After seeing this recipe for Butter Scotch Cookies last week my daughter decided to make them. The recipe was a great success. The cookies were cakey, moist, and delicious. They may be a new family favorite!She made a few substitutions. Because we didn't have walnuts she substituted an equal amount of butterscotch chips. We didn't have cream of tartar, either, so she used an equal amount of vinegar. She baked them in a 350-degree oven and checked them after 10 minutes.
Original post of August 14, 2014
The phrases "made from scratch" and "homemade" came to mind when I first read these recipes. They both call for good, plain, wholesome ingredients cooked to deliciousness.
I have no date for these recipes but when the directions for the cookies suggest putting the dough (made with eggs) in a cool place overnight, I imagine that Gramma made the cookies only in the winter because refrigerators -- and possibly ice boxes -- had not yet been invented. Of course, her "cool place" may have been a spring house. My modern adaptation to this recipe is putting the dough in the refrigerator overnight.
Look at the recipe for Country Creamed Corn. Oh, my. Do you know many cooks modern-day cooks who would "scrape out the hearts" of every kernel of corn to make creamed corn? My impression of homemakers in the early 1900s is that they had a heavy burden of work, done by hand, without the aid of labor-saving devices. I wonder at such a labor-intensive recipe for a side dish.
My last thought about the creamed corn recipe is that it directs cooking the corn over a "slow fire." Hmmm. Either Gramma was using a wood-burning stove or the phrase was a hold-over from a time when she did. Gramma was born in 1893 so it's entirely possible that by the time she married in 1914 she was still using a wood-burning kitchen stove.
These recipes bring to mind two movie scenes: first, the opening scene in "Meet Me in St. Louis" where the ladies are making ketchup over a wood-burning stove; and, second, the scene in the movie "Anne of Green Gables" in which Anne finds a mouse in the pudding sauce because she forgot to put a cover over it. How times change.
Butter Scotch Cookies
1 cup butter
1 " brown sugar.
3 eggs
About 5 or more cups
of flour.
1 teaspoon cream Tarter
1 " Baking Soda
1 " Vanilla
1 cup English Walnuts
Cream Butter, add
sugar, then
beaten eggs. Add
dry ingredients to
sifted together,
Vanilla, chopped
nuts. Mix with
Spoon until stiff
enough to
knead then
work in flour
enough so as to
make in long
roll with hands
Put in a cool
(over)
%2C%2BCountryCreamedCorn.jpg)
Butter Scotch Cookies [continued]
place over night.
Make cookies as
thin as possible
as they raise in
the oven
Country Creamed Corn
Cut the tops of
the kernels &
scrape out the
hearts. Put in a
saucepan & one
tablespoon butter
for each cup of
corn, 1/2 teaspoon
salt & 1/8 teaspoon
pepper. Add just
enough milk to
make moist
& cook over a
slow fire, Stirring con-
stantly until very
hot. Add cream to
barely cover & continue
cooking for 8 minutes. Stir
Constantly.
These recipes are from the Webster's spelling tablet my grandmother Emma (Bickerstaff) Meinzen used to write recipes. More of her recipes are available at Gramma's Webster's Spelling Recipe Book.
--Nancy.
Copyright © 2014 Nancy Messier. All Rights Reserved.
I have never heard of scraping out the heart of corn kernels - that does sound labor-intensive! Your Gramma must have been a great cook. And, yes, I love that scene from Anne of Green Gables!
ReplyDeleteHi, Melanie. Scraping out the hearts of corn kernels was a new idea to me, too. I honestly can't imagine how it's done, especially with fresh corn. I most remember my grandmother's pies and other baked goods, which were delicious! Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment.
Delete