Tag Archive | baking

Yule Cookie – English Matrimonials

English Matrimonials

1 ½ cups sifted flour
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 ¼ cup rolled oats
½ teaspoon of salt
¾ cup of butter
3/4 cup of raspberry jam (Mom used Mary Ellen but use the good stuff)

Measure flour, sugar, oats, salt and butter into bowl.
Mix with hands to a crumb-like consistency
Place half of mixture in an ungreased 6×10 Pyrex pan and press firmly
Cover with jam and top with remaining half of mixture
Press firmly
Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 40-45 minutes

Should be slightly candied around the edges and not too moist in center
Cut when cool
Makes 3-5 dozen

The recipe can be used as a dessert by substituting 1 can of whole berry cranberry sauce or cherry or apple pie filling for the jam. Serve warm with ice cream.

Grandma Sjoberg’s Coffee Bread

Dec21

Mom always made this Christmas morning.

2 cups scalded milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter melted
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cardamon
2 yeast cakes
1/4 cup lukewarm water
8 cups flour
2 eggs

Scald milk in small saucepan; stir in melted butter, salt, sugar, and cardamon. Cool mixture to luke warm. Pour water on yeast. Stir until dissolved. Pour into milk mixture. Add beaten eggs and 4 cups of flour. Beat well and work in remaining 4 cups of flour.

Place on board and knead until smooth. Place dough into greased bowl, cover with damp towel and let rise 1 hour. Punch dough and let rise again about 1 hour. Return to board and shape into 4 braids. Top with nuts and granulated sugar.

Bake at 350 degree oven until medium brown.

This was another recipe my Grandma had to stand by my great-grandmother with measuring equipment to translate “a little of this” and “quite a bit of that”.

Yule cookie – Grandpa’s Shortbread

Dec21

For anyone’s holiday pleasure that wants to make it, here is my great-grandfather’s Scottish Shortbread recipe.

1 lb of flour, preferably unbleached, this equals 4 cups

1 lb of butter and don’t you dare use margarine! That would be a crime!

¼ lb of brown sugar but I cheat and use a loosely packed cup which is more than a ¼ lb.

Cut a large rectangle of brown paper out of a paper bag and put it aside.

Combine all 3 ingredients by hand, no cheating with a mixer! Until it is a smooth, well mixed ball of dough.

Pat out flat on the brown paper about ½ inch thick. Prick with fork to break apart later or don’t and just break it into bits when done.

Place in 350 degree oven for around 15 minutes or until light tan. Do not slip a pan underneath. Just put the paper in the oven. The grease from the butter will prevent the paper from burning.

Remove from oven. Let cool a bit and serve with a nice cup of tea. I prefer Twining’s Prince of Wales.

Our great- grandfather was a professional baker and all our family bakes. So this is required for holidays.

Yule treat – Fudge Pie

Dec21

1 cup sugar
1 stick butter (1/4 pound) melted
2 whole eggs
1 square (1 oz) bitter chocolate
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 Tsp vanilla

Mix together sugar and butter
Beat in the 2 eggs
Melt over hot water 1 square chocolate, cool slightly and beat in butter mixture.
Sift before measuring and beat into the butter mixture the flour.
Add vanilla

Bake the batter in a greased 8 1/2 inch pie plate in a slow (325) degree oven for 30 minutes.

The pie will look and feel moist and gooey but don’t on that account bake it longer. It’s supposed to look and feel that way.

Cool in pan, cut into 6 pieces and dish each piece into individual dessert plates. Top each serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Yule Cookie – Walnut crispies

Dec18

2 Squares bitter chocolate
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sifted flour
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Melt chocolate in heavy saucepan
Add all other ingredients except nuts
Beat well by hand
Spread mixture in greased jelly roll pan or 3 (8×8 inch pans)
Sprinkle with nuts

Bake in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes
While warm cut with cutter into bars or squares
Break apart when cool.

Makes 4 dozen

Yule Treat – Lemon Angel Pie

Dec18

This used to be my requested birthday dessert if I didn’t want a cake and the weather was right. Meringue is weather dependent. Good thing my birthday was in June

Beverley Robb’s Lemon Angel Pie

4 egg whites (large)
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar ( superfine)
4 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
Grated lemon rind
1 cup heavy whipping cream Powdered sugar to taste
½ teaspoon of vanilla

Preheat oven to 275 degrees (250 if using a glass pan)
Grease a 9 inch pie pan
Separate the eggs and return the yolks to the refrigerator
Let the whites come to room temperature
Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in large mixing bowl until whites are stiff but not dry.

Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time until stiff, glossy and sugar is completely dissolved
Put in pie pan and smooth top.

Bake for an hour or until the top shows palest tan.
Cool
Not to worry if top cracks.

In mixer bowl, beat egg yolks until stiff and lemon coloured. Gradually beat in granulated sugar. Blend in lemon juice and rind. Cook in double boiler over simmering water, stirring constantly until thick, 5 to 8 minutes.
Set aside to cool.
Whip heavy cream, and sweeten with ½ teaspoon of vanilla and powdered sugar to taste.
Spread half the cream over the crust to the edge.
Spread lemon custard over the cream and top with the remaining cream.
Chill 4 hours or overnight.
Serves 6 This recipe may be doubled using a 9×13 pan.

My mom usually made the doubled recipe and it’s great for after a heavy meal like Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Yuletide treat – Pecan Pie

Dec17

Pecan Pie

Make a pie crust or use one of the ones available at your grocer

Filling for a 9″ pie
Beat together with a rotary beater:

3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 Tsp salt
1/3 cup butter
melted 1 cup dark corn syrup

Filling for an 8″ pie shell:

2 Large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cups dark corn syrup

Mix in 1 cup pecan halves / 3/4 cup pecan halves

Pour into pastry lined pie pan

Bake until set and the pastry is slightly browned in a 375 degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes
Cool
Serve cold or slightly warm

This from Mom’s really old Betty Crocker Cookbook from the 1950’s with the cool photos.

Yule cookies – Moravian Christmas cookie

Dec14

Moravian Christmas Cookie

3 ¾ cups sifted cake flour
¾ teaspoon ginger
¾ teaspoon cloves
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon salt
¾ Teaspoon baking soda
½ cup butter or other shortening melted
1 cup molasses, heated
½ cup brown sugar

Sift flour once, measure and sift together with spices, soda and salt 3 times
Combine butter & molasses, add the sugar and the flour mixture and let stand in cold place for a week or two.

Roll out paper thin and cut with fancy cookie cutters and bake in a moderate oven (375) degrees) 6 minutes on a greased cookie sheet.

Remove at once from sheet, cool and store indefinitely in a closed tin
Makes about 200 cookies.

As you can tell this recipe is old. It’s pre-refrigerator and temperatures on ovens.

This used to be my favourite dough to sneak pieces to eat while we were cutting them out.

Yule Cookies – Chocolate stars

Dec13

Chocolate Hearts

These are my all time favourites and they really aren’t a cookie. They are a confection because they have no flour.

3 oz of bitter chocolate
1 lb powdered sugar
2 or 3 unbeaten egg whites
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Melt 3 oz of chocolate
Add 1lb of powdered sugar
And mix thoroughly
Work to a stiff yet pliable paste with the unbeaten egg whites
Add 1 tsp of vanilla
Roll ¼ inch thick and cut with cookie cutter
Sprinkle the board with powdered sugar instead of flour
Place on oiled or foiled pan
And bake until firm at 325 degrees
Remove from pan after standing a minute to cool