Feather Bed Rolls

This recipe was typed, so there's no way to tell who the contributor was. Mysteeeeeerious!

WARNING: This recipe has not been fully tested. Lisa Ashton tried it a few years ago and it did not turn out well, so further testing is necessary. Proceed at your own risk.

FEATHER BED ROLLS
1 cake yeast*
2½ cups milk
2 t. sugar
½ cup shortening
1 t. salt
5 cups flour

Scald the milk, then remove it from the stove and add shortening and sugar. When cool, add yeast cake that has been dissolved in water, and the flour and salt that have been sifted together. Beat the mixture, then let rise until doubled in bulk.

Beat again, and fill muffin pans one-third full.* Let rise again until doubled in bulk. Bake twenty minutes in a moderate oven.*

*A couple of notes: a cake of live yeast equals about three ¼-oz. packages of active dry yeast, or a bit less instant yeast; you don't have to dissolve either of these in water, although active dry yeast does benefit from being "proofed" beforehand. The recipe doesn't specify, but grease and flour the muffin pans to make sure the rolls don't stick. And a "moderate oven" translates to between 350° and 375° F -- start at the low end of the range and check the rolls after 20 minutes to see if they're done; if not, give them a few minutes more time.

Contributor: mysteeeeeeeerious stranger (probably Catharina Kest)

Fake Fake Homemade Apple Cake

Let's be honest: most of the recipes in the Cooking with 4 Ingredients cookbooks aren't super good for you. But every now and then you need a quick hack. For those times, there's this Fake Fake Apple Cake -- not because it's full of fake apples, but because it's fake-homemade! You can fool people into thinking you made it from scratch. Mom did this on several occasions. Muahahaha.

FAKE FAKE "HOMEMADE" APPLE CAKE
1 box spice cake mix*
1 20-oz. can apple pie filling
2 eggs
⅓ cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350° F. In a bowl, combine all ingredients very thoroughly with a spoon, making sure all lumps from the cake mix are broken up. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan and bake 50 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness (if the toothpick comes out clean, it's done).

For extra amazingness, frost with Penuche Frosting.

You can alter the pie filling (cherry, blueberry, raspberry, etc.) to change up this recipe a little. If you do, though, don't frost with penuche.

Contributor: Karin Buck, who stole it from The New Cooking with 4 Ingredients

*Spice cake mix can be hard to find. If so, get a boxed yellow, white, or vanilla cake mix and stir in ½ t. allspice, ¼ t. cinnamon and ⅛ t. nutmeg. Proceed with recipe. You're welcome.

Chocolate Drop Cookies

This is one of many, many recipes I got from my mom's recipe file. The handwriting looks most like Grandma's, so I'm going to credit her. When I find the recipe for chocolate butter frosting, I'll link it here. This is one of many recipes that let you use up any milk that's gone sour in the most delicious way possible.

CHOCOLATE DROP COOKIES
1 egg, well beaten
1 cup brown sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
½ cup shortening, melted
2 1 oz. squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
1⅔ cups cake flour
½ t. salt
½ t. baking soda
½ cup milk (sweet or sour)
½ cup chopped or broken walnuts

Preheat oven to 350° F. Sift together dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat egg and sugar together until light; add vanilla, melted shortening and chocolate. Blend well. Add sifted dry ingredients, alternating with the milk, until well incorporated. Stir in nuts. Drop from teaspoon 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes. While still warm, frost with chocolate butter frosting.

Makes 2½ dozen cookies.

Contributor: Norma Eriksson

Swedish Limpa Bread (Vort Limpa)

I'm pretty sure I got this recipe from Tom Ashton. He is the master baker and pride of the Ashton clan and all that stuff. This beats German rye bread all up out the joint, because Swedes know how to bake.

SWEDISH LIMPA BREAD (VORT LIMPA)

Proofing sponge:

2 t. (or 2 packets) active dry yeast
½ cup warm water
pinch of sugar
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add a pinch of sugar and the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and/or a clean towel and set aside until bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. (If it doesn't bubble up, the yeast is dead. Start over with live yeast.)

Dough:

1 cup warm water
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1 cup dark beer, at room temperature
½ cup molasses
2 T. fresh grated orange zest or 1 t. dried orange peel
¼ lb. (1 stick) butter, melted
1 T. salt
½ t. ginger
½ t. fennel or anise seeds (or a combination)
2 cups medium rye flour
raisins, optional
5-6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
melted butter or egg white for the top crust

In a bowl or mixer combine the water, warm beer, brown sugar, molasses, orange zest, butter, salt, ginger, and fennel and/or anise seeds. Add the yeast sponge. Stir in rye flour and a handful of raisins if desired.

Add all-purpose flour a cup at a time, mixing until dough becomes elastic. Clean the sides of the bowl.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board. Scrape the bowl clean and add it to the dough. Lightly oil the inside of the bowl.

Knead the dough, adding only enough flour to prevent sticking, for about 8 minutes. When dough is thoroughly kneaded it should be moderately soft, smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in the oiled bowl, turn to oil the top surface of the dough and cover with plastic wrap and/or a clean towel. Put the bowl in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk, usually between 1 and 1½ hours.

Punch the dough down and divide it in half. Form into round loaves and place on baking sheets that have been sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover with plastic wrap and/or a clean towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, usually about 1 hour.

About 15 minutes before you want to bake the bread, preheat the oven to 375° F. Brush the tops of both loaves with melted butter or beaten egg white. Bake loaves for about 1 hour or until they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on wire racks before slicing.

Makes 2 delectable loaves.

Contributor: Tom Ashton, baker extraordinaire

Basic Overnight Oats

This isn't a traditional Eriksson Conspiracy recipe. Nonetheless, it's become popular in our household for a make-ahead breakfast, especially on mornings where there isn't time to cook. This recipe produces an oatmeal with a different texture than the usual porridge; it's more like a creamy pudding. And who doesn't want pudding for breakfast? Try it and see.

BASIC OVERNIGHT OATS
⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
½ cup (heaping) rolled oats
⅔ cup unsweetened milk of choice (you can use dairy or nondairy milk)
1 T. chia seeds or ground flaxmeal
½ t. vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
up to 2 T. honey or maple syrup (optional)

The night before you want to eat this, whisk together all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Pour into a glass pint jar (or two half-pint jars), cover with tight-fitting lid(s) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Oats will be ready to eat in the morning.

Makes 1 large or 2 small servings, depending on how hungry you are when you wake up.

And if you get bored, here are some Variations!

Carrot Cake Overnight Oats: To the original recipe, add: 1 carrot, peeled and shredded; 2 T. softened cream cheese; ¼ cup raisins; ½ t. ground cinnamon. Mix and refrigerate.

Chocolate Chip Banana Overnight Oats: To the original recipe, add: ½ ripe banana, chopped or mashed; 2 T. chocolate chips. Mix and refrigerate.

Tropical Overnight Oats: Make the original recipe, substituting ⅔ c. coconut milk (the kind from the can) for the milk. Then add: ⅓ c. chopped fresh or canned pineapple; ⅓ c. chopped ripe mango; ½ ripe banana, chopped or mashed; 2 T. unsweetened flaked coconut. Mix and refrigerate.

Strawberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats: To the original recipe, add: ¼ cup chopped fresh strawberries; 3 T. softened cream cheese; zest and juice of ½ lemon. Mix and refrigerate.

Pumpkin Spice Overnight Oats: To the original recipe, add: ½ cup plain pumpkin puree; ½ t. ground cinnamon; ⅛ t. ground cloves; ¼ t. ground nutmeg. Mix and refrigerate.

German Chocolate Overnight Oats: Make the original recipe, substituting ⅔ c. coconut milk (the kind from the can) for the milk. Then add: 2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder; ¼ cup unsweetened flaked coconut. Mix and refrigerate.

Peanut Butter Cup Overnight Oats: To the original recipe, add: 2 T. natural peanut butter; 2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder. Mix and refrigerate.

Key Lime Pie Overnight Oats: To the original recipe, add: 1 T. key lime juice (regular lime works, too); 2 T. softened cream cheese; ½ t. key lime zest (regular lime works, too). Mix and refrigerate. Top with crunched-up graham cracker crumbs before serving.

Lemon Poppyseed Overnight Oats: To the original recipe, add: 1 T. lemon juice; ½ t. lemon zest (just the yellow stuff, not the white pith); 2 t. poppy seeds. Mix and refrigerate.

Chai Latte Overnight Oats: To the original recipe, add: ½ t. ground cardamom; ½ t. ground allspice; ½ t. ground nutmeg; 1 t. ground cinnamon; ¼ t. ground cloves (or less – cloves can be strong!); ½ t. ground ginger. Mix and refrigerate.

Blueberry Overnight Oats: To the original recipe, add: 1 T. lemon juice; ½ c. fresh or frozen blueberries. Mix and refrigerate.

Chocolate Peppermint Overnight Oats: To the original recipe, add: 2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder; ⅛ t. peppermint extract; ¼ cup chopped dark chocolate (optional). Mix and refrigerate.

Cherry Toasted Almond Overnight Oats: To the original recipe, add: ¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted; ¼ cup dried tart cherries, preferably unsweetened; ¼ t. almond extract. Mix and refrigerate.

Contributor: Soozcat