Dad's Birthday!

All Dad wanted for his birthday was a pan of Mom's pecan bars. And that's what he got! Because they are so good, I decided to share the recipe with you:

Pecan Pie Bars

Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into bits (Mom grates her butter with a cheese grater)

Topping:

• 2 1/2 cups pecans
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup (I know, I know, but they are sooo good!!)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon dark rum or rum extract

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish. On a rimmed sheet, toast pecans for 7 to 8 minutes until fragrant. Break into pieces when cool. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Press mixture evenly into prepared pan. Use a piece of plastic wrap to help press the dough down evenly. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned.

In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, corn syrup and butter. Bring just to a boil over medium heat, stirring gently. Remove from heat and stir one-fourth of hot mixture into beaten eggs to temper, then add the remaining. Stir in pecan pieces, vanilla and rum, coating pecans completely. Pour filling over crust. Bake for 35 minutes or until set. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares. Enjoy!

 Mom and Dad with the pecan bars.

Mom's famous Cinnamon Rolls. I will give you this recipe, too!

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls:

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 1/2 T cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• Optional: raisins

Icing:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

1. For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.

2. Add the sugar, butter, salt, eggs and flour and mix well.

3. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.

4. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough flat until it is approximately 21 inches long and 16 inches wide. It should be about 1/4 inches thick. 

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

6. For the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the dough and then sprinkle the cinnamon, sugar and optional raisins evenly over the surface.

7. Working carefully from the top (the 21 inch side), roll the dough down to the bottom edge.

8. Cut the rolled dough into a 1-3/4 inch slices and place 6 at a time, evenly spaced in a lightly greased baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until light brown on top. 

9. While the rolls bake, combine the icing ingredients. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy.

10. When the rolls come out of the oven, coat each generously (lots of frosting tastes so much better!) with icing. Makes 12 rolls. Enjoy!!!

....and egg casserole!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Ah, heaven with frosting....

For Thanksgiving, we got invited to the Wagner's house for a "linner" (lunch and dinner). There were a few other families from around town there and it was really fun. All of us kids made a chart and wrote down how much we weighed before we ate and then after, to see if we gained anything. I don't think the scale worked very well, because it told us that Drew gained 39.7 pounds!! The food was sooo good and we all got so stuffed, but of course we had to eat the pie afterward! :)

Eating food!

Some of the men getting their food.

Food!