Thursday, May 21, 2009

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.

Conchas

* 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
* 1/2 cup warm water (105 degrees F to 115 degrees F or 40 to 46 celsius)
* 1/2 cup lukewarm milk (scalded, then cooled)
* 1/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1/3 cup butter, softened
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg
* 3 1/2-4 cups all-purpose flour

Flavored Topping Dough

* 1/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1/4 cup butter or margarine
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl.
2. Stir in milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg and 2 cups of the flour.
3. Beat until smooth.
4. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.
5. Turn onto a lightly floured surface.
6. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
7. Place in a large greased bowl, then turn greased side up.
8. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, about 1 1/2 hours.
9. The dough is ready if it leaves an indentation when touched.
10. Meanwhile, prepare Flavored Topping Dough.
11. Punch dough down; divide into 12 equal pieces.
12. Shape each piece into a ball; place on greased cookie sheet.
13. Beat sugar and margarine until light and fluffy.
14. Stir in flour until mixture is the consistency of thick paste.
15. Divide into 3 equal parts.
16. Stir cinnamon into one part, vanilla extract into one part and orange peel into one part.
17. Divide each part of dough into 4 equal pieces.
18. Pat each piece into a 3-inch circle.
19. Place 1 circle of Topping Dough on each ball of dough, shaping it down over the ball.
20. Make 5 or 6 cuts across the topping, using a table knife, to form a shell pattern.
21. Cover and let rise until double — about 40 minutes.
22. Heat oven to 375 degrees F (190 celsius).
23. Bake buns until golden brown, about 20 minutes.


**I have no idea if this recipe is worth making, I will find out soon, and report. When I was a kid, and burned off enough calories to eat anything I wanted, my mother would get these for me at the store pretty frequently. I loved them. I didn't even know what they were, but I thought they were fantastic. (I was a very trusting kid, I guess...)

Thanks to Martha Stewart for featuring San Antonio in a recent issue of her magazine, but not including the recipe for Conchas!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Wild oats will get sown some time, and one of the arts of life is to sow them at the right time.

Meem's Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups flour
1 cup shortening
6 tablespoons milk, soured
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, sour milk, and soda. Add oatmeal. Let stand one hour. Then add flour and spices. Mix well.

(To sour milk, put 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice in a cup measure and fill to 1 cup with milk. Let stand for five minutes.)

Drop from spoon onto cookie sheets. Back for 12 minutes at 350°F.

* This recipe makes - hands down - the best oatmeal cookies ever. If you can get around the sour milk smell while you're putting them together that is. Don't forget to open a window!

** One good substitution is putting in dried cranberries rather than raisins.

The ripest peach is highest on the tree....

Peach Cobbler

3 cups sliced fresh peaches (or canned)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup sifted all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Place peaches in bottom of 10x6 baking dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Sift together dry ingredients; add egg, tossing with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over peaches. Drizzle with butter. Bake at 375°F. for 35-40 minutes.

Serve hot or cold.

Good served with 1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened and mixed with 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon and refrozen.

**This recipe is from Georgia LaLande, who was a dear friend of my grandmother's, a lovely lady, very sweet, and sorely missed.

Rum, n. Generically, fiery liquors that produce madness in total abstainers...

Rum Balls

1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons white corn syrup
1 cup chopped nuts
2 tablespoons cocoa
1/4 cup dark rum

Mix, roll into 3/4 inch balls and roll in powdered sugar. Store in air-tight container. better after a week or more.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.

Majorette Brownies

2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup light brown sugar
1 1/4 cup regular flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate bits
1 cup chopped walnuts

Beat eggs for two minutes, mix in vanilla and brown sugar. Then mix in flour, baking powder, and salt.

Stir in chocolate bits and chopped walnuts.

Put in square baking dish - bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes.


*Please don't ask me why these are called Majorette Brownies - especially since they don't seem to contain any majorettes at all.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

The laziest man I ever met put popcorn in his pancakes so they would turn over by themselves....

Fläskpannkaka

Batter:

1 1/3 cup flour
½ tsp salt
3 ¾ cup milk
4 eggs
8 slices thick cut bacon

Mix flour and salt in tall bowl, add milk slowly and whip to an even batter.

Whip in eggs last.

Cut bacon into small squares and fry lightly in frying pan.

Pour bacon into shallow baking pan and pour batter on top of bacon.

Bake in oven at 400°F. for approx. 40 min. or until evenly golden brown and firm.