Mary at the Farm and Book of Recipes Compiled during Her Visit Part 57

Three eggs (whites only), 3/4 pound of pulverized sugar, 1/2 pound of almond paste (which may be bought ready prepared). Beat eggs very stiff, add other ingredients. Drop teaspoonfuls on a baking sheet and bake in a moderate oven 15 or 20 minutes. Macaroons prepared from this recipe are delicious and resemble those sold by confectioners.

"HONIG KUCHEN" (HONEY CAKES)

Two pounds of flour, 1/2 pound of b.u.t.ter, 2/3 pound of almonds, 2 pounds of honey in liquid form, the grated yellow rind of one lemon, 1/2 teaspoonful of cloves, 1/2 teaspoonful of cinnamon, 1 ounce of hartshorn, dissolved in a small quant.i.ty of water. Boil together honey and b.u.t.ter, remove from fire, and when mixture has cooled add the hartshorn, coa.r.s.ely chopped almonds and flour. Allow this mixture to stand several days, roll out 1/3 inch thick. Cut in small round cakes, place a whole almond in centre of each cake. Bake a light brown in a moderate oven.

FRAU SCHMIDT'S MOLa.s.sES SNAPS

Two cups of New Orleans mola.s.ses, 1 cup of lard, 1 tablespoonful of ginger, 1 teaspoonful of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoonful of cloves, 1/2 a grated nutmeg, 1 tablespoonful of saleratus dissolved in a small quant.i.ty of hot water. Add enough flour to form a _very_ stiff dough.

Stand dough aside until the following day, when roll out very thin on a well-floured bake-board. Cut with a small round cake cutter and bake in a hot oven. These are good, cheap small cakes.

HICKORY NUT CAKES

One cup of hickory nut meals, 1 cup of pulverized sugar, 1 egg, a pinch of salt, 2 teaspoons of flour. Mix all ingredients together.

Drop small pieces on a sheet-iron and bake.

"LEBKUCHEN" (AS THE PROFESSOR'S WIFE MADE THEM)

Two pounds of sugar, 8 large eggs, 3/4 pound of almonds (sh.e.l.led), 1/4 pound of citron, 1/4 of a pound each of candied orange and lemon peel, the grated yellow rind of one lemon, 4 teaspoonfuls of cinnamon, 1 teaspoonful allspice, about 2 pounds flour. Separate the eggs. Cream the yolks of eggs and sugar well together. Then add the almonds (which have been blanched by pouring boiling water over them, when the skins may be readily removed), the citron and lemon peel chopped fine. Then add 1 level teaspoonful of different spices. Then add the stiffly beaten whites of eggs, alternately, with the sifted flour. The recipe called for two pounds of flour, but "Frau" Schmidt said; "She was never able to use the whole amount, so she added just enough flour to prevent the mixture spreading when dropped on the baking sheet by tablespoonfuls."

FRUIT JUMBLES

Two cups sugar, 3 eggs (beaten separately), 1 cup b.u.t.ter, 1 cup milk, 3-1/2 cups flour, 3 teaspoonfuls baking powder, 1/4 of nutmeg, grated, 1 cup currants. Mix all together and bake in a broad, shallow pan.

This is similar to Spanish Bun. When cake is cooled, but not cold, cut in two-inch squares or diamonds before removing from the pan in which the cake was baked.

BROWN "PFEFFERNUSSEN"

For these German cakes Frau Schmidt used the following: 3 pounds of flour, 2 pounds of sugar syrup, 1/8 teaspoonful of black pepper, 1/4 pound of lard, 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom powder, 1/4 pound of b.u.t.ter, 1/2 teaspoonful of cloves, 1/2 pound of brown sugar and 2 eggs.

Use as much "Hirschhorn Salz" as can be placed on the point of a knife ("Hirschhorn Salz" translated is carbonate of ammonia and is used for baking purposes). Allow the syrup to heat on the range. Skim off the top. When syrup has cooled mix all ingredients together and stand aside for one week or longer, when form the dough into small b.a.l.l.s size of a hickory nut. Place on greased pans and bake half hour in a slow oven.

SMALL OATMEAL CAKES

Cream together 1-1/2 cups of light brown sugar, 1/2 cup of lard and b.u.t.ter, mixed, and the yolk of one egg. Add 1/2 cup of hot water and 3/4 teaspoonful of saleratus (baking soda) dissolved in a little boiling water; add 2-1/2 cups of oatmeal the stiffly beaten white of egg and 2-1/2 cups of white flour. Mix all together. Dredge the bake board with flour, roll thin. Cut out with a small round cake cutter.

Sift a little flour over the well-greased baking sheets, on which place cakes and bake in a moderately hot oven.

FRAU SCHMIDT'S RECIPE FOR "GERMAN" ALMOND SLICES

1/2 pound sugar, 1/2 pound b.u.t.ter.

1/2 pound of seeded raisins (chopped).

1/2 pound blanched and chopped almonds.

1 teaspoonful cinnamon, 1 teaspoonful of allspice.

Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon.

2 cakes German sweet chocolate, grated.

3 whole eggs and 2 extra whites of eggs.

2 teaspoons baking powder, 3 cups flour.

1 tablespoon vanilla, 2 tablespoons of brandy.

Cream b.u.t.ter and sugar, add eggs, one at a time. Then add all the ingredients. Mix with flour. Flour bake board and take a handful of dough and roll with the hands in shape of a sausage roll. This quant.i.ty of dough makes eight rolls. Place on greased baking sheets a short distance apart, so they will not touch when being baked. Bake them in a _warm_, not hot, oven. Take from the oven when baked and cut while still warm into small slices across the roll. Slices should be about three-quarters of an inch wide. Cover the three sides with the following icing:

Beat together until smooth and creamy 1 cupful of sweet cream, adding enough confectioners' sugar to make it spread.

You may expedite the work by preparing raisins and almonds the day before.

The Professor's wife always served these almond cakes with coffee when she gave a "kaffee klatch" to her country friends.

"JULY ANN'S" GINGER SNAPS

Two cups of mola.s.ses (New Orleans), 1 cup of light brown sugar, 1 egg, 1 tablespoonful of soda, 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 1 tablespoonful of ginger and about 5-1/2 cups of flour.

Place mola.s.ses and sugar in a sauce-pan on the range, cook together until sugar is dissolved, no longer.

Mix the soda and vinegar and when foamy add to the sugar and mola.s.ses with a portion of the required amount of flour; then add the egg and the flour remaining. Turn dough out on a well-floured bake-beard, roll out into a thin sheet and cut out small cakes with a tin cutter. Bake in a moderately hot oven.

No shortening of any kind was used in these cakes. One hundred cakes were baked from the above ingredients.

COCOANUT COOKIES

Three cups of sugar, 1 cup of b.u.t.ter, 2 eggs, 1 cup of sweet milk, 1 cup of grated cocoanut, 2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Mix all together, sift flour with baking powder, add flour to form a dough just stiff enough to roll out, no more. Cut with a small tin cake cutter into round cakes and bake.

CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Two cups of white sugar, 1 cup of grated, unsweetened chocolate, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of b.u.t.ter, 2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Flavor with vanilla. Mix together sugar, b.u.t.ter and eggs, add melted chocolate and flour to stiffen, just enough flour being used to allow of their being cut with a cake cutter. The baking powder should have been sifted with a small amount of flour before adding.

SMALL "BELSNICKEL" CHRISTMAS CAKES

2 cups "A" sugar.

Pinch of salt.

1 cup melted b.u.t.ter.

1 teaspoonful baking soda.

4 eggs.

About 3 cups of flour.

Mix in just enough flour so the cake dough may be rolled out quite thin on a floured board, using as little flour as possible. Cut out small cakes and bake lightly in a moderately hot oven.

The b.u.t.ter, when melted, should fill one cup; pour it over the two cups of sugar in a bowl and beat until smooth and creamy; add the eggs, beating one at a time into the mixture. Sift the teaspoonful of baking soda several times through the flour before adding to the cake mixture. Stand this dough in a cold place one hour at least before cutting out cakes. No flavoring is used. Sift granulated sugar thickly over cakes before placing them in oven to bake.