/ by Hali Wyatt
Pulling out a handwritten recipe each year is simply nostalgic. And, holding something with a loved one’s handwriting on it is an irreplaceable experience, reminding us of who wrote it more than anything.
We asked the atHome team to take a trip down memory lane and share their favorite family recipes. Interestingly enough, we found that they were overwhelmingly baked goods, making this story all the more sweet. These recipes are like family heirlooms and we could not be more delighted to share them, from our table to yours.
Persimmon Pudding
Editor-in-Chief Lynn Greenlaw
My Aunt Do (short for Dolores) was always a favorite of mine. She made me adorable ragdolls and tons of clothes for all my dolls. She and my Uncle Dick were avid campers who enjoyed traveling the back roads of Indiana, always looking for a camping site in the fall that had persimmon trees. They would collect a few for my aunt’s special persimmon pudding. It was a dessert that made the holiday season extra special and will always remain a treasured memory.
1 c. persimmon pulp
1 c. sugar
1 c. flour
½ tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
½ c. sour milk
1 c. sweet milk
Method:
Mix all ingredients. Bake in a lightly greased pan (about 8” square) for about one hour, at 350 degree. Serve with following sauce.
Pudding sauce
1 c. brown sugar
3 Tbsp flour
2 c. water
1 tsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
Method:
Combine the sugar, flour, and water in a small pan. Cook until thick and smooth, then add butter and vanilla.
Tip: Cutting this recipe in half makes enough for the pudding.
Apple Sauce Muffins
Julia Sibley-Jones
A month after I started graduate school, my grandmother sent me two tiny muffin tins and an index card, now smudged and stained, with this handwritten recipe and the container labeled ‘baking soda’ on masking tape that I still use.
2 c. sugar
1 c. oleo
2 eggs
2 c. apple sauce
2 tsp baking soda
4 c. plain flour
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp allspice
1 c. chopped nuts
1 tsp vanilla
Method:
Cream together sugar and oleo. Add two eggs. Beat well, then add applesauce, to which baking soda has been added. Next add dry ingredients which have been mixed together. Fold in chopped nuts and vanilla. Bake in greased muffin tins at 400 for 10-15 min, or until lightly brown. Batter can be kept in refrigerator for about 2 weeks, using as needed — or — baked muffins can be frozen.
Almond Toffee Biscotti
John Nolan
I was not a coffee drinker until graduate school when I met my wife, Anne. She challenged herself to create a recipe that would allow us to have freshly baked biscotti with the ingredients we liked.
6 Tbsp butter
1 c. sugar (sometimes I use brown sugar)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
2 eggs
2 ½ c. flour
½ c. slivered almonds
½ c. toffee chips
2 Tbsp almond flavoring (not extract)
Method:
Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs. Add the baking powder and baking soda, making sure they’re mixed well in the batter. Add flour 1 cup at a time. Then gradually add ¼ at a time to get the right consistency. Sometimes it only needs another ¼ cup of flour (making it just 2 ¼ total) and sometimes it takes closer to 3 cups. It depends on the quality of butter sometimes and the size of eggs. Then mix in the almonds and then the toffee chips.
The dough should still be sticky but firm to the touch. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a ball and cut in half. Then on a cookie sheet, roll out one half of the dough into a log. Press to make a rectangle about 3-5 inches wide and about ¾ inch thick. Do the same to the other half of the dough.
Bake at 375 for 22 minutes. Remove from oven. Let it cool for a bit, if you mess with it too soon, the toffee chips will cause the biscotti to crumble. Then slice at an angle. You should be able to get 18-20 slices altogether.
Turn the biscotti on its side and bake 8-9 minutes at 325 degrees. What you’re supposed to do is flip the biscotti and bake on the other side. I’m usually too lazy. I bake it at 325 for about 12-15 minutes on one side and then turn the oven off and keep the biscotti in there for a while. The longer you leave it baking the second time (on lower heat) the crunchier it gets.
Banana Bread
Leigh Savage
One of my earliest memories is sitting on the floor in my living room, watching the Nancy Welch Show with my mom. This is the banana bread recipe she jotted down during an episode some 40 years ago.
1 stick butter
1 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
4 Tbsp buttermilk
3 bananas – ripened and mashed
½ c. sifted all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
⅛ tsp salt
½ c. chopped nuts
Method:
Cream butter, sugar, and egg together. Add additional ingredients. Grease and flour loaf pan. Bake at 325-350 degrees for 40 minutes to an hour.
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
M. Linda Lee
Every Thanksgiving, since my mother passed away in 1976, I have made this pie. Because the filling is a chiffon, lightened with egg whites, the pie is not baked, except the shell. Making the custard is a labor of love, one which evokes fond memories of my mother.
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
¾ c. firmly packed brown sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
½ c. whole milk
¼ c. water
3 eggs, separated
1 ½ c. pumpkin (I use organic, canned pumpkin)
¼ c. granulated sugar (I use unbleached organic cane sugar)
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 blind-baked 9-inch pie shell
Method:
Mix gelatin, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon in the top of a double boiler. Stir in milk and water. Beat in egg yolks with a fork; then beat in pumpkin. Place over simmering water and cook, stirring often—especially around the sides of the pot—until the mixture is heated through (about 10 minutes or so). Remove from the heat and chill (stir occasionally while chilling). When pumpkin mixture is thoroughly chilled, beat egg whites until stiff and gradually beat in cane sugar until very stiff. Gently fold gelatin mixture into the egg whites. When the whites are incorporated, turn the mixture into the cooled pie shell. You can make the pie the day before and keep it in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap. Just before serving, whip the cream and spread it on top of the pie.
Cranberry Salad
Libby McMillian Henson
My mom’s cranberry salad is a labor intensive holiday treat. It’s set in gelatin and she always used a ring. After she turned out the ring on a small platter, she’d put black olives in the middle, for service.
4 c. cranberries
1 c. sugar
2 pkgs lemon jello
1 tart apple, chopped
2 c. boiling water
2 oranges
½ c. pecans, chopped
Heart of celery, chopped
Method:
Put cranberries and peel of 1 orange through chopper, on medium fine setting. Add sugar and let stand 30 minutes.
Add 2 cups hot water to jello to dissolve. Put in fridge but watch it. When mixture begins to congeal, add cranberries, sugar, pecans, celery, orange sections and apples. Place in mold or Pyrex and place back in fridge to set up. When ready to turn out, place lettuce leaves on platter. Set mold in warm water for just a bit, then turn over on lettuce leaves or wait 15 minutes and it will drop after you have loosened around the edges.
Russian Salad
Sandra Woodward
I remember the childhood Christmas Eve when I first tasted it at my maternal grandmother’s house. My mother sent me this card early in my marriage to make sure I could continue the tradition.
2- 3 oz. packages lime gelatin
1 ½ c. boiling water
8 oz. cream cheese, cut into cubes
24 marshmallows, not miniature
20 oz. can crushed pineapple, juice included
5 oz. can evaporated milk (or 1/2 c. plus 2 tablespoons)
2/3 c. mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip salad dressing if you insist)
2 tsp lemon juice
1 c. chopped pecans
Method:
In a large saucepan, combine lime gelatin, boiling water, cream cheese and marshmallows and stir over medium-low heat until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Add remaining ingredients except pecans and stir until smooth. Add pecans and pour into a 9 x 13 glass serving dish. Refrigerate and chill until set. Instead of a 9×13 serving dish, a pretty gelatin mold may be used. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Carrot Cake
Chelsey Ashford
My grandmother has always made this recipe for Christmas. I remember driving up to the mountains of Knoxville, Tennessee dreaming about her incredible recipe. The fact that she hand-shaves the carrots to go in the carrot cake has always fascinated me.
2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 c. finely grated peeled carrots
2 tbsp cinnamon
4 eggs
1 c. vegetable oil
¼ c. water
Method:
Measure sugar in mixing bowl. Measure flour into sifter. Into flour, measure salt, baking powder, soda and cinnamon. Add vegetable oil to sugar and stir. Add eggs, one at a time, blending after each addition. Start blending in flour and dry ingredients. Add water and then carrots. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan. Place in a preheated oven at 325 degrees for exactly 60 minutes. Let completely cool before icing.
Tip: Grate carrots – about 2 ½ large carrots will do. Peeled.
Icing
1 c. chopped pecans
8 oz. package cream cheese
1 stick margarine (softened)
1 box Domino confectioners sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Method:
Measure chopped pecans and set aside. Place cream cheese and margarine into a mixing bowl, cut into small bits and beat into mixer until well blended. Sift confectioners sugar into this gradually, blending smoothly. Add a pinch of salt, add vanilla flavoring and beat again. Add nuts and spread on cooled cake.
