Ribbon Cookies (courtesy of grandparents.com)

This is a recipe for the winning Delicious Dessert Recipe Contest, and comes from the Grandparents.com site. There are lots of good recipes and ideas and info on the site, and it's worth a long peek...
I tried this recipe and can understand why it's a winner.  It's quick, easy and delicious. I'll try it with other preserves too. Try it yourself!

Here's what Donna said about her recipe:

"This cookie is light and buttery, with a burst of flavor from your favorite preserves. Just thinking about them makes me wish I had one right now! My children loved these cookies growing up, and they still look forward to my making them, even now as they have grown older. My girls and I will make a pot of tea and our special cookies and enjoy a quiet afternoon together. And when I mailed them to my son in Iraq, his favorite cookies were a welcome sight. They are so delicious and easy to make. The ribbon cookie is extra special to me because it brings back my own childhood memories. I'm so glad that I can share the recipe with others. Hopefully I can cheer someone's day in some way."

http://www.grandparents.com/gp/content/food/recipes/article/recipe-ribbon-cookies.html
by Donna B., of Summerville, S.C.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 17 to 20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon dried lemon rind, grated
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup raspberry or apricot preserves or jam
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar until well blended. Add egg yolk, vanilla, lemon extract, and lemon rind; mix well.

2. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to cream butter mixture; blend well.

3. Shape dough into 3/4-inch-diameter ropes along the length of the baking sheets. With your finger, press a long groove into the middle of each rope, being careful not to press all the way down to the baking sheet.

4. Bake 10 minutes.

Cranberry Crunch Cake

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cranberries (whole, not cut up)
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons melted butter

In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs; beat until well combined. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture alternately with milk and vanilla to egg mixture. Fold in cranberries. Spread batter in greased 13 in. x 9 in. baking pan. Top marshmallows; press into batter. Sprinkle with brown sugar and nuts. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Yield: 12-15 servings {The marshmallows melt and seep through the cake, making it moist and very tasty. It is great for brunch, or just with a cup of coffee! Tastes absolutely great shortly after it cools because it is crunchy. It isn't as crunchy the next day but still GOOD!
Cook: Robin

Frozen Lemonade Cupcakes

I needed to make something sweet for a party. My oven chose that night NOT to work. I was desperate...searching...seeking the one true sweet that would make the party complete. This is the recipe I found. I don't know who Aunt Florence is, but I owe her a debt of gratitude. I keep thinking she could be related to me...this recipe is tres easy, pretty and yummy to boot. And did I mention it doesn't need to be baked? So here's to you, Aunt Florence. I'd give you the place of honor at the family party!


Aunt Florence's Frozen Lemon Cupcakes

Makes: About 12 cupcakes

Lemon Cream

1 cup sugar
Juice and finely grated rind of one lemon
2 cups whipping cream

"Crust"
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup crushed graham crackers
1/2 cup crushed corn flakes
2 tablespoons sugar
Jellied lemon sliced or small berry for topping.

1. Making lemon cream: combine sugar and lemon juice and rind in a large bowl. Gradually beat in cream.
2. To make the bottom crust: melt butter in a pan over low heat and stir in crushed graham crackers, corn flakes, and sugar. Remove from heat.
3. Press down crust mixture into the bottom of a silicon cupcake holder or cupcake liner. I used the silicon holder because it was more rigid and removed it after the cupcakes were frozen.
Freeze for at least 3 hours.
Unmold and top with a jellied lemon slice or a small berry of some kind.

Easy Fruit Cobbler

I needed a quick recipe, and it had to match the ingredients I had on hand...this filled the bill. It's from Southernfood.about.com, and they consider it a 'dump cake'. I did it with canned cherries, but can see that any fruit would be good:

4 ounces butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup milk
dash of salt
1 can fruit pie filling

Melt butter in an 8x8x2 inch baking dish. Mis all ingredients except fruit in a medium bowl. (No mixer is required). Pour the batter over the butter. Pour filling over the top. Bake at 350 degrees 45-60 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. I added some powdered sugar on top. Serves 8

There, didn't I say simple? This is a great 'have the ingredients on hand' cobbler, and it is fast and easy (are you noticing a theme to my posts???). It would be a great breakfast/brunch sweet instead of muffins. One note: I didn't bake it for the full 45 minutes, since it browned up about 38-40 minutes. I would set the timer for about 35 minutes and check it. I did put a piece of foil over the top and let it bake a couple of extra minutes when I noticed the edges browing a lot. This is a very good recipe to try with kids. It's hard to mess up something this simple.