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Taste of the Past

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by Maxine Troxell

I come from a family of good bakers. I remember my grandmother making pies and all kinds of cookies. My Aunt Pauline was famous for her cream puffs. My Aunt Ermie was a grand champion baker at the Thurmont & Emmitsburg Show and other local fairs. I want to share one of my favorite recipes from my Aunt Erma’s cookbook. This coconut cake won at least one Grand Champion ribbon. This is a pretty easy recipe, so I hope you enjoy it.

Grand Champion Coconut Cake

Ingredients

3 cups sifted cake flour

1½ tsp. salt

6 tbsp. sugar

1½ cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3-4 cups shredded coconut

4 tsp. baking powder

5 eggs whites

 2⁄3 cup Crisco

11⁄3 cup milk

1 tsp. coconut extract

Directions

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt, twice, set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add 6 tablespoons sugar slowly and beat until mixture stands in soft peaks.

In another bowl, cream Crisco and add 1½ cups sugar, gradually. Cream until light and fluffy. Add flour alternately with milk, a small amount at a time, beating well after each addition. Add beaten egg whites and flavorings, beat for about 1 minute.

Pour batter into two greased and flavored 9-inch cake pans or 3 8-inch pans. Bake 30-40 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees. Remove pans from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes. Remove cake from pans and let cool. When cool, frost with your favorite frosting. Sprinkle coconut on top and side of cake.

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Taste of the Past

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by Maxine Troxell

Irish soda bread may be most popular around St. Patrick’s Day, and it’s usually served with corned beef and cabbage. I remember that Shamrock Restaurant served a delicious soda bread with their corned beef and cabbage meals.

This version bakes into a lightly sweetened round loaf, resembling a giant scone, with a burnished crust and tender, fluffy crumb. Plump raisins add pops of concentrated sweetness, but you could swap them out for any dried fruit—such as currants, sour cherries, or cranberries—or simply leave them out.

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1½ tsp. baking powder

¾ tsp. baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

3 tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into piece

5 tbsp. sugar, divided

½ tsp. kosher salt

2/3 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat an 8” diameter cake pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray. 

Whisk 2 cups flour, 4 tbsp. sugar, 1½ tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. kosher salt, and  tsp. baking soda in a large bowl to combine. Add 3 tbsp. chilled unsalted butter (cut into pieces) to dry ingredients and rub with fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in the center and pour in buttermilk. Gradually mix until incorporated and a shaggy dough comes together. Mix in raisins.

Using lightly floured hands, form dough into a ball and transfer to the prepared pan. Gently press dough to flatten slightly (dough will not reach edges of pan).  Sprinkle the remaining 1 tbsp. sugar.

Bake bread until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean (40-45 minutes). Transfer pan to a wire rack and let bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn bread out onto rack. Serve warm or cool completely.

Taste of the Past

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by Maxine Troxell

Fastnacht Day is the PA Dutch or German tradition associated with Fat Tuesday. It occurs on Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday.

Because many Christians choose to fast or deny themselves sweets and treats during Lent, it was common to indulge on Fat Tuesday. Fat/Shrove Tuesday is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent. To prepare for Lent, many religions emptied their pantries of indulgences like lard and sugar. In using up the supplies, the fastnacht was born.

Fat Tuesday occurs on February 13 this year. Below is my mother’s recipe for fastnachts. She used to call them New Orleans donuts. These are worth the effort it takes to make them! Enjoy!

Fastnachts

Ingredients

1 package dry yeast

¼ cup butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

¼ cup warm water

¼ cup sugar

¾ cup milk, scalded

3½-3¾ cups flour

Directions

Combine yeast and warm water. Stir until yeast is dissolved. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine scalded milk, butter, sugar, and salt; cool until lukewarm. Add 1 cup flour. Mix well.

Add yeast mixture and egg. Add remaining flour. Knead dough for about 8 minutes. Place dough into a greased bowl. Turn dough over once to grease top of dough. Let rise in a warm place for 1¼ hours or until dough is doubled. 

Punch dough down and let rise for 1 more hour.

Roll dough to 1/3-inch thickness and cut into squares. Let rise for 30-40 minutes. 

Fry in deep fat for about 2 minutes on each side. Drain to remove excess fat. 

Dip fastnachts in sugar or powdered sugar.  

Taste of the Past

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by Maxine Troxell

While looking for a recipe to include in the December Banner issue, I came across my aunt Eileen’s gingerbread recipe. This recipe was included in one of my mother’s handwritten recipe books. She had a lot of her relatives’ recipes included, and most are handwritten. It’s interesting to see how some of these recipes back then are written. Sometimes, you would see ‘a pinch of this or a pinch of that’. OK, but what’s a pinch? This recipe said to bake in a moderate oven, so I am assuming 350 degrees. I am so glad my mom took the time to write all of these recipes. I find it interesting to see how people cooked and baked back then. She has a lot of unique recipes. I hope you enjoy this one.

Aunt Eileen’s Gingerbread

Ingredients

½ cup shortening

2 tablespoons sugar

1 beaten egg

1 cup molasses

2¼ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon cloves

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup boiling water        

            Directions

Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a bowl and set aside.

Cream shorting and sugar until fluffy.

Add beaten egg and molasses; mix until smooth.

Alternate the sifted dry ingredients with the boiling water.

Beat until smooth. Pour batter into a 9-inch greased square pan.

Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) for about 45 minutes.

Taste of the Past

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by Maxine Troxell

Early settlers in America noticed that the German immigrants made this salad that was warm and had bacon and onions and a nice sweet and tart dressing, so they started calling it Hot German Potato Salad. German Potato Salad is very popular and unique, most probably coming from using leftover roasted or boiled potatoes. My Aunt Pauline and my sister used to make this a lot for family gatherings.  I hope you enjoy it.

Hot German Potato Salad

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes        

2 bacon strips   

1 Spanish onion, diced

½ cup celery, diced       

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch          

1/3 cup cider vinegar      

1 cup water       

            Directions

Boil potatoes in skins until tender when pierced with a fork. Peel while hot.  Slice potatoes thinly.

In large skillet, fry bacon until crisp and remove from skillet.

In bacon drippings, brown the onion and celery.

Stir in salt, sugar, and cornstarch.

Add vinegar and water

Stir in sliced potatoes.  As the sauce thickens, more water may be needed.

Transfer to serving dish and serve hot.

Peach Cobbler

Taste of the Past

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by Maxine Troxell

Peach Cobbler

Peach season is here. My mom always made good use of fruits while they were in season. She had a habit of writing down a lot of her recipes in a black and white composition book. While going through my late sister’s estate, we came across one of these books. This is her Peach Cobbler recipe that we found in one of them. I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients

3 cups sliced fresh peaches      

1 cup sugar       

¼ teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest   

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1½ cups All-purpose flour

1 well-beaten egg          

½ teaspoon salt 

3 teaspoons baking powder      

½ cup shortening

½ cup milk

3 tablespoons sugar, divided    

Directions

Arrange peaches in a greased 8-inch baking dish or pan.

Sprinkle with 1 cup sugar, almond extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Heat in 350-degree oven while preparing topping.

Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Cut in shortening until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Add shortening and milk. Stir just until flour mixture is moistened.

Spread dough over hot peach mixture. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake in 400-degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

Taste of the Past

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by Maxine Troxell

It’s summer and picnic time.  What better food is there for a picnic than fried chicken? This recipe is a family recipe that I have used many times.  It’s a simple and easy recipe for great fried chicken.

Southern Fried Chicken

Ingredients

Chicken pieces  

1 cup milk         

2 beaten large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour            

2 tsp. black pepp 2 tsp. garlic powder   

2 tsp. paprika    

1 tsp. salt                      

1 tsp. poultry seasoning

Directions

In a large bowl, combine all-purpose flour, garlic pepper, salt, paprika, and poultry seasoning.

In a separate bowl, mix beaten eggs with milk and set aside.

Place chicken pieces in the first bowl, then in the egg mixture, and again in the first bowl (flour mixture).

Fill up your deep fryer (deep cast iron skillet or Dutch oven) with peanut oil (or frying oil of your choice) and preheat to 350°F. Carefully add the piece of chicken to the deep fryer. Fry until golden brown, turning every few minutes. You will need to fry in batches, so you do not overcrowd the fryer.

Drain on paper towels. And serve it with hot sauce.

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Taste of the Past

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by Maxine Troxell

This is my Aunt Erma’s Sweet Muffins recipe from her Run of the Mill cookbook.  I add fruit to make them extra special.  This recipe has won a lot of blue ribbons. Sometimes, instead of blueberries, lemon zest, and lemon extract, I substitute with cranberries, orange zest, and orange extract. Both versions are delicious. I hope you enjoy them.

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups sifted flour 

1 teaspoon salt                     

1 egg                       

¼ cup cooking oil

1 teaspoon lemon extract

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ cup sugar

1 cup milk

¾ cup blueberries

1 tablespoon lemon zest

*additional sugar for muffin tops (optional)

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees. 

Grease 12 muffin tin pan or use cupcake liners. 

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar into bowl. 

Make a well in the center and add egg, milk, oil, and lemon extract. 

Stir just enough to moisten dry ingredients. 

Fold in blueberries and lemon zest. 

Fill tins 2/3 full. 

Sprinkle additional sugar on top of each muffin if desired. 

Bake 20-25 minutes.

Taste of the Past

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Turkey at Thanksgiving, Prime rib at Christmas, and Brisket at Hanukkah. (And, oh yes, all the candy at Halloween.) Holiday food pairings make each separate celebration special—and something special to look forward to each year. Come spring, I always bake a ham for our Easter dinner. I came across this recipe some time ago.  I hope you enjoy it.

Baked Ham with Bee Sting Glaze

Ingredients

1 fully cooked bone-in smoked half ham

1 c. honey

1 c. brown sugar

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. cayenne (ground red pepper)

¼ tsp. ground cloves

1 tbsp. grated lemon peel

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Make shallow cuts diagonally across the side of the ham, spacing about 1 inch apart. Make cuts perpendicular to first ones to create diamond pattern.

Place ham in a large roasting pan, flat side down, along with ½ cup of water. Cover with foil. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, whisk together honey, brown sugar, ginger, cayenne, cloves, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Heat on medium until sugar dissolves, whisking often. Cool completely.

Stir in lemon peel.

Remove foil from ham. Brush generously with honey glaze. Bake uncovered 40 to 50 minutes or until dark golden brown and ham is heated through (140 degrees F), brushing with glaze every 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

To remaining honey glaze, add ¼ cup liquid from roasting pan, whisking to combine. Serve with ham.