Old Time Fudge

Folks-

The computer was on, so I figured I should power out another Zap 190 recipe. This one I intend to try soon, only I want to try it using whipping cream instead of milk. If I try it, I'll post the results!

-Edly

Old Time Fudge
P. Jones

Ingredients:
2 Cups Sugar
¾ Cup Milk
2 Squares (2 Oz) Unsweetened Chocolate, broken up
1 Teaspoon Light Corn Syrup
2 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
½ Cup Coarsely Chopped Nuts (optional)

Line a 9x5x3” loaf pan with foil, extending foil over the edges of the pan. Butter the foil; set pan aside. Butter the sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan. In the saucepan combine the sugar, milk, chocolate, and corn syrup. Cook over medium-high heat to boiling, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Avoid splashing the mixture on the sides of the pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until a thermometer reads 234 degrees (soft-ball.) The mixture should boil at a moderate, steady rate over the entire surface. Remove the saucepan from heat. Add butter and vanilla but do not stir! Cool without stirring to lukewarm (118 degrees.) Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until fudge is just beginning to thicken; add nuts if desired. Continue to beat until the fudge is very thick, and just begins to lose its gloss. Quickly turn the fudge onto the prepared pan. While warm, score it into 1” squares. When the candy is firm, use the foil to lift it out of the pan; cut candy into squares. Store tightly covered.

Crumb Cake

Folks-

I wanted to power out another recipe or two while I still have my Zap 190 cookbook out. This one is my mom's crumb cake and crumb cake topping recipes. They are very good together, and I just may fix them tomorrow. We'll just have to see...

-Edly

Updated 1/12/2022:

I decided to make this tonight due to having a whole lot of milk on hand (it takes over a quart!) So, I decided to make some changes to the recipe. I used coconut oil instead of margarine or shortening, and half of the 2 teaspoons of vanilla without changing the flavor of the pudding just by changing the order of adding ingredients. I've updated the recipe below.

Crumb Cake
E. Perl

Ingredients:

3 Cups Flour

1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Margarine, Shortening or coconut oil
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Cup to 1-1/2 Cups Milk (approximately)

Mix together flour and sugar and cut in margarine, shortening, or coconut oil (I recommend blending shortening with the coconut oil to keep it from being overwhelming) until crumbly. Save one cup of the crumbs for later. Add the baking powder and salt, then add the milk and vanilla extract and mix until it is the consistency of drop biscuit batter. Spread the batter into a greased cake pan and top with the saved crumbs from earlier. Cook at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until done in the middle.

Crumb Cake Topping

E. Perl

Ingredients:

1 Cup Sugar

5 Tablespoons Flour

4 Cups Milk

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Mix together all ingredients except vanilla extract in a pot. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring vigorously and continuously all the way to the bottom to prevent it from burning (warning! It wants to burn! Like really wants to burn!) until it starts to thicken to the consistency of pudding (at about 200 degrees F.) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract, and then serve warm on a slice of the crumb cake.

Melisse's Candied Walnuts

Folks-

I have a few minutes, and the Holidays are coming up, so I wanted to post the recipe for my grandmother's candied walnuts. It's not hard to make them if you have a candy thermometer, and have some candy making experience.

Here it is!

Melisse's Candied Walnuts

Ingredients:

½ Cup Granulated Sugar

1 Cup Brown Sugar

½ Cup Sour Cream

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

3 Cups Walnut Halves

Combine sugars and sour cream in a saucepan. Cook to soft-ball stage and then add the vanilla. Beat until mixture begins to thicken. Add walnut halves and stir until they are well coated. Turn mixture onto a greased platter and separate. Cool to room temperature.

Fool Proof Pie Crust

Folks-
It's been a while since I've updated the site with a new recipe, and that's because I use the site as my own personal recipe card file. If I haven't needed an old recipe, have been experimenting much in the kitchen, and haven't found a new recipe that I need to add to the old card file, then I don't update.
Well, one of Zhenie's old high-school friends (she went to school in The Philippines, so how did one of her old friends end up living only a mile away?) dropped off a whole bunch of pairs at our house. I was thinking pie, but didn't find my mom's old pie crust recipe online. Time to fix that.
Here's a recipe that my mom got from one of the cooks at the school she retired from:

Fool Proof Pie Crust
4 Cups Flour
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Teaspoons Salt
1 ¾ Cups *Shortening
½ Cup Cold Water
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
1 Large Egg

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the shortening just until mixed in. In a separate bowl, mix together the water, vinegar, and egg. Add liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients just until a kneadable dough forms. Roll out on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. If making an uncooked pie, be sure to poke the bottom of the pie crust multiple times with a fork before cooking to prevent bubbles.
*Shortening is getting harder to find these days. I intend to experiment with a cocoanut oil soon as a replacement. If I do, I'll let you know the results.