It’s Starting to Smell A Lot Like Christmas

Son and I are  cooking cookies. Oh boy does the house smell good. We decided to make jelly cookies and crescent cookies this time. The house is filled with the sweet smell of them cooking.

As we were cooking, my mind drifted back to Christmas’s past and I thought about the tins and tins of things my grandmother Mimi brought. My mother kept them under lock and key so us kids would not eat them all before the holiday was in full swing.  I hope we get to make many different ones this year. Next time I want to try Jerusalem Cookies.

Son and I worked together, each doing different things. We have gotten this cooking down pat. He does most of the stuff but I do my part too.

And of course, Jack was smart. He laid down between us so he could catch any crumbs that fell.

Crescents straight out of the oven, cooling before being put in the powdered sugar.

And the finished product. OH YUM.  I love my grandmother’s recipe. It is so good.

Son working on the jelly cookies. They take a little longer to do but are good too.

We did blackberry and Plum..two different kinds of jelly on the jelly cookies. Above is the blackberry and below is the plum. Now, I really don’t know who ate the two missing cookies on this tray below. *wiping mouth off*   LOL

JELLY COOKIES

1/2 pound butter

3 cups flour

2 egg yolks

1 and 1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. add egg yolks and vanilla. Then add the flour and work it in. Roll in small balls and push down.on top with finger and put a little damson plum jelly in indentation. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes til the bottoms are lightly browned.

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CRESCENT COOKIES

1/2 lb butter softened

5 heaping Tablespoons powdered sugar

1 cup ground pecans

1/2 cup chopped nuts optional

3 c flour

1 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients and shape into crescents. Bake 20 minutes in 300 degree oven. Roll in powdered sugar.

My Holiday Gift to You…….RECIPES :)

Cooking is such an essential part of the holidays. I remember tins and tins of cakes and cookies when I was a kid. My grandmother Mimi would cook all sorts of goodies. I remember her going in daily and pouring rum over some cake. Boy, that cake made everyone feel good.

So, I thought I would share some family recipes with you. I hope you enjoy them. If you are high altitude like we are, please use high altitude flour.Also high altitude tends to require longer cooking times. Just test to see if done on cakes.

First is peppermint bark that my aunt that I call Mama makes. Oh y um

PEPPERMINT BARK

2 lb white chocolate chips

12 crushed candy canes

1/4 tsp peppermint flavoring

Melt chocolate and crushed peppermint on double boiler. Add peppermint flavoring. Stir all together. pour out on parchment (wax) paper on a cookie sheet and let harden. Break into pieces.

POUND CAKE WITH CARAMEL ICING

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

1 and  2/3 cup sugar

5 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Mix and bake 1 hour at 300 degrees

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SIMPLE CARAMEL ICING

1 stick butter

1 and 1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sweet condensed milk

1 box powdered sugar

1/8 tsp salt

Melt butter over direct heat, add brown sugar and stir constantly to prevent burning. When sugar has melted, add milk and boil gently for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and beat in powdered sugar. Cool a little before spreading on cooled cake. May need to add few teaspoons of hot water if icing thickens up before getting cake iced.

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DATE NUT CAKE

1 quart of chopped pecans

1 small pkg of chopped dates

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 heaping cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients. add nuts and dates. stir in eggs and vanilla. Bake in large greased and floured tube pan. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 and 1/2 hours.

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JELLY COOKIES

1/2 pound butter

3 cups flour

2 egg yolks

1 and 1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. add egg yolks and vanilla. Then add the flour and work it in. Roll in small balls and push down.on top with finger and put a little damson plum jelly in indentation. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes til the bottoms are lightly browned.

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JERUSALEM COOKIES

1 lb butter

1 and 1/3 cup sugar

1 cup whiskey

3 eggs

1 lb chopped pecans

2 quarts flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add whiskey, eggs, pecans and then add the flour last. Can bake as a sheet rolled thin at 300 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes. Then break into pieces and roll in mixture of powdered sugar and cinnamon.

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SELF CRUST CUSTARD PIE

2/3 c sugar

2 T flour

1 tsp nutmeg

4 beaten eggs

1/2 tsp sale

2 cups milk

Mix dry ingredients. Beat eggs, add dry ingredients and mix well. Add milk and stir thoroughly. Pour into greased pie pan and bake at 400 degrees until knife comes out clean.

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BOURBON BALLS

1 cup finely crushed vanilla wafers (30-36)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

2 T. cocoa

2 T   light corn syrup

1/4 cu bourbon, rum or brandy

granulated sugar, additional pecans or cocoa

Stir crumbs, powdered sugar, pecans and cocoa. Add syrup and bourbon. Mix well. Wet hands and shape in one inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Makes 36

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CHESS CAKE

I box light brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 sticks butter

4 egg yolks

2 cups sifted flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup nuts

1 tsp vanilla

4 egg whites

Melt butter, add sugar and beaten egg yolks. Sift in dry ingredients. Add nuts and vanilla. Then folk in beaten egg whites. Bake at 325 degrees between 30 and 45 minutes in a greased 10 inch square pan.

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SOUTHERN PECAN PIE

2 eggs beaten

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark karo syrup

1 tsp vanilla

2 T melted butter

1/8 tsp salt

I cup pecans

Mix ingredients in order, pour into unbaked 8 or 9 inch pie shell. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

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BUTTERMILK CAKE

1 cup shortening

2 and 1/4 sugar

3 cups flour

3 eggs..one at a time

1/2 tsp soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon extract

1 cup buttermilk

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add dry ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk. add extract. Bake in greased and floured tube pan at 325 degrees for one hour and 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let stay ten minutes longer.

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CRESCENT COOKIES

1/2 lb butter softened

5 T powdered sugar

1 cup ground pecans

1/2 cup chopped nuts

3 c flour

1 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients and shape into crescents. Bake 20 minutes in 300 degree oven. Roll in powdered sugar.

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Bolts and Nuts

1 ox cheerios

1 box chex cereal

1 box or bag pretzel sticks (the small kind)

1 lb pecans

3/4 lb butter

1 tsp salt

2 T Worcester sauce

garlic salt optional

Melt and stir over other ingredients.

pre-heat oven to 250 degrees

bake 2 hours stirring every 15 minutes

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Hope you all enjoy. These are taken straight from my grandmother’s recipes.    Please add your own recipes here. We can all share.   Don’t forget to click on the comments on the left side of the post and read the other recipes.