Chocolate Almond Roca Cookies

I made these rich candy-like cookies last year on a sunny Sunday before Christmas.  My daughters and grandchildren were here for lunch and I was looking for something to serve that would be “holly jolly”.   This delicious confection adapted from a recipe on Mennonite Girls Can Cook was perfect.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND ROCA COOKIES

•     12 long graham crackers
•     1-1/2 cups sliced almonds
•     1 cup butter (not margarine)
•     1 cup dark brown sugar
•     1-1/2 cups milk chocolate chips (Ghirardelli)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Line an 11×16 inch jelly roll pan (with lips to catch spills) with parchment paper.  Lay the graham crackers in the pan to fit snugly.  Sprinkle with almonds and set aside.

Place the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Bring to a full rolling boil – bubbles across the top surface of the mixture.  Pour hot mixture carefully over the almond/graham cracker base, spreading to cover all of the crackers and nuts.

Place in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until bubbly all over.  Remove from oven and sprinkle even with chocolate chips. Let cookies stand for a minute to melt the chocolate, then use a spatula to spread the chocolate in a thin layer.

Cool in the pan on a rack to room temperature.  Place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to harden chocolate topping.

Using the spatula, lift and break the cookies in random size pieces.

This makes a large batch of delicious, rich cookies.

 

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No-Bake Club Cookie Squares

This recipe is adapted from one on Delightful Country Cookin’.   It’s easy to mix and heat in just one pan and requires no baking – just 30 minutes of chilling time.  The squares are delicious – crispy with a sweet, creamy peanut butter topping.

NO-BAKE CLUB COOKIE SQUARES

• 24 Club crackers
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (3 graham strips)
• 2 Tblsp. undiluted evaporated milk
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup milk chocolate chips (Ghirardelli)
• 1/4 cup peanut butter chips

Butter an 8×8 inch pan

Line the bottom of a buttered 8x 8 inch baking pan with a single layer of 12 crackers; set aside.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat; add sugars, graham cracker crumbs and milk.  Heat over medium-high heat until sugars dissolve, stirring often – about 1 minute.  Spread over mixture crackers in pan.  Arrange another single layer of 12 crackers on top; set aside.

In the same medium saucepan combine peanut butter, chocolate chips and peanut butter chips and heat over low heat until melted, stirring until smooth and creamy.  Spread over crackers and chill about 30 minutes until firm.

Cut into 16 squares to serve.

Can be stored without refrigeration at temperatures under 75 degrees.

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Peanut Butter Cookies – A 1940s Recipe

One of my Christmas gifts this year was a small 4-½ x 6 inch leather bound book engraved “Cooking Recipes”, purchased at an antique mall in Sugar Creek, Ohio.  The pages are edged in gold and there are 10 index tabs for food categories.  

The real gold in this book, though, is the collection of handwritten recipes.  There aren’t a lot of recipes – just 25, 22 of which are desserts.  The book itself could have been from the 1930s, but I believe the recipes are from the 1945-1950 era.  This is based on a lot of recipes calling for shortening, for using the word “oleo” rather than margarine in most recipes and the attention given to oven temperatures.  I believe it’s post-World War II because of all of the sugar-laden desserts.

The handwriting is clear and ingredients are listed correctly, although most of the recipes give no idea of how the item is to be prepared, what kind of pan to use or how long to bake.  That’s why I’ve decided to make each of the recipes, using the products specified, and adding my own instructions.  I like to think that the woman from the 1940s kitchen (who would have been about my mother’s age) would enjoy having someone fuss around with these recipes again and turn out some delicious food for the family.

This is the very popular peanut butter cookie kids have been eating for generations.  Our book writer got this recipe from her friend, Shirley, and probably made the cookies a lot for her own family.  My version is half of the original recipe and makes about 2 dozen 3-inch diameter delicious, peanut-buttery cookies.

I have a small collection of vintage oven thermometers and although I love to see them displayed, I’m so grateful I have an oven with a reliable thermostat to do my baking.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES – A 1940s RECIPE

• ½ cup shortening
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1-½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• Dash salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Cream shortening, granulated sugar and vanilla.  Add egg, brown sugar and peanut butter.  Mix until smooth.

Whisk together the flour, soda and salt.

Add to creamed mixture and mix until well blended.

Form a measuring tablespoon of dough into a ball and place on ungreased baking sheet.

Press a cross-hatch pattern on top of the cookie with a fork dipped in flour.

The unbaked cookies will be 2 inches diameter.  Place cookies 2 inches apart on the sheet and bake @ 375 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes until golden brown.

Remove immediately to a wire rack to cool.

Yield:  Approximately 2 dozen 3-inch diameter cookies

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Filled Cookies – a 1940s Recipe

One of my Christmas gifts this year was a small 4-½ x 6 inch leather bound book engraved “Cooking Recipes”, purchased at an antique mall in Sugar Creek, Ohio.  The pages are edged in gold and there are 10 index tabs for food categories.  

The real gold in this book, though, is the collection of handwritten recipes.  There aren’t a lot of recipes – just 25, 22 of which are desserts.  The book itself could have been from the 1930s, but I believe the recipes are from the 1945-1950 era.  This is based on a lot of recipes calling for shortening, for using the word “oleo” rather than margarine in most recipes and the attention given to oven temperatures.  I believe it’s post-World War II because of all of the sugar-laden desserts.  

The handwriting is clear and ingredients are listed correctly, although most of the recipes give no idea of how the item is to be prepared, what kind of pan to use or how long to bake.  That’s why I’ve decided to make each of the recipes, using the products specified, and adding my own instructions.  I like to think that the woman from the 1940s kitchen (who would have been about my mother’s age) would enjoy having someone fuss around with these recipes again and turn out some delicious food for the family.

These are big, old-fashioned 3-½ inch diameter filled cookies – perfect for the lunchbox – and one is enough.

I was surprised at how good this cookie is.  It is crunchy, lemon-flavored and delicious with that surprise bite or two of raisin filling in the center.  This cookie was a big hit with my two taster-daughters.

FILLED COOKIES – A 1940s RECIPE

Cookie Dough:

• ½ cup shortening
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2-¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• ¼ cup milk
• ½ tsp. lemon flavoring or extract

Filling:

• ¾ cup raisins
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2-½ tsp. all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Lightly grease two cookie sheets

First, prepare the filling:  In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together the raisins, sugar and flour; add water.  Stir until mixture comes to a boil and continue stirring for about 8 minutes until mixture has thickened.  The mixture should look like thick jam.  Let mixture cool while preparing cookies.

To make the cookies:

In a large mixer bowl, cream shortening, sugar and egg.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add half of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat to incorporate dry ingredients.  Add the milk, beat to incorporate the milk, then add the remaining flour mixture and lemon flavoring.  Beat until mixed.

On a lightly floured board, roll dough to ¼ inch thickness and cut out with floured 2-½ inch cookie cutter.

Place half of the rounds on a lightly greased cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between rounds.  Place 1 teaspoon of raisin filling in the center of the cookie round.

Place another cookie round on top and press edges with a fork to seal and press tines into top of cookie to make 4 small holes..

Repeat with remaining dough/filling.

Bake for approximately 12-14 minutes @ 375 degrees F until the cookies are golden on brown on top and bottom.  Remove cookies to a rack to cool.

Yield about 14 large cookies (3-½ inches diameter).

A 1953 Birthday Gift

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Baby Ruth Bars–Cookie or Candy?

My husband, David, was so proud of the 40 years he worked for Good Samaritan Hospital (Cincinnati) and he was proud of anything that Good Sam did such as distributing a small cookbook in 1982.  I found this recipe for Baby Ruth Bars in the book and made them for him to take in his lunchbox.  It’s a cross between cookie and candy, but either way makes a nice snack.

BABY RUTH BARS

• 3-1/2 cups corn flakes
• 1/4 cup peanuts

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white Karo syrup
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Frosting:

• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (I like Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips)
• 1-1/2 Tblsp. peanut butter
• 2 Tblsp. butter

To make the bars: In a buttered 9×9 dish place the cornflakes.  Sprinkle the peanuts evenly over the top.  Set aside.

In a small pan over medium high heat combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar and Karo syrup.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil for one minute without stirring.

Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter.  Pour this over the cornflake/nut mixture.  Butter your hands and gently press down on the mixture.

To make the frosting: In a small saucepan over low heat, stir until melted the chocolate chips, 1-1/2 Tblsp. peanut butter and the butter.  Mix well and spread over mixture in baking dish.  It’s OK if some of the peanuts peek through.

Place on a wire rack and while still warm, cut into 16 bars and remove from baking dish.  If you forget to get them out and the caramel is sticking to the bottom, place the glass dish in the microwave for 30 seconds or so.

These are really good.

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Lillian’s Jam Balls

I’ve been making these cookies for years, adapted from a recipe in an old 1970s Redbook Cookbook.  It’s a good way to use up a little bit of jelly, jam or preserves left in the jar.

LILLIAN’S JAM BALLS

• 1 cup softened butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3-4 Tblsp. jam, jelly or preserves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Have an ungreased cookie sheet at hand

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar.  Add the salt.  Gradually add the flour, mixing well.

Shape a level tablespoon of dough into a ball.

Place balls one inch apart on the ungreased sheet.  Press each ball with the index finger, making an indentation.  Drop about 1/4 tsp. of jam, jelly or preserves into each indentation.

Bake @ 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes until cookies are lightly browned.

Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Yield:  Approximately 3 dozen cookies

Since my daughter and I like fresh cookies and I don’t want too many around to tempt us, I like to make a dozen cookies and then divide the rest of the dough into two containers to seal and either refrigerate or freeze for another time.  I like these Lock ‘n Lock containers, available on QVC.  They really do make and keep a tight seal.

In my recipe binder I have a note:  “First made on March 18, 1984 – excellent – very short.”

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Black Walnut Balls

Since I’m the only one in the family who likes black walnuts, I make these occasionally just for myself.  They are small, buttery and delicious with the flavor and crunch of black walnuts.  The brandy doesn’t hurt either.

BLACK WALNUT BALLS

• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tblsp. brandy
• 1 cup chopped black walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

Cream butter, sugar, salt and vanilla.  Stir in flour, brandy and nuts.  Shape into 3/4-inch balls using about 1/2 tsp. dough.  Place on ungreased cookie sheets, one inch apart.  Bake @ 325 degrees F for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

I have a note in my recipe binder:  “From Better Homes & Gardens Cookies & Candies. First made October 22, 1986 – excellent.”

Over 20 years later, I still find them to be “excellent”.

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Raisin Crisscross Cookies

I found this recipe in a publication I subscribed to in the 1980s called Blue Ribbon Gazette, a collection of prize winners from county and state fairs around the country.

RAISIN CRISSCROSS COOKIES

• 1/2 cup margarine (Imperial)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. lemon extract
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup raisins

Preheat oven  @ 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix margarine, sugar, egg and lemon extract.  In a medium bowl, blend flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.  Add gradually to the margarine mixture.  Stir in raisins.

Roll into 1″ balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2″ apart.  Flatten with a fork dipped in flour, making a crisscross design.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree  F oven for about 8 minutes until cookies are light golden brown on the bottom and at the very edges.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Yield:  Approximately 3 dozen cookies

Notes from my recipe binder:  “7/3/88 – Excellent, very lemony.  Don’t double recipe, don’t overbake.  I entered in Hamilton County Fair (Cincinnati) 1988.  I had a batch made up for the fair in the freezer and after sampling, the two girls wound up eating them all and I had to make some more for the fair.”

I don’t believe the cookies won anything at the fair, but the family likes them.

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A Snowy Day Retro Meal

My oldest daughter was here for supper in the middle of a weeklong siege of snow and I wanted to fix some kind of comfort food.  What says “comfort” more than a casserole and some cookies from the late 1940s-early 1950s?

The Casserole:  I loved to have lunch at my Aunt Mabel’s house when I was a kid.  Mabel shared a two-family house with my maternal grandmother and each week they and Mabel’s two young children got together with my mother, my sister, and me.   Mabel was something of a kid herself – in her early 20s, funny, good with young people, a tomboy in jeans long before girls had started to wear them in the mid-1940s.  She wasn’t particularly interested in cooking but she always served fun food – cold cuts, store-bought cookies, potato chips – and sometimes she would try out a popular recipe such as her Tuna Noodle Casserole.  My father wouldn’t touch anything that even looked like a casserole with its conglomeration of ingredients, so this was a real treat for us.  At Mabel’s, we enjoyed the food we never had at home, as well as all the latest magazines and, the best thing for me, the chance to sit with the three women and listen to them talk while the younger children went off to play.

This is my version of Mabel’s casserole:

LILLIAN’S TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE

• 6 oz. dry noodles (about 1-1/2 cups)
• One can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
• Several gratings of black pepper
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 2 Tblsp. chopped pimiento
• 2 Tblsp. dry minced onion
• 2 cans white albacore tuna (6 oz. each), drained &  flaked
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup crushed cheese crackers

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Spray or oil a 9″ baking dish

Cook the dry noodles in boiling, salted water until al dente (about 7 minutes).  Drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the soup, milk, sour cream, salt and pepper.  Mix well and stir in the peas, pimiento, onion, flaked tuna and grated cheese.  Stir in the drained noodles.  Pour into the prepared 9″ pan.  Sprinkle the top with the crushed cheese crackers.

Bake @ 400 degrees F for 20 minutes until the mixture is hot and bubbly.

Serve at once.

The Cookies: These cookies are especially good when they’re first baked and the chocolate is still soft.

PEANUT BUTTER BLOSSOMS

• 48 Hershey milk chocolate kisses
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 Tblsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Remove wrappers from chocolates.

Beat shortening/margarine and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended.  Add granulated sugar and brown sugar, beat until fluffy.  Add egg, milk and vanilla, blending well.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Gradually beat the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture.

Shape dough into one-inch balls.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2″ apart.  Bake @ 375 degrees F for approximately 8-10 minutes until cookies are lightly browned.  Remove from oven and immediately press a chocolate kiss in the center of each cookie.  Remove cookies to wire rack to cool.

Yield:  48 cookies

I would love to have just one more chance to sit around the table with those dear people, listen to them talk and enjoy Mabel’s casserole.

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Apricot Nut Cookies with Amaretto Icing

My youngest daughter is a busy stay-at-home mom who always finds time to get together with me on Fridays for lunch.  I try to make meals that are tasty, quick and easy, and reduced in fat and calories.  Here is the meal we had this week.

This week, I fixed an “un-diet” type meal, but adjusted the portions so my daughter could still stick to her Weight Watchers points.

This past week, I had watched Giada de Laurentiis on Food Network make some intruiging cookies.  I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand and thought I would try to make small cookies with just a smidgen of icing as dessert for my Friday lunch with Shannon.  These cookies are so delicious and a little bit of Amaretto icing goes a long way, especially for someone who has been dieting all week.  The only change I made to the ingredients was to make a smaller amount of icing.

APRICOT AND NUT COOKIES WITH AMARETTO ICING

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tblsp. granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 large egg
• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 2 Tblsp. pine nuts, toasted

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt until light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg.  Stir in the flour until just blended.  Mix in the apricots…

…almonds and pine nuts.

Divide the dough in half and form each into a 12″ long log.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove one log from refrigerator and divide in half.  Cut each half-portion into quarters and then each quarter into three 1/2″ slices.  Place slices on ungreased cookie sheet, leaving 1-1/2″ to 2″ between each slice.

Bake @ 350 degrees F for about10-12 minutes, until cookies are golden brown.  Remove to rack to cool.  Then place a dab of Amaretto icing on each cookie.

AMARETTO ICING

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2-3 Tblsp. Amaretto

Add Amaretto to sugar gradually, stirring until mixture is of a drizzling consistency.

Yield:  48 small cookies

Nutrition per DietPower for one cookie:  58 calories, 2.71 gr fat, 10.2 mg cholesterol, 21.4 mg sodium, 27.2 mg potassium, 7.52 g carbohydrates, 0.243 g fiber, 0.806 g protein

Weight Watchers count for each cookie:  2 Points/Plus

Refrigerate or freeze remaining log and icing to make fresh cookies another time.  Diet-wise, it’s better not to have too many of these on hand at a time – they’re just too hard to resist.

For our entree, I chose an old favorite, (see my recipe here -  Impossibly Easy Seafood Pie and made individual portions equaling 1/6 of the recipe.

Nutrition per 1/6 of Impossibly Easy Seafood Pie, using low-fat Bisquick and 2% milk:  208 calories, 13.6 g fat, 134 mg cholesterol, 251 mg sodium, 71.9 mg potassium, 8.58 g carbohydrates, 0 g fiber, 12.5 g protein

Weight Watchers count for 1/6 of Impossibly Easy Seafood Pie:  6 PointsPlus

This meal was a good example of how we can enjoy some of our favorite foods so long as we watch the portions.

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