Grandma Henke

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies, Peanut Brittle, English Toffee, Fudge, & Farm House Cookies mingled their delicious aromas in my kitchen today!    My daughter and I and her two daughters had a fun baking day!   We are all feeling kind of sugared out tonight because of all the tasting to make sure everything was as it should be… but it was worth it!

For the Christmas I make the same things my mother and grandmother made for years and today it almost felt like they were there laughing and working beside us.   That’s the fun part of Christmas traditions!    I think things go much faster now with modern conveniences such as microwaves than they did for Grandma.  Some of the recipes have been updated a bit but they taste the same!

Great Grandma Babcock’s Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies:     (These were my very favorite cookies when I was a girl.)

For Cookie:

2 Cups flour, 1/2 tsp soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 18 marshmallows cut in half, 1/2 cup shortening, 1 Cup sugar, 1 egg, 1/2 cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla

Cocoa Frosting:

2 C powdered sugar, 5 Tbs Cocoa, Dash of salt, 3 Tbs melted butter, 4 Tbs light cream, 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Sift flour with soda, salt, and cocoa.

Cream shortening, add sugar and egg and beat well.   Add flour alternatively with milk.  Add nuts and vanilla.   Make small ball of dough (about an inch round) about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.  Quickly top with marshmallow halves pushed slightly into cookie so they’ll stay in the center … cut side down.   Bake 2 minutes more.    Cool and completely frost the marshmallow and cookie top.

When frosting is dry put in air tight container and divide layers with wax paper.   Keep in a cool location if possible.

Grandma Allsop’s Microwave Peanut Brittle.                                        It is easy and good but you have to be careful not to burn it.   The hardest part of making this is cleaning the bowl, which you will want to immediately put in a hot sudsy sink of water.

Ingredients:

1 Cup raw Spanish peanuts, 1 Cup sugar, 1/2 Cup white corn syrup, 1/8 tsp salt, 1 Tbs butter, 1 Tsp baking soda, 1 Tsp vanilla

Directions:

In 2 qt glass microwave measuring cup mix peanuts, sugar, corn syrup, and salt.  

Cook on high for 4 minutes, stir, and then cook 3 minutes longer.  Add 1 tsp margarine & cook 3 minutes longer or until peanuts are golden brown. (my new microwave only takes about 2 minutes … 3 minutes burned it!  Ewwww did it stink!)  

Remove and quickly stir in baking soda and vanilla, mixing well.  Pour over parchment paper on cookie sheet.   As soon as it begins to set, stretch it out with forks and fingers until think.

Let it set and break into pieces.   Keep in an air tight container in cool location.

Beverly Nowotny’s English Toffee

Ingredients:

6 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips, 1 Cup sugar, 1/2 Cup chopped almonds, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/8 tsp salt, 1 cup butter

Directions:

Use a heavy 2 quart sauce pan.   Over gentle heat melt butter with sugar and salt plus 2 tsp water.

Stir constantly while heating over medium high heat.   Once the water has boiled off the mixture will collapse and start to thicken.   Cook until it reaches 399 degrees F (159 C) and remove it before it reaches 320 F.  If you don’t have a candy thermometer watch it closely and remove it when it is the same color as a brown paper sack … Watch it closely!   When it starts to darken it moves fast.

Pour onto parchment paper on top of cookie sheet.   Use buttered back of spoon or a silicone spatula to move toffee into a rectangular shape  about 1/4 inch thick or less.  

Sprinkle chocolate chips on the surface and when they melt spread the melted chocolate over the entire mixture.   Sprinkle with finely chopped almonds.

Cool about 20 minutes until pan returns to room temperature then put in fridge for at least 30 minutes to set.  

When hardened completely peel toffee from parchment paper and break into pieces.  Place in an air tight container and keep in cool location.

My Easy Festive Fudge:                                                                           This is a recipe I found the first year I was married.   My grandmother and mother switched to it because it is so easy and delicious!    I’ve been making it for 41 years.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Sugar, 2/3 Cup Evaporated skimmed milk, 12 regular marshmallows (sometimes I add a few more), 1/2 C butter or margarine, a few grains of salt

6 oz I1 Cup) semi sweet chocolate pieces, 1 C broken walnuts, 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

In a heavy 2 quart saucepan mix sugar, evaporated milk, marshmallows, butter & salt

Cook, stirring constantly over medium heat.  Bring to a boil.  Mixture should bubble all over the top.   Boil and stir 5 minutes more while stirring constantly.  Then take it off the heat.

Stir in 6 oz semi sweet chocolate chips, nuts, and 1 tsp vanilla

Spread in a buttered 8 inch square pan.  Cool & cut into 30 pieces.

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