Fire up the oven and get ready to bake

My recipe-collecting friends must be thinking about baking and cooking this week, because I had several recipes given to me all within a couple of days of each other. All of this week's recipes sound really good and interesting. Try each one and see which ones find their way into your favorite recipes files.

Hannah's Kentucky Chocolate Pie

Chris Austin, a volunteer from the Senior Center, brought this recipe to me. She got it from a book she read about the Amish community.

Chris made this recipe and said it is very sweet, and next time she might reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup.

1 stick butter or margarine, melted

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup nuts, chopped

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small kettle, melt butter and set aside.

In bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla. Add chocolate chips and nuts and stir. Add butter and beat well.

Put in unbaked pie shell.

Bake for 50 minutes or until done.

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Eloise Roth of Cape Girardeau requested recipes for an old fashioned dessert her mother made for her as a child: butter roll. I did an Internet search and found many recipes, but having never eaten this dessert, I'm not really sure which one would come close to what she remembers. I decided to share a few of those recipes, and you all can decide which one suits your own personal memories.

Old Timey Butter Roll

This is more like a biscuit dough recipe while other recipes used are more like a pie crust recipe.

For the butter rolls:

2 cups self rising flour

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup milk

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the milk sauce:

2 cups milk

2/3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cut shortening into flour really well with a fork. Stir in milk. On a floured surface, dump out dough and press together with your hands to form a ball. Roll out into a rectangle (about 7/10- inch size). Spread softened butter over dough and then sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon over top. Roll it up like a jelly roll and press it together lightly.

Cut into nine slices about one inch thick each. Place into a lightly greased 8-by-8inch-baking dish.

In medium sauce pot, combine all milk sauce ingredients. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to bubble lightly. Pour over rolls in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until rolls are lightly browned on top. Allow to sit for a few minutes once it is done for the rolls to soak up more sauce. After you put each roll on a plate, spoon more sauce over it.

Old Fashioned Butter Roll

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup shortening

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 cups milk

2/3 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 7-by-11-inch baking pan. In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt. Cut shortening in thoroughly with a pastry blender until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in water and press dough together with your hands. Roll out pastry into a large rectangle. Spread the butter evenly over the pastry, then sprinkle on 1/4 cup sugar and nutmeg. Roll up the dough jelly roll style and pinch to seal. Cut into 12 even slices. Place the rolls in the prepared pan.

In a saucepan, heat milk, 2/3 cup sugar and vanilla until mixture begins to bubble. Pour milk mixture over rolls. Bake in preheated oven until brown, about 30 to 40 minutes.

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Betty Lou Vogel of Cape Girardeau responds to the request to send in apple recipes from a couple of weeks ago. I will share a couple of those with you today and the rest another time.

Apple Fluff Salad

1 tablespoon flour

1 egg

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained, reserving liquid

5 cups tart apples, cored, unpeeled and chunked

1 cup salted shelled peanuts

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 (8-ounce) carton frozen whipped topping, thawed

Combine flour and sugar, mix well. Beat eggs, add to flour and sugar. Add vinegar and reserved pineapple juice. Cook, stirring until thick. Cool. Pour cooled dressing over apples, pineapple, and peanuts. Mix in whipped topping. Make the day before you plan to serve.

Note: Rome, Winesap or Jonathan apples are preferred for this recipe.

Paper Bag Apple Pie

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell

For the filling:

9 medium Jonathan apples, about 5 cups chunked

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoons flour

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

For the topping:

1/2 cup soft butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

Chunk apples into a large bowl and cover well with a mixture of the filling ingredients; sugar, flour, nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour into pastry shell.

Combine the topping ingredients; butter, brown sugar and flour, mixing together until of crumble consistency. Cover top of filling, making certain crumb topping is to the edge of the pie crust and the apples are covered well. Slide pie into large grocery brown paper bag and cover loosely. Fold over end and fasten with three paper clips; place on large cookie sheet. Bake in hot 425 degree oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Have a great week, and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at news@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by Southeast Missourian staff.