a little of each

A family's cookbook

Chocolate Kisses Peanut Butter Cookies June 2, 2013

Filed under: Desserts — alittlemoreofeach @ 2:54 pm
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Ingredients

2 2/3 cups flour, sifted

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup + granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

5 dozen Hershey Kisses, foil removed

 

Directions

Sift flour, baking soda and salt together. Set aside. Cream butter and peanut butter. Add vanilla. Add one cup white sugar, one cup brown sugar and beat until smooth. Add flour and blend thoroughly. Shape dough into one tsp balls and roll in some granulated sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet two inches apart and bake at 350 degrees for eight minutes. Remove and press a Kiss into the middle of each cookie. Bake for two more minutes. Remove to wire rack and let cool. Makes five dozen.

 

Grandma Willis’s Molasses Cookies

Filed under: Desserts — alittlemoreofeach @ 2:51 pm
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2 cups molasses

1 cup lard

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp saleratus (baking powder) dissolved in ½ cup boiling water

flour to mix

 

No baking temperature or times.

 

Lemon-Pecan Thins

Filed under: Desserts — alittlemoreofeach @ 2:48 pm
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Ingredients

½ cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 well-beaten egg

1 Tbl grated lemon peel

1 Tbl lemon juice

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

dash of salt

1 cup chopped pecans

 

Directions

Beat first five ingredients (shortening through lemon juice) together. Add the baking powder and salt to sifted flour. Mix into creamed mixture. Stir in pecans. Form into rolls. Wrap in waxed paper and chill thoroughly. Slice very thin. Bake on greased cookie sheet for 12 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes five dozen small cookies.

 

Butter Cookies

Filed under: Desserts — alittlemoreofeach @ 2:47 pm
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The holidays are never complete without this treat. Nana Hazel baked hundreds of dozens in her lifetime, and passed the tradition down to Emily. The butter cookie recipe came from a long-ago friend of Nana’s whose parents came from Denmark.

From Stephanie: Nothing says “Christmas” like Nana’s Butter Cookies. It is never too early in the morning, nor late in the day to enjoy a few. And then a few more. They go with most any beverage – hot tea, hot coffee, cocoa, cold glass of milk, punch. Not so great with wine, but perhaps I haven’t found just the right pairing. Nana would often put red and green candied fruit pieces in the center of hers (which would promptly stick to any and all dental work). My favorite butter cookies were the ones shaped like Milano cookies and dipped in dark chocolate (must be why I LOVE Double Chocolate Milanos today). There are some (you know who you are!) who could ‘take or leave’ a Butter Cookie (unimaginable to me) and certainly never with the dark chocolate coating. Emily continues to make these pieces of heaven whenever I ask (I try to keep it just to the holidays); she did make them for Easter one year and put dollops of pastel icing in place of the candied fruit. That got me to thinking Butter Cookies could be adapted by color to most any holiday, leaving plain ones for the rest of the year.

Ingredients

1 lb real butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup superfine sugar

4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

Cream butter and sugar well; add egg and vanilla extract; add flour slowly until completely blended. Load dough into a cookie press with decorative inserts. Press onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees for eight to 10 minutes or until golden around the edge. Let cool. If desired, decorate with candied fruit or dip into chocolate.

Chocolate dip:

Melt two cups of semi-sweet chocolate bits over hot water in a double broiler. Add ¼ cup hot milk and beat smooth. Keep chocolate warm while dipping; lay each cookie on wax paper until chocolate is firm.

 

Lemon Sponge Pie

Filed under: Desserts — alittlemoreofeach @ 2:45 pm
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Ingredients

prepared pie shell

3 Tbl softened butter

1 ¼ cup sugar

4 eggs, separated

3 Tbl flour

1 ¼ cup milk

zest of two lemons

¼ cup lemon juice

dash of salt

 

Directions

Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in egg yolks, flour, salt, milk, lemon juice and zest. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into milk mixture. Pour into cooked pie shell. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 300 degrees and continue baking for 45 minutes.

 

Vanilla and Lime Flan

Filed under: Desserts — alittlemoreofeach @ 2:44 pm
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Ingredients

Caramel:

½ cup sugar

3 Tbl water

 

Base:

2 cups condensed milk

2 cups whole milk

3 limes, zested

1 vanilla bean

6 eggs

 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  To make the caramel, heat together the water and sugar gently over a medium flame until it is golden brown, about 10 minutes, ensuring the mixture does not burn.  Meanwhile pour the condensed milk and whole milk into a pan.  Add the lime zest.  Slice the vanilla pod in half and carefully scrape out the vanilla seeds and add these to the milk mixture.  Simmer the milk slowly for 15 minutes to let the flavors combine.  Once the caramel is ready, pour it into a cake pan and swirl it around to evenly coat the bottom of the pan.  Set aside.  In a bowl, beat the eggs well.  Slowly pour a little of the warm milk, vanilla and lime mixture into the eggs.  Once the eggs are warmed, pour in the rest of the milk.  Pour all of the mixture into the cake pan over the caramel.  Cook the cake pan in a water bath for 45 minutes to an hour.  Once ready, allow to cool and refrigerate overnight.  To serve, gently flip over the flan onto a serving tray.

 

Key West Flan

Filed under: Desserts — alittlemoreofeach @ 2:43 pm
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This is best when it’s made one day in advance.

 

Ingredients

6 large eggs

1 can sweetened condensed milk

½ can water

1 can evaporated milk

3 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup sugar

 

Directions

Pour sugar into a non-stick sauté pan. Cook on stove at medium temperature, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the sugar turns to a liquid, golden color. Pour immediately into a round, shallow flan dish. Quickly swirl around until bottom of dish is completely coated. Cool thoroughly and set aside. Take remaining ingredients and beat with a mixture until almost foaming. Pour mixture on top of the cooled sugar. Place in a larger pan of water and bake at 275 degrees for one hour. Check by gently shaking the container to see if flan has set. If it appears liquid in the center, continue baking, checking every ten minutes. Be patient. It often takes another hour of baking. Remove from oven. Cool thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight. To remove from dish, run a spatula along the sides. Place a round serving platter on top and carefully (but quickly!) flip over. Garnish with fresh strawberries.

 

Flan

Filed under: Desserts — alittlemoreofeach @ 2:41 pm
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Ingredients

½ cup sugar

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

 

Directions

Heat oven to 350. Heat ½ cup sugar in heavy 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and golden brown. Divide sugar syrup among four 6-ounce custard cups; tilt cups to coat bottoms. Allow syrup to harden in cups about 5 minutes.  Mix remaining ingredients; pour into custard cups. Place cups in square pan, 9x9x2 inches, on oven rack. Pour very hot water into pan to within ½ inch of tops of cups.  Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Immediately remove from water. Unmold and serve warm, or refrigerate up to 8 hours and unmold at serving time.

 

Lemon Snow with Custard Sauce

Filed under: Desserts — alittlemoreofeach @ 2:30 pm
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From a 1951 Woman’s Day magazine.

 

Ingredients

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

¼ cup cold water

¾ cup sugar, separated

1 cup boiling water

pinch of salt

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 2 lemons

3 eggs, separated

 

Directions

Soak the gelatin in ¼ cup cold water for five minutes. In a medium bowl, mix ½ cup sugar, salt and one cup boiling water. Add the lemon zest and juice. Chill until slightly thickened. Beat the egg whites until foamy, then gradually add 1 /4 cup sugar and beat until stiff. Add to the gelatin mixture and bet thoroughly. Pour into molds and chill. Serve with the custard sauce.

 

Custard Sauce:

Mix 3 egg yolks, ¼ cup sugar, 1 ½ cups milk and a little grated orange rind.

 

Lemon Cake Top Pudding

Filed under: Desserts — alittlemoreofeach @ 2:29 pm
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From an old magazine clipping in Nana’s tin recipe box.

 

Ingredients

3 Tbl butter

1 cup sugar

4 eggs, separated (both yolks and whites are used)

3 Tbl flour

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tsp grated lemon zest

¼ tsp salt

1 cup milk

1/3 cup toasted, slivered almonds

 

Directions

Cream butter and add sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and beat well. Add flour, lemon juice, zest, salt and mix well. Stir in milk. Blend in ¼ cup almonds. Beat egg whites until stiff; fold into mixture. Pour into loaf baking dish, 9 x 5 inches. Set in pan of hot water and bake in slow oven (325 degrees) for 40 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 degrees and bake until brown, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining almonds and serve either warm or chilled.