G’ma Fran’s Thanksgiving Recipes

There’s no Thanksgiving without some grandma cookin’. Below are some of my favorite recipes I’ve had since I was a child. I left out the calorie count because , I mean, who really gives a sh*t- It’s Thanksgiving!

  Double Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

Ingredients

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 box (5.9oz) instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 1(8oz)  container sour cream
• 1 (12oz) bag mini chocolate morsels

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350
• Grease and flour a 10-cup bundt cake pan
• In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, and sugar. Add water, oil, and eggs. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Stir in sour cream and mini chocolate morsels.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Glaze (make while cake cools)

• In a saucepan over low heat, cook 1/2 stick salted butter, 1/4 cup whole milk, 1 and 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 cups powdered sugar just until sugar dissolves. Do not allow to thicken. Cool slightly and pour over cake.

  Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Caramel Icing

Ingredients

• 3 sticks of unsalted butter
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 8oz. cream cheese
• 6 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 cups twice-sifted white lily flour (or all purpose)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325
• cream butter and cream cheese (make sure both are at room temp) while slowly adding in the sugar until smooth. Add in one egg at a time, beating well after each egg.
• Then add flour and flavoring. Pour into a pound cake pan. Make sure the pan is well covered with non-stick spray
• bake for 1 1/2 hours and allow to cool

Caramel Icing (make while cake cools)

• In a saucepan, mix together 1 box brown sugar, 2/3 cup evaporated milk, and 1/3 stick butter. Bring to a boil.
• Remove and cool slightly, adding 4-6 tablespoons of powdered sugar to bring to desired consistency for spreading.
• If icing gets too hard to spread, add a tiny bit of milk and stir to bring to spreading consistency again.

  Cinnamon Toasted Pecans

Ingredients

• 1 pound pecans
• 1 egg white with 1 tbsp water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions

• beat the egg white and water until frothy. Add in the sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
• place pecans on parchment paper and coat with the mixture.
• bake at 250 for 1 hour turning every 15 minutes.

  Caramel Chex Mix

Ingredients

• 6 cups corn Chex Cereal
• 3 cups pretzels
• 2 cups peanuts for favorite nuts
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup corn syrup (karo)
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda

Directions

• Combine sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt in saucepan and boil for one minute, stirring mixture.
• Remove from heat and stir in baking soda
• Pour over mixture. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and pour mixture on to pan and bake for 30 minutes at 250 degrees, stirring half way through
• Cool and Enjoy. Add M&M’s if you’re feeling’ frisky.

Directions

• mix all ingredients together
• put a thin layer of cookie dough at the bottom of mug and microwave for 3 seconds
• top with a layer of chocolate chips (to taste)
• top that layer with the rest of the cookie dough and microwave for another 30 seconds

  Pimento Cheese

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of extra sharp cheddar cheese (grated)
• 2 large jars pimento peppers
• 3 tbsp mayonaise (or as desired for consistency)
• Yellow Mustard and Heinz 57 to taste (Usually 2 tbsp each)

Directions

• grate all of the cheddar cheese and place half into a food processor  and mix until roughly mixed (not soupy) and pour into another bowl. Do the same with the other half of the cheese.
• place all of the roughly mixed cheese back into the processor and add mustard, Heinz 57, and mayonnaise. Mix again until uniform but DONT mix too much

  Pecan Caramel Cheesecake

Ingredients (makes one 9inch cheesecake)

• 1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted
• 1 (14 oz) package caramels (unwrapped)
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp half and half or coffee cream
• 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 3 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• pecan halves or pieces

Directions

• Preheat oven to 300
• Combine crumbs, sugar, and margarine. Press firmly on bottom of 9 inch springform pan. Reserve 10 caramels. In heavy saucepan, combine remaining caramels and 1/2 cup half and half.
• Over medium/low heat, cook and stir until melted and smooth. Stir in chopped pecans. Spread over prepared crust. Bake 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweeter condensed milk until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Pour into prepared pan.
• Bake 1 hour or until set (center will be slightly soft). Cool.
• In a small saucepan, over low heat, cook and stir reserved caramels with remaining 3 tbsp half and half until melted and smooth. Immediately spread over cake. Garnish with pecan halves.
• Chill thoroughly.