This time of year there are lots of sweets and cakes and foods of all sorts being made. Perhaps folks would like to share some of their recipes. I asked my mother to give me her recipe for peanut patties, which she got off of an older lady that she used to quilt with in church.
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 CUPS SUGAR
1 CUP MILK
4 TEASPOONS MARGARINE
2/3 CUP WHITE SYRUP
4 CUPS RAW PEANUTS
RED FOOD COLOR
1 CUP POWDERED SUGAR
DIRECTIONS:
POUR SUGAR, SYRUP, MILK AND PEANUTS INTO A LARGE HEAVY PAN AND COOK SLOWLY TO FIRM BALL STAGE. REMOVE FROM HEAT AND ADD MARGARINE, FEW DROPS FOOD COLOR AND POWDERED SUGAR. DROP CANDIES INTO BUTTERED, OILED OR SPRAYED MUFFIN TINS.
I’ll further note that my grandmother has often used small foil pie pans rather than muffin tins, and that what stage they are cooked to can be varied according to how firm or soft you prefer.
Here is a recipe that I got from an English friend. I have not yet done it myself (the kitchen being not the favourite dwelling place of Jeanne d’Arc II) but I tried the trifle that she had made and it was truly delicious.
ENGLISH TRIFLE:
3 egg yolks
570 ml of double cream
25 g caster sugar (fine sugar)
1 level teaspoon of cornflour (maizena)
5 trifle sponge cakes
50 g flaked almonds slightly toasted
Some raspberry jam
55 ml sherry (I put in more than that)
225 g frozen raspberries (no need to defrost)
2 small bananas, peeled and sliced thinly
Break the sponge cakes in pieces and spread a little raspberry jam on each piece. Then put them into a large glass bowl and sprinkle the raspberries and sherry over them, giving everything a good stir to soak up the sherry.
To make the custard, heat 275 ml of the double cream in a small saucepan. Blend the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together thoroughly in a basin, and when the cream is hot, pour it over the egg mixture stirring the whole time. Now return the custard to the saucepan and stir over a very low heat until thick, then remove it and allow it to cool. Slice the bananas, sprinkle them in amongst the raspberries and pour the custard over the sponge cakes. Whip up the remaining 275 ml of cream and spread it over the top. Decorate with the flaked almonds. Cover and chill for 3 or 4 hours before serving.
1 unbaked pie crust
1/4 Cup butter
1 Cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup white corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
2 tablespoons Kentucky bourbon
Cream butter and add sugar gradually. Add beaten eggs, corn syrup, salt and vanilla, mix. Add chocolate chips, nuts, and bourbon. Stir until well mixed. Pour into pie crust and bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes. If crust browns rapidly, cover with foil or brown paper. Rewarm to serve.
I’m a transplanted New Englander, and this is cranberry season! This is from memory, but since I just took two loaves out of the oven, my memory should be pretty good.
Cranberry, if you’re out there, this one’s for you, man.
Cranberry bread
1 orange
2 Tbsp butter
water
1 egg
1 c sugar
1 c cranberries
1/2 c chopped nuts (the recipe calls for walnuts, I use pecans)
2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
in a small mixing bowl grate the zest off the orange till you have a tsp or two
squeeze the juice from the orange
top this up with boiling water till you have 3/4 cup
add the butter and zest to this, stirring till it’s melted
in a larger bowl, beat the egg and mix the sugar in, beating till smooth
add the orange juice mixture to this
add the cranberries and nuts to this (the recipe says you need to chop the cranberries, but this really isn’t necessary unless you like your bread more uniform than with bursts of flavor here and there.)
Sift the flour, soda, powder, and salt into the mixture, and mix until you have a fairly thick batter.
Bake at 325 for an hour. Test with a broom straw, bamboo skewer or thin chopstick for doneness.
All I can say is it’s a good thing I’m not into sweets; I’d probably have a heart attack or shoot somebody after eating this. I think I’ll make it for my wife, though, she’s into sweets and pecans, and has a much better lipid profile and calmer disposition than I.
Seriously, this looks wonderful! A cousin of pecan or shoo-fly pie I would think.
