These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...
Biscuits, cookies, cranberry salad and more.... Grandma's
best holiday recipes!
By Cynthia Bowan
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I’ve been writing about food professionally for over 20 years now, and
holidays are the hardest things to write about.
It’s not the recipes – there
are gazillion tons of those out there for each and every holiday that comes
around. And it’s not about being with or without family – I’ve done that on
several occasions. I’m not sure what I can point to that frustrates me these
days…
Maybe it’s just a case of good old
writer’s block. Heaven knows, I love Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. Oh, not the downsides (holiday cooking,
cleaning, shopping and extra things like decorating and sending out cards).
But when all is said and done, and the
day/event is finally here, the turkey or ham or whatever main dish is in the
oven and the table set…and the men are huddled around the television while the
women visit in the kitchen…
These are a few of my favorite things… <GBG>
As always, food brings us together, and
creates a form of bonding. Serving dishes that our parents, grandparents and
extended family always served is what makes it all come together to create
memories that we will cherish. Cherish indeed, despite our laughing or
embarrassment.
I would give anything, if I could have
another Thanksgiving or Christmas with my parents or my in-laws. Or for that
matter, I would love to have one of these holidays with my current extended
family. All too often, when parents have gotten up in years and then pass
away, the family fractures.
Between us, my husband and I have cousins
in California, South Carolina, Georgia Texas, Florida; Louisiana and West
Virginia; nieces and nephews here in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Maryland
and the D.C. area. My sister lives in Ligonier, about 1 ½ hr. from me, while
my brother is California. Merrill’s one brother is in Baden, PA, and his
other in Beaver, PA. In fact, I know we have other kinfolk in other states,
but am not sure exactly how many or where. And even with those closer to us,
getting together is rare.
Maybe the good old days really were just
that – at least, as far as family and friends go.
Ah well…I am here in North Carolina again,
waiting for Merrill, Bethany and her Tony to join Doug and myself. The
weather has been lovely, and we have a great 24 lb. turkey to meet the oven
shortly.
But no matter what dishes I try to
recreate, they never quite seem the same. Oh, they’re good but - just
somehow, not the same as Mom’s or Grandma’s.
And with that in mind, since I have
already shared most of my family’s recipes in other columns here, I am sharing
some delicious new recipes from other grandmothers. I hope you will Enjoy! it
and as always, CYH – consider yourself hugged.
Grandma's Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
Put all ingredients except
flour in a bowl and mix with electric beater. Slowly add flour while still
mixing with beater. (Keep beater on medium speed until flour is mixed in
somewhat, then mix at high speed until batter is a smooth, creamy mix.)
Using a large spoon mix
the batter for 2 minutes to make sure all dry ingredients are mixed in. Using
a smaller spoon take little portions, the size of the cookie you would like,
and put then one by one on a cookie sheet.
When sheet is filled with
cookie batter, put pan into preheated oven at 375F and let cookies cook for
about 10 10-12 minutes or until cookies are light, golden brown.
Remove
from oven, let cool, using spatula, take cookies off sheet, serve, and enjoy.
Grandma's Basic Stuffing
3 1/2 cups
stale bread crumbs or small cubes
3/4 cup finely cut celery
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 cup hot chicken broth - plus
Sauté celery
and onion in butter. Add seasonings and bread. Mix well. Pour broth over and
mix again. If mixture seems too dry, add a little more broth and mix well. Cool
completely before stuffing turkey or chicken (putting the hot stuffing into the
cold bird is what causes problems...)
You can also put the stuffing in a dish, cover with foil and bake 25 -30
minutes, putting it into the oven as the bird is almost done and continue to
bake for a few minutes so stuffing will be hot.
Grandma's Cranberry Salad
1qt or package cranberries,
ground
2 lb. large red grapes
1 c chopped nuts
1/2 lb.
small marshmallows
1 pint whipping cream (or large Cool Whip)
1 c sugar
Pour sugar over
ground cranberries and let set one hour to overnight. Add grapes, nuts, and
marshmallows and mix well. Add whipped cream before serving.
Grandma's Biscuits
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt (I use Kosher)
6 tsp baking soda
12 T cold butter (must be cold)
1 1/2 cups milk
Sift all dry ingredients.
Make a well in center and cut in butter then add milk. Remove from bowl after
dough is firm; discard remaining flour. Roll out and cut biscuits, or shape
into balls and place on sheet. Bake 350 until golden brown.
Grandma's Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie
Cookies
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsalted butter or shortening, softened
1 egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4cup sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup golden raisins, optional
Icing
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Water, as needed, to make soft icing consistency or glaze that holds
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Line two stacked baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream the
sugar and butter (or shortening) until fluffy. Add in egg, vanilla, pumpkin,
and sour cream and blend well.
Fold in dry ingredients
and raisins. Drop in large amounts (abut 2 – 3 inches apart) on the baking
sheet.
Bake 15-17 minutes until
edges are browned and cookies are just beginning to color or get barely
golden. Cool well before icing.
In a small bowl, mix glaze
ingredients. Smear over almost totally cooled cookies and let set. These
freeze well.
If you want these more
like flat mini layers cakes - chill the dough and double or triple up the
batter, per cookie, and spread out slightly, with wet hands.
Makes about 24 cookies
Grandma's Cinnamon Buns
¾ cup milk
⅓ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup shortening
2 pkg. yeast
½ cup warm
2 eggs, well beaten
4 cups sifted all purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoon good quality cinnamon
½ cup melted butter
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
½ cup chopped nuts
Scald milk. Add sugar,
salt and shortening and cool to lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in water, with 1 tsp.
sugar. Stir in lukewarm milk mixture. Add eggs and 2 cups flour and beat until
smooth. Stir in remaining flour. Turn dough out on lightly floured board and
knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough in greased bowl and brush top with
soft shortening. Cover, let rise in warm place (85 F.) until double in bulk.
Divide dough in half. Roll
out each half into a rectangle, about 14 x 9". Brush lightly with butter.
Combine 3/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the two rectangles.
Roll up as for jelly roll to make a roll 9" long. Cut each roll into 9 equal
pieces.
Pour 1/2 cup melted butter
into two 9-inch layer cake pans or three 8-inch layer pans. Combine brown
sugar and nuts and sprinkle evenly over melted butter in pans. Place rolls,
cut side, up in prepared pans. Cover. Let rise in warm place until double in
bulk, about one hour. Bake in moderate oven (350 F) for about 30 minutes.
Invert pan and allow pan to stay over rolls for a minutes so syrup runs down
sides of rolls. Remove pan. Makes 18 rolls.
By Cynthia Bowan
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Grandma's Sugar Cookies | Grandma's
Basic Stuffing | Grandma's Cranberry
Salad
Grandma's Biscuits |
Grandma's Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie Cookies
Grandma's Cinnamon Buns
