Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Guest Post by Aunt Kathie: Family Holiday Classics

My Aunt Kathie recently posted that she had spent a busy day preparing all sorts of cookie dough to bake with her sister and mother, our aunt and grandmother.  Realizing that I didn't have many of our traditional family favorite recipes in hand, I requested them.  Here's the reply I received, a list highlighting some of our longest-time treats and the stories of the people my grandparents gathered them from long ago. Some were in fact typed on recipe cards, as seen below, but I've typed them up (as written) for our family and for you.




Jenney's Cookies
Jenney’s cookies, these we all make every year and have as long as I can remember. We asked Grandma who Jenney is! She was a woman she and Grandpa knew back in the day, Jenney Roberts, she had no children and was an amazing cook.

1 c. butter (soft)                                                 1/2 c. packed brn. sugar
2 eggs                                                                 1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. flour                                                            1 c. chopped nuts (more)  
2 tsps. vanilla

Cream butter, add sugar and egg yolks (save whites). 
Blend in flour and vanilla and salt. Roll dough in small balls and dip in slightly beaten egg white. Then roll in chopped nuts. Bake five min @ 350. Remove from oven and press down center with thimble. Bake again for 15 min. Cool slightly and fill center with strawberry jam.
 

 

Date Squares
Date squares, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Nancy and my personal favorite. We make these every year as well.

1. Mix 2 c. sifted flour, 2 c. rolled oats, 1 c. brn. sugar.
2. Rub in 1 c. margarine or butter.
3. Press half of mixture into butter-coated pans.
4. Cook 1 1/2 c. chopped dates, 1/2 c. sugar and 1 1/2 c. water together until thick.
5. Spread date mixture over rolled oats in pan. 
6. Top with remaining oat mixture.
7. Bake in oven 350 (1/2 hour)
8. Cut into squares.

Chocolate Pie Tarts
These are your dad’s favorite that Grandma always made on Christmas Eve for him as a boy. I don’t think anyone has made them in years. You cut the pie dough in circles and she used to put in on the bottom side of muffin tins and bake it to make the tart shells.

1 recipe pie crust
2 sq. choc added to 2 1/2 c. milk and heated in a double boiler when choc is melted, beat with egg beater to blend. Combine sugar, flour and salt. Add gradually to choc mixture and cook and stir until thick (3/4 c. sugar, 6 tblsp. flour, 1/2 teasp. salt). Then cook 10 min, stir often. Pour small amount over 3 egg yolks (slightly beat) stirring vigorously. Cook and stir 2 min more. Add 2 tbley butter,  1 tsp. vanilla.

Beat 3 egg whites until foamy, add 6 tblsp. sugar, 2 at a time, until blended. Top tarts with this.

Bake @ 350 - 10 min.

Mrs. Mandeville's Peanut Brittle
Peanut Brittle, this is Grandpa and Bob’s favorite. This is Mrs. Mandeville’s recipe and we have had it for probably 40 years, it too gets made every year.

2 C. SUGAR
1 C WHITE KARO SYRUP
1 STICK BUTTER (BUTTER ONLY)
2 C RAW PEANUTS

COOK ALL TOGETHER UNTIL HARD CRACK STAGE ON A CANDY THERMOMETER IN A LARGE POT. STIR CONSTANTLY AT THE END OR YOUR PEANUTS WILL BURN. TAKE OFF THE HEAT AND ADD 1 TBLSP BAKING SODA AND 1TSP. SALT. POUR IMMEDIATELY ONTO A LARGE WELL BUTTERED BAKING SHEET. Allow to cool, Lift off the sheet and hit with the back of a knife to crack.

Hint- do not try to make this on a rainy day, it will not crack.

Fudge
This is a no fail recipe, makes a ton, a 9X13 pan, full, enough to share with neighbors, I’m not sure where this recipe came from, I have seen one close to the same on the internet as the Hershey fudge recipe, we have used it for years, like 40+ and we make it every year!

41/2 C SUGAR
1 LARGE CAN EVAPORATED MILK
4 TBLSP BUTTER
12 OZ SEMI SWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS
12 OZ HERSHEY BARS
1 PINT MARSHMALLOW CREAM
2 C CHOPPED NUTS
1TBLSP VANILLA

BUTTER A 9X13 PAN. PLACE CHOCOLATE CHIPS, HERSHEY BARS (broken into pieces), MARSHMALLOW CREAM, NUTS AND VANILLA INTO A LARGE BOWL. BRING SUGAR, EVAPORATED MILK,  BUTTER, AND SALT TO BOIL IN A LARGE SAUCEPAN. BOIL FOR 6 MINUTES. POUR OVER CHOCOLATE, STIR TO COMBINE. POUR INTO PREPARED PAN. REFRIGERATE UNTIL SET.