Recipes A to Z....."N" is for Nuts

Whether we eat them by themselves or cook with them, nuts are delicious! We put them in breads, cakes, party mix, candy, butters, vegetables and fruits, to name a few.

All of these recipes use 3/4 to 1 cup of nuts.

This recipe is a favorite with my family every time I make it. It's good! Quick and Easy!

Streusel-Nut Coffeecake

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

Topping and filling (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round or square cake pan. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, shortening, milk, vanilla and egg. Beat until smooth (about 1 minute). Spread half the batter in bottom of pan. Spoon the filling evenly over batter in pan. Spread remaining batter over filling and sprinkle with topping. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Makes 9 servings.

Filling

Combine 3/4 cup ground nuts, 1/4 cup brown sugar (firmly packed), 1/4 cup flour and 2 Tablespoons melted butter or margarine. Mix with fork until butter is evenly distributed.

Topping

Mix together 1/3 cup brown sugar (firmly packed), 1/4 cup flour and 3 Tablespoons firm butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly.

Darned if I Know Cake

1-10 oz can crushed pineapple (undrained)

1 can pie filling (any kind)

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup chopped nuts

1 box (17 oz) cake mix (any kind)

3/4 cup margarine (1 1/2 sticks)

In ungreased 9 X 13 baking dish, mix pineapple and pie filling. Sprinkle dry cake mix on top. Sprinkle coconut over cake mix and sprinkle nuts over coconut. Thinly slice margarine and place on top. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60 minutes.

Any combination of pie filling and cake mix can be used.

For example: apple pie filling and spice cake mix

cherry pie filling and banana cake mix

blueberry pie filling and yellow cake mix

Top with Cool Whip (whipped cream) or ice cream when served.

A favorite for years!

1/2 cup butter or marjarine

1 teaspoon salt

4 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

8 cups mixed cereal (Cheerios, Chex, Crispix, Kix) low-sugar kind

1 cup salted mixed nuts

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Melt butter in shallow roasting pan, in oven, 5 minutes. Remove. Add salt and Worcestershire. Add cereal and nuts. Mix until all pieces are coated. Heat in oven 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes. Cool. Makes 9 cups.

Pecan Brittle

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 cup sugar

2 cups pecans

2 teaspoons baking soda

Microwave first 3 ingredients together for 3 minutes. Stir. Add pecans. Microwave for 12 minutes. Add baking soda. Stir. Quickly pour on greased cookie sheet. When it cools, it will harden into brittle. Break in pieces after it cools.

Toasted Almond Truffles

1/2 cup undiluted evaporated milk

1/4 cup sugar

1-package (2 cups) milk chocolate morsels

1/2 to 1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup finely chopped almonds, toasted

Combine milk and sugar in small heavy-gauge saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a full, rolling boil. Boil 3 minutes. Stir constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in morsels and almond extract until morsels melt and mixture is smooth. Chill 45 minutes. Shape into 1 inch balls. Roll in almonds. Chill until ready to serve. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen truffles.

You need a candy thermometer for this recipe. It is more advanced candy making, but if you have patience, this is delicious. It is a recipe I got from Nana,  and she used to make it for us every year.

Pecan Roll

2 cups sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup light corn syrup

dash salt

1 cup chopped pecans

Butter sides of heavy 3 quart saucepan. Combine sugars, milk, corn syrup, and salt. Heat over medium heat stirring until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to boiling.

Cook to soft-ball stage, 236 degrees F on candy thermometer. Remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm, 110 degrees.

Beat until it loses its gloss and holds its shape. Turn out on buttered cookie sheet. Knead - keeping hands buttered.

Shape in 2-8 inch rolls, 1 1/2 inch diameter.

Roll in chopped nuts. Wrap in foil. Chill. Slice.