In the Kitchen With LaCracha Holley

 in Favorite Recipes by

These recipes were contributed by LaCracha Holley, a Southwest resident, and originally appeared in the Southwest November 2016 issue.

Peach Cobbler

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar (divided use)
  • 3 tsp. baking powder
  • 1-2 tsp. cinnamon, or to taste (divided use)
  • 2 pinches salt (divided use)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 4 cups sliced peaches (fresh or frozen)
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. orange zest
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • Whipped cream, to taste (optional)
  1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Place butter in a 13×9-inch baking dish; put in oven until melted. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, 1 tsp. cinnamon and a pinch of salt; mix well. Stir in milk until combined; pour batter evenly into baking dish.
  3. In a small saucepan, combine peaches, lemon juice, orange zest, remaining sugar, remaining salt, remaining cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Pour peach mixture evenly over batter. (Don’t stir together.)
  4. Bake in oven for 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm or cold. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

 

Apple Pie

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp. flour
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. orange zest
  • 5-6 medium green apples, peeled, cored and sliced in 1/4-inch slices
  • 1 pkg. 9-inch 2-crust pie plates
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and orange zest. Add apples; mix lightly.
  2. Place apple mixture into pie pan lined with unbaked crust. Dot mixture on top with butter. Top with second crust. Trim edges of the top and bottom crusts; press together. Fold under; seal with your fingers or fork.
  3. With a knife, cut small slits on top of crust to vent. Bake 20 minutes; rotate pie. Bake another 30-40 minutes until brown and bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

 

Easy Banana Split Pie

  • 1-oz. pkg. spreadable Philadelphia Cream Cheese Strawberry flavored (or plain, if preferred)
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup powdered sugar, or to taste
  • 1 8-oz. container Cool Whip, thawed (divided use)
  • 1 graham cracker crust (Keebler 9-inch ready-made)
  • 2-3 bananas (depending on size), sliced
  • 1 pint fresh strawberries, rinsed
  • 1 8-oz. can Dole crushed pineapple, drained
  • Your choice chopped nuts (optional)
  1. In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and half of the Cool Whip until combined.
  2. Spread mixture in the bottom of the pie crust. Slice bananas; place a layer on top of mixture. Hull and slice strawberries; place a layer on top of banana layer. Layer pineapples on top of strawberries. (Note: You can switch the strawberry and pineapple layers, if desired.) Top pie with remaining Cool Whip and nuts, if desired. 
  3. Seal with lid from crust package, and using the foil lip on pan. Place in freezer 1-2 hours, and then move to the refrigerator. 

 

Sugar Cookies

  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup softened butter
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2-3 Tbsp. buttermilk (divided use)
  • Sprinkles or decorating sugar for topping (optional)
  1. Preheat oven 375 F. In a bowl, stir flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla; gradually blend in dry mixture. Add 2 Tbsp. buttermilk to moisten and soften dough.
  3. Use medium cookie scoop and place dough on ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Using fingers, moisten top of each cookie with remaining buttermilk and slightly flatten top of each cookie. Sprinkle with decorating sugar or sprinkles, if desired. 
  4. Bake 9-10 minutes or until slightly golden; let stand 5 minutes before removing; cool on rack.