Pecan Tassies

One of my childhood favorites at specail occasions was pecan tassies.  My Grandmother made them and they are mini pecan pies.  This is her recipe. Be prepared to double or triple this recipe.....your family will eat them faster than you can make them!

1 3oz cream cheese(room temp)
1/2 cup butter(room temp)
1 cup glour

Blend together cheese and butter, add flour.  Mix well and shape into 24 balls.  Press balls into mini muffin tins, covering bottom and up the sides of each opening.

1 egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon soft butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash salt
2/3 cup chopped pecan

Divid pecans evenly between all 24 mini pie shells in muffin tins.  Stir together all remaining ingredients.  I do this in a large measuring cup.  Pour egg/sugar mixture into pie shells, dividing evenly between the 24. Bake at 350 until golden brown.

Grandma Sauce

Sunday dinner at Grandma Freida and PawPaw Speck's house was a family tradition.  It was always a big gathering, but Grandma never knew in advance how many people would be there....maybe just a few, maybe 30!  She just cooked, and there always seemed to be enough, it was always great and she never seemed to break a sweat!  More people showed up......she would just cook another cup of rice!  LOL!!!  Her stantard dessert was Sara Lee pound cake and her special sauce.  There was no recipe, she made it up as she went along and she had many variations.  Here is the basic recipe.  I watched her make it many times and had to practice and figure out the amounts because she NEVER measured anything. This is also the sauce I now use for my bread pudding....mmmm mmm good!

1/2 cup sugar
1cup milk
2-3T flour
dash vanilla

Cook all together, whisking constantly until the mixture simmers and thickens.

Some variations:
Use part/or all evaporated milk (Pet milk as she called)
add lemon or almond extract instead of vanilla
used part brown sugar/part white sugar

Aunt Ola Mae's Cookies

My gandmother made these cookies all the time and they are a family favorite.  So where did the name come from.....Who is Aunt Ola Mae?  Ola Mae was my grandmother's cousin, who was more like a sister to her.  She was a wonderful woman, always with a ready sweet smile, a gental spirit and I hold many special memories of her.  This is Aunt Ola Mae's cookie recipe, passed to me by Grandma Frieda.  This recipe makes A LOT of cookies, so it is great for holiday baking.  Be prepared to share....or they freeze beautifully!

1 cup sugar
1cup brown sugar
1 cut butter
1 cup oil
1 egg
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup quick oats
1-2 cups rice crispies
1 cup chopped pecan(or walnuts)

Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add oil, egg and vanilla and mix well.  Mix in flour, cream of tater and baking soda, do not over mix.  Stir in remaining ingedients.  Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes until golden brown.