“Is this recipe in your book?”—Darla Bakker’s Family Favorites

A Family Rooted in Food and Love

On today’s episode of Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens, I’m joined by Darla Bakker and her three daughters—Andrea Kolstad, Danielle Brandt, and Laura Feller. Darla and her husband, Jeff, live on a farm near Ruthton, Minnesota, where they raised their girls. Today, their daughters are raising families of their own in Minnesota and Nebraska—but one thing hasn’t changed: their love of gathering around the table.

This spring, Darla published her third cookbook—Darla Bakker’s Family Favorites, 3rd Edition—and this one is truly a family project. The daughters helped organize, edit, and contribute recipes of their own, making it a generational reflection of Midwestern cooks. Within 349 spiral bound pages, they share more than 830 recipes. What a treasure to be handed down to generations to come!

Cooking as a Love Language

Darla’s love for food started when she was a girl growing up on the farm. After raising her own family, working as an LPN, and feeding a community that adores her cooking, she’s become known for making meals appear effortlessly—and always with dessert. Her daughters describe their mom (and grandma) as someone who shows love through food.

Every Mother’s Day, Darla flips tradition by preparing all the food for her daughters—a loving gesture that speaks volumes.

A Sweet Surprise

To top off our conversation, Darla’s seven grandchildren recorded surprise messages for her—sharing memories from her kitchen and what it means to have Grandma’s cooking as part of their childhood. It’s a heartfelt moment that perfectly sums up how food and family weave together in the Bakker home.

Listen to Darla Bakker and Daughters on the Podcast

Listen to Season 4, Episode 2 of Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens wherever you get your podcasts. Or listen in the YouTube and Spotify links below. If you like what you hear, please like, comment and share with your friends.

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A Cookbook Three Decades in the Making

Darla first published her family cookbook in 1996, followed by a second edition in 2006—both of which sold out. Her new edition builds on those foundations:

• Duplicate recipes removed
• Healthier and more scratch-made updates (less canned soup and boxed cake mixes)
• New sections and recipes
• Gluten- and dairy-free options for a new generation

You’ll find it thoughtfully organized, starting with Bars, Cookies, Holiday Treats, and Cakes, Desserts & Pies, next is Rhubarb, followed by Breads & Muffins, Vegetables, Salads & Sides, Soups & Sandwiches, Main Dishes, and finally Appetizers, Snacks, Beverages & Miscellaneous.

Darla’s niece Janelle designed the cover and divider pages, giving the cookbook a personal touch. It’s nice that they included a place to jot down your favorites and the page number in each section.

Copies of Darla Bakker’s Family Favorites are available for $20 plus $5 shipping by emailing Darla at jdbakker@woodstocktel.net, or you can pick them up at Johnson Flower Box, 155 N. Tyler Street, Tyler, MN. If you know someone who loves a great community cookbook, this would be a special gift.

“Is this recipe in your book?”

That’s the question Darla gets asked most often—and the answer is usually yes! Her Family Favorites are staples in her home and her daughters’ kitchens. In this episode, we talk about the structure of her cookbook and some of the recipes that caught my attention:

• Danielle’s Honey Coffee
• Andrea’s Homemade Butterfingers
• Laura’s Cilantro Hummus
• Darla’s Potato Salad (with cooked dressing) —Jeff’s favorite
• Darla’s version of Special K Bars with Oatmeal
• Darla’s Radish Corn Chip Salad (a Fourth of July must-have)

We also talk through recipes like mac and cheese with white sauce, rice pilaf, roasted carrots, salad jars, pulled pork, Butterfinger bites, Ann’s chocolate chip cookies, mocha brownie frosting, macaroni coleslaw, marinara, and a sweet and savory jack-o-lantern jumble.

Growing Up in Darla’s Kitchen

Andrea, Danielle, and Laura share what it was like growing up in their mom’s kitchen—where food was both a daily ritual and an act of love, even with their mom working outside the home. They talk about how much they were able to help in the kitchen, and it might surprise you.

When asked what they’d want their mom to make if she cooked a meal of just their favorites, answers ranged from stuffing, rhubarb slush, and turkey pot pie to lasagna with breaded eggplant, mashed potatoes and gravy, goulash, rhubarb cream pie, and quiche.

The turkey pot pie—made with leftover Thanksgiving turkey and a homemade cream cheese pie crust and celery seed—is one of Darla’s signature comfort meals (you’ll find a picture of her recipe just a bit further down this post).

Bakker Family Lightening Round

We wrapped up the episode with the Bakker Family Lightning Round—a fast-paced, laughter-filled segment where they answered questions like:

• Hotdish or casserole?
• Cookbook, handwritten recipe, or digital recipe?
• What’s on a Bakker family relish tray?
• When assembling tater tot hot dish—tots in a pattern or tossed on willy-nilly?
• How cold does it have to get before you need your wool mittens?
• What would your family riot over if it was missing from Christmas dinner?

Recipes to Try From the Episode

Turkey Pot Pie with Cream Cheese Crust

Goulash

One-Pot Sausage & Penne Pasta Dinner

Asian Meatballs

Darla’s Potato Salad Dressing (Cooked Dressing)

Apple Cider Doughnut Loaf Cake

A Recipe from Darla’s Childhood: Brownies with Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting

I have a couple of brownie recipes that I love—Yes! Yes! Caramel Brownies and Amaretto Brownies that I bake to make Italian Tuxedo Trifle—so I thought I had all that I needed. I was wrong. I also needed Darla’s childhood brownie recipe.

It seems like the simplest thing, but when I read the recipe for brownies, I just really wanted to try them because I don’t have a brownie frosting recipe and this one has miniature melted marshmallows in it. The result took me back to a church basement potluck—pure nostalgia in a pan—in a delicious way!

The brownies are fudgy and the chocolate and marshmallow frosting just melts in your mouth. It goes best with morning coffee (yes, I ate one for breakfast) or an icy glass of milk. Get the full recipe at the bottom of this post.

Like this brownie recipe, I feel like many of the recipes in Darla’s cookbook are going to become staples in my home, and maybe eventually some in my grown children’s homes too. How special is it that they’ve given us all these wonderful recipes to share? Thank you so much, Darla, Danielle, Andrea and Laura!

The Heart of Family Cooking

The Bakker family’s story is a reminder that recipes aren’t just about ingredients—they’re about connection. Whether it’s rhubarb slush on a summer day or hot dish in the dead of winter, food is how we remember, celebrate, and love one another.

And if you ever wonder whether one of Darla’s dishes made it into the book…well, just ask her: “Is this recipe in your book?”

Sweet wishes,