Double Orange Biscuits

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp grated orange rind

2 tbsp butter

½ cup orange juice

½ cup milk

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add orange rind. Cut in butter. Stir in orange juice and milk, mixing well. Knead lightly and mash out to a rectangle shape about ½” thick and 6” wide.

Paste

6 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1/3 cup orange juice

grated rind of one orange

½ cup sugar

In a double boiler, cook all ingredients except sugar until thickened. Add sugar and remove from heat. If the sugar is added while it’s on the heat, some sort of chemical reaction takes place and the paste doesn’t thicken. Let cool. This can be kept in the refrigerator for some time, too.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Melt the rest of the stick of butter in the biscuit pan.

Spread the paste on the biscuits, but retain some to spread on their tops after baking and roll up, jelly roll style. Cut into 1” rounds and gently dredge one side in the butter, turning that side up. Bake till lightly browned on the top.

Pour the remaining glaze over them and serve warm.

A couple of notes:

These recipes were found side by side in a cookbook. The first one called for sprinkling the tops with grated orange rind and sugar. The second one called for plain old biscuit dough. I combined them to make double orange breakfast treats!

And I used Ginger Davis’ San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo Blue Ribbon winning biscuit mix. Adding buttermilk to the biscuit dough rather than milk.

Glazed Lemon Cake

½ pound (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, sifted

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 tightly packed tablespoons grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Lemon Icing (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 10” tube pan.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Add lemon zest and juice.

Pour batter into prepared tube pan. Set on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until cake pulls away from sides of pan and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool cake in the pan. Set on a rack, for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and spread on icing alt once, while cake is still hot.

Lemon Icing

1 pound confectioners sugar

8 tablespoons sweet butter. Softened

3 tightly packed tablespoons grated lemon zest

½ cup fresh lemon juice

Cream sugar and butter thoroughly. Mix in lemon zest and juice; spread on warm cake.

Some notes about making the cake:

It takes about 6 large lemons to get enough zest. You’ll have extra juice for lemonade.

I lightly dust the greased pans with flour.

The icing recipe is generous. Use the leftover to glaze something else, or to pipe onto berries you’re serving with the cake.

The cake freezes well - and can be made in individual-sized bundt pans.

La Pryor Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla (I use Mexican Vanilla)

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup coconut

2 ½ cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Melt butter in a decent sized sauce pan, slowly. When melted, remove from heat and add sugars and mix. Add eggs and mix in. Add vanilla. Add oatmeal and cocoanut. Sift together remaining dry ingredients, add and mix well. Place in walnut-sized nuggets on a cookie sheet. I line mine with parchment paper for quick cleanup. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until just browning.

I get my coconut from Nutsonline.com. It’s a big wide flake, but without sugar. And it’s a great website for nuts, granola, and good stuff. Speedy shipping.

The cookie recipe was developed by the ladies of the elementary school cafeteria in La Pryor TX. They freeze well and are the best cookie to accompany ice cream.

Each 1 ½ -2” diameter cookie is about 35 calories.