Month: December 2010

Grandma’s Old Fashioned Red Velvet Cake

Red Velvet Cake is making a comeback. This was the recipe that my Grandma and my Mom used to make. It was always a favorite recipe of ours. These directions are a bit odd, but I am posting just as the original recipe reads.

Cake Ingredients

  • 1 cup shortening (they always used Crisco)
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 ounces of red food coloring
  • 2 Tablespoons cocoa
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 cups cake flour (for cake flour, 2 cups flour + 1 Tablespoon cornstarch)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon soda
  • 1 Tablepoon hot water
  • 1 Tablespoon vinegar

Directions
Cream shortening, sugar, and eggs. Make a paste of food coloring and cocoa. Add buttermilk & salt alternately with flour. Add vanilla. Dissolve soda in hot water, mix with vinegar, holding over bowl as it foams. Quickly add mixture to batter. Pour into 3 greased and floured 9 inch round pans. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Frosting Ingredients

  • 3 Tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup butter

Directions
Cook flour and milk until very thick, stirring constantly. Chill in refrigerator. Thoroughly cream sugar, vanilla, and butter until fluffy. Blend into chilled flour mixture. Beat until frosting is spreading consistency.
Store covered in refrigerator.

Chocolate Cherry Bars

Chocolate Cherry Bars
Chocolate Cherry Bars
I think this is a recipe that won the Pillsbury Bake-Off many, many years ago. It was indeed a family favorite recipe of my Mom’s. We loved it when she made these rich, gooey bars. They are easy and one of those recipes that you can whip up on a minute’s notice.

Ingredients for Cake

  • 1 package fudge cake mix
  • 1 can cherry pie filling
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 eggs beaten

Ingredients for Frosting

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 5 Tablespoon butter
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 6 ounces chocolate chips


Directions
Mix together in a large bowl the cake mix, pie filling, almond extract and eggs. Pour into a greased and floured 13×9 inch pan. Bake @ 350 degrees for 25 to 30 min.

In a saucepan, combine sugar, butter and milk. Bring to a boil and stir constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips and mix until smooth. Pour over warm bars. Cool.

Categories
Cookies

Old Fashioned Date Turtles

Chocolate
Chocolate
This is a really old favorite recipe of my Mom’s. If you like dates these are really scrumptious. They are easy and require no cooking. My Mom used to add paraffin to chocolate chips, but that is not recommended nowadays. So I use dipping chocolate for the coating.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 2 teaspoons butter
  • 1 cup dates, cut up
  • 1 cup nuts, chopped
  • Dipping chocolate

Directions
Mix together the sugar, peanut butter, and butter. Add dates and nuts. Roll into balls and flatten into patties with a glass. Chill in the refrigerator. Using a fork, dip the chilled patties into the dipping chocolate, following the directions on the package of chocolate. Place on waxed paper to cool and harden.

Categories
Bread Machine

Seeduction Bread

My daughter lived in Washington D.C. and we used to go to a whole food market by her house, I think it was Wild Oats. We would buy a bread there that we loved, called Seeduction Bread. I found a similar recipe online and revised it a bit and make it in my bread machine. It is fabulous and one of my favorite bread machine recipes.

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • 2 Tablespoons molasses
  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cups bread flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 Tablespoons pumpkin seeds
  • 2 Tablespoons sunflower seeds
  • 2 Tablespoons millet seed
  • 3 Tablespoons malted barley flour
  • 1 Tablespoon wheat gluten
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon millet seed

Instructions
Add ingredients in order suggested by your bread machine.

Grandma’s Old Fashioned Au Gratin Potatoes

This is an old family favorite recipes for au gratin potatoes.  My Grandma used to make them and they would quickly disappear.  There were no seconds as everyone took very generous helpings on the first round!

Ingredients

  • 8 to 10 medium potatoes, cooked and chilled with skins on
  • ¼ pound butter
  • 1 pint half and half
  • ¼ pound cheddar cheese, shredded
  • Parmesan cheese
  • celery seed, salt, pepper

Directions
Shred peeled potatoes. Butter a 9×13 inch pan and put half of the potatoes in pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and celery seed. Next, add all of shredded cheese. Put another layer of potatoes, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Cover generously with Parmesan cheese.

Heat half and half with butter and pour over potatoes. Bake @ 350 degrees for 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Categories
Cookies

Russian Teacakes or Mexican Wedding Cakes

This is my favorite Christmas cookie recipe. Unfortunately my family is not too crazy about them, so when I make them, I end up eating them all. So I don’t make them too often! They are really an old fashioned cookie that has been around for a long time. Some people call them Russian Teacakes and others call them Mexican Wedding Cakes. They are buttery and good and not too sweet.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup nuts, finely chopped. I prefer pecans.

Directions
Mix the flour, sugar and vanilla thoroughly. Work in the flour, salt and nuts until dough holds together. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Bake @ 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until set but not brown. While warm, roll in powdered sugar. Cool.

Categories
Cookies

Old Fashioned Norwegian and Swedish Cookies

Years ago I belonged to this little country Norwegian Lutheran Church. Every fall the ladies put on a Norwegian dinner. It consisted of meatballs, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, rutabagas, and lutefisk. In other words a very White Norwegian Dinner. The highlight was the assortment of homemade Norwegian and Swedish sweets. They were all homemade by a sweet little group of ladies, most of who are now deceased. At one point they published a church cookbook and shared their old family Scandinavian cookie recipes. I am sharing them with you today. I am publishing them exactly as they printed them. They are authentic and have been passed down for many generation. ENJOY!

BERLINER KRANSER
BERLINER KRANSER

Ingredients

  • 4 hard boiled egg yolks
  • 4 raw eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 pound butter
  • 5 cups flour
  • loaf sugar (I think this would be a sugar cube)
  • egg white

 Directions
Mix egg yolks and raw eggs until smooth. Add sugar. Add butter and flour alternately and knead. Take pieces of dough and roll out to size of a pencil and shape into a wreath. Dip each one in egg white to which crushed loaf sugar has been added. Bake @ 375 degrees until light brown.

Danish Sugar Cookies
Danish Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup Crisco
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • ½ teaspoon lemon extract
  • 2 cups flour
  • ½ teaspoon soda
  • ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt 

Directions
Cream butter, shortening, sugar, eggs and flavorings. Add dry ingredients. Mix well and chill. Shape into 1 inch balls, roll in sugar, flatten with glass. Bake 10 minutes @ 350 degrees.

Norwegian Butter Cookies
Norwegian Butter Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla 

Directions
Combine all ingredients and make into balls the size of a walnut and press down with a fork. Bake in moderate oven @ 350 degrees, until the edges become a light brown.

 FATTIGMUND
Ingredients

  • 6 egg yolks
  • 1 Tablespoon melted butter
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 6 Tablespoons sweet cream
  • 4 Tablespoons sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cardamom
  • 1 ½ – 2 cups flour 

Directions
Beat yolks well, add sugar and mix well. Add rest of the ingredients. Roll thin and cut in diamond shapes. Fry @ 370 degrees until golden brown. Peanut oil best for frying. Drain on paper towels and dust with powdered sugar. 

KRUMKAKE 
Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 ½ cup flour 

Directions
Cream butter and sugar. Add beaten eggs, milk, and flour. Bake in Krumkake iron, roll on wooden spoon.
NOTE: To make Cardamom Krumkake, add 1 teaspoon of freshly ground cardamom.

 ROSETTES 
Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • ½ cup flour
  • ½ cup cornstarch
  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt 

Directions
Beat egg, add sugar and vanilla. Mix flour, cornstarch and salt with milk, making sure there are no lumps. Mix milk mixture with egg mixture. Bake on form in hot cooking oil.

SPRITZ COOKIES 
Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2/3 cup white sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 ½ cups flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions
Mix in order given. Put through cookie press. Bake @ 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. 

SANDBAKKELS
Ingredients

  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup margarine of Fluffo
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar (or use all white sugar)
  • 1 egg
  • 3 cups flour

 Directions
Pat into form and bake at 375 degrees. (may not need full 3 cups flour) 

SWEDISH SMORBAKELS 
Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 cups butter
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • 3-4 cup flour 

Directions
Mix in order. Add flour to handle. Press into sandbakel tins. Bake @ 400 degrees oven until lightly browned. Cool slightly, squeeze tins to loosen. 

Next Best Thing to Robert Redford Dessert

Dessert
Dessert
This old favorite recipe really made me chuckle when I ran across it. This was a very popular dessert back in the 80’s . Apparently Robert Redford was, too. I think now we should rename it. My personal favorites would be ‘next best thing to Johnny Depp or Brad Pitt”. This recipe or a similar version also used to be called “Better than Sex Dessert”, pretty risque for the 80’s! Anyway this recipe originally came from the Minneapolis Star and Tribune, Nov 8, 1981. It is truly an oldie, but goodie.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup pecans, finely chopped
  • 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 8 ounce carton Cool Whip, thawed
  • 1 large package instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 1 large package instant chocolate pudding mix
  • 3 cups cold milk
  • Chocolate bar, grated

Instructions
Mix together: flour, butter and pecans until crumb like. Press into bottom of a 9×13 inch pan and bake until golden brown (350 degrees for 15-20 minutes). Cool.
Make a mixture of cream cheese, powdered sugar and the Cool Whip. Spread over cooled crust. For the top layer, mix pudding mixes with milk until smooth and thickened. Spread over cream cheese mixture. Spread remaining topping over top and sprinkle with grated chocolate bar. Refrigerate until serving.

Super Easy Cheesecake

Everyone loves cheesecake. Guests coming? You don’t know what to make for dessert? You can’t go wrong with this super easy favorite recipe of mine.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons butter, softened
  • 3 8 ounce packages of cream cheese
  • 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 8 ounce carton sour cream
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 graham cracker pie crust

Directions
Mix all ingredients and pour into pie crust. Bake @ 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool before serving.