The older you get, the more memories you collect. For most of us, not all of the memories which linger from childhood are good. The same can probably be said about the holidays.
Today we're going to dig for gold in the combined treasure chests of both. Technically speaking, I had 4 grandmothers from an early age. Each had their special recipes and their own...unique peccadilloes. Just the same, they brought special tastes to the holidays.
I'd like to share a few (copied in in their original form, mistakes, misspellings and bad grammar included:
The first recipe is for walnut butterballs which often get confused with wedding cookies and a German holiday cookie whose name I can't recall - neither of which taste the same to me. The person speaking in the instructions is my mother, who sent me the recipe. I've added a couple notes in brackets as well as an ingredient just to make sure you don't do what I did, checking the ingredient list and then having to rush to the store because mother buried that last ingredient in the instructions.
Walnut Butterballs
- 1 1/2 c. Flour
- 1/2 c. Sugar
- 1 tsp salt (Or a dash)
- 3/4 c. Crushed (Chopped) Walnuts
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- [1-2 c powdered sugar in a ziplock bag]
Mix well [excluding powdered sugar].
Form into [ 1-inch] balls.
Place on ungreased cookiesheet. Bake at 350°. (Mine took about 20 minutes)
While still warm, cover with powdered sugar
Note: I chop the walnuts, Mom always crushed them with a rolling pin. She said it's best to make the balls small.I forgot a part; they are done when they are golden brown on the bottom.
The next recipe is my grandmother Wanda's Divinity - a long time favorite, but a bit tricky as it's humidity sensitive. They sell divinity here in the south, but it's not quite right. As it happens, I accidentally found a way to make this recipe right if your sweet tooth is patient enough. I'll include my discovery in the recipe.
Wanda's Divinity
- 3 c sugar
- 3/4 c light corn syrup
- 3/4 c water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white vinegar
- 3 egg whites
- 2 c pecans, coarsely chopped
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
In a 2-quart saucepan, mix the sugar, water, syrup and salt. Cook rapidly to 240 degrees on your candy thermometer (hard ball stage) Be sure to wipe down any sugar crystals that form on the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in cold water. Do this several times during the cooking process.
Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until foam. Add the vinegar and continue to beat until stiff. Be sure the syrup is still at 240 degrees, then very carefully pour about 1/3 of the hot syrup into the whites as you are beating them.
Keep beating the whites mixture. Return the balance of the syrup to the stove and continue to boil until 250 degrees. Pour syrup into the beating mixture.
As the candy becomes too stiff for the beater, remove and keep beating by hand until the mixture is creamy. Blend in the nuts and vanilla.
Drop candy by teaspoonfuls onto a greased pan. Let stand until well cooled and set. Use a spoon to place pieces of divinity in paper cups [or onto wax paper squares - see below] Dip your spoon in cold water if you're having sticking problems.
[Note: So here in Georgia I had a problem with my attempts to make divinity due to humidity. The candy came out too much like taffy (like the stuff they sell in packages). I laid out the taffyish divinity on large wax paper squares and let them sit for 24 hours. Unsure what else to do at that point, I used the wax paper to wrap them up like salt water taffy, crushing the candy a bit into a tootsie roll shape to make the wrapping easier. Lo and behold, unlike the other batches, when I came back to eat more about half a day later, they'd taken on the right consistency thanks to either the extra drying or the compressing or both. YYMV]
As I understand it, my grandmother Myrna wasn't fond of the most common version of pumpkin pie, rather preferring a version based more on custard. As a kid, I didn't really know there was a difference - only that it was good.
Myrna's Pumpkin Custard (Pie)
- 1 9" Pie Crust (instructions below)
- 1/2 c. Milk
- 1 tbsp Oleo [Margerine, Butter or Crisco]
- 1 c. Sugar
- 1 tsp salt (Or a dash)
- 2 eggs
- 1 c pumpkin
- blend 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, and a pinch of ground cloves (or use 1 tsp pumpklin pie spice)
(for 9 inch pie dish)
Make one crust
Scald 1 1/2 cup of milk on stove
Add dash of salt and 1 tbsp oleo
(to scald heat milk just till it bubbles DO NOT BOIL)
In bowl put 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 cup pumpkin and 1tsp piespice or (1tsp cinnamon 1/4tsp ginger a pinch of ground cloves) Mix all very well together Add hot milk slowly to other ingredients Pour into pie shell (DON'T splash on crust If you do that part of crust will burn) Bake at 350° It takes an hour or longer Insert knife into center if it comes out clean pie is done
Pie Crust
1 cup flour
1/2 1tsp salt
1/3 cup Crisco (or Oleo soft) (or butter) If you use Oleo crust will be harder to roll but I like it better
Mix together until dough is in pea size lumps (pastry blender or by hand) Add 1/3 cup cold water (add water slowly because sometimes less water is
necessary)
Mix very lightly less you mix it the flakier the pie crust Gather dough into ball then roll out on floured board If dough doesn't stick together add a bit more water Bake at 350°
Note: That's the way it was given to me, without punctuation.
It's in her own words except that I abbreviated the word's teaspoon and tablespoon and substituted the word pie spice for allspice because it seemed more clear.