Nana’s Pecan Pie

My grandmother, Nana, gave me this recipe when I visited her in 1984.

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup corn syrup
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 3 eggs, well beaten
  • 1 cup pecan pieces
  • 1 unbaked 9″ pie shell
  1. Mix sugar, syrup and butter.
  2. Add eggs and pecans
  3. Fill pie shell with mixture and bake in moderately hot (400F) oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to moderate (350F) and continue baking for 30-35 minutes.

Pie Crumbs

From the King Arthur Flour recipe for Classic Double Pie Crust:

  • 300 g all purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt (less if using salted butter)
  • 46 g shortening (1/4 cup)
  • 142 g cold unsalted butter (10 T)
  1. Combine the flour, salt and shortening in a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs.
  2. Cut the butter in to dice-sized pieces, add to food processor and pulse just enough to distribute. Chunks of butter are actually good for the crust.
  3. Store in a plastic bag in the freezer.
  4. To use, about 250g of pie crumbs are enough for one crust. Let them thaw for 30 minutes or so, then work in enough water to make the crust as usual.

Banana Bread II

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 142 g brown sugar (2/3 cup)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 64 g marmalade or apricot jam (3 T)
  • 85 g honey
  • 2 large eggs
  • 269 g flour (2 1/4 cup)
  1. Preheat oven to 325F. Grease 3 small loaf pans, or 1 9×5 loaf pan.
  2. Beat together butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, soda, powder and salt.
  3. Combine bananas, jam, honey, eggs. Beat into butter mixture.
  4. Stir in flour.
  5. Bake 45 minutes for small pans; 65-75 min for large pan.

Italian Cream Cake

Another favorite from my friend Cathy Cozens. I recall making this for Emily’s third birthday, so that must have been at least 25 years ago!

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1 stick butter (8 oz)
  • 5 eggs, separated
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup coconut
  1. Cream sugar, shortening and butter.
  2. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
  3. Combine flour and soda. Add to butter mixture in small portions, alternating with buttermilk.
  4. Stir in coconut.
  5. Whip egg whites until stiff. Fold into batter.
  6. Pour into 3 greased and floured 9″ round pans.
  7. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 block cream cheese (8oz)
  • 1 lb confectioners sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt.
  • 1-3 tablespoons milk
  1. Have butter and cream cheese at room temperature.
  2. Whip butter and cream cheese together.
  3. Mix in confectioner’s sugar and salt. Whip until desired texture, adding milk as needed.

 

Honey Oatmeal Bread

  • 5 – 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup oats
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 packages active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • Oatmeal
  1. Place 5 cups flour, oats, salt and yeast in mixer bowl with dough hook.
  2. Combine water, honey and butter. Heat to 120-130℉. Slowly add to flour mixture, about 1 minute.
  3. Add eggs, 1 more minute.
  4. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl. Knead an additional 7-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
  5. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
  6. Punch down. Divide into two loaves and place in bread 8.5″ bread pans. Cover and let rise until doubled again, about an hour.
  7. Combine water and egg white. Brush tops of loaves with mixture. Sprinkle with oats. Bake at 375℉ for 40 minutes.
  8. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

Yields two loaves.

Grandma Potatoes

  • 6 small potatoes
  • butter
  • 2 large garlic cloves + 2 small garlic cloves
  • Swiss cheese
  • Milk
  1. Peel potatoes soak in water (6 small for more than 5 ppl)
  2. Butter the dish
  3. Cut garlic
  4. Cut potatoes and slic ch see
  5. Cut up Swiss cheese
  6. Put potatoes in pan (fill pan)
  7. 2 largish garlic clove, two smallish
  8. Some Swiss over potatoes
  9. 10 grinds pepper, cover in salt, mix
  10. Put rest of Swiss
  11. Put on stove
  12. Pour milk to point where you can see it.
  13. Wait until it bubbles
  14. Put in oven
  15. 350, about 30 mins (til looks nice)

Orange Glaze

  • 1 cup confectioner’s sugar (125 g)
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 3 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • orange zest
  1. Mix ingredients. Enough for 8×8 cake, or lightly on a 9×13.

Cranberry Cake

  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter softened (must be soft!)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 12 oz fresh cranberries
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Beat eggs and sugar until thickened and light, about 7 minutes.
  3. With a mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar until slightly thickened and light in color, about 5-7 minutes.
  4. Mix in butter and vanilla.
  5. Mix in flour just until combined.
  6. Stir in cranberries.
  7. Bake in 9X13 until light brown about 40-50 minutes.
  8. Top with Orange Glaze.

Graham Cracker Toffee

  • 14-16 graham crackers
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup salted butter
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 cup pecans, toasted (optional)
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Arrange crackers close together on foil- or parchment-lined baking sheet.
  3. Melt butter and brown sugar together in saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly until it boils, them boil for 2 minutes. Pour over graham crackers. Bake 6-7 minutes or until sugar mixture is bubbly.
  4. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Let sit a few minutes until chocolate is melted, then spread chocolate evenly. Top with optional nuts (or whatever). Let sit for 2 hours before cutting.

Banana Bread

  • 1 3/4 c flour
  • 1/3 c white sugar
  • 1/3 c brown sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 bananas, mashed
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 c oil
  • 1/4 softened butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 buttermilk or light cream
  • 1 c chocolate chips, pecans …
  1. Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Mix together.
  2. Bake at 350F for about an hour.