Pecan Butterballs

Spring looks like it is finally here to stay! It's been a couple of days without snow and temperatures actually hit the 70's. Good Times! I had a lovely afternoon off so I decided to tackle this recipe. Pecan Butterballs from the 1941 Old Favorite Honey Recipes put out by the American Honey Institute. I have tried a couple of recipes from this pamphlet and have not been impressed so far.

This recipe is very similar to one of my all time favorites, Russian Teacakes, with a few differences. It uses honey (of course) and it has to bake 40 minutes. 40 minutes! For cookies!

I think there is more pecans and butter than anything else. Not that that is a bad thing.

Tons of pecans!

Since these cookies don't spread you can fit quite a lot on a single cookie sheet and after waiting 40 minutes for one batch you are going to really fill that sheet for the next one.

A quick powdered sugar bath right after the oven.

And my entire house smells wonderful! I'm trying to wait until they have fully cooled and have had their second powdered sugar bath to try them. It's so difficult...

Beautiful! These were delicious! They are very similar to my Russian teacakes but have a warmer, nuttier taste thanks to the honey. They are easy enough to make (and very delicious) but the baking time drove me nuts. I would only make these again if I was stuck inside due to bad weather. Or I just needed a good subject to play with photo filters.

My Rating: Keeper for cold winter days

Friends and Family Rating: "Delicious but not as good as the teacakes." "Tastes like Fall." "What happened to the rest of the cookies?!"

Frosted Orange Cookies

The weather can't seem to decide if it wants to stay in winter or move onto spring. Personally, I am tired of snow and ready for hot summer days! In my mind orange juice reminds me of sunshine and bright days so I looked for an appropriate recipe. This one from the 1963 Cookies (of all kinds) promises to be 'one of the best.'

 Bought a whole carton of orange juice! I guess I'll have to start eating a healthier breakfast...unless I find a retro cocktail. I must confess: I used powdered buttermilk.

It went together easily and looks nice, I think. Nothing fancy.

Drop cookies are so easy to make. Why do I even consider other kinds of cookies?!

I had to adjust the baking time after the first batch came out a little too dark. My oven is known to be fussy so it could be that. I took a couple of minutes off. I think you can tell which is which.

Light little orange clouds!

Light is the best way to describe these. I was expecting a stronger orange flavor and was very disappointed. They are not bad. Good if you want something not too sweet and lightly flavored. Maybe I should have waited until summertime to make these. :) My friends had other opinions.

My Rating: Just okay

Friends and Family Rating: "Great!" "I love how they are not real sweet." "Real nice for a quick snack."

Puffed Wheat Crisps

It's interesting how cereal is often used in cooking. I have seen several recipes with puffed rice or cornflakes used to add space and crunch. This recipe uses something a little different, puffed wheat. I have never been a big fan of puffed wheat but with the addition of sugar and butter almost anything can be delicious.
This recipe is from Christmas Cookies, 1940's.

Nice simple recipe. Just had to get the cereal.

They came together as cute little cookies!

I have to admit to trying to fit as many cookies as possible on a single cookie sheet but you must bake these cookies 2 inches apart. They do not stay cute and little for long!

These cookies were wonderful! They are light, crispy, crunchy delights! They have to cool a bit before removing them from the cookie sheet and then cool completely before munching. I tried one while they were still warm and it was okay. Once they cooled...wow! So Yummy!

My Rating: Keeper!

Friends and Family Rating: "Delicious!" "I want this recipe." This was everyones favorite so far.

Dixie Creamed Peanuts

What happened to spring?!! It made a brief appearance and then ran away. Not very nice, Spring.

I love desserts. Obviously. But I thought I would adventure into something a little bit different. I was given this fantastic set of American Cookery cookbooks from 1935. Interesting stories and recipes!

 This recipe caught my eye because it features peanuts as a main dish and I like brown rice.

Naturally the only thing I was missing was the peanuts. Of course.

The cream took a little while to thicken but it was a pretty easy recipe. Yum...I think...

There was not much to this thing. The paprika added a bright pop of color to this dull dish.

This recipe is a product of the Depression era, a mix of simple ingredients making a filling and fairly nutritional meal. (I added some veggies to the dinner.) Surprisingly, it tasted very good if a little bland and the crunch of the peanuts gave it just enough texture to not be boring. Even though it looks like it should be a dessert it was not sweet.

My Rating: Not bad.

Friend and Family Rating: "Peanuts for dinner?"

Cherry-Nut Mince Pie

Mincemeat was always one of those things that horrified me as a child. I knew it was a pie filling and that it was a dessert but I thought it was made meat. It's in the name! So I was picturing something like a beef pot pie topped with whipped cream. Yuck! I was so relieved to discover that it is no longer meat-based. Now it is a delicious mixture of fruits and spices and so decilous!
I ventured back into Better Cooking and Baking for this multi-level pie. So many delicious things tucked into the pie crust.

I even decided to try out the pie crust given.

So yummy mixed together!

My pie curst rolling skills need lots of work. You can really tell where the top and bottom crust did meet. hehe

My kitchen smells like autumn.

This pie came together very easily. I had issues with the crust but I always have pie crust problems. The pie crust tasted fine. I don't think it was very special but it was easy. The filling was amazing! I probably should have waited until autumn for it. The cherries and mincemeat screamed fall! Very yummy!

My Rating: Keeper!

Friends and Family Rating: "Amazing!" "You are making this for Thanksgiving this year."

Frosted Oatmeal Cookies

I received this wonderful gift after the holidays, a cookbook that belonged to my great grandmother! It does not have a date in it.

 It is filled with delicious recipes including some I had never heard of before. I was going to wait until the holidays to make some but I got so many request for oatmeal cookies (so many!) that I thought I would go ahead and try one of these.

Oatmeal cookies are not my favorite but this one has icing so it might be okay.

Interestingly this recipe calls for the raisins to to be cooked and chopped with some of the 'raisen water' set aside. Mixing everything together!

Using milk to keep the cookie dough from sticking while flattening the cookies out. I never used milk before but it worked really well.

The finish!

These were great cookies! I actually really liked them and I am not a fan of oatmeal. Although it was mess to clean up, I liked the raisins chopped instead of whole. All in all this cookie has a less oatmeal feeling to it. It was more cookie and less like eating a whole bowl of oatmeal. And there was icing!

My rating: Keeper!

Friends and Family: "These are the best!" "The pecan was different but good."