A recipe from Longmont Dairy customer Lois Blackwood. Her mom started making these, over 50 years ago, every year at Christmas. Makes about 64 bars.

First Layer:
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 stick Country Cream butter
2 beaten Egglands Best eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup sifted flour
½ cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line an 8” square pan with greased foil. Overlap edges of foil so it may be lifted from pan to facilitate cutting of bars. Melt chocolate and butter over hot water using a double boiler, blend together. Combine eggs and sugar. Beat until sugar is dissolved. Add flour to eggs, then nuts and chocolate mixture. Mix thoroughly. Add batter to pan and spread it evenly over the bottom. Bake on lower shelf 350° for 20 minutes. Transfer to center shelf of oven and continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Second Layer:
½ cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons Country Cream butter
1½ tablespoons Longmont Dairy cream or milk
1 teaspoon peppermint flavoring
1 drop liquid or gel green food coloring (optional)
Combine sugar and butter. Mix until smooth, blend in cream and peppermint, and food coloring (if using). Spread on cooled first layout. Refrigerate and chill.

Third Layer:
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons melted Country Cream butter

Melt chocolate and butter over hot water using a double boiler, blend together. Spread over second layer as smoothly as possible. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Cut into 2” x 2” bars.

Longmont Diary customer Beverly Trbovich recently shared her recipe and homemade caramels with us. Thanks, Beverly, for sending our office some samples! Delicious! Makes 3 pounds (about 88 caramels).

Equipment:
4 quart heavy Dutch Oven – not aluminum
3 quart (9” x 12”) glass baking dish
long handled cooking spoon
parchment or confectionery twisting wax paper for wrapping
candy thermometer (optional)

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar 1 quart Longmont Dairy
¼ pound Country Cream butter whipping cream
1 pint light corn syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Butter sides and bottom of glass baking dish. Set aside.
In this order: melt butter in heavy pan, then add light corn syrup and sugar. Boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until bubbles are thick and heavy. Add one cup of cream gradually. Try to maintain a bubbling action in candy. Add remaining cream, one cup at a time, as before. When candy is thick and heavy, after last cup of cream, the candy thermometer should read 144°.

I prefer the old fashioned way of testing. In a cup filled with cold water, drop a quarter-size drop of caramel from your mixing spoon into water. Gather caramel with fingers—you should be able to form a firm ball if it is ready.

When ready, quickly take from burner, stir in vanilla, and pour into prepared glass baking dish. Do not scrape the pan to get all the caramel out; the air has already cooled the small amount of caramel left, and it will have a harder texture than the smooth-textured caramel already in the glass baking dish.

Let set in cool part of kitchen—not refrigerator—for 8-12 hours. Mark, cut, and wrap. Twisting wax paper is stronger to twist, but parchment or regular wax paper can be folded around candy.

Beverly Trbovich, Erie, Colorado
Mooo News December 2018

4 cups spinach – washed and drained
1 D’Anjou pear, sliced
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1 apple, sliced (Honey Crisp apples suggested)

Apple Cider Poppyseed Dressing:
½ cup apple cider
1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Honey
1 teaspoon poppyseeds
¼ cup feta cheese
¼ cup chopped pecans

In a large bowl, combine spinach, strawberries, apple, and pear.
In a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider, olive oil, honey and poppyseeds. Pour over salad and toss.

Top with feta cheese and chopped pecans.

Melissa Edison Barnes. FruitRevival Company

1 cup sugar
½ cup softened Country Cream butter
1 Eggland’s Best egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves
1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoons salt
⅔ cup LDF milk

Frosting:
6 tablespoons Country Cream butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons LDF milk.
Cinnamon

Preheat over to 350° F. (Adjust for altitude based on your local elevation.)

Cake: Prepare 12 cup muffin pan by lining with paper cups. Cream sugar and butter until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat. In a small bowl, combine the spices. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 ½ teaspoons of the spice mixture (reserving the remainder for the frosting). Add small parts (about ⅓) of the flour mixture to the creamed butter, alternating with the milk. Mix well after each addition. Fill muffin cups about ⅔ full with batter. Bake for about 25 minutes. Inserted toothpick should come out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting: Beat butter until fluffy. Beat in powdered sugar, remaining spices, and vanilla. Beat in milk. (Add more milk to bring to consistency desired.) Frost cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle tops with a little cinnamon.

Adapted from Bakeshop Favorites
Mooo News September 2018

2 ½ pounds fresh Palisade Peaches (peeled and pitted)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
Preheat oven to 375° F.

Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. Slice peaches and place into the dish. Sift together the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until it looks like coarse meal. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over peaches in baking dish. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until the topping is golden brown and peaches are tender.

Serve warm with milk, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.