Melt chocolate over hot water, or in the top of a double boiler; remove from heat. Stir in sugar and corn syrup. Next, blend in the bourbon. At this point, you may need a larger bowl. Combine the crushed wafers and chopped nuts, and pour the chocolate mixture over them. Mix well. It’s usually wise to lightly coat your fingers with the softened butter at … Continue reading Mom’s Bourbon Balls
Peanut brittle is usually one of two types: made with butter, or without. We like the butter version more; the brittle has a softer crunch, and is a little less sticky. That said, in our house, anything made with corn syrup is inevitably going to end up with dog or cat hair stuck to it somewhere. Butter (you may use nonstick spray if you want … Continue reading Peanut Brittle
Another recipe you should make in double batches … a plain Jane cookie that tastes really good. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy; add egg and vanilla and mix well. Mix together dry ingredients; add to butter and mix well. Shape into rectangle-shaped tubes, wrap in wax paper and chill in refrigerator until dough is hard. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice dough into cookies, … Continue reading Spicy Refrigerator Cookies
When we say soft, we mean soft – these are nothing like traditional crunchy, chewy or sticky oatmeal cookies. They are soft, almost cake-like cookie drops that even small children will devour. Mom and Carla were both addicted to them, and would choose these over any other kind of cookie, anytime. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy; add eggs one … Continue reading Soft Oatmeal Cookies
Carla wheedled this recipe from a friend , who wheedled the recipe from an ex-boyfriend, who in turn wheedled the recipe from his grandmother, who made him promise not to share it with anyone ever. We say the statute of limitations has expired – enjoy for yourself. Continue reading Gingersnaps
Here are sugar cookies that are firm enough to hold a glaze, while still soft and tender inside. Not too-sweet or sickly-sweet, but fragrant with vanilla or almond or rum. There are never, ever, enough – they’re always eaten up too soon. These are the sugar cookies that put all other sugar cookies to shame. Continue reading Glazed Sugar Cookies
Laura got this recipe from a Scottish expatriate – and it is so much better than the packaged kind! Beat butter and sugar together until mixture resembles face cream. Add flour one cup at a time; beat well after each addition. Form shortbread into balls about the size of tennis balls. Pat balls out until they are about 7 inches in diameter. Prick shortbread all … Continue reading Scotch Shortbread
This is one of the recipes Laura makes every Christmas holiday season, mostly to give away as gifts. The filling is like pecan pie; the cream cheese dough is soft and luscious, and it’s difficult not to eat the whole batch before it’s packed up to give away. Cream together cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter and flour; chill dough for 1 hour or more. Shape … Continue reading Pecan Tassies
Why on earth would you want to go to the trouble of making marshmallows at home? Let us put it this way: after you make them from scratch just once, you will wonder why on earth anyone would ever buy the dry tasteless grocery store version. Continue reading Marshmallows
No matter what you do, this won’t cut into neat little squares. It will, instead, break into shards. No worries. When you or your gift recipients taste it, no one will care what it looks like. They will be too busy reaching for the next piece. Continue reading Jean Shelton’s Toffee
Around Our Table 