We took an extended trip east the summer I turned ten. My father ordered a book of road maps from Conoco that traced the routes he would drive between anticipated stops. By the time we reached Jamestown, Virginia, my brother Alan had rebelled against all those stops and refused to get out of the car. To Dad's dismay, he read comic books while the rest of us explored the sparse foundations of that first English settlement.
When we finally arrived at our lodging place in Williamsburg, Alan perked up. Tidewater Virginia gets hot and muggy in mid-summer, and we three children quickly donned our swim suits and rushed out to the pool. Alan dove in first, forgetting to take off his watch. No waterproof watches back then, and his was ruined.
Good restaurants were hard to find in small-town America of the 1940s. Dad had endured more "warmed over mashed potatoes" in storefront restaurants than he wanted, so he brought home a travel lunch pack, consisting of a long metal box for sandwiches and two quart-size thermoses. These three items fit compactly into a zippered carrying case. While Dad packed the car, Mom made thick ham sandwiches wrapped in wax paper and filled the thermoses with fresh coffee and cold milk. She always found room for some homemade cookies.
These sturdy orange slice cookies might well have been part of the lunch. The recipe comes from the wife of a lawyer who'd been my father's friend since childhood. Chewy bits of candy and coconut, plus the brown sugar flavor make for uncommonly good cookies.
Betty's Orange Slice Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 and 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut
1 cup orange slice candy, cut in small pieces.
Cream shortening and sugar; beat in the eggs. Add dry ingredients, then the candy pieces and coconut, mixing well. Form dough into small balls, about the size of walnuts, and press down slightly on greased baking sheet. Bake at 375-400 degrees until lightly browned.
Mom's Note: At 350 degrees, they'll be underdone.
My curiosity about cooking surfaced the summer I graduated from high school. My girl friends and I had just discovered Chef Boyardee pizza, and we decided to make one at my house. We added sliced black olives and extra cheese to the basic sauce and cheese provided in the package. Mom observed the way I decorated the pizza with these additions and decided I might make a good cook. So began our long-time collaboration in this most creative and pleasurable aspect of homemaking.
Everyone loves the flavor of sugar cookies, whether cut into intriguing shapes and decorated with colorful sprinkles or simply made into round cookies glistening with sugar. I have two identical recipe cards for these sugar cookies, attributed to two different women who were older friends of my mother. In her cookbook, she gave the honor to Mrs. Paulk, but the duplication shows how freely women shared their recipes in those days. Read More...
When we finally arrived at our lodging place in Williamsburg, Alan perked up. Tidewater Virginia gets hot and muggy in mid-summer, and we three children quickly donned our swim suits and rushed out to the pool. Alan dove in first, forgetting to take off his watch. No waterproof watches back then, and his was ruined.
Good restaurants were hard to find in small-town America of the 1940s. Dad had endured more "warmed over mashed potatoes" in storefront restaurants than he wanted, so he brought home a travel lunch pack, consisting of a long metal box for sandwiches and two quart-size thermoses. These three items fit compactly into a zippered carrying case. While Dad packed the car, Mom made thick ham sandwiches wrapped in wax paper and filled the thermoses with fresh coffee and cold milk. She always found room for some homemade cookies.
These sturdy orange slice cookies might well have been part of the lunch. The recipe comes from the wife of a lawyer who'd been my father's friend since childhood. Chewy bits of candy and coconut, plus the brown sugar flavor make for uncommonly good cookies.
Betty's Orange Slice Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 and 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut
1 cup orange slice candy, cut in small pieces.
Cream shortening and sugar; beat in the eggs. Add dry ingredients, then the candy pieces and coconut, mixing well. Form dough into small balls, about the size of walnuts, and press down slightly on greased baking sheet. Bake at 375-400 degrees until lightly browned.
Mom's Note: At 350 degrees, they'll be underdone.
My curiosity about cooking surfaced the summer I graduated from high school. My girl friends and I had just discovered Chef Boyardee pizza, and we decided to make one at my house. We added sliced black olives and extra cheese to the basic sauce and cheese provided in the package. Mom observed the way I decorated the pizza with these additions and decided I might make a good cook. So began our long-time collaboration in this most creative and pleasurable aspect of homemaking.
Everyone loves the flavor of sugar cookies, whether cut into intriguing shapes and decorated with colorful sprinkles or simply made into round cookies glistening with sugar. I have two identical recipe cards for these sugar cookies, attributed to two different women who were older friends of my mother. In her cookbook, she gave the honor to Mrs. Paulk, but the duplication shows how freely women shared their recipes in those days. Read More...
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