So-Easy Sugar Cookie Bars- Jan (Ahlden) Schuette Recipe and Wonderful White Frosting-- Naoma Ahlden Recipe

Today Grams and I completed our sixteenth and seventeenth recipes from the Ahlden Family Cookbook.  This is really just a small dent in the dessert section of the book, and not even a touch at any of the other food categories.  Since all of our products were eaten shortly after their completion, we really don’t have anything tangible to show for our time and work.  The only record of Grams and me baking together this summer exists in this blog.  The first dessert was made for an Ahlden family 4^th of July gathering, and our last dessert was made to share with friends as I move myself back to college.  All of our experiences took place within a short six week period.  Although seventeen new recipes may not sound like a lot, put in perspective that this averages out to two or three baking sessions each week. 

The truth is, I began this project and blog as an activity and source of company for Grams each week.  At this point in her life, all she really desires is someone to share time with, even if it is just baking cookies or folding laundry.  I figured all I would get from baking with Grams was a few more family stories and five extra pounds to squeeze into my jeans every morning.  As expected, I did get the new stories and the pounds.  Over time, I might forget some of those stories and I am hoping to exercise off the cookie belly.  I’ve realized that what I really got from this time with Grams is something much more.  She has always been my Grams and will always be my Grams, but now I see her in so many different lights.  Over these past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to see her as a young teen in love with Francis, mother to six, neighbor and friend, Christian believer, and grandmother and great-grandmother to fifty.  She is everything that I want to be as I mature into a woman.  Every time I think about Grams becoming a widow at 36 and raising six young children on her own, I am awe struck at her constant gentleness and patience.  She could have easily become bitter and angry with God and the world.  Instead, her life circumstances only enhanced her and strengthened her gentle and kind spirit.

Grams and I made two of the recipes from the Ahlden Family Cookbook today.  I wanted to make something that I could share with my friends during our first few days back at school.  Grams and I chose to make Aunt Jan’s So-Easy Sugar Cookie Bars.  I knew these would be a hit because they are one of the desserts that Aunt Jan always makes for the niece’s Christmas dinner.  I thought this would be the perfect time for us to also try Aunt Naoma’s White Frosting recipe.  Grams agreed that we could make some of the bars with frosting and some without.  That way, people could choose which ever kind they prefer.  So-Easy Sugar Cookie Bars, with or without frosting, don’t need refrigeration, and they are very easy to transport.  They were the perfect dessert to take with me back to college.  While me and Grams were talking and baking, I thought about what I learned from our baking this summer.  It goes without saying that I learned so many things about Grams and have countless memories that I will forever cherish.  I realized early in our summer that I still have so much to learn before being a woman, wife, and mother.  Luckily, I had Grams as an understanding and patient teacher.  The following are just a few of the things that I learned during Grams’ and my baking experience this summer.

1.      Make a detailed grocery list before going to the supermarket.  If you don’t, you will most likely be making a return trip because you got the wrong thing or not enough.

2.      My gracious dad can be sweet talked through sweet treats.  If there is something I want or need, it is best to prepare a dessert to give him right before I make my request.

3.      A 15 x 10 x 1 inch pan is called a jelly roll pan.

4.      I may be 22 years old, but I still need my momma’s advice on everything from baking, to boys, to clothes and shoes.

5.      A rolling boil is a boil that is SUPER hot.  I learned this from Googling the term and watching a YouTube video on the technique.

6.      Baking requires multi-tasking and multiple sets of hands.

7.      9 times out of 10 Grams will wear the same pink T-shirt. 

8.      It is expensive and time consuming to bake.  (Thank you dad, for your assistance in the $$$ department)

9.      It is better to melt chocolate on the stove than in the microwave.  I burned several dishes of chocolate before relenting to the fact that I might as well take the extra time and use a saucepan.

10.  I still have a lot to learn in the kitchen before I can feed a hungry husband and a table full of kids.

The sugar cookie bars turned out good with and without frosting.  Grams commented that these were great because you don’t have to make them into balls.  Making dough balls is messy and takes a lot of time.  This is good for Grams and I because we have noticed that our cookie dough balls aren’t size and shape consistent.  As with all desserts we have made, Grams concluded these would be great to take to our next family gathering.  Both the cookie bars and the frosting were very easy and didn’t take much time.  This was a blessing since I have been running around frantically trying to get everything ready for school to begin.  There is still so much to do before I leave, but of course, spending time with Grams takes top priority. 

I want to take a moment to sincerely thank anyone who is reading this.  In the beginning I imagined my mom and maybe a few cousins would take the time to check the blog now and then.  I have heard from friends, family, and strangers who I never expected to follow Grams’ and my baking journey.  This experience proved to be more rewarding than I could have ever predicted.  I hope that all of you have enjoyed your opportunity to grow closer to Grams and I, and perhaps you even added a new dessert to your recipe books.  I am honored to have shared this with you.

Although this is the last blog for a while, Grams and my goal to bake our way through the dessert section of the Ahlden Family Cookbook is certainly not over.  We have only made it through about half of the recipes, and I fully intend to bake the rest of the recipes in the book.  In fact, Grams and I have been saving some of them for specific holidays and seasons.  I will continue to blog about each recipe we do, so be sure to check back periodically and see what Grams and I have been baking.  Most likely our baking will be done of school breaks, so make sure you read the blog around holidays. 

Finally, I need to thank my mom and dad, the fabulous Kevin and Lori Johnson, for allowing me to do this project this summer.  Most parents would have forced their kid to get a part-time summer job, but my mom and dad understand that family is more important than earning a few extra bucks.  I wouldn’t trade any amount of money for the time I had with Grams. 

This has truly been a SWEET summer.

So-Easy Sugar Cookie Bars – Jan (Ahlden) Schuette Recipe

¾ cup sugar                                        1 ½ cup flour

1/3 cup butter softened                               1 ½ t. baking powder

1/3 cup oil                                           ¼ t. salt

1 T. milk                                                1 T. colored sugar

1-2 t. almond extract                     

1 egg

Preheat oven at 375 degrees.  Combine sugar, butter, oil, milk, almond extract, and egg.  Beat until light and fluffy.  Add dry ingredients (except for colored sugar.)  Mix well.  Spread in 15x10x1 (jelly roll) baking pan. 

Sprinkle with colored sugar.

Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Cool 5 minutes.  Cut into 48 cookies.

Note from Jan:  These are so fast and easy- great anytime of the year!

Wonderful White Frosting – Naoma Ahlden Recipe

2 cups powdered sugar                 2  T. flour

¼ cup Crisco                                       ¼ cup butter

1/3 t. salt                                             2 T. Milk

1 egg white beaten

Butter and egg white works best at room temperature, beat all ingredients together with mixer 5-10 minutes.

Note from Naoma:  This is a frosting recipe I have used for a long time.  I always use this for cupcakes I make, and I feel that it tastes best when refrigerated.  Some people do not like using eggs that are not cooked in recipes, but since only the egg white is used, and of course the freshest, I have never had a problem.

Special K Bars -- Lori (Ahlden) Johnson recipe AKA my momma!!!

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. 

                                                                                          ~Tenneva Jordan

            My mom is a fan of pie, desserts, and most anything to do with chocolate.  That being said, I know that my mom wouldn’t hesitate to give any of her children the last double chocolate chunk cookie on the plate.   Like her own mother, Lorraine Ahlden, my mom gives with all that she has and loves with all of her heart.  My mother was able to learn from the very best, and I have been blessed to have both a mother and a grandmother in my life to teach me about caring, patience, love, and life. 

            It occurred to me that through all of our baking this summer, Grams and I are yet to make the one dessert that my own mother, Lori (Ahlden) Johnson, contributed to the Ahlden Family Cookbook.  Since this is my mom’s recipe, I knew what to expect and how they were supposed to turn out.  This also meant that I had an official judge to taste test our final product.  Of course, my mom declared our Special K Bars a delicious success.  My dad was also extremely happy when he got home from work because these are one of his favorite sweets.

            Melting the sugar mixture and peanut butter simultaneously is a two person job.  Grams watched the sugar while I melted the peanut butter.  Both of the contents of the saucepans are so temperamental, so it helped to have Grams’ assistance.  During our stirring, we talked about how all the kids and teachers are getting ready to go back school. Grams actually graduated from Danforth High School before it consolidated with Gilman.  During that time, it was a big deal to make it through high school.  Grams couldn’t remember for certain, but she thinks that Grandpa Ahlden finished 8^th grade and then began working on his family’s farm.  Although it didn’t always make me happy, I am grateful that my mom and dad placed such importance on education.  I was never forced to get A+’s, but I was always expected to do my very best in school.

            Living at home this summer has certainly reminded me of the importance of strong role models.  As I said earlier, Mom and Grams have always been an example to me of the kind of woman I want to be one day.  They have always been there to love and guide me no matter what the situation was.  Since the Ahlden Clan is so close in proximity and love, all of my uncles, aunts, and cousins have played a major role in making me who I am today.  I am blessed to be a SWEET AHLDEN!

Special K Bars – Lori (Ahlden) Johnson Recipe

1 cup white Karo syrup                                  1 cup sugar

1 ½ cup peanut butter                                   6 cups Special K cereal

6 oz. butterscotch chips                                6 oz. chocolate chips

Heat sugar and Karo syrup in saucepan until sugar is completely dissolved.  In another pan, heat peanut butter on very low heat so that it won’t burn.  In a large bowl, mix syrup mixture and peanut butter mixture together.  Then pour in Special Ks and mix thoroughly until cereal is all coated well.  Press firmly into a greased 9x13 baking pan.  In sauce pan, or in a double broiler, melt both kinds of chips on low heat until creamy.  Pour over bars, and let set up, or refrigerate until firm.  Cut and enjoy.

Note from Lori:  When Kevin and I first started dating, his family always invited me to go camping and boating with them.  This was the only thing that I knew how to make, so I always brought these Special K Bars.  Luckily, everyone always enjoyed them, and expected me to bring them each time I went camping with them.

Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce

               I am surrounded by packing boxes and piles of my belongings.  It is hard to believe that I am moving back into my apartment in Normal in the morning.  Even scarier is that ISU classes begin a week from tomorrow.  It feels as though all of August slipped away without warning.  I am an everyday wrist watch wearer.  I don’t want to lose track of time or miss out on something important.  I’ve worn my watch all summer, but still somehow the time seemed to slip away from me.  There are still so many things I want to do this summer and so many desserts I want to bake!  Although I am not ready for the semester to begin, Grams and I decided to embrace the coming autumn with a seasonal desert.

               Anything with apples screams autumn, leaves, and back to school.  Today, Grams and I decided to bake Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce.   The temperature is so cool today that it feels almost like fall weather.  We used this as an excuse to make Apple Cake.  We have become very talented at justifying anything to do with dessert eating!  This cake is so delicious that my family ate the entire thing before I had a chance to snap a photo.  Peeling and slicing the fresh apples was time consuming, but it is certainly worth it.  Grams is an apple slicing pro because she used to make applesauce out on the farm as a young girl.  After she was grown and had her own family, she still made applesauce for everyone in the fall. 

               Yesterday I went back-to-school shopping with a friend.  While the cake was baking, I did a style show for Grams of all my new purchases.  I think she enjoyed seeing all of my new clothes and accessories.  She would say, “Oh yah, that will look nice with some jeans” or “That blue color looks so good on you!”  I think she really enjoyed seeing all of the new stuff and giving me her input.  In some situations Grams isn’t sure how to respond or what to say, but these were questions that she knew the answers to.  I bet she had great style as a young woman!

               Everyone in my family really enjoyed the Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce.  When we were making the dough it seemed so thick and dry, but when it was baking, the juices from the apples made it moist.  It has a great flavor and the caramel icing really compliments it.  The baking time for the cake suggests 50 minutes, but ours was ready in about 40 minutes.  We kept the leftover cake in the fridge, and I actually prefer it chilled more than warm from the oven.  This cake is just delicious no matter what way you slice it.  One good thing about the approaching autumn is seasonal desserts like Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce!

Quotes of the Day:

Grams: “This cake is LUCIOUS!”

Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce—Brooke Storm Recipe

2 eggs beaten                                   1 ½ t baking soda

2 cups sugar                                      1 t salt

½ cu oil                                              2 cups broken pecan or walnut pieces

2 t cinnamon                                    4 cups peeled and sliced apples

Beat together eggs, sugar, and oil in a large bowl. 

In another bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

Add dry ingredients to sugar mixture

Batter will be thick.  Stir in nuts and apples.

Spread batter into greased and floured 9x13 baking pan.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.  Serve warm with Caramel Sauce.

Caramel sauce

½ cup butter                                     ½ cup white sugar

1 T flour                                             ½ cup evaporated milk

½ cup brown sugar                          1 t milk

Combine butter, flour, sugars, evaporated milk, and milk in a sauce pan. Bring mixture to a boil for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla; cool.  Serve on Fresh Apple Cake.

No Bake Turtle Bars-- Connie Ahlden Recipe

               Some people say I look like my mother.  If you look at pictures of when she was in her twenties, there are similarities between the two of us.  We both have blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin.  My mom has a distinct “Ahlden” nose though which I do not have, and our bodies are definitely built differently.  A lot of people also say that my brother Adam and I look alike.  It is true that as we get older we seem to resemble each other more.  At the same time though, people sometimes comment that Adam looks like Dad, and I don’t look anything like my father.  Go figure?  

               Today Grams and I made Turtle Bars.  You may be noticing the trend that I am gravitating towards the “easy” recipes.  I admit that I am completely guilty of this.  As I am approaching my last week before leaving for school, I keep getting busier and busier.  I want to squeeze in as many baking days with Grams as I can.  I vow to try something slightly more challenging for our next dessert.  The upside of easy desserts is that it gives Grams and I a better opportunity to talk and enjoy each other’s company.  I am not so busy reading and measuring ingredients, and Grams doesn’t start feeling overwhelmed.  While we made the Turtle Bars we talked about how none of Grandma Ahlden’s six children look anything alike! Some have dark hair, some light.  There are brown eyes and blue eyes.  A couple are short and a couple are tall.  A few of the Ahlden’s have really fair skin, while others have a more olive tone.  Put them together in a line up and you would not guess they are all brothers and sisters.  None of the six Ahlden children closely resemble Grams either.  I asked her if any of them looked a lot like Grandpa Ahlden, but she said no, not really.  She said that he did have real dark hair and eyes. 

               Today was a really good day for Grams.  She had just gotten home from a dinner out with Aunt Jan, and she seemed generally happy.  Her mind was sharp and she looked clean and put together.  I was able to get a glimpse of the old Grams today.  She spoke openly and brought up relevant comments.  It makes me wonder what about today made it such a good day for Grams.  Was it because of her dinner out with Aunt Jan, because it was Wednesday, or because she watched a good TV show?  I will never know.

               The first layer of the Turtle Bars was easy.  All we had to do was lay out graham crackers.  The second layer was a pecan caramel mixture that we spread over the grahams.  Top that with melted chocolate, and you’re done.  At first, I thought I was doing something wrong because my pecan layer was completely mixing in with the chocolate.  Grams told me that this was how it was supposed to be.  I think she was right, because they turned out delicious.  I admit that I was skeptical that this would actually taste like a Turtle.  I couldn’t imagine it tasting as good as the Fannie May chocolates.   Believe it or not—these things taste just like Turtles!!  Somehow the combination comes out tasting great.  They did take a while to set up though.  We ended up putting them in the refrigerator to rush the process.  Grams and I don’t have much patience when it comes to our sweets!!

               I don’t look exactly like my mom or my dad, and none of Grandma Ahlden’s kids look anything alike!!  As long as none of us look like the mail man, I think that’s okay.  Besides, I would rather inherit Gram’s patience, serenity, faith, and understanding.  The personal qualities that we all share are more important than a large forehead or narrow eyes passed down the family line.  I guess if you look at it that way, all the Ahlden’s are alike.

No Bake Turtle Bars—Connie Ahlden Recipe

9x13 pan- layer whole graham crackers

2 sticks of butter

1 cup brown sugar------Boil butter and sugar for 2 minutes

Add: 1 cup broken pecans and boil an additional 3 minutes

Melt ½ cup milk chocolate and ½ cup semi-sweet chips with 1 T. oil.

Pour over above mixture.  Cut when cool.