‘Cooking For Fun’ girls

Eight teenage girls have been “cooking for fun” with members of the Bruce First Baptist Church hostess committee every Monday night for the last few weeks. “This was a vision of our hostess committee,” said Susan Wilbanks.
The group opens with devotion, then has a time of going over cooking tips before they begin cooking.
The girls have made chocolate chip and sugar cookies, pizza cups, easy beef enchiladas, monkey bread muffins and fried Oreos. The cinnamon cream cheese roll ups and fruit cookie cups tied for the girls’ top favorites so far.
Charlotte Oakley has worked with them on the proper technique for basic chopping and safety when using a knife in the kitchen, and Paula Maddox showed them how to do a table setting.
“My favorite part of cooking class is getting to learn about new foods and getting to try them. I also love getting to spend time with my friends and amazing people,” said Layla Bramlitt.

She invited her great grandmother, Nell Logan, to show them how to make homemade fried apple pies. Mrs. Nell is her greatest inspiration for cooking and Layla wants to learn to make her pecan brittle.
“My favorite thing about this class is trying new things to cook and having fun with friends while cooking,” said Allie Brooke Havens, whose favorite foods are pasta and Chicken Alfredo.

Emmie Shaw also loves Chicken Alfredo, and Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. Her grandmother, Paula Jeffery, influences her to cook, and about the classes, “We get to cook with friends and great women,” she said.
“Learning to make new recipes to bring home and cooking with friends,” is what Hannah Morris enjoys and she, too likes Cupcake Wars, along with Chopped and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
“I like cooking with my friends and learning how to do new things,” said Abigail Maddox. Chicken and pineapple are her favorite foods, and fried Oreos from their class. She likes watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and Bizarre Foods.

Rena Claire Perkins enjoys cooking with friends and her favorite food is chicken. She is a fan of Nailed It, and wants to learn to make funnel cake and chocolate pie.
Petit Fours are what Emmie and Abigail want to make.
Amy Roberson’s dad, Bro. Gary, taught her to make potato soup and also inspires her to cook. “I make the potato soup for my grandfather when I go to visit him,” and “I always make homemade macaroni and cheese for my sister, and when my brother comes home.”

From the classes, she’s enjoyed, “sharing the food with my fam fam.” Her favorite food is sushi and she likes Worst Cooks in America.
Rena Claire’s brownie recipe was her great grandmother, the late Rena Gabbert’s, who is her inspiration for cooking.
Hannah Morris got the Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake recipe from her mom, who is influential in her cooking.
Her favorite food is potato soup and she would like to learn to make shrimp and grits.

Abigail Maddox is inspired to cook by her Gran (Joice Maddox), her Nana (Janette Mayhan), her mom (Paula Maddox) and her aunt (Teena Ruth) and her strawberry cookie recipe came from Gran.
Layla said, “I love this (boiled cookie) recipe because it is so quick and easy to make. You can bring them for a party, to eat for dessert, or even just a snack. I grew up making these with my mom (Michelle Bramlitt) and I have loved them ever since.”

Red Velvet cupcakes are Allie Brooke’s favorite recipe and “my aunt (Mitzi Bowles) makes them for my birthday.”
Her Aunt Mitzi and mother, Kim Havens, are who make her want to cook. Nailed It and Chopped are her favorite cooking shows.
“Each girl will have a cookbook when we are done with all of the recipes and cooking tips and hopefully they will add to their book. We have encouraged them to get recipes from their mothers and grandmothers to keep,” said Wilbanks.

Red Velvet/Cream Cheese Cupcakes

(Allie Havens)
Filling: 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 egg lightly beaten
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 box Red Velvet cake mix
Cupcake liners
Preheat oven to 350°. Place liners in muffin pan. Prepare filling first. With hand mixer beat together softened cream cheese and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Mix cake mix according to directions on box. Spoon some of the cake mix in bottom of muffin cups. Spoon some cream cheese filling on top of the cake mix, then fill muffin cup to about 2/3 full with cake mix. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool. Top with store bought or homemade cream cheese icing.

Potato Soup
(Amy Roberson)
6 potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 onion, chopped
4 Tbsp. butter
Salt and pepper to the taste
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup instant potato flakes
In medium pot combine water, milk, potatoes, butter, onion, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Simmer on medium heat until potatoes are soft. Add potato flakes. Stir to thicken. Serve with sour cream, cheese and bacon pieces.

Brownies
(Rena Claire Perkins)
2 cups sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
2/3 cup cocoa
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to #50°. Bake 20-25 minutes in 9×13 pan lined with parchment paper.

Boiled Cookies
(Layla Bramlitt)
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
2 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter
4 Tbsp. cocoa
Mix sugar, milk butter and cocoa, and bring to a boil for 1 1/2 minutes. Add oatmeal and peanut butter. Stir well and drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool and remove to airtight container.

Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies
(Abigail Maddox)
1-18-25 oz. pkg. strawberry cake mix
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1-8 oz. container frozen whipped topping
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
Combine first three ingredients, stirring well. Dough will be sticky. Dust hands with powdered sugar. Shape dough into 1” balls. Coat balls with powdered sugar. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.

Company Chicken

(Emmie Shaw)
1 lb. chicken tenders
1 block cream cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup white cooking wine
1/4 cup butter
1 envelope Italian dressing mix
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained
Combine ingredients in crockpot and cook on low six hours or more. Serve over prepared bowtie pasta.

Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake
(Hannah Grace Morris)
2 cans cherry pie filling (can be sugar free)
1 box Devil’s Food cake mix (can be sugar free)
1 stick butter or margarine, melted
Grease crockpot with butter or cooking spray. Pour cherry pie filling into crockpot. Spread into single layer. Sprinkle cake mix on top in even layer. Pour melted butter on top. Cook on high 2 hours or until bubbly. Do not remove lid during cooking. (You can make this with any pie filling or cake mix combination you like.)

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Roll-Ups
(Susan Wilbanks)
20 slices white bread, crusts removed
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
2/3 cup melted butter
Heat oven to 350°. One at a time, roll out each slice of bread until flattened. In a medium sized bowl, beat cream cheese, vanilla and ¼ cup of sugar. In a small bowl, combine remaining ¾ cup of sugar and cinnamon, and set aside. Divide cream cheese mixture and spread on each slice of bread (about 1 Tbsp. /slice). Roll up each slice. Dip each roll in melted butter so it’s fully covered. Roll in cinnamon sugar mix. Arrange, seam-side down, on baking sheet.
Bake 15-18 minutes until rolls start to puff.