Old/New Recipes

This last week Sharon Schaefer, a friend of mine from here in Forsyth, shared a couple of cookbooks that had been handwritten by her mother and grandmother. She was kind enough to let me borrow them long enough to make copies of the recipes. I used my iPad and the app called “Recipe Gallery” to make copies of the recipes. There is just something about an old cookbook with hand-written, food stained, recipes that just gives me a warm feeling. You can always tell which ones were their favorites by how many stains are on the pages!
The one problem with a lot of these recipes is the directions. They assume that you know how to put it together and what temperature to bake it at and for how long. My grandmother used to tell me to add flour to the bread until “It feels right!”..... hmmmmmm
I thought it would be interesting to publish a few of the hand written recipes as they appeared on the pages (they appear first) and then go to the Internet to see if I could find a similar one to get the directions, etc.

Baked Apple Tapioca

“Betty”

Arrange 2 1/2 cup thinly sliced tart apples in baking dish.
3 T. butter
nutmeg & cinnamon
1/2 c. Minute Tapioca
1 C. brown Sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 c. water
2 T. lemon juice
Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Pour over apples. Cover & bake 20 min. at 375.

Baked Apple Tapioca Pudding

source: www.recipe4living.com

1/2 C. tapioca
2 C. milk
3 eggs
1/4 C. sugar
pinch ground nutmeg
pinch cloves
1 1/2 T. honey
2 T. butter
2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
Put the tapioca and milk in a pan. Bring it to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Then cool. When it’s cold, beat in the eggs, sugar, nutmeg, cloves and honey. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the butter in a pan and sauté the apple until soft. Place the apple in a soufflé dish. Fill it with the tapioca mixture. Place the dish in a baking tray, half filled with hot water. Bake it in the oven for 45 minutes. Serve cold.

Brown Sugar Candy

Hattie

2 cups brown sugar 1 cup milk. Let cook until it hardens in cold water, remove from fire and beat until creamy add vanilla & nut meats pour in a shallow dish.

Brown Sugar Candy

source: allrecipes.com

1 pound brown sugar
3/4 cup evaporated milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Butter a 8 or 9 inch square baking dish.
In a large heavy saucepan, stir together the brown sugar and evaporated milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until the temperature reaches between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface.
Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla and walnuts. Continue to beat with a sturdy spoon until the mixture looses its gloss. Pour into the prepared pan. Score into squares with a knife then set aside until firm, about 5 minutes. Cut into squares and serve or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Caramel Candy

Mrs. Oatey

2 cups sugar
2 cups sweet cream
1 1/2 cups corn syrup
1/4# butter
Cook sugar, syrup, and 1/2 the cream until it comes to a good boil. Add rest of cream slowly so it doesn’t stop boiling. Cook until it forms a hard ball in cold water.
Add nut meats & 2 oz. chocolate if desired.
Pour in pan & cool.

Caramels

candy.about.com

These soft caramels have a creamy, chewy texture that melts in your mouth and never sticks to your teeth. They are delicious on their own, dipped in chocolate, or used in other baked goods. For the best texture, allow the caramels to sit at room temperature overnight to fully set up.
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 cups light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter, cut into small cubes
Prepare a 9x9 pan by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine the cream and condensed milk in a small saucepan, and place the saucepan on a burner set to the lowest heat setting. You want the milk and cream to be warm, but do not allow it to boil.
In a medium-large saucepan combine the corn syrup, water, and granulated sugar over medium-high heat. Stir the candy until the sugar dissolves, then use a wet pastry brush to wash down the sides of the pan to prevent sugar crystals from forming and making the candy grainy.
Insert a candy thermometer and reduce the heat to medium. Allow the mixture to come to a boil and cook until the thermometer reads 250 degrees.
Add the softened butter chunks and the warm milk-cream mixture. The temperature should go down about 30 degrees.
Continue to cook the caramel, stirring constantly so that the bottom does not scorch. Cook it until the thermometer reads 244, and the caramel is a beautiful dark golden brown.
Remove the caramel from the heat and immediately pour it into the prepared pan. Do not scrape candy from the bottom of the saucepan. Allow the candy to sit overnight to set up and develop a smooth, silky texture.
When you are ready to cut the caramel, place a piece of waxed paper on the counter and lift the caramel from the pan using the foil as handles. Flip the top of the caramel onto the waxed paper and peel the foil layer from the bottom of the caramel.
Spray a large knife with nonstick cooking spray. Firmly cut into the caramels, creating 1” squares. Wipe the blade and re-spray as necessary.
Wrap the squares in waxed paper. The caramels will gradually spread and lose their square shape if not wrapped soon after cutting. Alternately, you can dip them in chocolate once they are cut.
Store the caramels at room temperature for up to two weeks. Print this post