Thursday, October 23, 2008

Recipe, Recipe, Who's Got The Recipe?


There's a problem with being an avid baker. Well, two actually, but we won't be discussing my hips today. No, the problem that's bothering me right now is the recipes.

I love recipes. I'm always thrilled to get a new recipe to try. I tear recipes out of magazines, I clip them out of the newspaper. I can't bear to throw away freebie recipe booklets, just in case I suddenly need one of those recipes. I've got bazillions of recipes in cookbooks, and I won't even talk about the recipes on the computer. I need another recipe like I need another baking pan (wait, I do need one of those!), but family and friends who know my problem still send me recipes that they've cut out of magazines and newspapers and e-mail me yet more recipes.

I feel like I'm awash in a sea of recipes. My countertops I have dubbed The Cookbook Breeding Grounds because I always have at least 3 cookbooks in a queue . I have folders for recipes, baskets for recipes, and serious shelvage for cookbooks, yet, there always seem to be more, lurking in stacks of papers, hiding inside drawers, and popping up randomly around the house.

The problem arises when I want a specific recipe. I have to remember first of all if it was in a cookbook or not. Then, was it a computer print out or not. Was it on a recipe card or clipped out of a magazine? Too much strain for my poor cheesecloth brain!


My daughter invited me to a tea party she was hosting and said that I was welcome to bring something along. I had 2-1/2 hours in which to whip up something suitable for a tea party. I knew she was making a cake, so my mind naturally went to cookies. Bar cookies are the simplest and quickest and I decided on one of my favorite recipes which taste like pecan pie in a cookie. They're super easy to make and they look lovely, too.

I thumbed through my recipe cards in my first recipe basket. Not there. I looked again. Drats! Had I put it somewhere else? Was it in a folder, a pile, or somewhere else instead? After 5 minutes of searching and language enrichment, I did a mental forehead slap and realized I should just look on the blog. Of course it would be there. Not. What??? I hadn't blogged these wonderful cookies yet?

I eventually found the recipe, baked the cookies, and they were greatly enjoyed. This recipe makes a lot of cookies that are quite tasty in a "have just one more" kind of way, so be sure you have friends to share them with as you'll feel wretched if you eat them all. And now we both will know where to find this recipe.

Pecan Pie Squares
- adapted from Taste of Home


Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold butter, cut into small chunks

Filling:
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups corn syrup
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

1- Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Grease a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan

2-In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Pulse a few times to blend. Add the butter and blend until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press firmly and evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes.

3- For the filling, in a bowl, combine the eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter and vanilla. Stir in pecans. Spread evenly over hot crust. Bake 25-30 minutes longer or until set. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares. Yield: 4 dozen.

(I didn't have time to let the bars cool all the way, so they were a bit gloopy. Delicious, but not dainty enough for a tea party with gloves.)

Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container, with waxed paper separating layers.

27 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Goodness, I'm ALWAYS in that same predicament with recipes; but thank goodness you found the one to make those LUSCIOUS Pecan Pie Squares!!

Michelle said...

these look delicious! Taste of Home is my favorite source for recipes! I have every magazine since I subscribed in the 90's!

Janelle said...

My problem is that I have a ton of cookbooks, and love getting more, but then I get all my recipes online, and forget to ever use my cookbooks. Blasted food blogs! :)

Peabody said...

I hear you on all the recipes. These look really good. My mother in law always sends me pecans from Georgia each year for Holiday baking, I will so be making these.

Sarah said...

I was just thinking about this topic this weekend! I was searching for a recipe and it took me about 10 minutes to root through all of the different places it could be and in the process came across a ton of other recipes I had forgotten about. My problem has only gotten worse since I started blogging! I am sure that the search was worth it because those cookies look amazing! :) Yet another recipe to add to the pile...

Gretchen Noelle said...

Oh thank you! I am so glad I am not the only one. The worst is when the magazine is not mine and I have to search through piles knowing the one I want is in there somewhere. If nothing else, my blog helps me find my own recipes again!

LyB said...

I think a lot of bloggers have that problem and that's probably why most of us have blogs; to TRY and keep track of recipes! lol! I'll be sure to remember where I found this one. My favorite pie is pecan pie and this seems so much easier, I'll get my pecan pie fix quicker! :)

Anonymous said...

I may be worst than you because of all the cookbooks and magazines I buy, I had actually bought several magazines and cookbokks twice and didn't know it until I was reorganizing my magazines and cookbooks that I come across two of them. Can't explain how.

Aimée said...

Great write up Lynn and I can relate 100%. It's a relief to know a recipe is on my blog and it's not going anywhere. If only there was a button to 'search contents of home'.

Lien said...

Lynn this sounds just so familiar, I'm glad it's not just me ;-)
There are more recipes in the house that I bake in my lifetime, and I still keep buying and collecting recipes (and baking pans... of course you can never have enough of those!!!).I bet those pecan squares were a hit at the tea-party!

Homemade Heaven said...

What exactly do you mean by leftovers? I can't imagine there being any of those - at least not in my house!

Anonymous said...

I know just how you feel with the recipe-masses. I have more than I know what to do with, but yet am always excited to get a new cook book or recipe magazine! I have got to the point where I am trying to organise all my recipes to put into a database, that way, I can type in the name of the recipe, and my database will tell me where I can find it! Sounds good in theory, but it's a mammoth task. One that I don't ever seem to have the time to do...

Anyway, I'm a new reader of your blog and just have to say how much I'm enjoying it. Thanks for sharing all the wonderful recipes as well as stories of your cooking adventures.

Debbie said...

We are always having pot lucks at work. These would be perfect to bring to the next one we have...Thanks!

grace said...

you're preaching to the choir, lynn! i have more recipes than i'd ever be able to make even i lived 1000 years. it's downright ridiculous, yet i continue to collect. in fact, this recipe right here just went into the abyss. :)

Deborah said...

ha! I could have written this post! I'm working on organizing them all now, but I know I'll never be able to make all of the recipes in 10 life times!!

These bars sound delicious, and perfect for this time of year!

Maria said...

I am with you! I have recipes galore and they are not organized either:) Maybe someday..ha! These bars look terrific!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Lynn, you crack me up! I sometimes feel this way, too - I remember seeing the recipe, but not exactly where. What a mess! :)
These cookies look so good, I'd be having thirds.

Mike of Mike's Table said...

I also have a tough time sifting through my random clippings, books, and other odd recipe bits that seem to be hidden everywhere about my home. These cookies look delicious--pie but in cookie form? I'll take a batch!

Mandy said...

I can totally relate to that, Lynn. Sometime I see a recipe, but just couldn't find it anymore when I need to make it. Your cookies look delicious.

Heather said...

i collect recipes, too ;) these look tasty!! i love pecans.

Jennifer Ludgin said...

Wow, those look amazing!!!

alexandra's kitchen said...

Oh how I can relate! it's like a disease. these bars sound perfect for a tea party.

RecipeGirl said...

Girlfriend, I can relate! I have recipes everywhere. I TRY to be organized with my binders, etc. But my cooking magazines pile up quicker than I can handle reading them. The worst part is that I'll browse my new mags, find a great idea and then when I want to implement my new idea, I have no idea which magazine it was in. I usually go scurrying to the internet to do frantic searches to try to find it there instead. Whatever did we do before internet?

Helene said...

I'd say scan them that way they will all be on your computer...if you can of course!
There are very few things better than pecan pie squares...Yum!

Anonymous said...

Oh darn, I've got my tea gloves on, Lynn! Can you just select one for me and real lady-like, with your pinky finger pointing ouward, shove a Pecan slice in my mouth? Ta!
Yum. The Queen would approve.

Big Boys Oven said...

hahahahhaha.... you got the recipes! awesome ones!

Anonymous said...

Uuh...guilty. I have a ton of cookbooks and a ton of cut-outs from magazines. I have a hard time finding recipes when I need them. Pecan squares have always been a favorite. Guess it's time to make them :)