Bourbon Balls (Gram)
3 cups ground vanilla wafers
(one 12 ounce box)
3 teaspoons cocoa
3 teaspoons white Karo
3/8 cup bourbon
1 cup powdered sugar
Mix together, press into balls with hands, and roll in powdered sugar. Makes 3 dozen . Better if made ahead, so ingredients have time to blend.
This really is an old recipe, again from the files of Grannie Marvel. She also lived in southeastern Pennsylvania and lived well into her 80s. Most of the people in that area were farmers, and this would have been a good dessert to top things off for the men who had worked in the fields. Of course, you didn’t have to be a farmer to enjoy this wonderful rich dessert.
Shoofly Pie (Grannie Marvel)
Line deep pie pan with crust (regular crust)
Mix together thoroughly (beat) and pour into pie shell ‑
1 cup molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup warm water
Sprinkle with the following crumbs ‑
2 cups flour )
½ cup sugar ) make into fine crumbs
½ teaspoon baking soda )
1/3 cup Crisco ‑ scant )
Bake 10 minutes at 425o and 20‑25 minutes at 350o or until filling is set. Best if done in a brown ceramic pie plate.
This is a very old recipe. I have never made it with canned sweet potatoes, though I often thought that would certainly be a time saver. But, I’d suggest making it in the traditional manner. Grannie is my husband’s grandmother, and Mrs. Marvel’s great grandmother.
Grannie’s Sweet Potato Pie (Grannie Marvel)
1½ cups sweet potatoes, boiled in skins.
Mash while hot. Put 1 tablespoon
butter in while mashing.
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 whole eggs
1½ cups evaporated milk
Approx. 1 cup sugar (depends on sweetness of potatoes)
3/8 cup brandy or whisky (mandatory!)
Beat all ingredients (except whiskey) together until nice and light. Stir in whisky. Pour into unbaked 9″ shell, bake at 425o for 10 minutes, then 375o for about 35 minutes longer. As soon as firm it is done.
Do not use foil pans ‑ they bend and spill!
By the looks of things you would think that dessert is the only thing that we cooks think about. Not so, but it is the crown on the meal and what some people think of as the whole meal, especially the children. Well it does complete it doesn’t it. I see that there was a recent posting for apple crisp, but this one has a different topping.
Apple Crisp
2 cups firm apples, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup brown sugar
¼ cup flour
¼ cup quick oats
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
3 tablespoons margarine softened
Place apples in greased 1quart casserole. Blend remaining ingredients until crumbly. Spread over apples. Bake 30 ‑ 35 minutes at 350o. Makes 3 ‑ 4 servings.
Earlier I said that you would hear from Aunt Dottie again. Here is another of her mushroom (from mushroom country) recipes. Mushrooms are grown in the dark, in a building (a mushroom house). They are grown in flats only inches apart and when they are harvested, the person harvesting wears a cap like a miner’s cap with a light on it so they can see. They pick only the ones that are ready. I believe they pick every day.
Creamed Mushrooms Aunt Dottie
Wash, slice or quarter 1 pound or so mushrooms. In saucepan with cover put 4 tablespoons butter. Add mushrooms, cover and let make its own broth over medium heat. Cook about 3 minutes, simmering in the broth. Add 1 cup top milk or half & half (or ½ cup milk and ½ cup evaporated milk), thickened with 1 to 2 tablespoons flour made into paste. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Simmer and serve hot on toast or as a vegetable.
Gram's Recipe Box 