The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) Part 63

LITTLE PLUM CAKES.

One cup of sugar and half a cup of b.u.t.ter beaten to a smooth cream; add three well-beaten eggs, a teaspoonful of vanilla extract, four cups of sifted flour, one cup of raisins and one of currants, half of a teaspoonful of baking soda dissolved in a little water, and milk enough to make a stiff batter; drop this batter in drops on well-b.u.t.tered tins and bake in a _quick_ oven.

JUMBLES.

Cream together two cups of sugar and one of b.u.t.ter, add three well-beaten eggs and six tablespoonfuls of sweet milk, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, flavor to taste, flour enough to make into a soft dough; do not roll it on the paste-board, but break off pieces of dough the size of a walnut and make into rings by rolling out rolls as large as your finger, and joining the ends; lay them on tins to bake, an inch apart, as it rises and spreads; bake in a _moderate_ oven. These jumbles are very delicate and will keep a long time.

WINE JUMBLES.

One cup of b.u.t.ter, two of sugar, three eggs, one wine-gla.s.s of wine, one spoonful of vanilla and flour enough to roll out. Roll as thin as the blade of a knife and cut with an oval cutter. Bake on tin-sheets in a quick oven until a dark brown. These will keep a year if kept in a tin box and in a dry place.

COCOANUT JUMBLES.

Grate one large cupful of cocoanut; rub one cupful of b.u.t.ter with one and a half cupfuls of sugar; add three beaten eggs, whites and yolks separately, two tablespoonfuls of milk and five cupfuls of sifted flour; then add by degrees the grated nut, so as to make a stiff dough, rolled thin and cut with a round cutter, having a hole in the middle. Bake in a quick oven from five to ten minutes.

PHILADELPHIA JUMBLES.

Two cups of sugar, one cup of b.u.t.ter, eight eggs beaten light; essence of bitter almond or rose to taste; enough flour to enable you to roll them out.

Stir the sugar and b.u.t.ter to a light cream, then add the well-whipped eggs, the flavoring and flour; mix well together, roll out in powdered sugar in a sheet a quarter of an inch thick; cut into rings with a jagging-iron and bake in a quick oven on b.u.t.tered tins.

ALMOND JUMBLES.

Three cupfuls of soft sugar, two cupfuls of flour, half a cupful of b.u.t.ter, one teacupful of loppered milk, five eggs well beaten, two tablespoonfuls of rose-water, three-quarters of a pound of almonds, blanched and chopped _very_ fine, one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in boiling water.

Cream b.u.t.ter and sugar; stir in the beaten yolks the milk, flour, rose-water, almonds and, lastly, the beaten whites very lightly and quickly; drop in rings on b.u.t.tered paper and bake at once.

FRUIT JUMBLES.

Two cups of sugar, one cup of b.u.t.ter, five cupfuls of flour, five eggs, one small teacupful of milk, in which dissolve half a teaspoonful of soda; cream the b.u.t.ter, add the sugar, cream again; then add yolks of eggs, the milk, beaten whites and flour; a little cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ground cloves and one-quarter of a pound of currants, rolled in flour.

COOKIES.

One cup of b.u.t.ter, two cups of sugar, a _small_ teacupful of sweet milk, half a grated nutmeg and five cups of sifted flour, in which there has been sifted with it two teaspoonfuls of baking powder; mix into a soft dough and cut into round cakes; roll the dough as thin as pie crust. Bake in a quick oven a light brown. These can be made of sour milk and a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in it, or sour or sweet cream can be used in place of b.u.t.ter.

Water cookies made the same as above, using water in place of milk.

Water cookies keep longer than milk cookies.

FAVORITE COOKIES.

One cup of b.u.t.ter, one and a half cups of sugar, one-half cup of sour milk one level teaspoonful of soda, a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg Flour enough to roll; make quite soft. Put a tablespoonful of fine sugar on a plate and dip the tops of each as you cut them out. Place on b.u.t.tered tins and bake in a quick oven a light brown.

FRUIT COOKIES.

One cupful and a half of sugar, one cupful of b.u.t.ter, one-half cup of sweet milk, one egg, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, three tablespoonfuls of English currants or chopped raisins. Mix soft and roll out, using just enough flour to stiffen sufficiently. Cut out with a large cutter, wet the tops with milk and sprinkle sugar over them. Bake on b.u.t.tered tins in a quick oven.

CRISP COOKIES. (Very Nice.)

One cup of b.u.t.ter, two cups of sugar, three eggs well beaten, a teaspoonful of soda and two of cream of tartar, spoonful of milk, one teaspoonful of nutmeg and one of cinnamon. Flour enough to make a soft dough just stiff enough to roll out. Try a pint of sifted flour to begin with, working it in gradually. Spread a little sweet milk over each and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a quick oven a light brown.

LEMON COOKIES.

Four cups of sifted flour, or enough for a stiff dough, one teacupful of b.u.t.ter, two cups of sugar, the juice of one lemon and the grated peel from the outside, three eggs whipped very light. Beat thoroughly each ingredient, adding, after all is in, a half teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a tablespoonful of milk. Roll out as any cookies and bake a light brown. Use no other wetting.

COCOANUT COOKIES.

One cup grated cocoanut, one and one-half cups sugar, three-fourths cup b.u.t.ter, one-half cup milk, two eggs, one large teaspoonful baking powder, one-half teaspoonful extract of vanilla and flour enough to roll out.

DOUGHNUTS OR FRIED CAKES.

Success in making good fried cakes depends as much on the _cooking_ as the mixing. In the first place, there should be boiling lard enough to free them from the bottom of the kettle, so that they swim on the top, and the lard should never be so hot as to smoke or so cool as not to be at the boiling point; if it is, they soak grease and are spoiled.

If it is at the right heat, the doughnuts will in about ten minutes be of a delicate brown outside and nicely cooked inside. Five or six minutes will cook a cruller. Try the fat by dropping a bit of the dough in first; if it is right, the fat will boil up when it is dropped in. They should be turned over almost constantly, which causes them to rise and brown evenly. When they are sufficiently cooked, raise them from the hot fat and drain them until every drop ceases dripping.

CRULLERS OR FRIED CAKES.

One and a half cupfuls of sugar, one cupful of sour milk, two eggs, two scant tablespoonfuls of melted b.u.t.ter, half a nutmeg grated, a large teaspoonful of cinnamon, a teaspoonful of salt and one of soda; make a little stiffer than biscuit dough, roll out a quarter of an inch thick, and cut with a fried-cake cutter, with a hole in the centre. Fry in hot lard.

These can be made with sweet milk and baking powder, using two heaping teaspoonfuls of the baking powder in place of soda.

RAISED DOUGHNUTS.

Old-fas.h.i.+oned "raised doughnuts" are seldom seen nowadays, but are easily made. Make a sponge as for bread, using a pint of warm water or milk, and a large half cupful of yeast; when the sponge is very light, add half a cupful of b.u.t.ter or sweet lard, a coffeecupful of sugar, a teaspoonful of salt and one small teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little water, one tablespoonful of cinnamon, a little grated nutmeg; stir in now two well-beaten eggs, add sifted flour until it is the consistency of biscuit dough, knead it well, cover and let rise; then roll the dough out into a sheet half an inch thick, cut out with a very small biscuit-cutter, or in strips half an inch wide and three inches long, place them on greased tins, cover them well and let them rise before frying them. Drop them in very hot lard. Raised cakes require longer time than cakes made with baking powder. Sift powdered sugar over them as fast as they are fried, while warm. Our grandmothers put allspice into these cakes; that, however, is a matter of taste.

BAKERS' RAISED DOUGHNUTS.

Warm a teacupful of lard in a pint of milk; when nearly cool add enough flour to make a thick batter and add a small cupful of yeast; beat it well and set it to rise; when light work in gradually and carefully three cupfuls of sugar, the whipped whites of six eggs, half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a spoonful of milk, one teaspoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon and half of a nutmeg grated; then work in gradually enough flour to make it stiff enough to roll out; let it rise again and when very light roll it out in a sheet an inch thick; cut into rounds; put into the centre of each round a large Sultana raisin, seeded, and mold into perfectly round b.a.l.l.s; flatten a little; let them stand a few minutes before boiling them; have plenty of lard in the pot and when it boils drop in the cakes; when they are a light, brown take them out with a perforated skimmer; drain on soft white paper and roll, while warm, in fine powdered sugar.

_Purcell's Bakery, New York City._

CRULLERS OR WONDERS.