Tag Archive | recipes

A Treat for St Lucy’s Day

Dec13

Makroner –

Another of the Swedish ones. Happy St Lucy’s Day

1 lb butter
1 lb sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¼ lb flour

Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs and mix well
Add vanilla
Add flour to make smooth paste

Put in cookie press with die of your choice
Bake 8-12 minutes at 400 degrees

Yule Cookies – Walnut Crispies

Dec13

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 Cookie – English Matrimonials

Dec12

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.

Yule treat – Pineapple Pickle

Dec9

Don’t knock it until you try it!

Pineapple Pickle

2 #2 ½ cans of pineapple chunks
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
20 whole cloves

Drain pineapple, reserving the liquid.
Add liquid to other ingredients and boil for 10 minutes
Add Pineapple and simmer for 10 minutes longer
Remove spices
Seal in hot sterilized jars or refrigerate until ready to use.

Serves 6-8

Warning when we made this for Thanksgiving and Christmas there is never any left to store. The longer you wait before serving the better the spices will do their job. So make the day before at least.

Yule treat – Pecan Pie

Dec8

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 cookie – Mom’s Bon Bons

Dec7

Mom’s Bon Bons

1 cup sugar
2 cups butter
1 egg
4 cups sifted flour
½ teaspoon of lemon extract
Or a few drops of oil of lemon
1 small jar of S&W chopped fruit
Bag of chopped pecans or walnuts

Mix creaming butter and sugar, adding rest of ingredients
Make into 2 rolls then roll in chopped pecans or walnuts
Put in refrigerator
Slice thin and bake at 400 degrees

The chopped fruit was a jar of mixed maraschino cherries and other coloured fruit.
When in the cookie makes it look like a stained glass window.

The mom in Mom’s is my grandmother and she did this pre any magazine article for stained glass cookies as this was her way of modifying the spritz dough sans the almonds.

Yule treat – Lemon Angel Pie

Dec5

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.

Yule cookie

Dec2

This is one of my favourites

Ginger Krinkle Crisps
¾ cup shortening
1 ½ cup sugar
¼ cup light molasses
2 cups sifted flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoon ginger
3 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves (ground)
1 egg

Cream shortening and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy.
Blend in molasses.
Sift together flour, salt, soda & spices (1 tsp of cinnamon).
Add to creamed mixture and mix well.
Chill dough hour or longer.
Mix remaining ½ cup sugar and 2 tsp of cinnamon.
Form dough into balls and roll in the sugar mixture.
Place 3 inches apart on foiled cookie sheet, gently press cookie to flatten slightly.
Bake at 350 degrees 12-15 minutes or until top is cracked and slightly brown.
Makes 3 ½ – 4 dozen cookies . Maybe doubled without changes

Warning! I made these by myself as a kid. I forgot to split the cinnamon out for the rolling mixture and ended up having to triple the recipe. I had a whole lotta cookies to share which was good because I love them.

Yule Cookies – Springerli

Dec7

It’s that time of year when I share my family’s holiday cookie recipes, so from the Swedish side: Springerli

5 whole eggs
1 lb of powdered sugar
½ tsp lump powdered ammonia (Also called Baker’s Ammonia)

2 drops oil of anise
Flour to make stiff enough to knead

Beat eggs well
Add other ingredients
Roll ¼ inch thick
Print with mold
Let stand overnight
Bake at 350 degrees until straw coloured

If you cannot find Baker’s Ammonia you can substitute an equal amount of baking powder. Baker’s Ammonia was used in Northern European recipes pre-baking powder. If you do use the Baker’s Ammonia, do not sample the dough! It’s a leavening agent that is harmless after cooking but your kitchen may stink a bit during baking.