Do you ever sort of cringe thinking of all that flour you’ll have to slop on your counters when it’s time to do gingerbread cookies with your kids? I know I do, I still don’t have a great way of cleaning flour off of my counters (btw, if you have a good trick, leave a comment below). So, lucky for me I have a wonderful mother who gave me the recipe she would do with my brothers when they were little-can you imagine trying to do gingerbread cookies+flour+FOUR boys under the age of FIVE? Yeah…you know she had to find a better way. Now I’m sharing it with you, all food storage style, so you can have a much easier Christmas and a better time making cookies with your kids this year! (This recipe is very similar to the Cookie Clay Dough, I’ve posted about before)

KID FRIENDLY GINGERBREAD COOKIES

1 Cup Butter
2/3 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
2/3 Cup Molasses
In a small saucepan, combine the above 3 ingredients. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Let stand 10 minutes.

1 Egg, large and beaten (1 T. dry egg powder + 2 T. water)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Beat together in a large mixing bowl and add the butter mixture. Mix together.

4 Cups Flour (2 Cups wheat and 2 Cups white)
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
Combine all of the above dry ingredients. Gradually add to wet mixture above and mix well.
Cover and chill for about two hours.

Form or mold into balls, ropes, or animals, etc.
This recipe can also be rolled out and cut out with cookie cutters. Usually no flour is needed on the counter or rolling pin. A spatula is all that is needed for the transfer to the cookie sheet. However, I do dip the cookie cutters in flour for easy removal from the cutters. This dough works especially well for cookie cutters that imprint a design as the design holds up well in baking.

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool.

To make 8 Gingerbread Teddy Bears:
Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Have each of 8 children make from their piece of dough; one 2 inch ball for body, one one inch ball for head, four 1/2 inch balls for hands and feet, two 3/8 inch balls for ears. Place the 2 inch ball on a foil-lined baking sheets for the bear body; flatten to 1/2 inch thickness. Position the 1 inch balls for the head; flatten to 1/2 inch thickness. Attach four 1/2 inch balls to the bear for arms and legs. Attach two 3/8 inch balls for bear ears. Add chocolate chips for eyes, noses and buttons.

OR Shape dough into eight balls, 2 inches each; eight balls, 1 inch each; 32 balls 1/2 inch each; and 16 3/8 in each. Place the 2 inch balls on three foil-lined baking sheets for bodies of 8 bears; flatten to 1/2 inch thickness. Position the 1 inch balls for heads; flatten to 1/2 inch thickness. Attach four 1/2 inch balls to each bear for arms and legs. Attach two 3/8 inch balls for ears. Add chocolate chips for eyes, noses and buttons.

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until set.
Cool for 10 minutes before carefully removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Frost bows on bear necks with red frosting/piping tubes.

© 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.

Okay so I’ll give you a major high five if you know what Pfeffernusse are. Basically, it’s a really delicious German spice cookie that my grandmother would bring us. Unfortunately, store bought these cookies are bland, stale, and pretty gross. So, I was really excited to find this recipe and try it out-to find out that they are FAB-U-LOUS! (So good, in fact, that I had to put them in the freezer so I’d stop eating them…for you know…breakfast, lunch, dinner…you get the idea.) If you have any German in you, or are wanting to try something different this year, this is for you! (This is actually what I made for my cooking club this month!)

FOOD STORAGE PFEFFERNUSSE

1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs (2 T. dry egg powder + 1/4 C. water)
4 cups all-purpose flour (or whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons anise extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar for dusting

Stir together the molasses, honey, and butter in a saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir until creamy. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Stir in the eggs.

Combine the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cardamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, anise, cinnamon, baking soda, pepper, and salt in a large bowl. Add the molasses mixture and stir until thoroughly combines. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Roll the dough into acorn-sized balls. Arrange on baking sheets, spacing at least 1 inch apart.

Bake in preheated oven 10 to 15 minutes. Move to a rack to cool. Dust cooled cookies with powdered sugar.

© 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.

© 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.

Who doesn’t love a good brownie recipe that also includes food storage? I was so happy to receive this recipe for all of us to try. It has beans, wheat, and honey. Sounds great! This recipe is from Sade and she says…

“Hey Crystal,
You inspired me to try these and I’m so glad you did!! These little morsels of heaven were fantastic!! And as you said we wouldn’t be able to taste the beans at all! Thanks so much, I’ll send along the picture and the recipe in case anyone else would like to make these, they are truly food storage brownies!!”

Food Storage Pioneer Brownies: Food Storage Dessert Recipe

Print

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

This is truly a food storage brownie!

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. butter (1/4 C. black bean puree and ¼ c. oil)
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2/3 c. honey
• 2 Lg. Eggs ( I used powdered)
• 1/2 C. wheat flour
• 1/2 C. cocoa
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients and mix well. Put in 9×9 pan and bake at 350 degrees for
2. -30 min.

Notes

**Tip** Cut brownies with a plastic knife and they cut nicer…I have NO
idea why but it does work!

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SHARE WITH US!

Do you have a great idea, recipe or food storage tip you’d love to share?! Email me at efsshowoffs(at)gmail(dot)com! We’d all love to hear from you!

© 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.

I’m so excited!  I have a new e-cookbook coming out this week, The Everyday Bean Cookbook. It will have 90+ recipes for breakfasts, sides & salads, dinners, and DESSERTS all with no added fats…just good ol’ beans from your food storage.  Don’t worry the recipes aren’t scary, the recipes cover pancakes, waffles, muffins, quick breads, salads, soups, chilis, cookies, brownies, cakes, etc…see that isn’t scary! To get you excited (and convinced), I’m giving a sneak peek of one of my most favorite BEAN recipes, the Low-Fat Ultimate Death by Chocolate Sandwich Cookie. (Make sure you scroll to the bottom to see how you can enter to win a FREE copy of my new e-cookbook when it is released this week!)

Low-Fat Ultimate Death by Chocolate Cookie

Print

Recipe type: Desserts

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 9

This recipe is awesome, easy, looks gourmet and NO ONE will guess you used beans instead of butter in it! If you love it, make sure you check out my NEW Everyday Beans e-Cookbook with over 90 recipes that will incorporate beans into your breakfasts, sides & salads, dinners and DESSERTS!

Ingredients

• 1 Devils Food Chocolate Cake mix (must be Devil’s food)
• 1/2 C. bean puree (you can use either black or white beans)
• 2 eggs (2 T. dry powdered eggs + 1/4 water)
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 tub Fat-Free Cool Whip
• 1/2 pkg. dark chocolate chocolate chips, melted
• chocolate covered strawberries, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine half of the Devils Food Cake Mix with the bean puree, eggs and vanilla in electric mixer for 2 minutes or until thoroughly combined. Add in second half of cake mix and mix until combined. Drop rounded balls of cookie dough on GREASED cookie sheet. Cook 10-12 minutes or until done. Take out of oven and with a glass with a flat bottom, flatten cookies and allow to cool.
2. Mix together Cool Whip and melted chocolate to form mousse. Place mousse in between two cookies. Place a little mousse on top of cookie sandwich and place chocolate covered strawberry on top.

Notes

Make bean puree by dumping a can of beans in your blender and blending until it is the consistency of a thick smoothie.

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DON’T MISS IT-SIGN UP TO GET NOTIFIED OF THE OFFICIAL EVERYDAY BEAN E-COOKBOOK RELEASE!

Make sure you’re signed up for my newsletter to get notified as soon as this is released! Click HERE to sign up!

WANT TO WIN A FREE COPY OF MY NEW EVERYDAY BEAN E-COOKBOOK?

I thought you might! All you need to do make sure you’re signed up for my newsletters so you’re notified of the release and help spread the word about this post and amazing recipe either in an email or on your blog, facebook, or on Twitter. E-mail me at efsgiveaways(at)gmail(dot)com telling me what you’ve done and you’ll get one entry for different thing you did! There will be 5 winners so make sure you enter to win!

© 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I received this recipe from my biggest fan (don’t you love moms?!-Speaking of awesome moms, don’t forget Sunday is Mother’s day!  If you haven’t already, download my FREE Food Storage Brunch handout for some great ideas for breakfast this year using food storage!) and knew it had to be a winner and PERFECT for today and your food storage! It’s a great way to use a lot of powdered milk and in so many different ways.

FOOD STORAGE TRES LECHES CAKE

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Pam or grease a 9 X 13 cake pan

Blend in blender: (put water in first)
1-1/2 Cup water
1/2 Cup + 1 T Dry Powdered Milk

In a mixer:
1 box yellow cake mix, dry
1/3 Cup oil
3 large eggs
1 Cup of the milk mixture from above and reserve the rest in the Refrigerator.
Beat the cake mix, oil, eggs, and 1 Cup milk mixture for 2 minutes on med. speed in the mixer.
Pour into prepared cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
COOL in the pan before continuing.

In Blender:
1/2 Cup hot water
1-2 T butter
1 Cup Dry Powdered Milk
1 Cup Sugar
Blend VERY WELL in blender
add reserved milk mixture above & blend briefly again.

Using a dinner fork, poke holes all over the cake.
Pour the milk mixture evenly over the cake.
Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until liquid is absorbed.
Over night is best!

Serve with whipped topping
Garnish with Sliced Almonds or Toasted Coconut

Store left overs in the Refrigerator

© 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.

Alright, I’ve saved the best for last. If you follow me on FACEBOOK, you probably noticed I was talking about making a virtually fat-free cheesecake. Be still my cheesecake beating heart! Cheesecake is hands down my favorite dessert, so you can imagine how excited I was to make it all from food storage powdered milk and to have it be virtually fat free. I felt like I had just beat nature or something! You’ll remember my blender cheesecake. The one that’s done entirely in the blender. And you’ll also remember that you CAN’T use fat-free or low-fat cream cheese in it or it won’t set correctly. Well…I put it to the test with my virtually fat free yogurt cheese and VOILA! It set and tastes great! I’m never going back! I even tried the yogurt cheese in a baked cheesecake and it also worked. SO EXCITING! You can catch the video and food storage recipe below for the….are you ready….Virtually Fat Free Food Storage Cheesecake made entirely in the Blender. (Maybe it needs a shorter name?)

FOOD STORAGE FAT FREE BLENDER CHEESECAKE

Recipe:
1/2 c. hot water
1 c. non-instant dry powdered milk (2 c. if you’re using instant powdered milk)
1 c. sugar
8 oz. yogurt cheese
1/4 c. lemon juice
1 t. vanilla
Graham cracker crust

Directions:
Combine hot water, dry milk powder, and sugar in blender and blend until smooth. Add yogurt cheese, lemon juice and vanilla. Blend until smooth. Pour into prepared graham cracker crust and chill for at least 2 hours.

Check back on Wednesday-I’ve got my Food Storage Yogurt Handout all ready for downloading….YIPEE!! It has ideas for how to use your food storage yogurt, Greek yogurt and yogurt cheese, instructions for making it all, helps for trouble shooting your yogurt and food safety guidelines….oh yeah, and of course it’s ALL FREE!

© 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.

I would be remiss if I left out a really great apple pie recipe.  And this is a GREAT apple pie recipe. What better way to end pie week than with the pie Del would make on Thanksgiving!  (If you missed her pie class on Monday, click HERE!)  This is Del’s mother’s recipe and her favorite kind of apple pie. We brought it to a recipe swap at Relief Society and come home with a completely empty plate…not even crumbs! Give it a try…and of course we changed it to include food storage.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

Preheat oven to 375
1 pie crust for 9” pie
2 eggs (2 T. Dry Egg Powder + 1/4 C. Water)
1 cup sour Cream
1 cup sugar
4 TBS all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt

3 – 4 cups peeled, chopped and cooked apples (*note from Crystal, it is faster to re-hydrate dried apples. Place 2 1/2 dehydrated apple slices in 3 1/2 C. boiling water and let stand for five minutes, discard excess water )

In a large bowl beat eggs then add sour cream and sugar. Put in 4 TBS flour, vanilla, & salt and mix well. Stir in apples, and then pour into pie shell. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes

Crumb Topping

3 TBS butter – melted
¼ cup brown sugar
6 TBS all purpose flour

Mean while combine brown sugar, flour, & butter with wire whisk or whisk on mixer until crumbly (should look like small peas)  After 20 minutes cooking take pie out and top with crumb topping, then return to oven and continue cooking for 20 – 25 minutes.  Cool, cover and store leftovers in fridge.

Make sure you check back for more great pie recipes…and DEFINITELY enter this giveaway!

© 2010 – 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.

Okay, so I realize everybody doesn’t love butterscotch like I do. (Although, secretly I am trying to start a grass roots revolution to make it as popular as it was in the 60s-70s…but that is another story) What you will love if you don’t love butterscotch is the delicious and easy GINGER SNAP crumb crust. This is the new “IT” thing this Thanksgiving. I’ve seen people add it to pumpkin cheesecakes, apple pie, chocolate pie, and personally I think it would be INCREDIBLY delicious on the bottom of the Blender Cheesecake recipe. But, if you do like butterscotch like I do, then this is the pie for YOU! It’s easy and the flavor combination is surprisingly fresh, original, and EXTREMELY tasty! My husband (who does not like pie, unless it’s pumpkin) has been asking for it every night for dessert!

Butterscotch Creme Pie with Gingersnap Crust

1 (3.4 ounce) package instant butterscotch pudding mix
1 cup 2% milk (since this recipe calls for 2% milk I used enough dry milk powder to make the equivalent of evaporated milk with out the fat-1/3 c. dry non-instant milk powder + 1 c. water)
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/2 t. vanilla
1 (9 inch) prepared ginger snap crust
2 tablespoons butterscotch ice cream topping

In a large bowl, mix pudding mix and milk (if you’re using powdered milk make sure and mix the dry pudding mix with the dry milk before adding the water, it will make it mix together much easier) according to package directions. Fold half of the whipped topping into pudding. Pour mixture into ginger snap crust.  Chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour.  Add vanilla to remaining whipped topping and spread remaining whipped topping on top of pudding layer. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.
Serve cold with a drizzle of butterscotch or caramel topping over top of pie or a Skor bar.

Gingersnap Crust Recipe

About 24 gingersnap cookies
1/4 C. butter, softened
1/4 C. sugar

Combine ingredients in blender until combined. Press into a 9 inch pie plate and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes.

Make sure you check back for more great pie recipes…and DEFINITELY enter this giveaway!

© 2010 – 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.

Impossible Pumpkin Pie

3/4 C. sugar
1/2 C. Bisquick
2 T. butter
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk (1/2 C. + 1 T. dry non-instant milk powder + 1 1/2 C. water)
2 eggs (2 T. dry egg powder + 1/4 c. water)
1 can (16 oz.) pumpkin
1 T. pumpkin pie spice
2 t. vanilla

Heat oven to 350.  Grease 9″ pie plate.  Combine ingredients in blender and blend 1 minute (or until blended).  Pour into pie plate.  Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 50-55 minutes.

Don’t forget about the AWESOME GIVEAWAY! Click HERE for more information!

© 2010 – 2011, Crystal. All rights reserved.