Digging Up Your Family

Christmas Rock Cakes

My mom’s friend Anne Sim from Elgin in Morayshire, Scotland sent a cookbook to my mom that contains Scottish recipes.  Anne admitted that she is not a cook, but her mother Mary Ann Noble was a cook for a large house in Edinburgh.  When inquiring about Christmas recipes Anne said: Mothers fav. to bake was rock cakes, shortbread, Oatcakes, pancakes & scones, all baked in the "Range" (Aga) in the kitchen.  Unfortunately, like most excellent cooks, Mary Ann made up her own recipes and didn’t measure ingredients.    And unfortunately there was no recipe for rock cake in the cookbook she sent.  I asked Marion Smith, my husband’s distant cousin from England, but she didn’t have a recipe either.  So, after a bit of research, I was able to take the scone recipe from the Scottish cookbook and modify it into a, hopefully, acceptable version of a Christmas Rock Cake!

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups of flour

6 teaspoons of baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of fresh grated nutmeg

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of currants

1 stick of butter

1 large egg

1 cup of milk

Directions:

Place flour in the bowl of a mixer (trust me, using a mixer makes this a ton easier than doing it by hand).  Turn mixer on low and add baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and currants.  Cut the butter into small chunks and add, allowing the mixture to become slightly crumbly.  Add the egg and mix well.  SLOWLY add the milk and mix well.  The mix should be the consistency of drop biscuit dough.  Then, like drop biscuits, drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto greased baking sheet.  Bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.  Yields about 18 cakes.

Serve warm with butter!  Yum!

I do want to also add the Soda Scone recipe that is in the Scottish cookbook Anne sent.  They sound so delicious!

Soda Scones from the Daily Record Guide to Scottish Cooking (the Daily Record has been around since 1895).

Ingredients:

1 pound of plain flour

1 ounce of baking powder

2 ounces of sugar

2 ounces of oil

1/2 pint of milk

Directions:

Place oil, milk, and sugar in a bowl and mix well.  Add the sieved flour and mix well.  Divide into four equal pieces an roll each into a six-inch disc.  Flour well and bake on a hot griddle until cooked all the way through.

Thank you Anne for the book and idea!  And thank you Marion for pointing me in the right direction to research this to come up with a recipe!

Oh, and Harry Potter fans…you’re welcome!

Mom’s Christmas Potato Log Candy

The recipe for this Christmas Potato Log Candy was submitted by Mark De Monbrun from the Timothy DeMonbreun Descendants, et al Facebook group as Mom's Rot Your Teeth errr. . Christmas Potato Log Candy.  Also called Amish Potato Candy and Irish Potato Candy, This stuff is amazing!  It is very, very sweet.  And oh so yummy!  I am posting the recipe just as Mark did.

Ingredients:

One Large Potato

Three Boxes Powdered Sugar. Maybe Four.

Peanut Butter With or Without Nuts.

Directions:

Peel, Boil, & Mash One Large Potato.
In a bowl put a couple scoops of the mashed potatoes.
Add Powdered Sugar mixing till you get a nice dough.
Sprinkle Powdered Sugar on to a large preferably marble or glass (wood or plastic will do) surface and on to a rolling pin.
Roll out the dough till it's Pie Crust (1/8th"or so) thick.
Cut the ends straight so it's a rectangle about 10" by 16" or so.
Glob a thin (or thick) layer of Peanut Butter all over it leaving maybe 1/2" on the far end bare. Sprinkle with nuts or use Chunky Peanut Butter if that be your want
Use a sharp knife also sprinkled with Powdered Sugar to help separate the dough from the glass work area as you are rolling in to a Log.
Semi-Cut almost all the way through in to half inch pieces while leaving the Log somewhat intact. Refrigerate.
Yields Four To Six 10" by 3" Logs. . . Enjoy!!!
And, Be Sure To Rinse Your Mouth or Brush Your Teeth Immediately.

Notes: Joyce DeMonbrun, also a member of the Facebook group, says:

For Christmas add red or green food color when you boil the potatoes.

You can also do nutella or almond butter.

And Mark is right!  make sure to brush your teeth after you eat these!

Mama’s Stained Glass Cookies–Modified

When I was little my mom and I used to make these stained glass cookies at Christmas.  The exact recipe she used has been lost in the past 37 years, so I have had to modify it somewhat.

One of the first things that is different is the actual shape.  Mom and I would roll the cookie dough into ropes and form them so they resembled the lead in actual stained glass.  That is definitely a way you can do these, however I now cut out the cookie shape and then carefully use a small sharp knife to cut out the center.  The other modification is that I had to find a cookie recipe to use.  The one I found is by Tupperware, circa 1980, and is called Granny’s Sugar Cookies.  My guess is that the recipe card was handed out when someone (my mom) bought Tupperware cookie cutters because the back says “TIPS FOR MAKING PERFECT COOKIES WITH YOUR TUPPERWARE COOKIE CUTTERS”.

Onward!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of butter

1 cup of sugar

1 large egg

2 cups of all purpose flour (plus 1/4 cup for rolling)

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

a bag of Lifesavers (honestly, I can’t even begin to give an amount.  It really depends on how many cookies you plan on making, the shapes of the “voids”, the size of the “voids”, etc.  use your best judgment and remember that the dough can continue to chill if you have to run out for more!)

Directions:

Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add in the egg and vanilla.  Then sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Divide the dough into to two balls and chill for 2 hours.

While the dough is chilling you get to work out some aggression!  Separate the Lifesavers by color, place each color in it’s own baggy.  Go outside with a hammer and crush those suckers up!  They don’t need to be crushed to powder, just into small pieces.

When dough is chilled remove one ball from refrigerator and roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness.  Cut the dough into your desired shapes.  Then, with a very sharp (be careful!) small knife, cut out a void in the center of the cookie (see notes below for more information).  Likewise, you can just roll the dough into ropes and form into the desired shapes.

Place the cookie cut outs on silicone bakeware, parchment, or greased cookie sheet.  Carefully put desired colors of crushed Lifesavers into the cookie’s void, keeping as much off the cookie as possible and spreading out to all corners.  You can be as creative as you like with mixing colors!

Bake cookies at 375 for 8-10 minutes.  Let cool completely before removing.

Notes:  the cookies will puff up some, so make sure that the void is large enough to still be seen after baking.  I always figure the very first batch is a tester batch to see how well they turn out, then I make changes based on that.  To cool the cookies quickly to avoid waiting to long between batches, place potholders on a shelf in your refrigerator and move the cookie sheet directly from the oven to those potholders and chill for about 5 minutes.  It is also a good idea to keep the cookie dough chilled until ready for use to make it easy to roll out.

Pam’s Cheese Wafers

This week I am posting recipes for the holidays!

A distant DNA cousin, Susan Gilliamsen, sent me this recipe for her mother’s cheese “straws”, but they are actually VERY yummy cheese wafers!  Susan says:

Christmas wasn't Christmas without Cheese Straws when I was growing up in the south. It was my adopted mother, Pam, who instilled the tradition. Her recipe is basically the classic southern version.

Susan says: The pic is of me at 6, Christmas morning 1966. Probably the first year I got to help with this recipe.  I love the “Elf on the Shelf” sitting on the tree!

What I found interesting about this recipe is that I had never heard of sprinkling sugar on cheese straws.  I am here to tell you that it is really good. 

I used Susan altered version of rolling the dough into logs before chilling. 

Ingredients:

3/4lb. of butter (3 sticks, cubed)

1lb. of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

pecan halves and sugar for topping

Directions:

Sift flour into a large bowl and blend with salt and cayenne. Blend cut up butter and shredded cheddar with flour mixture until dough is smooth and color is uniform. (Susan says: My mother did this by hand, exhausting! I use a stand mixer.)

Chill dough for several hours to overnight. When chilled, preheat oven to 325 & roll dough to approx 1/8" - 1/4" thickness, slice into small rectangles (like a wide half strip of bacon), scratch tops of slices with a fork to rough up surface. Arrange on baking sheet lined with parchment about 1/2" apart. Set a pecan half on top of each slice if you like (Susan says: is traditional, but I prefer mine without the pecans). Bake 10-15 min, until lightly browned (Susan says: the thinner your slices the shorter the bake time of course, watch these, they'll burn on you in a heartbeat!). Sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar as soon as they come out of the oven, while still hot, then remove to a cooling rack.

Notes from Susan: I, out of laziness mostly, have altered the rolling out process a bit (a lot!). I roll the dough into "logs" before chilling. Once chilled I take out the log(s) and slice into "coins", rough up the "coin" surface with a fork, skip the pecans and keep the sugar sprinkling. The size of your "log" will determine the width of your coin of course.

I still have some in the fridge to make!  They really are so very good!

Mrs. Lorena’s Chewy Cake

This week I will be posting recipes for the holidays!

Stephanie Miller, one of the sweetest people I have ever met, sent me this recipe to try out.  She may not be blood family, but she is certainly family to us!  Stephanie writes:

When I was 16 and worked at a Chiropractor's office this little lady named Mrs. Lorena Roberts used to come in every week. She was so tiny, but each week she bought us this cake she called Chewy Cake. I have had this recipe since 1977 and don't know how long she had it before that but she made it for everybody. It was soo good.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter

1 1lb. box of dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 cups self rising flour

Shredded coconut and pecans (Stephanie says: to your liking - she never gave me a specific amount but I used like a quarter cup chopped nuts and a half cup coconut.)

Directions:

Melt butter and sugar. Cool. Mix in other ingredients. Pour into a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. When done, cool, cut into squares and serve.

Notes:

I actually ended up making this recipe twice, because I kind of messed up the first time.  Here is what I found works (at least, it did for me!):  melt the butter, then add DARK BROWN sugar and stir until smooth, then add the vanilla to it.  Have the flour ready in a mixer.  Once the butter/sugar/vanilla combo is melted and slightly cooled, start mixer and add the combo.  Once that is blended well add the eggs one at a time.  Lastly, add in pecan pieces and coconut.  I sprayed baking spray into a 2.2 quart Pyrex and baked for the given time.  It will puff up and when it cools it will fall some. 

It is very, very delicious!  And very, very rich! 

Thank you, Stephanie!

Elaine Wallace Smith’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

This week I am posting Christmas recipes from my family. Enjoy!

My husband writes:

When I was a young, I loved Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. OK… to be honest, I still love them. Anyway, when my mother first tried this recipe out in the late 80’s- my mind was blown. It was like I had an entire pan full of Reese’s cups to myself! While I don’t know if these are actually “Christmas Treats”, my mother made sure that there was a pile of these in a silver tray on top of the Buffet in the dining room when the family sat down to dinner on Christmas Eve.

note:  I didn’t have the exact recipe in front of me, so I had to use several I found online and tweak the recipe to work.

Ingredients:

1 cup graham crackers crumbs (fine)

1 cup Nilla wafer crumbs (fine)

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup melted butter

2 cups + 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

Mix graham cracker and Nilla wafer crumbs, powdered sugar, 1 1/4 cups of the peanut butter, vanilla and melted butter in a bowl until well combined.  Spread in an 8x8 glass dish.  Chill.  Place the rest of the peanut butter and the chocolate chips in a medium saucepan over medium heat, melting chips and and peanut butter together while stirring constantly.  Once smooth immediately pour over the top of the peanut butter/graham mix and smooth out with a spatula.  Chill well before cutting into squares.

Minnie Virginia Richards’ Oyster Dressing

This week I am posting Christmas recipes from my family. Enjoy!

My mother says:

Grandmother's holiday tables were full of delicious goodies. She would have a pan of cornbread dressing, which was really yummy. There was one more dressing on the table, too . . . oyster dressing. That was also quite tasty, especially with giblet gravy. Well, I put giblet gravy over just about everything on my plate, though. So, I say, "Grandmother, you sure could cook but most importantly you knew how to spread love."

Ingredients:

12 ounce loaf of French bread, cubed and very dry (dry in oven at very low heat)

8 ounce can of whole oysters, reserve liquid and chop well (fresh oysters can be used, just make sure to reserve the liquid)

1 cup of chopped celery

1 onion, chopped

2 teaspoons butter

1 1/2 tablespoons of bacon grease (drippings)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 teaspoons of poultry seasoning

Directions:

Place bread cubes in bowl.  In a saucepan heat the chicken broth, the oyster liquid and a teaspoon of butter until hot.  Pour over the bread cubes and mix well to ensure all bread cubes get wet.  Melt the other teaspoon of butter and the bacon grease on medium in a skillet and sauté celery and onions until soft.  Sprinkle poultry seasoning on bread mix, add the onions and celery (with the grease) and the oysters.  Mix well.  Pour into glass baking dish (8x11.5).  Bake at 350 until top is browned.

This is VERY good with giblet gravy!  YUM!

Minnie Virginia says she hopes you enjoyed her Christmas recipes, but now she’s done cooking and she’s going to relax!

Minnie Virginia Richards’ Lemon Nut Cake

This week I am posting Christmas recipes from my family. Enjoy!

My mother writes:

Lemon nut cake is the traditional family Christmas goody from my grandmother, but I don't know how far back this recipe may go in the family. Grandmother would beat the batter by hand with no mechanical tools. The aroma as this cake bakes alone brings back more great memories of my grandmother's kitchen, holiday table, and love.

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1 pound butter

4 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons baking powder

6 eggs

1 pound broken pecans

1 pound white raisins (golden raisins)

2 ounce bottle lemon extract

Directions:

Cream sugar and butter until light. Add eggs and mix well. Sift dry ingredients and add to first mixture a little at a time with the lemon extract. Have nuts and raisins floured and add to cake batter. Bake at 350 degrees in tube or Bundt pan until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Edna Earl Collings’ Gumdrop Cookies

This week I will post Christmas recipes from my family. Enjoy!

This recipe comes from the adoptive mother of my birth father.  It’s a cookie I think of when I think of Christmas!

Edna Earl Collings’ Gumdrop Cookies

Ingredients:

30 fruit sliced (jelly) candy, chopped (not spiced drops)

1 cup chopped pecans

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup Crisco (butter flavored)

1 1/2 cup brown sugar (dark is best)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

Directions:

Place flour, baking soda and salt in mixer and mix on slow.  Add brown sugar and continue mixing.  Add Crisco, vanilla extract and then eggs. 

With wood spoon mix in candies and pecans.

Drop a tablespoon an inch apart on silicon or greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for about 14 minutes, or until edges start to brown.

They are so yummy.  I can’t even explain how much I love them!

Minnie Virginia Richards’ Bourbon Balls

This week I will post Christmas recipes from my family.  Enjoy!

My great-grandmother made fantastic Christmas food, from what I hear.  Her Christmas spread was quite impressive.  My mother writes:

Holidays at my grandmother's house were always wonderful, but any time with my grandparents was wonderful. Of all of Grandmother's recipes for special occasions, this one for bourbon balls is unlike any other. It does not include chocolate. They are best prepared and sealed for a week or so. And, they weren't for the children.

Minnie Virginia Richard’s Bourbon Balls

Ingredients:

40 Nilla wafers

4 1/2 cups chopped pecans

4 1/2 cups raisins

4 1/2 cups whole dates (about 40)

1 1/2 cups bourbon

Powdered sugar

Directions:

Mix all but powdered sugar in food processor. Roll into 1 inch or so balls. Roll in powdered sugar. Place in airtight container.

Tips from Digging Up Your Family:

These can be eaten right away, but they are best after a week.

If the mix is too wet add more wafers.

If the mix is too dry add more bourbon.

REMEMBER:  These are not for children!