Christmas Candies Day #4

Today I am going to put on Granny Mahakian's recipe of Peanut Brittle. Even though we all made this, Granny, just seemed to make it the best. Too many times mom failed, just wasn't her thing. But luckily I caught on and can make it!
This card was in mom's recipe box and as you will notice it is a card Granny gave to mom. It is in my mom's handwriting, as Granny always asked us to write on the cards ourselves so we could read our own writing.
As I read these instructions I don't think you might totally understand it, so I will be showing you how Granny sent me the instructions when I lived in Texas. Granny made peanut brittle ever since I can remember every Christmas. I starting making it from the early 1970's.


Peanut Brittle

2 cups sugar
1 cup clear corn syrup
1/2 cup water
Boil until it spins a thread - add 2 cups peanuts - cook until nuts pop open and syrup turned light golden brown. Turn out fire - add 1 teaspoon vanilla - 1 tablespoon butter - 2 teaspoon soda.
Stir quick and pour out on buttered pan or table - so it will have room to spread.



Here is the copy of the recipe in Granny's handwriting to me:


2 cups sugar
1 cup clear corn syrup (Karo is the kind we like best)
1/2 cup water
Boil all this together until hard cracked stage or until it spins a thread when you hold the spoon up and let the syrup run from the spoon. Now add 2 cups raw peanuts and stir and cook until the syrup turns just the slightest ting of amber color. Turn off fire and put in: 1 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir and then add 2 teaspoons baking soda and just stir until it foams, don't stir too much or you will ruin it. Just two or three stirs after you put in the soda. Pour out onto a buttered foil paper, the wide kind (meaning heavy duty foil). I think this is the trick is to not stir too much, although I will say I have stirred about 4 to 5 times before I pour it out. Just stir fast and get it poured out if you like the foam. Good luck!

Granny had a nice counter top that she would butter and pour this onto. I buttered a jelly roll pan heavily and this works for me, to be able to crack the brittle once it cools down.
I know that I have posted Granny's copy before, but I just wanted to show how sometimes when we copy down a recipe we write our own way, so we can understand the recipe. Also when I watch someone cook something, I will write down the recipe as I saw it being done.
Enjoy!!!

Christmas Candies Day #3

Making peanut fudge has been long done in our family, every Christmas since I can remember. Granny made the best peanut butter fudge and her recipe is here: http://mymomsfilebox.blogspot.com/2009/11/peanut-butter-divinity.html
The other recipe of my mom's is also there.
And my favorite one that I make, is also posted but I will put it here so that you won't have to keep clicking to the different spots. But first two more recipes that I have found in my mom's recipe box.

Now I realize that this recipe says divinity, but to me when my mom made it for the first, it tasted close to Granny's peanut butter fudge recipe, only a little fluffier. Yummy!
Peanut Butter Divinity
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
2 egg whites
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (mom used creamy)
In 2-quart saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup, and water. Bring to boiling. Cook to hard ball stage (260 degrees F), stirring only till sugar dissolves. In large mixer bowl beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Gradually pour syrup over egg whites, beating at high speed on electric mixer. Add peanut butter and beat till candy holds its shape, about 3 to 4 minutes. (Test candy by spooning a small amount onto waxed paper; mixture should "mound" rather than flatten out.) Quickly drop from a teaspoon onto waxed paper. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.


Peanut Butter Fudge
4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups milk or half & half
4 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
few grams salt (less than a pinch of salt)
Combine sugar, salt, milk and corn syrup in a saucepan. Cook to soft ball stage (236 degrees F). Cool to lukewarm and add peanut better and vanilla. Beat until creamy and pour into lightly buttered 8" square pan. Cut into squares when cool.
Makes approximately 1 pound.

This is my recipe I made before it came onto the marshmallow creme jar or the peanut butter chips bag. But it is like the chocolate fudge from the marshmallow creme jar, except I add extra peanut butter. I have made this recipe every Christmas time since Dec. 1991.

Peanut Butter Fudge



3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 package (10 ounces) peanut butter chips
2-4 tablespoons peanut butter
1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir together butter, sugar and milk in heavy 3 quart saucepan, bring to full boil stirring constantly. Boil 5 minutes over medium heat or until candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees F, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in peanut butter chips and peanut butter until melted.


Add remaining ingredients mix until well blended.


Pour into greased pan 9x13". Cool at room temperature, cut into squares. Makes about 3 pounds candy.

Christmas Candies Day #2

I don't remember mom making English Toffee, but she must have, as these recipes look like they have been used a lot. Maybe she did when I was already out of the house and made them for Karen and Kevin, or she just made and ate it when we weren't around, hmmm.....just kidding, mom. The second recipe is from a neighbor who lived across the street from us, during the late 60's and early 70's. Mary Jane and her family lived there while I was in 8th grade, high school and a few years after I moved out.


English Toffee
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 cup butter (2 cubes)
Add later
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 - 6 ounce package semi-sweetened or milk chocolate chips
Stir sugar, water and butter together in a large frying pan.
Bring to a boil for 10 minutes or longer stirring occasionally.
Mixture should turn about the color of peanut butter.

Remove from heat, add vanilla.
Pour onto greased cookie sheet, let cool a little, sprinkle bits of chocolate on top.
Wait 5 minutes until chocolate chips are soft. Spread with knife. Cool, crack and eat!




English Toffee (from kitchen of Mary Jane)
1 cup butter melted in sauce pan
Add 1 1/3 cup white sugar, 1 tablespoon Karo (light corn syrup), 3 tablespoons water.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, watch closely.
When candy reaches 300 degrees F, remove from heat, stir in 1 cup chopped nuts.
Pour onto buttered cookie sheet (13x9").
Cool, only until candy can be handled.

Remove from cookie sheet.
Place on wax paper on back of cookie sheet.
In the meantime melt 1 - 13 ounce Hershey bar and spread over toffee.
Spread with chopped nuts.
Cool, invert with wax paper and repeat Hershey process.


Toffee
This recipe seems to be like the first one (above) only with nuts. I will let you figure out my mom's writing of this recipe. I know what it says, I just thought you might enjoy reading it. Do or you mom write out recipes this way? I do, because I know what it means. I try now to rewrite some of them, so that it is easier to past down to future generations.


Enjoy!

Christmas Candies Day #1

Wanted to get these recipes on for this Christmas season and not let another go by without them.
Merry Christmas and enjoy!

As I was getting ready to type up this recipe, I noticed that it was missing some words, as this was in two pieces. (You will noticed that I taped it up.) Well, I decided maybe, just maybe the little tiny strip of words might still be in the recipe box. Low and behold it was! So I was able to get it taped back in place and type out the recipe. I did google search this recipe and didn't find it anywhere, so I am very glad that we aren't missing any of the words. Hooray! I do remember my mom making and loving any kind of divinity. Adding a wintergreen flavor every so often was delicious! She mostly made the recipes from Granny or the C&H company. Recipes below this one. Hope you enjoy all three.


Wintergreen Divinity
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon wintergreen extract
1/4 cup egg whites (2 average-size eggs)
Combine sugar, syrup and water. Cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat, bring to boil. Cover; boil without stirring for 3 minutes. Uncover; put in candy thermometer (if one is used), and continue cooking to265 degrees F, or until a small amount dropped in cold water forms a very firm ball. Remove from heat. Add salt and extract to egg whites and beat until stiff but not dry. Slowly beat in hot syrup, then continue beating until mixture almost holds its shape but is still glossy. (Mom also added a drop of green food coloring to tell this apart from the vanilla flavor divinity.) Turn into an 8-inch square pan lined with waxed paper. Cool, then cut into squares with a warm knife.


This is a recipe that my mom copied from Granny's house. Granny and mom were exceptional good cooks!

Divinity
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup Karo syrup (clear kind)
1/2 cup water
2 egg whites - beaten
vanilla
Cook syrup until softball stage - Beat in half into egg whites on mixer - Cook rest to hard boil stage and add to egg white mixture.
Add add nuts.
*Notes: the egg whites should be beaten stiff. On the vanilla, it is 1 teaspoon. I would suggest 1 cup chopped nuts, mom liked pecans best.




C&H Divinity
2 cups C and H Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon C and H Powdered Sugar
In saucepan mix first 4 indgredients. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook to 260 degrees (hard-ball stage). Meanwhile, beat egg whites until stiff. Gradually pour hot syrup into whites, beating constantly. Beat until candy begins to hold its shape. Beat in vanilla and powdered sugar. (This amount of powdered sugar makes a real impovement in texture.) Drop from teaspoon onto waxed paper or pour into buttered pan. Let stand several hours until firm. Store in airtight container. Makes about 50 pieces.

Dimples Prune Cake

I just remember this recipe as Prune Cake, so Dimples must be a name of a relative. I wonder who is Dimples. This is a family favorite at Christmas time, Granny would always have a lot of treats for us to eat!



Dimples Prune Cake

This might be an easier way of understanding the recipe:
Grease and flour 2 loaf pans, set aside.
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, divided
1 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon soda
1 cup prunes, cooked and pitted
1 cup nuts, chopped
Instructions:
In a small bowl dissolve the soda into the buttermilk, set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and salt.
Make a well in the center and add egg yolks, oil and sugar and just whisk this part.
Now add the buttermilk and soda.
Beat the 3 egg whites and fold into the above mixture.
Fold in the prunes and nuts.
Bake in a preheat oven at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Check with toothpick and make sure it comes out clean.

No-Bake Old-Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie

I thought I would just go ahead and get some recipes on, even though I haven't made them up yet, someday........


No-Bake Old-Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie
2 envelopes Know Unflavored Gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1 can (15 ounces) cream of coconut
1 cup (1/2 pint) light cream or half and half
3 eggs
9-inch baked pastry shell or graham cracker crust
4 cups whipped cream or whipped topping
2 tablespoons coconut, toasted


In small saucepan, sprinkle unflavored gelatin over cold water; let stand 1 minute. Sitr over low heat until gelatin is completely dissolved, about 3 minutes.
In blender or food processor, process cream of coconut, light cream and eggs until blended. While processing, through feed cap, gradually add gelatin mixture and process until blended. Chill blender container until mixture is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Turn into pastry shell; chill until firm, about 3 hours. Top with whipped cream and coconut. Makes about 12 servings.

Mom's Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

This recipe is not in my mom's box, but I wanted to put it on, as it is her recipe. I also put it on my other blog. Vanilla ice cream was a must every summer. We did have the old hand-crank freezer and then when electric freezers came out we switch over to that. Things have changed since the way I make it, so will be putting on that recipe also. Before mixing this up mom would put the mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer to get good and cold. I do remember it was so good, that I started to eat it too fast and would get brain freeze. Of course, we would fight over who got to lick the paddles. Yummy, stuff!

Home-made Vanilla Ice Cream

12 eggs, whole

1 quart cream

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Put all this in a mixer and mix until eggs are dissolved.

Immediately put in ice cream freezer and crank away until done.

*Note: back then we didn't worry about salmonella, so the the eggs were not heated up. This is why I don't use the recipe anymore.

Here is the recipe I have used for about the last 10 years.

French Vanilla Ice Cream

2 cups whole milk

1 vanilla bean

6 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream, chilled

In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, bring the milk and vanilla bean just to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat. Remove the vanilla bean from the milk. Using a small sharp knife, split open the bean and scrape the seeds into the milk. Discard the pod.

In the top of a double boiler, whisk the yolks with the sugar for 3 to 4 minutes, or until pale yellow. Gradually whisk in the hot milk. Place the top of the double boiler or the bowl over a pan of simmering (not boiling) water and cook, whisking constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove the custard from the water and stir in the cream.

Chill the mixture for 30 minutes, then pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.

Makes about 1 quart.

This is a basic French vanilla custard type ice cream. If you just want a vanilla type ice cream you can use 3 whole eggs and follow the same instructions, making sure the mixture as it cooks, that the back of the spoon has a coating on it. Everything else is the same.

Enjoy!!!