Once I had them mixed up the dough looked too gooey. I have had this problem with the Farm Journal cookie recipes before and I am not sure if it is a flaw in the cookbooks or the age of them. Flour and other ingredients are different now than they were fifty years ago. Anyway I adjusted the flour up a bit and ended up with cakey cookies. I prefer my cookies chewy so maybe that is why I was a little disappointed. The flavor was awesome but the texture was not my favorite.

The cookies were sweet but wanted something a little extra. I made a browned butter glaze to put on them and then they were just a bit too sweet. Sigh.

I sprinkled turbinado sugar lightly over the top and then added finishing salt. In the future I will add smoked finishing salt…but Eureka! I had it.

These are a lot more rich than you might think they are at first. Even my family, although they each have a sweet tooth of prehistoric proportions, was unable to finish off the batch. A miracle! The few that did survive until day 2 were not quite as good, but the weather has been very humid and things go stale/soggy fast.

Butterscotch Walnut Cookies with Salted Brown Butter Glaze

• 21/2 cups of flour (I used 3)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbs vinegar
• Enough milk to make one cup when added to the vinegar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Place silpat over cookie sheets
2. Stir together dry ingredients
3. Add vinegar to 1 cup measure. Add enough milk to make one cup
4. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy
5. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition
6. Add vanilla
7. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour
8. Stir in walnuts
9. Drop by tablespoons onto prepare cookie sheets
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until puffy and golden
11. Cool

Browned Butter Glaze

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 tbs unsalted butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• Heavy cream as needed
• Turbinado sugar
• Smoked finishing salt

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and continue to cook, stirring, until it becomes golden brown
2. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining butter. This will immediately stop the browning process so it doesn’t continue to cook and end up scorched
3. Stir in the powdered sugar and mix until smooth
4. Add heavy cream as needed for a spreadable consistency
5. Spread on cooled cookies
6. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and salt

Makes 4 dozen or so

images:marye audet (c)2009

Post from: Baking Delights

I don’t know too many people who don’t like pineapple upside down cake.  The thick, caramel syrup combined with juicy pineapple and paired with tender sponge cake is nearly irresistible.

So, last night, when trying to come up with a quick dessert to round out a spicy Thai meal Upside Down Cake was pretty much a no-brainer.  Which is good because my life has been hectic and chaotic lately.  And that, my friends, doesn’t begin to explain it.

I wanted to give it a more Asian flair so I sprinkled the pineapple rings with coocnut and used peanuts instead of pecans.  I also added rum flavoring to the cake.

This is a simple cake to make but you need to remember a few things:

• This is a sponge cake and you need to fold the egg whites in gently so as not to deflate them.
• Do not overcook this or the cake will be dry and tasteless.
• Let the cake cool for about 5 minutes before turning out of the pan.  The sauce needs to thicken up or it will run all over.
• Use good pineapple, the final product depends on it. Most of the vintage recipes  assume pineapple in heavy syrup is being used.  Adjust sugar accordingly.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

makes one 13x 9 inch cake, or one 10 inch round layer.

1/2 c unsalted butter melted in the pan while the oven is preheating

1 c brown sugar

1 tall can pineapple(it used to be 1 lb 4 oz but since they have dowsized everything, I am not sure!)- reserve syrup

1 c nuts (macadamias are great, so are pistachios..use your imagination)

3 eggs, seperated

1 c sugar

1 c cake flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp rum flavor (or more to taste)

maraschino cherries

Mix butter and brown sugar and stir until  smooth.  Spread an even layer over the  bottom of the pan.  Lay the pineapples in a single layer over the bottom. Put a cherry in the center of each.  Sprinkle with nuts.

Whip egg whites and cream of tartar util stiff but not dry.  Set aside.

Beat sugar and yolks until thick and lemon yellow.  Add in flavorings.

Sift flour, salt and baking powder together.  Blend well.

Stir in reserved pineapple syrup.

Fold in egg whites carefully but thoroughly.

Spoon over the pineapple and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until cake tests done. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before inverting on a platter.

12 servings.

Image:Marye Audet 

Content:Marye Audet for Baking Delights 

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When I read the challenge for this months Your Mother Should Know by Steph from Dispensing Happiness I knew that it was going to be more of a challenge for me than for most people. The challenge was to make something from the year before your mother was born…and my mom was born in 1918! SO…..

But I did it. And it was one of my favorite things to make..Donuts. AND I learned a lot about history that I hadn’t known. That is the fun of a challenge, isn’t it?

I am copying this from The Salvation Army website.
In August, 1917, fighting raged near Montiers, France, as soldiers huddled in camp – hungry, weary and drenched by 36 consecutive days of rain. In a tent near the front lines, Salvation Army lassies made donuts by filling a refuge pail with oil. made dough with left over flour and other ingredients on hand, and used a wine bottle as a rolling pin. With a baking powder tin for a cutter end a camphor-ice suck tube for making the holes, donuts were fried – seven at a time – in soldier’s steel helmets on an 18-inch stove. (Later, a seven-pound shell fitted with a one-pound shell was used to cut out the donut holes.)

Rain fell continuously, the water-soaked tent finally Collapsed. However, the 100 donuts made that first day were an immediate success Soon, as many as 500 soldiers stood in muck outside the resurrected tent waiting for the sweet taste of donuts and, before long, 9,000 donuts were being made around the clock. The tent became the first 24-hour donut shop.

Word spread and – although the basic recipe for making the donuts greatly varied from unit to unit – before long, Salvation Army lassies were making donuts wherever the war was being fought Donuts were taken to the front lines, and it was reported that some pilots even dropped notes asking for donuts for their troops.

Famous Salvation Army Doughboy Doughnut
7-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup lard
8 eggs
3 large cans evaporated milk
3 large cans water
18 cups flour
18 teaspoons baking powder
7-1/2 teaspoons salt
8 teaspoons nutmeg
Cream sugar and lard together, beat eggs, add evaporated milk and water. Add liquid to creamed mixture. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in large sieve and sift into other mixture. Add enough flour to make e stiff dough. Roll and cut. Five pounds of lard are required to fry the doughnuts. Yield: approximately 250 doughnuts-

For a smaller version here’s mine:

2 c sugar

1//3 c lard

4 eggs

9 c flour

1 1/2 cans evaporated milk

1 1/2 cans of water

3 tablespoons baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Use the same mixing instructions as above.

Fry in deep, 375 degree oil until golden, turning once. Ice with confectioners glaze if desired or shake in a bag with sugar in it.

Images:(c)2008 MaryeAudet

Banner:Used by permission, Dispensing Happiness 

Content-MaryeAudet for Baking Delights 

Post from: Baking Delights

I love finding old cookbooks at thrift shops. The one pictured is the Rumford Complete Cookbook from 1943. Cost was, as I recall, one dollar but the value is priceless. I love paging through and reading the recipe notes penciled in so carefully by someone long ago.

I love the red covers of these World War II cookbooks. The designers were obviously trying to be cheery in a stressful and difficult time. I have many of these, from the Better Homes and Garden 1940 edition (I think), to the Ida Baily Allen’s Cookbook which tells you how to cook delicious meals on rations. I have some older, but it seems to be the books that were published during the war years that I love the best.

Anyway, I thought I would give you a look at some of my favorite things. If you check out Kettle & Cup at some point today I will have a picture of my Buffalo China Teacup from 1911. It is great.

This original copy is posted at baking delights.  http://bakingdelights.com -if you are reading it anywhere else it is stolen content.

So..on to the surfing. I have some cool links for you to check out today.

I found the link to A Daily Painter’s Gallery when I was checking my link-backs in my stats. This is not a blog that I would normally tell you about except for two things. One, the artwork is incredible. Two it is food related. And three, (yeah I know I said two but you knew I didn’t mean it) I used to paint years ago and I love seeing really good work. You will too.

Pixie has done some magical looking Mincemeat swirls at A Sweetart. Apparently warm, gooey, and sweet breakfast rolls were on both of our minds this week!
You know that as much as I love old cookbooks and vintage recipes I check Baking History regularly! You have to check out the recipe for Lincoln Cake, created in honor of Abraham Lincoln. It looks to be a very fine crumbed lemony pound cake. I can’t wait to try it!

You have to see this birthday cake. Just go. Now. I’ll wait.

Check out the flourless Chocolate Pear Torte at Curiously Ravenous. Not only is it beautiful, the idea of it is intriguing..and now I wondering what it would be like done in white chocolate. The very best recipes, to me, are the ones that get you thinking.

Anj at Gulf Coast Gram has pralines on the menu..but the cool thing is that she has displayed them in a vintage dish that I also have!

Tartelette, otherwise known as Helene, is not only exceptional blogger, she is an impressive photographer. These Strawberry Lime Tartelettes are awesome!

Coco from Ambrosia has this Oreo Cream Pie….mmmm.

i think that Kevin just needs to bring his cooking out of the closet because everything I have seen on his blog is incredible. Looking at the Crab Quesadillas just makes my mouth water.

Tanna has a Royal Crown Tortano that is really a work of art. She has photographed all the steps and the finished, magnificent bread that resulted. Well done!

At the Caked Crusader, Samantha made this fantastic Plum, Almond and Ricotta cake.

Kimberly Ann at Nostalgic Homemaking is another of the bloggers I like to read. There are always good recipes on her blog but most often I go there for her thoughts because they are good too.

O.k..that’s it for today. Monday is the UNVEILING of the DARING BAKERS CHALLENGE for the month..you don’t want to miss it!

Post from: Baking Delights

When I was growing up we did not have President’s Day.  We had two separate holidays, one for Lincoln and one for Washington, usually giving us two four day school weeks in the middle of February.  You ate cherry pie on Washington’s Birthday, and a rolled chocolate cake made to look like a log on Lincoln’s Birthday.  Life was good.

I love the vintage cookbooks.  This recipe is from Better Homes & Gardens 1959 Holiday Cookbook, which is to my left,  falling apart, even as we speak.  The pictures in it are fantastic.   Not because the food looks so mouthwateringly good, but just because it looks…uh…very…1950s.

This is what it says: We can thank George Washington and his hatchet for the  custom of serving delicious cherry treats in February.

Top on the list is Red Cherry Pie (*as opposed to blue cherry pie? Who wrote this stuff?) Peek -a-boo crust shows off bright red filling: flavor’s a perfect blend of tart and sweet.

And then there is the picture of the table setting.  Seriously,  a fake cherry topiary? Would you put that on your table?   I would use those plated, however.  I have a cake plate from that company in a similar design and I love it.

Anyway, cherry pie has been a traditional dessert for President’s Day as far back as I can remember.  This one is basic, pretty much the way Grandma made it.   Straight from the pages of Better Homes & Gardens 1959 Holiday Cookbook.

Red Cherry Pie

3/4 c juice from canned cherries

3/4 c sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca

dash salt

2 1/2 c drained, pitted canned cherries

few drops of red food coloring

1 tablespoon butter or margarine (DO NOT use margarine. Use unsalted butter.  These people were crazy)

Double recipe plain pastry

Combine the juice, sugar, tapioca, salt, cherries, and food color and set aside for 20 minutes.

Line 9″ pie plate with pastry.  Fill with cherry mixture and dot with butter.

Make lattice crust:

Trim lower crust 1/2″ beyond edge of plate. Cut strips of pastry dough 1/2 inch wide with pastry wheel or knife.  Lay lengthwise strips on top of pie at 1″ intervals.  Fold back alternate strips to help you weave crosswise strips over and under, placing them on the diagonal.Trim lattice even with outer rim of the pie plate, dampen edge of pastry lightly with water; fold crust over strips, seal, and crimp edge high.

Bake at 450 F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350; continue baking 30 minutes.

Now you are fully prepared so that you can celebrate President’s Day in style.  Don’t forget the cute apron, and pearls.

Post from: Baking Delights

While I was checking through old recipes yesterday I found this and it sounded so absolutely awesome that I am posting it.  I think I am going to add some pecans to it, though.

Cherry Refrigerator Roll Cookies

1-cup shortening
1-cup sugar
1-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
½-teaspoon salt
2-1/2-cups flour
½-cup chopped maraschino cherries
Orange marmalade
Maraschino cherry halves
Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Cream the shortening and cream cheese together. Gradually add sugar and beat well. Add flour and salt. And mix well. Add chopped cherries and mix. Shape sough into rolls 2” in diameter and wrap and chill. Cut 1/8” thick slices, as needed, and place on greased cookie sheet. Top with 1/8-teaspoon marmalade and 1 cherry half. Bake 5 to 8 minutes  This dough  will keep 1 week in the fridge or can be frozen.

Post from: Baking Delights

Going through three generations of recipes, these were the closest I could get. There was a 4-H on the card..and it looked old.

Vintage 4-H Chocolate Cookies

Mix these exactly like written

1/4 c shortening
1 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c light cream
1/4 c shortening
1 egg
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 tbs. cocoa

Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees .

But, even better, while i was checking out my old recipes for that I found an awesome vintage recipe for refrigerator cookies. DO you remember the rolls of cookie dough that you make ahead and stick int he fridge to slice and bake? Well check back tomorrow for the recipe!

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Can you ever have too many recipes for whoopie pies? I don’t think so.

Gloria has sent her mother’s  whoopie pie recipe. She says:

I’m wondering how old this recipe is if it uses a microwave! lol

I grew up in Maine and got this recipe for Woopie Pies from my mother. Don’t know where she got it. But it’s old!

Whoopie Pies
1. 1 c sugar
2. 2 egg yolks
3. 2 c flour – sifted
4. 4 Tbsp cocoa
5. 1 1/4 c milk
6. 1.2 c shortening – I use Spectrum also
7. 1 t vanilla
8. 1 t salt
9. 1 t baking soda
10. 1 t baking powder

Cream 6. Add 1,2,7,8. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add 3, 4,9,10, then 5. Mix. Drop by teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 12 -15 minutes.

Filling:
1 c confectionery sugar
1/2 c shortening
2 egg whites
1 t vanilla
1/2 t salt

Beat until fluffy and doesn’t separate. About 5 minutes.

Gloria says:

I love these because the filling isn’t G-d-awful sweet.

You can find these whoopie pie recipes here at Baking Delights:

pumpkin whoopie pies

chocolate whoopie pies

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Since we live in a 1910 house, once in awhile I treat myself to something that was made in 1910. I have collected a series of magazines, Ladies World, all published in 1910. I put them out according to the month or holiday,and so this month is the Christmas Issue. Now, people lived very differently in 1910 but it was such a fascinating time period to me…The foods and the recipes, the way they were written and presented all intrigue me. Following is an excerpt from an article called Sweets for the Christmas Table .

“In the near approach of the Christmas festivities I have thought it seasonable to offer a few reliable recipes for dainty sweets that may be useful to the housewives who take pleasure in catering for the folks at home. They are wise to do so, for the creature comforts form no mean part of the enjoyment of family reunions.

Sweet dishes are always fascinating to prepare, and they certainly repay for the trouble taken in making them, perhaps more than do ordinary dishes. In this department of cooking there is great scope for taste and decoration.”

I couldn’t agree more with the author who wrote this so many years ago. While it is often savory foods that bring us comfort it is the sweets that most often make us feel special.

Here is one of the recipes, copied as written, from this article

Banana Trifle – Six bananas, one small sponge cake weighing half a pound, one cupful of custard, one cupful of whipping cream, one orange, half a lemon, some strawberry jam, and some small pieces of angelica (a candied herb). Peel and quarter the banana lengthwise.Slice the cake thinly, spread each slice with strawberry jam.Peel and cut the orange into thin slices and then dice. Grate the lemon rind. Put a layer of the cake slices into a glass dish; place on them a spoonful of custard. Next, a layer of bananas, a few pieces of orange and a little of the lemon rind. Continue this until the dish is nearly filled. Then pour over the remainder of the custard. Whip up the cream, sweeten it, and heap it on the top. Decorate with small pieces of angelica. Serve as cold as possible.

Post from: Baking Delights

First of all, I know calas are not baked. They are fried. However not enough of you have tasted traditional New Orleans Rice Calas because if you had they would be plastered all over blogs everywhere, and they are not. I do try to concentrate on baked things mostly but sometimes we all need to widen our horizons. The texture of these fritters as you bite into them is heavenly, a quick intense burst of flavor and then the calas just melt away like cotton candy. It is amazing.

After I dropped Marc off at work this morning (sorry, babe, I didn’t have time to make them before), and picked up oil for my van I started thinking about some left over brown basmati rice I had in the fridge. And the thought of how to use that, coupled with trying to get the right oil made me think of these. I know, it’s a scary journey into the workings of my mind.

Calas are vintage New Orleans street food. The creole street vendors used to walk through the streets shouting “Calas, bels calas tout chauds!”( which is creole french, so if you are Canadian or French it probably looks a little weird.) Loosely translated it means, “Calas, beautiful Calas very hot!”. The maids of the wealthy people then used to step out the kitchen doors and buy them to put on the table for breakfast.

Sadly, this creole treat seems to be disappearing in the hustle and bustle of the modern world. I hope you will try it and imagine yourself in New Orleans at the turn of the century. Or, just eat it and think about how you are SO glad I posted this recipe. Either one will work.

I like brown basmati rice in this because the rice has a slight pecan flavor that just adds to the complexity of the flavors for me. If you like citrus grate a little citrus peel in the batter. Traditionally they were served rolled in powdered sugar but I like table sugar on them. Try it both ways and see what you like best.

Creole Calas

2 cups cooked, cold rice

3 eggs beaten

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 c sugar

pinch of salt

1/3 c of flour ( you want to use just enough to get a good batter, not too much or the calas will be heavy. This takes a little practice. )

3 tsp baking powder

sugar or confectioners sugar for rolling and sprinkling.

Heat the deep fryer to 360F.

Combine the rice, eggs, vanilla, and nutmeg and mix well. Stir in dry ingredients. Drop by (measuring) tablespoonful into the preheated oil. Turn them as they become golden on the bottom…don’t let them brown too much.

When they are golden on both sides remove from the fryer and allow to drain over the hot oil a few minutes. Dump basket on paper grocery bags (the BEST for absorbing oil) and wait for the oil to reheat. Make a new batch, and continue until the batter is gone. Roll in preferred sugar coating.

Calas need to be eaten immediately and don’t store well. It is hard to say how many it makes. It varies.

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