Family Secret Recipes Archives | finding time for cooking

A Fall Classic: The Best Homemade Apple Butter Ever

January 12, 2020

The very first time I made this recipe was many years ago, when the leaves were turning all shades of fiery red and orange, signaling a gorgeous Georgia fall. There was a chill in the air, co-workers arguing over SEC football, and comfort food cravings were haunting me.

You know what else says “fall”? Apple butter. Well, technically anything apple + cinnamon, but apple butter is definitely high up on the list. My mom had shared a homemade apple butter recipes from our family friend, Louise, and I decided to give it a try…and it’s become one of my favorite recipes of all time.

Since that time many years ago, making this apple butter has been a rite of fall. I’ve made it, without fail, every single year for going on a decade. I share jars with friends, co-workers, family…this stuff is legendary. And all the better because it’s so easy.

One of the best parts?? No peeling necessary–you keep the peels on your apples, because the pectin in the peels helps it thicken up. The combination of spices and brown sugar makes for a complex and warm flavor, completely adaptable to your own preferences. This is one of those great things that bubbles away on the stove, but takes very little hands-on time and effort.

I’ve posted the original homemade apple butter recipe as I was given it below, but when I make this I make one major tweak—the amount of sugar it called for seemed extreme, so I decrease it significantly. It lets the natural sweetness of the apples as well as the spices shine through, and makes it healthier overall.READ THE POST

Rosemary Olive Oil Bread With Sea Salt

December 22, 2019

Y’all, this is probably the best bread I have ever made. One of the best breads I’ve ever eaten.

I know, I know—that’s a bold statement. But I’m being completely serious. As I’ve said previously on this blog, I’m not a huge bread person. I can take it or leave most bread, and would rather have dessert or wine or even a good veggie side dish. But this bread changed my mind. I first tested out this rosemary olive oil bread many years ago on Thanksgiving weekend, trying to come up with new ways to feed a bajillion people. It’s become a family favorite and staple at Thanksgiving and even normal weekend family events.

One thing I like about it is that it’s really flexible. The first time I made it, I was under the gun time-wise and so had to cheat and force the timings a bit for both the first and second rise. But it’s a very forgiving recipe and has always turned out well. What I’ve laid out here are ideal timings, but don’t be put off by them.

I’ve made a few tweaks to the original recipe, like adding sea salt on top (rather than the dried rosemary it called for). I do believe that fresh rosemary in the dough makes a huge difference, so strongly recommend you use it if at all possible. The bread flour called for is nice and adds a great chewy texture, but if you don’t have bread flour then just substitute more regular flour. I quite like this using mostly white whole wheat flour, but that’s your call…all-purpose works fine as well.

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Bing Cherry Pie With Streusel Topping

December 7, 2019

I love pie. Pie is the best. But for a holiday where pie plays a major role, I don’t really love Thanksgiving pies. Thanksgiving’s a big deal in my family. We always come home. We get together not only all day on Thanksgiving, but pretty much every other day that weekend. We play football. We play cards. There are glorious sunsets. There is SO much food. This year I think we actually set a record.

[Note: I edited and republished this in December 2019 with refreshed photos]

Every year I make a fruit pie or two, because pumpkin, German chocolate, and chocolate chip pie are just not for me. There’s usually a pear-apple pie with streusel topping, or some similar combination (I’ve been on a roll with this bourbon pear crumble pie). A couple years ago, though, I was really at a loss for what else to make, and then my mom found a bag of dark cherries in the freezer.

After looking up a number of recipes on Pinterest, I had to basically make up the recipe and hope it would work (I had visions of it just being this giant pool of juice, the soggiest pie ever). It was actually super simple and so easy to throw together.

This bing cherry pie ended up being my favorite dessert that year, and I had it for lunch, dinner, breakfast the next morning, and the tiny sliver that was left the next morning as well. This pie is my everything. I have no idea why, but it’s amazing.

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Pear-Apple Pie With Streusel Topping

November 27, 2019

I’ve been on a kick of re-making some of my all-time favorite recipes, many of which I’ve (inexplicably) never posted on this site. Completely on a whim this week, I whipped up this pear-apple pie (and proceeded to entirely eat it myself over the course of a few days…) and fell in love with it all over again. I made up this recipe several years ago and it definitely holds up over time.

I think streusel topping is totally underrated as a pie topping. I’m a sucker for the crumbly-crunchy-spiced-sweet texture and flavor it adds, and it’s so much easier than putting a pie crust topper on. I have a basic streusel formula I use and adapt as needed for different recipes, and it couldn’t be simpler.

I almost always make this for Thanksgiving when I go home to visit my family (and we eat on it for several days), so I have a strong association with the flavors here and fall in Kansas. In particular, the beautiful (and chilly) sunsets, quiet runs on our dirt road, and a breakfast of pie and coffee the next morning.

I also love that this recipe is reasonably healthy (as desserts go) and super easy to make. Other than dealing with pie crust dough (something I’m not terribly skilled with), the filling and topping are crazy simple and don’t require any special skills. You can throw this together while making dinner or doing other things, and it’s pretty forgiving if you don’t do something exactly right. In fact there isn’t really an “exactly right” with this recipe. You do you.

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Easy Side Dish: Fried Baby Potatoes

August 12, 2018

I moved away from home when I left for college, and only get back to Kansas once or twice a year. Usually that’s around Thanksgiving, but on the rare occasions it happens to be during the summer, my mom invariably asks if there’s anything in particular I want to eat, and I invariably answer “grilled chicken and steak with fried baby potatoes”.

It’s our thing.

It’s nice that some things in life are consistent 🙂 This is barely a “recipe”, but I’ve never really had these quite the same anywhere else so I wanted to share how we do this. The reason that summer is key is because we want to get fresh new potatoes if possible (red is best), and the key is SMALL. Yes, you can make regular potatoes this way, but it’s only with smaller potatoes that you get the right ratio of buttery crispy goodness and soft fluffy innards.

Innards. Mmm.

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Pakistani Kima

April 17, 2017

Full disclosure: I have no idea if this recipe is truly Pakistani, nor do I know what “kima” is.

But I *do* know that it’s delicious, filling, healthy, and easy. That’s a dinner grand slam in my books.

My sister has been making this for her family for quite a while, and she made it for us while I was visiting my parents a couple years ago. I fell in love with the incredible aroma and flavors of the spice combination. It’s truly what makes this dish special.

But it has a lot more going for it. It’s chock-full of veggies, across the color spectrum (something that I’m usually desperately needing). It’s also super satiating, with a one-two-three punch of the fat in the butter (don’t skimp on this), the lean ground beef, and the fiber-full vegetables.

It clocks in at around 320 calories per serving (if you make 6 servings out of the batch), which is great if you’re trying to keep your calories down but not feel hungry all the time.

And best of all, this recipe is super easy to make, a one-pot standby. It only takes about a half-hour total, and only requires you to do some vegetable chopping and throw everything into a pot. I made two desserts while putting this together a couple weeks ago, because I didn’t have to spare any brainpower for it. So I’m kind of in love.READ THE POST

Mom’s Sweet Potato Casserole: A Thanksgiving Staple

December 5, 2016

Pretty much anyone you talk to will tell you what their non-negotiable Thanksgiving dish is. For some it’s pumpkin pie or mashed potatoes. For me it’s Stovetop stuffing (original recipe).

And for my mom it’s this sweet potato pudding.

And I have to admit, it’s pretty doggone good. None of those nasty marshmallows here. No, sir. This is creamy and warm but not too sweet—the only really sweet part is the topping, which has a great crunch to it. It’s really easy to put together and is always a crowdpleaser. No question that it’s on my list of 14 never-fail Thanksgiving recipes.READ THE POST

Banana Cake with Caramel Frosting

May 19, 2016

It’s kind of crazy that I’ve never made banana cake before, because it’s something that my extended family made quite a bit when I was growing up.

Banana Cake with Caramel Frosting slice

But it was always with cream cheese frosting, and then a few years ago my sister had a brainwave and threw this caramel frosting on instead. And a legend was born. (I may be being melodramatic)

banana cake with caramel frosting sugar butter beat

Now don’t get me wrong, I really like banana cake with cream cheese frosting (pretty much anything with cream cheese frosting, for that matter). But there is something about this sugary, crackly caramel frosting that just adds the perfect depth and complement to the moist, dense cake. The fact that it’s crazy easy is just the icing on the cake…so to speak.

Banana Cake with Caramel Frosting slice2

This is also a cake that is perfect to make the night before, because this frosting really seals in the moisture of the cake. And, of course, use up the billions of browning bananas sitting on your counter.

I haven’t eaten a banana in probably six months, but I still buy them like clockwork, with the best intentions. This is a thing everyone does, yes?

Humor me…READ THE POST

My Favorite Unleavened Bread Recipes

March 12, 2016

With the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread coming up, I thought it would be fun to go back through and gather all of my favorite unleavened recipes into one place. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, and I totally forgot about some of these that were favorites a mere three or four years ago!

Some of the best unleavened bread recipes for Passover

Slightly Sweet Unleavened Bread

I just found this recipe last year, thanks to my sis. I fell totally in love with it as a super easy, fast, all-purpose unleavened bread to keep on hand. It’s dense but not dry, satiating, has a hint of sweet from the brown sugar and honey, and is ready in a half hour from start to finish. It was also just as good leftover as fresh out of the oven (which is NOT always true of unleavened bread recipes). Plus, you can mix it up by hand and pat it out on the baking sheet, so very low-maintenance.

Cottage Cheese Rolls

cottage cheese rolls finished

This has always been my family’s go-to recipe during the Days of Unleavened Bread. I never could understand why people would want to eat matzo, because it’s like eating cardboard. These, on the other hand, are moist and buttery and chewy and flavorful and FULL OF AWESOME. They are a little more time consuming though, but highly recommend for something like Night to Be.

Jam Diagonals

I was OBSESSED with these as a kid, I would try to sneak as many as I could without my mom seeing. Problem was, they were gone so fast. Not only are these desserts perfect for any spring brunch, Mother’s Day, bridal shower, etc., they’re unleavened to boot. And basically the most delicious thing ever.READ THE POST