Giving to others all year delights local woman

By LISA L. BELL

Although this is the holiday season, the season of giving, Kris Johnson of North Jackson finds happiness in giving year ’round from her heart as well as her kitchen.

“I love making food for people,” said Johnson. “I’m in my glory when I’m in my kitchen.”

Most often, Johnson cooks for her family. “If I make something someone likes I give it to them,” she said. “I just like doing things for people; there isn’t enough of that anymore.”

Like many cooks, Johnson doesn’t care whether she’s baking pies and pastries, making big pots of soup, cooking dinner for herself and her husband or helping out in the kitchen at church, she enjoys it all.

“I love to make everything,” she said.

According to Johnson, her husband especially likes her oatmeal cookies. Cake, bread and cookies are her favorite treats to bring for fellow pierogie makers at St. Stanislaw’s in Youngstown where she goes three days a week every December.

Some of Johnson’s favorite Christmas treats are clothespin cookies, peanut butter cookies and butterballs.

“I don’t make fancy cookies,” she said. “I just want them to taste good.”

Johnson explained that there are several people in her life who she especially enjoys cooking and baking for such as, her friend Bernice.

“It’s my way of making myself and other people happy,” said Johnson.

Whenever her friend’s son, Nick, comes home from college Johnson sends him back to school with pierogies and oatmeal cookies.

She makes wedding soup for her nephew, Joey, and pierogies, cranberry bread and cookies for her friend Carol, from Lowellville.

According to Johnson, she didn’t cook when she was young because her father wanted only her mother’s cooking.

“I just started with the basics,” she said. “Later on I learned a lot from her.”

Johnson’s favorite dishes to make are stuffed shells, chicken parmesan, stuffed cabbage and stuffed peppers. “Max [her husband] likes my meatloaf,” she said.

Because she loves to cook, Johnson owns a large collection of cookbooks. She also subscribes to Taste of Home Magazine, enjoys finding recipes on the internet and gets a lot of good ideas from cooking shows.

She also enjoys canning, always making enough for home and a little extra to give away.

“It’s just a way of life,” she said. “I need to give … not just to family and friends … it’s strangers, too.”

Apple Cake

4 cups diced apples

2 cups sugar

1‚Ñ2 cup vegetable oil

23‚Ñ4 cups flour

2 eggs

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1‚Ñ2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream sugar, oil and eggs. Mix dry ingredients and add to cream mixture. Add vanilla and fold in apples. Pour mixture into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Pumpkin Drop Cookies

Mix together:

1 cup butter

1 cup pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup raisins

1‚Ñ2 cup chopped nuts

Sift together:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1‚Ñ2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

Combine mixtures and drop by teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Can be frosted.

Pizzelles

12 eggs, slightly beaten

3 cups sugar

6 cups flour

6 teaspoons baking powder

11‚Ñ2 teaspoons salt

2 cups oil

2 teaspoons anise or vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients together. Drop by teaspoon onto hot electric Pizelle iron. Makes 11 dozen.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1‚Ñ2 cup butter

1‚Ñ2 cup peanut butter

1‚Ñ2 cup sugar

1‚Ñ2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

11‚Ñ4 cup flour

1‚Ñ2 teaspoon baking powder

3‚Ñ4 teaspoon soda

1‚Ñ4 teaspoon salt

Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar and egg. Combine dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Chill. Roll dough into 11‚Ñ4-inch balls. Place three inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Flatten with criss-cross style with fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Merry Christmas Cookies

1‚Ñ2 cup butter

1‚Ñ3 cup sugar

1 egg

2‚Ñ3 cup honey

1 teaspoon lemon extract

23‚Ñ4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Cream butter, sugar, egg, honey and lemon extract. Combine dry ingredients. Blend in butter mixture. Chill dough.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Roll out dough, 1‚Ñ4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes and place one inch apart on lightly greased cookie sheet.

Oatmeal Cookies

1‚Ñ2 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1‚Ñ2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups rolled oats

1 teaspoon cider

11‚Ñ2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in oats and mix well. Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool one minute on cookie sheet. Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Kris’s Butter Balls

1 cup butter

1‚Ñ2 cup powdered sugar

3‚Ñ4 cup finely chopped nuts

21‚Ñ4 cups flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1‚Ñ4 teaspoon salt

Mix butter, sugar and vanilla. Stir flour and salt together. Blend into butter mixture. Add nuts. Roll into one inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 250 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Roll in powdered sugar while still warm. Makes about four dozen.

Banana Bread

11‚Ñ4 cup sugar

1‚Ñ2 cup butter

11‚Ñ2 cups very ripe bananas (3-4 medium)

21‚Ñ2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Mix sugar and butter until well blended. Stir in eggs. Add bananas and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt just until moistened. Pour into two greased loaf pans (81‚Ñ2 x 41‚Ñ2). Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice

2 teaspoons baking soda

11‚Ñ2 teaspoons salt

3 cups sugar

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree

4 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1‚Ñ2 cup water

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberry

Grease and flour 2 (9x5) loaf pans. Combine dry ingredients. Combine and beat sugar, pumpkin, eggs, vegetable oil and water in large mixing bowl. Beat until well blended. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture. Fold in cranberry. Pour into loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes. Cool completely before wrapping.

Short Bread Cookies

11‚Ñ2 cup butter

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1‚Ñ2 cup sugar

3 cups flour

Mix butter, cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Add flour. Shape into one-inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-13 minutes. Cool on rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Makes about 6 dozen.