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Farm Kitchen:  Favorite treat Grandma made?  |
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CindyG
True Blue Farmgirl
293 Posts
Cindy
Fairfax
VA
USA
293 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 24 2013 : 2:06:30 PM
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Hi ladies,
I am looking to start this week off with some positive thoughts and nostalgia, so please share the one favorite thing your grandma made for you. It is kind of hard to pick because I have so many really nice Grandma memories, and many of them are kitchen or dining room table related.
To pick The One, it is an oddly simple and surprisingly commercial thing: incredible cookies made with basic cookie stuff plus Wheaties and coconut. Back in the day when companies gave out free recipe booklets in grocery stores or when you sent in "x" number of box tops, Wheaties came up with this recipe for cookies to get you to use more of their product. Worked for us!
They are also known as "Ranger Cookies". Has anyone had them? One bite and I go back to my grandma's sparkling clean white enamel kitchen....ahhhhhh.
A close second would be her seven-minute boiled frosting which I have never been able to recreate. I think it has to do with remembering the Colorado version of this and now I'm in the swamp known as Washington DC where humidity doesn't let anything ever really "set". |
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MagnoliaWhisper
True Blue Farmgirl
2817 Posts
Heather
Haysville
Kansas
USA
2817 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2013 : 2:22:41 PM
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One of my grandma's was older (she has great grandchildren older then me) and so she wasn't really cooking any more by the time I had memories-she had broke her back in a bus accident, and from then on wasn't really into cooking and such, I heard she used to cook though really amazing things.
My other grandmother was younger had several cancers, and the treatments made her pretty much bed bound. BUT, I do remember a few things before she completely could no longer cook-
She loved to bake pies, I personally don't remember the pies themselves much, but I remember the scrap crust being brushed with butter and laden with cinnamon and sugar she fed them to me and the dog (yeah the dog was right up there with me in importance to her. lol)
And then she would can-canned pears, bread and butter pickles, YUM YUM best ever.
The thing I loved most of hers was her gravy. We had it almost daily-breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was sooo good. People no longer eat gravy today like they did back then though! lol haha funny I rarely have gravy or bread for that matter these days, but back then it wasn't a meal if bread/gravy wasn't on the table!
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2013 : 2:22:45 PM
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Great post, Cindy! I would love your recipe for "Ranger Cookies" - I've never heard of them before!
Aside from the usual favorites - apple pie and chocolate chip cookies - my Grandma made these wonderful little cream-puff type cookies using Stella D'Oro Anginetti cookies:
1 pkg. Stella D'Oro Anginetti cookies, tops sliced off (save to top cookies later)
1 can drained crushed pineapple
1 small container Cool Whip
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
Mix the pineapple, Cool Whip and cream cheese well. Add a spoonful of the filling on top of each cookie bottom, top with the cookie top. Chill. ENJOY!
These are one of my favorite treats! Unfortunately, they don't sell those cookies here in PA where I live! Every Easter, especially, we fondly remember the cookies - they were Grandma's Easter specialty, after all! Sadly, however, we haven't enjoyed them in years!
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2013 : 2:25:06 PM
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Oh! Heather's canned pears reminded me! Grandma used to peel and slice un-ripened or partially ripened peaches, place them in a bowl, sprinkle a little sugar and a little water on top, cover with plastic wrap and then let sit in a window until they were soft, syrupy and delicious! Makes me feel like a Kindergartener again just thinking about it! ;)
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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westfork woman
True Blue Farmgirl
554 Posts
Kennie Lyn
Emmett
Idaho
USA
554 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2013 : 3:52:09 PM
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Both my grandmothers were great cooks. My Kansas Grandma, sent sugar cookies all the way to Idaho about every month. They were wonderful. But I guess my favorite was my Idaho Grandma's fruit syrup. I don't like maple, so Grandma made syrup, just for me. She saved juice from all the fruit she canned, and in the fall, made syrup and canned it in pint jars. It was so good, with apricot, peach, pear, and apple. Grandma had 16 grand children, and I wonder how many special things, just for one kid, that she made.
Greetings from the morning side of the hill. |
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Penny Wise
True Blue Farmgirl
1903 Posts
Margo
Elyria
OH
USA
1903 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2013 : 4:33:10 PM
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nin-i used to make those cookies! i can't find the stella doro anginetti's around here anymore-!
was thinking of them the other day!
my gramma made noodles and gingerbread men...but even better she and her sister made Floating Island! yummo!
Farmgirl # 2139
proud member of the Farmgirls of the Southwest Henhouse
~*~ counting my pennies; my dreams are adding up!~*~ |
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sjmjgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
566 Posts
Stephanie
Mt. Vernon
Iowa
USA
566 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2013 : 5:12:57 PM
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Great topic! My grandma made the best chocolate chip cookies hands down. So far, Im the only one in the family who can duplicate them. She also made wonderful divinity.My other grandma makes kolaches (yum!) and a really spicy pumpkin pie. Great memories...
Farmgirl Sister # 3810
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
- Dalai Lama
April is Autism Awareness month. Autism affects 1 in 88 children (1 in 54 boys, including my son). Go to http://www.autismspeaks.org/ to learn more and help Light It Up Blue on April 2nd!
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Edited by - sjmjgirl on Jun 24 2013 5:14:16 PM |
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prariehawk
True Blue Farmgirl
2914 Posts
Cindy
2914 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2013 : 6:06:00 PM
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My grandma made the best Christmas cookies ever. I wish I'd gotten the recipe, but she had a breakdown after my grandpa died and she was never the same afterward. She also made homemade chicken and dumplings. And for some reason, food always tasted different at her house. I'd have a slice of white Bunny bread with Blue bonnet margarine, and then I'd have the same thing at home, but it always tasted better at her house. Can't figure that one out.
Cindy
"Vast floods can't quench love, no matter what love did/ Rivers can't drown love, no matter where love's hid"--Sinead O'Connor
"In many ways, you don't just live in the country, it lives inside you"--Ellen Eilers
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
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CindyG
True Blue Farmgirl
293 Posts
Cindy
Fairfax
VA
USA
293 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2013 : 2:22:53 PM
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Ladies,
In doing a little research, it looks like Stella D'oro no longer makes those Anginetti cookies : ( Bummer because your recipe with cream cheese and pineapple filling sounds scrumptious! My hubby's family is Italian, so maybe I can find out if there is a substitute for these cookies out there.
Here is the Ranger Cookie recipe - and I'll be making some and taking them to a little party Friday evening. Talking about them now has me dreaming about them - really. Please note regarding the recipe, as mush as I love me some butter, these cookies truly require shortening as the fat. I substituted butter once with pretty poor results.
Wheaties Ranger Cookies
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 c multi-purpose white flour
1/2 t baking SODA
1/4 t baking POWDER
1/2 t salt
1/2 c shredded coconut
2 c uncrushed Wheaties
**some recipes include 1/2 c chopped pecans or walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cream shortening, sugars, egg and vanilla.
Mix in remaining ingredients (I blend them in a bowl and then add them to the creamed mixture)
This makes a very stiff dough. Your choice to drop by generously rounded teaspoon 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet OR roll in 1" balls, place on ungreased cookie sheet and slightly flatten the floured bottom of a glass.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just brown on the edges.
Remove from cookie sheet after a minute or two and cool on wire racks.
Grab some ice cold milk and get ready for some seriously tasty crunch!
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CindyG
True Blue Farmgirl
293 Posts
Cindy
Fairfax
VA
USA
293 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2013 : 2:31:34 PM
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MagnoliaWhisper - you said your Grandma's gravy was so yummy. What was her secret?
One thing amazing about grandmas (at least for one of mine - the other was a pretty poor cook I think because she didn't enjoy it) is how they could whip up the most amazing food not just from scratch, but with no written recipe because they made it so often. Pie crust, bread, gravy, all the staples.
My grandma's gravy was so good I swear you'd want to drink it. Her secret was a touch of sweet vermouth in light-colored gravies like chicken and more than a touch in beef gravy. In our house, it ain't gravy with a little sweet vermouth!
Also, your memory about the pie crust pieces in cinnamon and sugar prompted a phone call to my mom - I had forgotten those delicious little gems my mom's mom would give us. And the idea of you sitting next to the pooch for treats was a hoot! My siblings and I lined up like a bunch of begging critters, but we did not have the dignity of a dog being part of the crew. We just begged. My mom said she remembered how the four of us looked like baby birds being fed - noses pointed to the sky, mouths hanging open....and lots of noise! |
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Emily Anna
True Blue Farmgirl
863 Posts
Emily
Fort Atkinson
WI
USA
863 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2013 : 8:23:49 PM
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Great post, Cindy.....but then again, any post about grandmas and memories has to be good! I loved my grandma's chicken and noodle soup. Someting so simple, but her's was extra yummy! When we were younger, she used to make us the best pancakes in shapes of bears. That was always a treat. She also made the best rhubarb bars. Oh! and every christmas she would make trays of cookies for everyone and everyone's favorite was the peanutbutter balls.
Heather and Cindy, your memories of the pie crust is too funny!
Cindy (Prairiehawk) You are soooo right about things tasting better when grandma makes them!
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Cozynana
True Blue Farmgirl
1123 Posts
Kem
1123 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2013 : 04:51:11 AM
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| My grandmother made wonderful twist cinnamon rolls and German chocolate cakes for our birthdays. We always got to choose which one we wanted. I always chose German Chocolate cake. It was out of this world. Every part of it was homemade, no short cuts for her. She also made the best gravy. I used to wait until everyone one had their share and then ladle it on my plate and eat spoon after spoon full. Soooooo delicious. |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4740 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2013 : 06:12:33 AM
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My late maternal grandmother used to make homemade carmel popcorn. It was delicious! My other grandmother couldn't cook or bake anything. Her theory was if it was black, it was done!
Dawn in IL |
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FebruaryViolet
True Blue Farmgirl
4810 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4810 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2013 : 08:39:05 AM
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My Great Grandmother was the cook, sadly, her daughter, my immediate Grandma was NOT. Work and raising 2 small girls on her own left her little time to make treats.
But, Grandma Theodocia made the best potato candy EVER. I could eat that over and over again!
Below is a link to a very similar recipe:
http://wenderly.com/2011/08/17/old-fashioned-potato-candy/
"Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile..."
The Only Living Boy in New York, Paul Simon |
Edited by - FebruaryViolet on Jun 27 2013 08:39:56 AM |
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Killarney
True Blue Farmgirl
5167 Posts
Connie
Arlington
TN
USA
5167 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2013 : 08:50:52 AM
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Fried Green Tomatoes! They never made it to the table! LOL! We would stand in the kitchen and as soon as one went from the skillet to the plate ,we would use a napkin to snatch it up! LOL!! She always soaked hers in ice water right before she cooked them! I never knew what she used for her coating, but it was so good!!
Imagine....#3392 |
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Melina
True Blue Farmgirl
435 Posts
Melina
USA
435 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2013 : 10:43:58 AM
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Oh, this is a very easy one for me. My grandma made fried pies filled with apples. They were dried apples she would reconstitute with water and a little cinnamon. They were sooo good and I can still remember the heavenly smell of frying Crisco and dough. I can't imagine all that transfatty stuff now, but back then it was wonderful.
The morning breeze has secrets to tell you. Do not go back to sleep.
Rumi |
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2013 : 11:55:16 AM
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Cindy, had a lot of great memories of my Grandma's cooking, graveys, potroasts that melted in your mouth, but one of my favorites was her "peach cobbler", I was never able to make it taste like hers...
Stephanie, my late husbands mom made "Kolaches" by the dozens, with every filling that you could think of plus more, there again I was never able to perfect makeing them, it was a loss when she passed...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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soapmommy60543
True Blue Farmgirl
2197 Posts
Ann
Oswego
IL
USA
2197 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2013 : 1:59:24 PM
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This will totally make you laugh, but my favorite things that my grandmas made for me:
1) Mom's mom made me hot cocoa every morning when we lived in an apartment above her house. And it was whatever cocoa mix was on sale.
2) Farmer Grandma - made the BEST pancakes in the known universe. They were Bisquick.
Really great recipe for butterscotch that my great-grandma made is on my blog.
Great memories and recipes ladies!
Wife of terrific hubby and mom to 2 teenagers, 2 bunnies, 2 geriatric goldfish, and the best dog in the world!
Check out my blog: http://www.suburbanprairiehomemaker.com
and follow me on Facebook (Suburban Prairie Homemaker), Twitter (@sphomemaker), and Pinterest (Suburban Prairie Homemaker)
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CindyG
True Blue Farmgirl
293 Posts
Cindy
Fairfax
VA
USA
293 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2013 : 3:14:38 PM
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Melina, I can imagine all those fried pie transfats now....or worse, and all I can say is YUM.
Anybody know about Hersherbergers Truck Patch outside Berlin OH? I know "fry pies" are popular all over that area, but Hershbergers seems to make the best. Fried in lard - yup - and dunked in a sugar glaze when they are hot and then AGAIN after it cools so there is even more sweet wrapped around all that fat and pie. If you haven't had one and find yourself in the area, they are worth the trip outside of town.
While they don't have a grandma's loving touch, they do have Amish skill and farm-fresh ingredients so they might almost be as good as Grandma's. Almost. |
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alterationsbyemily
True Blue Farmgirl
686 Posts
Emily
Chambersburg
PA
USA
686 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2013 : 7:12:31 PM
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Love this thread!
My Grandma would make the best potatoe salad in the world. She would always make a big deal about how difficult it was to make... and I have found it really is not that hard. I guess she just wanted us to appreciate it more. Another thing she made was Date and Nut bread, I dream about that during the holiday season. She even made it in vintage beer cans.
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Farmgirl #2951
2012 Farmgirl of the Year
http://simpileeliving.blogspot.com/
And my new Etsy listings http://www.etsy.com/shop/alterationsbyemily |
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2013 : 8:54:52 PM
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Thank you for sharing your recipe, Cindy! Girls - please share 'em all with us!!!
I didn't know that they had stopped making the Stella D'oro Anginetti cookies, either, but after some research, I found this recipe: http://www.cooks.com/recipe/ik85f7fj/anginetti-cookies-like-stella-doro.html Can't wait to try it!
Have a great weekend, girls!
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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Betty J.
True Blue Farmgirl
1403 Posts
Betty
Pasco
WA
USA
1403 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2013 : 9:14:31 PM
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My grandma used to make a confection she called "sugar pie." Oh, that was so sweet and good. It had a crust and was so sweet and delicious. She took the recipe to the grave with her, like a lot of other good things she had in her brain. She made a delicious cherry pie too, made with tart, tangy. sour cherries. All the baking she did on a wood stove. She was a marvelous cook.
Betty in Pasco |
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FebruaryViolet
True Blue Farmgirl
4810 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4810 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2013 : 9:19:17 PM
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Betty, that is so strange! Just as I was thinking that I wanted to post another "treat" my Great Gran was famous for, I read your post about sugar pie. I was going to write that my Gran, Theodocia was famous for her Sugar Cream Pie, which she also made on a wood stove. It was oh so rich, and totally decadent. She too took her recipe with her, and I have tried about.....72 different Sugar Cream Pie recipes until I found the exact recipe she used in a modern cookbook called Prairie Home Cooking. What I remember most, is her standing in the kitchen with her apron on, mixing the contents of the pie, in the pie shell with her fingers. And then putting pats of butter on the top. The recipe I ran across in that cookbook said cooks always mixed the pie in the shell with their fingers so I knew I had her recipe. It was probably Shaker in origin, but by the time it got to my Gran as a newly married young woman in 1920, it was sort of "owned" by Indiana and called Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie.
"Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile..."
The Only Living Boy in New York, Paul Simon |
Edited by - FebruaryViolet on Jun 28 2013 9:30:03 PM |
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Dorinda
True Blue Farmgirl
1023 Posts
Dorinda
St. Cloud
Florida
USA
1023 Posts |
Posted - Jul 01 2013 : 05:08:44 AM
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My Grandma made the best buttermilk biscuits ever. Remember the king syrup you could buy. It came in a can that looked like a paint can.
You can still buy the syrup but it comes in a bottle now. Anyways she would pour that syrup on our plates and give us each a big fat buttermilk biscuit and then she would tell us to get to sopping up that syrup with it. It was so dang good. I can make her biscuits pretty good. But it took years of practice. Oh you can only find the syrup near the mountain areas now. Or order it off line. I know they do not sale it here in Florida. What I would give for one of her big fat biscuits this morning.
Seize The Day!
Dorinda |
Edited by - Dorinda on Jul 01 2013 05:09:49 AM |
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carolj
True Blue Farmgirl
244 Posts
Carol
Waynesboro
Georgia
USA
244 Posts |
Posted - Jul 01 2013 : 07:03:54 AM
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My grandmother made what we called rag toast. A piece of buttered bread "toasted" on one side only in a cast iron skillet. We would dip it into our hot chocolate (the real deal, not instant). I can still taste that combination of sweet and salty just thinking about it. She really knew how to make her morning-grumpy grandchildren smile.
Carol
Sow what you want to reap.
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HealingTouch
True Blue Farmgirl
3448 Posts
Darlene
Kunkletown
Pa
USA
3448 Posts |
Posted - Jul 01 2013 : 10:09:23 AM
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My maternal GM was a great cook. I can still see her always with her apron on and cooking at her woodstove. I have one of her aprons but what I wouldn't give for that big old stove! She always made homemade bread and the minute we smelled it baking my sisters and cousins were at the table waiting for it to come out of the oven. We would slather it with butter and it would melt right into the hot bread! I always felt sorry for her because we ate all or most of it no matter how many she made!LOL! She also made the best apple strudel and poppyseed bread. She would stretch that dough so thin for the strudel without tearing it. I have no recipes. Everytime I asked her for one she would say, butter the size of an egg, a hand full or a coffee cup of whatever it was. As a young wife in 1969 it was frustrating but now I cook the same way. By look, feel or taste!
Be Blessed,
Darlene
Sister 1922
God first, everything else after!
When Satan's knocking at your door, just say "Jesus will you get that for me?"
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Farm Kitchen: Favorite treat Grandma made? |
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Favorite treat Grandma made?
