still missed the butter flavor. This is one recipe I plan to use my precious butter for…although I could probably live with half butter, half beans. Beth says to make sure you eat them immediately or freeze them right away! –Mellyn
- 1 cup butter OR 1/2 cup oil AND 2 T navy bean flour, 1/2 cup water, and 2 tsp Wilton’s butter flavoring
- 2 large eggs OR 4 tablespoons egg powder and 6 tablespoons water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups flour
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- Combine butter (or use bean substitute*), eggs and sugars, and beat until creamy.
- Add remaining ingredients except chocolate and stir until smooth.
- Mix in chocolate.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
*If using beans and oil instead of butter, whisk navy bean flour and water in a glass bowl or measuring cup and microwave for 30 seconds. Whisk and repeat 3 more times. The resulting mixture is the equivalent of 1/2 cup of navy beans, blended with liquid. You can also use navy beans, blended with liquid. I prefer the flour because I can mix up the exact amount I want! You can read more about using beans in your baking, if you click on the tab labelled “Tips & Tidbits.” Don’t forget to add your butter flavoring if you’re making this with beans!
Fudge
This week’s ingredient is chocolate chips. I’m a true believer in storing basic food storage, however there’s definitely room in my pantry for small things that make a HUGE difference. In my opinion, chocolate chips fall into this category. They’re extremely versatile — you can throw them into a trail mix or melt them and use them for dipping. They add a touch of color and flavor to muffins and pancakes, and even my picky eaters are more apt to try something that’s sprinkled with a few chocolate chips.
This recipe comes to us from Julie L. It is truly the best fudge I’ve ever eaten, and believe me, I’ve eaten my share of fudge! In line with my recent curiosity, I had to try it with beans. The texture and taste were good. My only complaint was that I missed the buttery flavor. Stepping out of my comfort zone I ordered a bottle of Wilton’s butter flavoring just to see. It’s routinely used by cake decorators to give a buttery flavor to the shortening frosting that holds its shape better than butter frosting. The result was excellent! Even Julie proclaimed the fudge good.
