Delicate Walnut Crescents

Mom loves these cookies. Not only did she enjoy them when I made them, as her recipe notes below, she marked them as "*Delicious." As you can see, the red pen that Mom used to write out the recipe below did not stand the test of time: I was just barely able to read the recipe so you do not have to try. Mom often made these cookies or almond crescent cookies. When I was a kid, I did not appreciate cookies with nuts. But now I do enjoy these cookies.

The dough itself is a very basic and classic recipe. I did find that the dough needs to be cold when shaping the crescents. If the dough gets too warm, it might become too sticky, making it harder to shape, so just return the dough to the refrigerator for a bit. When the cookies come out of the oven, they need a few minutes to cool before handling because, as the title says, they are delicate, especially while still warm. Mom's recipe offers a few variations. You could substitute brandy or rum for the vanilla. Or, you could shape the dough into balls instead of crescents. And, of course, you could use any type of nut instead of walnuts.

Delicate Walnut Crescents 

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, plus more for coating
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 3/4 cup flour

Cream the butter. Add 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat until light and fluffy. Stir in nuts and flour until well blended. Wrap dough in wax paper and chill well. 

Preheat oven to 300. Divide the dough into eight parts. on a lightly floured surface, shape dough into ropes about 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut in 2 inch pieces, taper the ends and shape into crescents. Put onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove to cool. Shift confectioners sugar on top or roll cookies in sugar, cool and roll in sugar again. Store in an airtight container. The cookies can be frozen. Enjoy!

Grandma Holmes's Pumpkin Bread

Like so many other quick breads, such as the Applesauce Bread that I made earlier this month, this pumpkin bread is easy to make and even easier to eat. As you can see from Grandma Holmes's recipe below, she thought this was a good recipe. She was right. It is delicious. MDS only vaguely remembers this bread, perhaps because breads like this may not be popular among kids. This type of bread would not have been my favorite treat when I was a kid, but I love it now.

When I made this recipe, I did not include nuts, raisins or dates, as the recipe indicates, but I am sure that they would be good. The recipe calls for mazola oil (a brand of corn oil), but I used olive oil. I also slightly reduced the sugar, but left the original amount in the list below. I only have large loaf pans, but small loaf pans could easily be used instead, as stated in the recipe below. This bread would be delicious anytime, but was especially tasty on a nice Fall day.

Grandma Holmes's Pumpkin Bread 

• 3 1/3 cups flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 cups pumpkin
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 1/2 cup raisins or chopped dates

Sift together the dry ingredients. Mix the remaining ingredients together and then add to the dry ingredients and mix well. Grease two 9X5 loaf pans or seven or eight mini-loaf pans. Pour in batter. Bake at 350 for 45 to 60 minutes. Cool in the pan. Enjoy!

One-Rise Mixer Bread

This bread recipe is an excellent example of a no-knead bread. If you have never made homemade bread, this recipe is a good place to start. The recipe includes yeast, but uses a mixer or just a fork instead of kneading. The resulting bread is airy because of the yeast and rich because of the egg and sour cream. I substituted plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream, but either will work here. This bread has just a single rise in the pan that it will be baked in, so it could not be easier.

Mom remembers making this bread because it is easy and delicious. It is good for a relatively quick bread because the rise time is less than an hour. The recipe calls for using mini-loaf pans or muffin cups. I used muffin cups, so the baking time was about 20 minutes. I did not add any mix-ins, but as you can see below, Mom's recipe proposes an option of mixing in bacon. Just about any mix-in could be used.

One-Rise Mixer Bread 

• 1 package yeast
• 1/4 cup very hot water (120 degrees)
• 2 1/3 cup flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 egg

Grease 8 mini-loaf pans or 12 medium muffin cups. In a large mixer bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add 1 1/3 cup of the flour and the remaining ingredients. Blend 1/2 minute on low speed, scraping the bowl constantly. Beat 2 minutes on high speed or 380 strokes by hand, scraping the bowl occasionally. Stir in remaining flour thoroughly. Divide batter evenly into pans. Let rise in a warm place for 50 minutes. Batter will rise but will not double. Bake at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Pennsylvania Applesauce Bread

Fall is prime apple season, and this recipe is perfect for a nice Fall day. When it is baking in the oven, the whole house will smell lovely, making it hard to wait for  the bread to cool enough to eat. Once the bread does cool, it is so delicious that it is hard to stop eating it.

This recipe is a similar recipe to banana bread or zucchini bread, but is has a taste all its own. It is quick to mix up and bake. Mom remembers making this recipe, especially because it was so easy and uses ingredients that are probably on hand. You could use any applesauce. I prefer an applesauce with no added sugar. Next time I make this recipe, I might use a chunky applesauce so there will be bits of apple in the bread. I did not add nuts or raisins, so add those at your choice.

Pennsylvania Applesauce Bread 

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat thoroughly. Sift flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Add in thirds alternating with applesauce, beating until smooth after each addition. If desired, fold in raisins and nuts. Turn into a greased 9X5X3 loaf pan. Bake at 350 for one hour. Allow to cool before slicing. Enjoy!

Yeast Biscuits

Here is yet another great bread recipe from Mom's collection. Mom recalls making these biscuits when we were kids, probably because they are so easy to make and very delicious. The recipe is quite basic, so the resulting biscuits are very versatile and can accompany any meal.

These biscuits came out a bit sturdier than standard biscuits, and so they were great for sandwiches. Because the recipe uses yeast and requires time for a rise, these biscuits do take longer to make than most biscuits. But with only one rise, they don't take as long as many bread recipes. So give these easy biscuits a try.

Yeast Biscuits 

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 package dry yeast
• 3/4 cup lukewarm water 
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. butter, melted

Sift flour, sugar and salt together. Dissolve yeast in water. Add the yeast to the dry ingredients with the butter. Mix thoroughly. Turn out on a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Roll to one-half inch thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter. Place on baking sheet and let rise until double in bulk. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Grandma Holmes's Pumpkin Muffins

Every Fall, we are inundated with pumpkin products. I love everything pumpkin. But, if you are looking for a different take on pumpkin, give these muffins a try. The addition of molasses make these pumpkin muffins very unique. The molasses taste is strong, but does not overpower the pumpkin flavor. When I made these muffins, I did not include nuts, but nuts, raisins or dried cranberries could be a nice addition to these muffins.

MDS did not specifically remember the recipe, but upon tasting the muffins, he remembered the taste. His Grandma liked using molasses in baking. When I was a kid, I did not particularly like molasses, but now that I am an adult, I love baked goods made with molasses. Perhaps molasses is more of a grown-up flavor. The recipe card does not contain a lot of detail, but does indicate that the recipe is a Shaker recipe. Based on my Google search, the recipe originated in Shaker Village in Kentucky. I am not sure how the recipe made it into Grandma Holmes's recipe collection, but I am glad to have found it and share it here.

Grandma Holmes's Pumpkin Muffins 

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 cup pecans

In a mixing bowl, cream together the brown sugar, molasses, butter, egg and pumpkin. Blend in the baking soda, salt and flour. Mix in the nuts. Preheat the oven to 375. Grease 12 muffin cups. Fill each muffin cup about halfway with the muffin dough. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!

Crab Casserole

This casserole can be thrown together in a snap and makes a quick and delicious meal. Like many of Mom's recipes, this recipe could feed a crowd, so I halved the recipe to make it for two with leftovers for another meal. I don't specifically remember Mom making this recipe, but if she did, I suspect she did not call it Crab Casserole because some of my picky-eater siblings would not eat it. I would not be surprised if we all ate this casserole without knowing what was in it.

When I made this recipe, I made a few modifications. I used brown rice because that is what I had on hand. I think any type of grain could be used, such as quinoa or barley. Also, I used dried minced onion and did not pre-cook the bell pepper. Instead of diced pimentos, I diced some almond-stuffed olives simply because I had olives available. I also added a little parsley on top after spreading the bread crumbs over the casserole. Others herbs or seasonings, such as dill or paprika, could work well in this casserole. However you whip up this recipe, it makes for a tasty meal.

Crab Casserole 

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 large bell pepper, diced
• 1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. mustard
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 cups cooked rice
• 1 can (4 oz.) pimentos, diced
• 2 cans (7 1/2 oz.) crab meat
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs

Heat oven to 400. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add pepper and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pepper is soft. In a mixing bowl, combine the mayonaise, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and salt. Mix well. Add in the pepper, onion, pimentos, rice and crab meat. Mix gently. Spoon into a two-quart casserole. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or till bubbly and browned. Enjoy!