Monday, November 21, 2011

PEPPERNUTS - German cookie but our spelling

CHRISTMAS TRADITION: I was given this recipe in 1965 and it has been made every year since. My 4 children grew up with it every December. You make it after Thanksgiving and whenever you use the oven in December you get out the cookie sheet (saving on electricity or gas) & your dough from the refrigerator, bake a few to keep the bowl full till Christmas. Place the bowl where everyone can grab a handful as they go by and eat them like a handful of nuts. The original recipe was double (14 cups flour) the amount I am giving you. I found by making 1/2 the recipe I could make it in my Electric Mixer large bowl, using the dough hooks, it sure beat doing it by hand!! Of course I still had to make it twice (the full recipe) to keep that bowl full till Christmas.

1 cup sugar, granulated
1 cup butter (I mean BUTTER not that other stuff)
1 cup honey
1 cup Dark Syrup
1/4 cup sour cream
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp. soda
1/8 tsp. Allspice
1/4 tsp cloves, ground
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. Oil of Anise, flavoring
pinch of salt
7 cups of all purpose flour, 1 cup at a time

Cream your butter and sugar together in the mixing bowl with beaters. Then put in the dough hooks and add all the rest of the ingredients mixing well. If you do not have dough hooks for your mixer you have to stir it all together by hand. It gets really tough the last couple cups of flour. It's a very stiff dough. But it must be to make the crispy, hard, delicious, tiny cookies.
Put the dough into a large bowl with lid in the refrigerator (where you will keep it) overnight before using. Very lightly dust your hands with flour and rub across the counter where you will roll the cookie dough. Too much flour will not let it roll gently under your fingers. Take out 1 heaping Tablespoon of dough and rubbing hands together start the dough into a rope but to get it the size of a lead pencil put down on counter and using your fingers rolling along making the rope get longer and smaller. With a sharp knife cut the rope into little pieces approx. 1/2 inch long. Lay on a heavy greased baking pan about 1/2 inch apart. It may take a few times doing it to get the cookies the right size that they are not soft inside. You want them hard all the way through so they are crunchy like a nut. Don't be surprised if you have 100 on your cookie sheet. I use my old heavy thick aluminum grill pan that came with the oven years ago so mine will bake and be the same color top and bottom. Bake (depending on oven) 325 to 350 degrees 13 to 14 minutes on the rack at center of oven. Do not wait till they look brown in oven or they are too brown. Take out when the color has turned a little browner but not brown. Experiment - you will get on to it after doing several pans full. If baking several pans at once I usually set my pan out in the cold a few minutes to cool between batches. You can be rolling & cutting while it cools. In December it should be cold enough to cool it down pretty fast. Good luck. It may sound like alot of trouble but it really gets to be fun and I look forward to it once a year. Keeping the dough in the refrigerator and just baking a sheet or so once in awhile. SLIDE SHOW IS NOT MINE

Friday, November 18, 2011

HAM & APPLE PIE

I mentioned in the last entry about my ole' southern cookbooks I have. I counted and in the 3 books are 207 recipes and so far I have only tryed 13. First of all being born in the free state of Kansas and my great grandfather coming here from Kentucky in the Civil War, era. I feel like some of my language is a little southern and friends say as I read these cook books it's getting more so. I don't want to offend anyone if I said, "I've always thought the southerner's took life easy, maybe a little slower than Northerner's." I've found several recipes that taste ALOT better 4 hrs., a night, or day & night later. You kinda have to read between the lines on some of the recipes. I found one that I don't think my granddaughters could cook when it says put in Ice Box they would think they have to get a box and put ice in it. The first "refrigerators" were called "Ice Boxes." Just think if you had lived your life and never had anything to keep things cold except straw and a hole in the ground, a well, or dug a "cave" and someone invented a box [appliance] that would MAKE ICE! Laudy what a thing!!
Well, I made this the other day for lunch and the daughter-in-love dropped in so I sent some home with her. I didn't like it too well at lunch, my husband thought it was OK [that's about all you ever get out of him], BUT 4 hours later my sweet daughter-in-law called and wanted the recipe because she thinks it was DELICIOUS. I thought she was teasing but finally convinced me she REALLY did like it so here's the recipe.

HAM AND APPLE PIE Each time you see ( ) it is the 1/4 amount I made.

2 lbs cooked ham, cubed small, I used (8 oz.) sliced & I chopped; it was on sale.
4 or 5 tart apples, pared & sliced I used (2) small Gala
1/4 cup brown sugar I used (1 Tab.)
1/2 tsp. salt I used (1/8th tsp.)
1/2 tsp. pepper I used (1/8th tsp.)
1 tsp. cinnamon I used (1/4th tsp.)
2 Tab. butter I used (1/2 Tab.)
2 Tab. lemon juice I used (1/2 Tab.)
1/4 cup apple cider I didn't have any,what is 1 Tab. gonna do anyway?)

[later]
1 egg, slightly beaten I use large eggs so beat one up and it measured 1/4th cup I used (1 Tab.)
1/2 cup milk cup I used (2 Tab.) since there's 8 Tab. in 1/2 cup
2 Tablespoons shortening melted I used (1/2 Tab) I lived on a farm with milking cows all my life so my recipes say BUTTER. They'll find out how good it is for you one of these days!!!

Arrange 1/3 of the ham in a deep greased baking dish; (I used a 5'X9" bread pan for my 1/4th) cover with 1/3 of the apple slices and sprinkle with 1/2 the brown sugar, salt, pepper and cinnamon. Dot with 1 Tab. (?) butter. Repeat the process with another layer of ham, apple, brown sugar seasonings and butter, then continue until ham and apple slices are all used, leaving a layer of apple on top. Pour over all 2 Tablespoons (?) of lemon juice & ?apple cider. Cook covered, in a moderate oven 350 degrees about 20 minutes. Uncover and pour batter {below} over the top.
Batter: the last 4 items in the list of ingredients- egg, milk, butter & flour.
Bake uncovered in a modern oven 325 degrees about 25 minutes until crust is nicely browned.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Another recipe especially for anyone that ever had little ones that helped you cook and I think even the ones that didn't would enjoy this OLD Southern recipe. Have a good day and remember to speak to strangers, they may speak back and when you look into each other's eyes, one of you might recognize a long lost classmate or someone you worked with years ago.
Or they may say more and you end up making "conversation" remember what we used to do before COMPUTER'S - Facebook, Ipods, etc??? Anyway SMILE at everyone you meet!!!!
HOW TO MAKE A LOAF OF BREAD
Chop wood, carry into house n' build fire in stove. Get out bowl, spoons n' necessary ingredients. . . grease pan n' empty yeast in warm water. . . take doll n' toys off table n' give little Lydia a spoon n' let her help. Measure out 2 1/4 cups of flour, take Lydia's hands out of flour sack n' clean. . .dust flour off her clothes. Measure flour again to make up for what was knocked off on floor! Put flour, sugar n' salt in sifter. . .take greased pan away from Lydia n' put out of reach on chair. . .pick up broken bowl 'n get another. . .run chickens out of garden. Return to kitchen, clean flour off Lydia again. . .pore 8 cups of sugar from bowl back in sack. Put eggs on table n' get greased pan away from dog. . .put outside. . . (dog that is) wash 'n regrease pan. Pick eggshells out of flour n' scoop eggs off table into a bowl. . .wash Lydia 'n change her dress. Return cheerfully to job n' remeasure ingredients. . .pick cat off table 'n put outside. . .pore 1 cup of milk out 'n replace with another. Remove greased pan from under Lydia in chair n' wash table, scrub floor 'n wipe wall. Open Package of bought bread for supper!! If you would like more wonderful "real" recipes get TATERS 'N MATERS 'N BLACK-EYED PEAS A country Cookbook by nick'n wilann powers mary powers and illutrated by nick powers. untechnical advisors. . . .the hoggs 'n halls. It's got lots of recipes but I especially like Quick Applesauce dessert, Coconut cake (yes, there really are real coconuts (hard as a brick) out there that fall of their trees and you can take a sharp ax and break apart carefully so you don't spill any of the milk inside (you need it). However, if you can't find one I found out a bag of boughten coconut and a can of real Coconut cream (in the area in the grocery store that carries things to put in liquor drinks like Grenadine, etc.) will work, Carrott cake, Pineapple Sherbert and scads of other recipes, you will be cooking like an 'olden days' Southerner soon and if 'n your great grandpa came to Kansas(Free State) from Kentucky in the Civil War days you might start talking like a true ol' Southerner. Buy the book & Have a great day!!!! Sometime when you have LOTS of time go over to the right side of the 1st entry you see here, and you will see a BUNCH of dates. Go down to Jan. 09 & to at the bottom of it and start with the 1st page on Yellowstone Natl. Park and read up page by page about the summer we spent working part time in Yellowstone after retiring in 1997 and keep reading UP that's how Blogs work ( last is 1st) and you might still be alive by the time you read all the other National Parks we worked, hints for travelers & retiree's & good old family recipes (mine).