Recipe: Texas Ranger Cookies, Margarita Party Dessert, and Margarita Pie

Here are a few dessert recipes from Classic Tex-Mex and Texas Cooking by Sheryn Jones. I have not tried any of these recipes.

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TEXAS RANGER COOKIES
Makes 5 dozen

1 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
2 cups crispy rice cereal
1 (7 oz.) can flaked coconut
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream shortening and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, and mix until smooth.

Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Add to creamed mixture and mix well. Add oatmeal, crispy rice cereal, coconut, and pecans and mix. (If mixture is crumbly, add 1 tablespoon water.)

Drop dough by tablespoonsful on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until light brown.

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MARGARITA PARTY DESSERT

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 (12 oz.) box vanilla wafers, crushed
3 quarts vanilla ice cream, softened
1 (6 oz.) can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup tequila
2 tablespoons cointreau liqueur
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp. grated lime rind
1 lime for garnish

Melt butter in 13x9-inch glass dish, place crushed wafers in dish and mix well. Pat down to make crust.

In a large mixing bowl, combine softened ice cream, limeade concentrate, tequila, cointreau, lime juice and lime rind. Fold together and mix well. Pour over vanilla wafer crumbs and freeze.

To serve:
Slice in squares. When ready to serve, slice lime very thin. Make cut to center of each slice, twist and place on each serving for garnish.

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MARGARITA PIE
(You would need 3 of these pies for 20 people, assuming that each would serve 8 people.)

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup tequila
1/4 cup cointreau or triple sec
2 egg whites
1 (9-inch) graham cracker crust
1 (8 oz.) carton heavy, whipping cream
Lime slices for granish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In mixing bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, lime juice, tequila and cointreau (or triple sec) and mix well.

Beat egg whites until slightly stiff and fold into egg-sugar mixture.

Spoon mixture into pie crust, bake for 25 minutes or until set. Cool.

Beat whipping cream, add 1/4 cup sugar and spread over cooled pie. Chill several hours or overnight.

When raedy to serve, slice lime very thin and make cut to center of each lime slice, twist and place on each serving for garnish.