Candy Bar Cookies

by Mrs Marvel

Today we have a fairly labor intensive cookie that sounds delicious! I always tend to stay away from any cookies that say “roll out” because invariably the dough will stick to my rolling pin (not enough flour) or will dry out (too much flour). I always have bad luck with rolled cookies. It will take some time for me to work up the fortitude to try this one, for that very reason.

I’ve heard the name Jesse Beck, and I think she might have been a neighbor. I’ll have to ask my mother, but yes, I think I’ve seen her name in other contexts.

Also, pet milk is evaporated milk. Pet Milk is the brand name of the first commercially stable shelf milk, introduced in the 1920s. The company history is pretty interesting and I encourage you to check it out over at Wikipedia. Did you know the same company that made Pet Milk also owned Progresso and Old El Paso? Me neither!

Candy Bar Cookies (Jesse Beck)

(Uses 1 small can of Pet Milk)

(Makes 5 doz tiny size)

3/4 c butter

3/4 c powdered sugar

Cream butter and sugar together

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp Pet milk

1/4 tsp salt

Add and cream at high speed

Reduce speed & add 2 c sifted flour. Chill dough. Roll out very thin, cut with small cutter. Bake 325, 16 minutes +/- on ungreased sheet.

Caramel Filling:

Melt 28 (1/2 pound) light colored Kraft caramels with 1/4 c Pet milk in double boiler. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 c butter & 1 c sifted conf. sugar. Put a dab on a cookie, then cover with another.

Chocolate Frosting:

Melt 1 6 oz pkg Nestle’s chocolate chips with 1/3 c Pet milk in same double boiler (need not wash it). Stir in 2 tbsp butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 c sifted powdered sugar. Place a dab of icing on each cookie & top with a pecan.

Chocolate Top Oatmeal Cookies

by Mrs Marvel

Now this sounds delicious and decadent! I think I’ll be trying the chocolate top oatmeal cookies pretty soon. Here’s another recipe from Mernie – who’s full name is Marian, in case you are interested.

Chocolate Top Oatmeal Cookies (Mernie)

1 c butter or margerine

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c white sugar

2 egg yolks

1 c sifted flour

1 c oats, uncooked

Mix and spread in a 9×13 pan, greased & floured

Bake at 350 for 25 min +/-. Cool 10 min. Melt 6 oz milk chocolate w 2 tbsp butter. Spread on the cookies. Sprinkle w. 1/2 c chopped walnuts. Cut in bars or squares.

Butterscotch Cookies

by Mrs Marvel

I seem to recall my mother saying that Gram made these every year at Christmas. They certainly look like they would be delicious! My mother grew up in Erie, PA and around Christmas time, it was probably pretty cold in the kitchen over night so leaving the dough to set out would not be a problem. I think it’s safe to say you can adapt that to “refrigerate” and leave it at that. Cream of tartar is something I haven’t worked with since I was in grade school when I think we made a volcano or something like that. :-)

Butterscotch Cookies

1 c shortening

2 c sugar (brown)

2 eggs

1 tsp soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 cup nuts

3 1/2 – 4 c flour

1 tsp vanilla

Salt

Cream shortening & sugar, add eggs & vanilla. Mix well. Add cream of tartar & soda to flour, sift and mix. Add nuts. Roll in loaves and let stand overnight. Cut in slices and bake in hot oven.

This makes between 4 and 5 dozen cookies, but you can keep the loaves in the ice box almost indefinitely and bake them up as you need them.

Brown Sugar Squares

by Mrs Marvel

We are moving on to one of my favorite subjects…cookies! I love to bake cookies and by far the largest section in Gram’s Recipe Box is the cookie section, so she must have too.  :-) I like how old recipes are often written the way the person thought. For instance, several ingredients grouped together, bracket with instruction, several more ingredients grouped together, bracket with instructions, etc., with a brief note (sometimes) at the end about cooking time. Today’s recipes are very easy for a cook to follow, with details laid out in step by step order, and that is good. But, since I often cook with my nose, i.e. if it smells like it needs something I’ll keep adding, this more fluid recipe card is appealing to me, and it leaves room for improvisation.

A note about the ingredients. The recipe might have originally called for 1/2 tsp of soda, but really 1/4 tsp would do the job. I haven’t tried it yet so I can’t be certain what to do here. Just imagine knowing how soda reacts during the baking process and having the sense to reduce or increase the amount the next time you make the recipe. I myself don’t even really know what baking soda does. I know that either baking soda or baking powder causes cakes to rise, but beyond that I have no clue! Our ancestresses certainly were chemists, weren’t they?

Brown Sugar Squares

Melt 1/2 c shortening in pan

Stir together:

1 egg

1 c brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Stir in:

1 1/2 c sifted flour

1/2 OR 1/4 tsp soda

1/4 tsp salt

Add:

1 c coarsely chopped nuts

Bake in an 8″ square pan at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Do not overbake.

Watermelon Pickles #2

by Mrs Marvel

Today we have recipe number two for watermelon pickles.  This morning I asked my mom about yesterday’s recipe and she said that Auntie Fish was a close friend of Gram’s mother, Alice Sternberg. Fish was her last name, so Auntie Fish was a more familiar way of addressing her than Mrs. Fish, which seems rather formal for your mom’s best friend. My best friend is Auntie Tara to my daughter, so this makes perfect sense to me.

This recipe for watermelon pickles is from Aunt Kate. In a quick look at the family tree, there aren’t any people named Kate, though I realized that Gram’s Uncle John isn’t on it either, so clearly it could be a missing person. I’ll be seeing my folks again tomorrow, so hopefully will be able to clear up this mystery.

We all agreed after reading yesterday’s watermelon pickles that this isn’t exactly a morsel we are eager to try, although clearly it is supposed to be a sweet treat. I can’t really think of something comparable in contemporary foodstuffs.

This recipe calls for cassia buds, which I had to google. Cassia buds are the unopened flowers of the cassia tree, which is where we get cinnamon. They are harvested and dried in the sun just before blooming. According to the Spice House they are more floral than spicey and are used in pickling and mulling. As it turns out, one of my favorite cookies is made with cassia buds: pfeffernuesse! Learned something new today.  :-) Now, no more blather, here is the recipe.

Watermelon Rind Pickles (Aunt Kate)

Prepare watermelon rind

Soak overnight in clear water – pour off

Boil in salted water until pieces are clear.

Drain a lont time in a collandar

Make a syrup of:

4 lb sugar

1 pt vinegar

1 tbsp cassia buds

1 tbsp cloves in a bag

Note from Gram: his makes too much syrup for 1 large melon

Pour hot syrup over rind, Let stand 24 hours. Drain. Heat syrup & pour over rind. Let stand 24 hours. Put all on stove & let come to a boil. Take out fruit. Let syrup boil until thick – pour over rind. Put in jars and seal cold.