Blue Ribbon Baking from a Redneck Kitchen, a cookbook by Francine Bryson

Blue Ribbon Baking from a Redneck Kitchen, a cookbook by Francine Bryson

Ms. Bryson may believe she has a redneck kitchen, but her recipes are much more sophisticated than that.  This cookbook has so many dessert recipes that I can hardly wait to try.  There are eight sections of fabulous desserts with mouthwatering pictures: pies, cookies & bars, cakes, cheesecakes, ‘Sunday go-to-meeting’, fancy for ‘show off’, biscuits & breads, and candy & truffles.  I have a lot of cookbooks in my library, including My Sister’s Recipes, but I’m happy to add this one to the shelf for use in the future.     

Here is a recipe from her website and the cookbook to give you a 'taste':

Aunt Thelma’s Peanut Butter Balls

INGREDIENTS

2 cups creamy peanut butter (I use Jif)
¹⁄₂ cup plus 2 tablespoons (1¹⁄₄ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¹⁄₈ teaspoon salt
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 cups chopped pecans
2 to 2¹⁄₂ cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

·         Using an electric mixer, beat together the peanut butter, ¹⁄₂ cup of the butter, the vanilla, and salt. Stir in the confectioner’s sugar, pecans, and 2 cups of the cracker crumbs.

·         Using your hands, roll the mixture into 1-inch balls. Set the balls in a single layer on a small wax paper– lined baking sheet and refrigerate until firm.

·         Melt the chocolate chips and remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the top half of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring until the chocolate has melted. Turn off the heat, but leave the chocolate over the hot water to prevent the chocolate from hardening. Insert a toothpick into a chilled peanut butter ball and dip into the melted chocolate until coated. Return the ball to the baking sheet, removing the toothpick. Repeat with the remaining balls and then chill in the refrigerator until hardened. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

MAKES ABOUT 40 BALLS

Author’s website: http://francinebryson.com/

Disclosure of Material Connection: Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review