Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies:

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup canned evaporated milk, with 1 TBS vinegar (combine and let sit for a minute)

2 tsp. vanilla

Mix above ingredients together and then add:

6 ½ cups flour

2 tsp. soda

1 tsp. salt

Roll out thick (3/8”). Cut. Bake at 350 for 8 to 9 minutes (no longer or they will be hard!!!).

Icing: 2 lbs. powdered sugar

1 cube butter(softened, not melted)

1 tsp. vanilla

dash of salt

food coloring (a few drops)

evaporated milk

Mix all ingredients with a hand mixer, beginning with just a few tablespoons of evaporated milk.

Add more milk as needed to get the desired consistency. If chocolate flavor is desired, add ¼ cup cocoa.

Roasted Pears

2 lbs of under ripe Anjou or Bosc pears
1/2 cup sugar
half of a vanilla bean pod
pinch of salt
zest from half of 1 orange, finely minced
juice of 1 orange, about 1/3 cup
2 tblsp butter, cubed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut pears in half. Remove the cores with a melon baller, grapefruit spoon, or whatever pointy object you can manage. Arrange in a large roasting pan.

Mix sugar, salt, and zest in a bowl. Slice vanilla pod down the center. Scrape inside of bean with the back of your knife to remove seeds, adding to the sugar. Sprinkle vanilla sugar over pears. Top pears with cubes of butter, rum, and orange juice. Add vanilla bean pod to the roasting pan. Bake, basting with juices every 15 minutes. When pears are soft and juices are thickening, about 40 minutes, increase temperature to 425 degrees. Cook for another 10 minutes until pears are browning. Serve immediately spooning liquids over the pears.