Today we're welcoming guest blogger and cafe hostess and kitchen queen Jana Vanderslice into the cafe kitchen with a recipe she's been longing to share!
Grandmother Vanderslice’s Cake Mix Cookies!
My grandmother could do anything! She could dine at the
Eiffel tower in Paris in her heels and pearls and put on her grubby blue jeans
to take the grandkids fishing.
My first Thanksgiving with Grandmother
& Big Daddy Vanderslice!
I’m the cute little baby in
Grandmother’s arms!
She could bake a coconut meringue pie that would make
heaven weep and then grab a hammer to hang Christmas lights. She gave me grit
and gumption. She taught me courage and strength.
Grandmother Loved Christmas! The tree,
the food, the lights, Jesus!
Most importantly, she loved me. And I loved her. She was
one of my best friends. I miss her terribly, and I can’t wait to see her again
in heaven.
She was so proud that all of her grandchildren
earned master’s degrees.
She even lived long enough to see me
get my PhD!
This month she would have been 100
years old, so today we celebrate…
Christine Gilley Vanderslice! My Grandmother!
Grandmother Vanderslice’s Cake Mix Cookies
My
Grandmother was making Cake Mix Cookies before cake mix cookies were Cool!
These
are easy and adaptable. Be adventurous! Have fun and be creative! You can’t go
wrong with cookies!
Ingredients:
1 box of
cake mix (any flavor)
2 eggs
2
tablespoons of shortening
2
tablespoons of water for crisp cookies OR ¼ cup of water for soft cookies
Mix eggs, shortening,
and water together.
Add cake mix a little
at a time.
Form the
dough into roll on wax paper & wrap into a cookie log. Wrap the wax paper
roll in foil. Label with the type of cookie dough & baking directions.
Freeze.
Slice
dough into cookies. Bake at 375 for 7-10 minutes. (*If using light colored cake
mix such as strawberry or coconut, watch carefully so that they do not burn.)
And there
you have it! Grandmother’s Cake Mix Cookies!!
Ideas:
Add white chocolate
chips and sprinkles to strawberry cake mix cookies. Great for baby showers!
Try lemon cake mix
with coconut & pecans. This was my grandmother’s favorite!
Use white cake mix and
add in fruity pebbles, m&m’s, and chocolate chips. Sooo Good!!!
Make cookies with red
velvet cake mix and smother with cream cheese frosting. Yum!
Fancy up german
chocolate cake mix by add coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips. Delish!
Coconut cake mix is
great with coconut, chocolate chips & nuts. They taste like Mounds candy
bars!
For the holidays, use
spice cake mix with oatmeal, raisins, and pumpkin pie spice OR a cup of mince
meat. This is a Mom Pleaser!
Jana, thank you so much for being here with us today! You rocked this fun recipe, and I love the pictures and the heartfelt tribute to Grandma... What a blessing to have known her, and a bigger blessing to know you'll meet again. And now I can't wait to try these cookies!!!
Good Morning! We are having a Beautiful 5 hour rainstorm with sketchy wifi but I can't wait to hear your stories of grandmothers & recipes!!
ReplyDeleteWell, I never did cook with my Grandma, but that's a long story and okay to ignore.... but she loved me and I loved her!!!!
DeleteHowever, I do cook/bake with all the grandkids I can find, I even STEAL some, so that part is wonderful!
Jana, how wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing your grandmother with us. And for sharing her recipe. I can't wait to try this!!
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother taught me to make "real" pie crust! She taught me to use ice water to keep the butter cold and the crust crispy. :)
Real pie crust is a big treat!! And that generation could really make it! Good for you!!
Delete(This is Jeri, Jana’s Mom & this was my Mother-in-Law!)
ReplyDeleteWhat a lady!!! I took all three of us to Vegas. Grandmother had a wonderful time playing the penny slot machines. She had been to Europe several times and said that this was her favorite vacation ever. She was a GREAT cook and loved cooking for us. There was always enough for us to take some home. Jana cooks like she did – apron and all. I miss her more than a lot. She would have enjoyed the party that we would have had for her this month. Thanks for the memories Grandmother!!!
Jeri, I'm so glad you dropped by! Jana, this makes me want to buy an apron. :)
DeleteMy Mom is the Greatest! And that was a very fun trip!
DeleteAnd yes I have a lucky apron that I always bake in! I promise stuff messes up if I don't wear it. No joke. :)
Jeri!!!! Waving to you! Thank you for all the support and love you give to Christian fiction and to us authors. You're the best!!!
DeleteHi Jana!
ReplyDeleteWhat great memories of your grandmother. I miss both of mine immensely and look forward to seeing them again one day. :)
My dad's mom knew how to make all the Amish recipes that make your mouth water...and also a few that I'll stay away from (thank you very much!). My grandfather worked as a butcher during the depression, so in order to feed his family, often brought home the parts of the hog or steer that the owners didn't want to keep. I'll leave the rest to your imagination...
But that grandma also knew how to make the best soft bread!
My other grandmother had a cookie recipe that I've shared here before. I've always called them "Grandma's Sugar Cookies," and I'm not sure how she stayed so thin with a recipe like that around!
I'll have to try your recipe - it looks fabulous!
Jan! They sound like such wonderful people! And I bet they loved you so much!!
DeleteThat entire generation was Brave! They did everything they could to provide for their families & feed them. We owe them a lot!
And now I'm hungry for Sugar Cookies!!!
That is such a good point, Jana... that sacrificial love is an amazing thing, and they didn't think twice about it... they gave and worked and gave and worked... and it wasn't about "them"... it was always about "us".
DeleteI loved those photos you put on FB!!! I love cakemix cookies. Didn't know about the coconut ones!
ReplyDeleteThey are SOOO GOOD! I like to make the coconut cake mix & Mounds combination into cake mix brownies! You are the Best Tina!!! We sure appreciate everything you do for us!!!
DeleteHi Jana! I miss my Grandmother's sweet smile and gentle ways. I miss making homemade candy in her basement each winter. Fond memories!
ReplyDeleteReal Homemade Candy!!!
DeleteI missmy grandparents,too! Oh to have another day with them! I did shed a few tears looking through old pictures as I wrote this blog. Tears & smiles!
Thank you, Cynthia! You have a sweet & gentle heart, too!
Hi, Jana. I thought I was going to go with your grandmother's choice of the lemon with coconut, but then I got to the German Chocolate.
ReplyDeleteMy store used to sell Talenti German Chocolate gelato. Oh heavens, it was delicious!
Thanks for sharing your recipes with us today.
German Chocolate gelato! I can't imagine anything more delicious!!
DeleteI forgot to add the recipes. My father's mother was an amazing baker. I still remember the creme cake she would make with an entire jar of maraschino cherries on top. And then there was the Hershey bar cake. So indulgent.
ReplyDeleteBut I remember making these delightful sandwiches with my mother's mother. She would cut our bread into shapes and then put food dye in the creme cheese so we could make our tea sandwiches.
I can totally see you at a tea party with your dainty little pink sandwiches! What fun!
DeleteI love this, Jana. Not just the recipe, but the memories. I only recall one of my grandmothers baking and even then she didn't do it a lot. I remember her blueberry pies and homemade baked beans. Must check the files--well, once they come out of storage--to see if her bean recipe is in there.
ReplyDeleteMindy! Your house will be so wonderful - and so worth it! It's been fun to see it coming together. :)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if your grandmother had a secret ingredient in her baked beans. That would be fun to find out. I always want to put Dr. Pepper in mine. It must be the Baylor Bear in me!