denny's and jan's donuts

This was originally my Grandma Alma's recipe but my parents have made it their own.  Several times a year they do 5, 6 or even 8 batches of these donuts.  Dad has a restaurant fryer with a donut dispenser mounted on it and the batter goes into the dispenser and then the donuts drop out of the dispenser into the hot fat.  Dad is the fryer and mom mixes up the batter.  No matter how many batches they do each one is mixed up individually as they are ready for it.  Grandma's recipe is one that she perfected years ago and mom never wavers from it.  All of the ingredients are added in the order listed and mixed with a mixer until the final 2 cups of flour which are stirred in by hand.  The fat is always lard.  The cream is always whipping cream but not heavy cream.  Mom has a stand mixer but she always uses her small electric hand mixer with the two beaters.   

Denny's and Jan's Donuts

4 eggs

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp nutmeg

scant 1/2 cup whipping cream

1 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup buttermilk with 1 tsp soda

2 cups flour

1/2 cup flour with 2 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt

2 cups flour

In a large mixing bowl start by beating the eggs until they are slightly beaten.  Add the sugar and then the nutmeg.  When those are combined add the scant 1/2 cup whipping cream.  Add the 1 cup buttermilk and mix.  Combine the 3/4 cup buttermilk with the 1 tsp soda and then add to the mixing bowl and mix.  Using the mixer add the first 2 cups of flour.  Mix the baking powder and the salt with the 1/2 cup flour and add to the mix, mixing well.  Remove the mixer and mix in the final 2 cups of flour with a spoon.  My mom uses a large slotted spoon.  Use the dispenser to drop the donuts into the lard which has heated to 375-400° .  Turn the donuts to cook both sides and then drain on paper towels.  We dip the warm donuts in sugar. After they cool mom and dad bag them up in zipper bags and freeze them. 

Mom does not double the recipe or mix it up ahead of time.  She waits to make each succeeding batch until dad is just about ready for it.  I don't know if it is the leavening working for too long or some other issue but the donuts are just not as successful when mixed up differently.  She also is usually on a hunt for whipping cream when she knows they will be making donuts.  For some reason the heavy cream has resulted in less successful donuts when used. Our local grocery stores do not always offer plain whipping cream.  It is worth it though, even if she has to go out of town to get it because the donuts are that good. 

stan's and caroline's lefse

When our family started making lefse this was the first recipe that we used.  It was shared with my mom and dad by friends of theirs.  It was an easy recipe as it used instant potatoes so there was no peeling and cooking of the potatoes.  It made a dough that was easy to work with and had good flavor. 

stan's and caroline's lefse

1 pound package of Hungry Jack instant potatoes (8 cups)

6 1/2 cups boiling water

1 stick blue bonnet margarine

1 stick butter

1/2 cup cream

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp salt

Mix together and then chill overnight. 

4-6 cups flour

The next day, when cold knead in the flour.  Make into balls using approximately 1/4 cup of the dough for each ball and return balls to the refrigerator.  Remove the balls from the refrigerator a couple at a time so that the remainder stay cold.  Roll the ball into a thin round and then cook on a lefse grill.  When cooked fold in quarters and stack in a dish towel to keep them from drying out.  After they have cooled we place ours in a zipper top bag.   

Lisa's favorite kringla

Our Grandma Alma made kringla every year at Christmastime.  It is part of our Norwegian heritage.  We have been unable to locate the recipe used by her and so we have searched out and tried several different variations.  This recipe is one that my sister, Lisa, discovered and uses. 

Lisa's favorite kringla

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup buttermilk

16 ounces cultured sour cream

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

3-4 cups flour

Combine sugar and butter.  Mix in the buttermilk.  Mix the baking soda in the sour cream and then add to the sugar/buttermilk mixture.  Combine the salt and the baking powder with part of the flour and stir into the mixture.  Add the remaining flour.  The dough will be sticky.  Refrigerate at least one hour.  Roll one ounce portions of dough into an 8 inch rope.  A dough scoop works great for portioning the dough into equal size kringlas.  Form the rope into a figure eight.  Bake 350 for 16 minutes (Lisa's original recipe called for baking at 350-400 for 12 minutes) they should be just turning very light brown on the bottoms when done.

Store in a covered container with waxed paper between layers. Lisa places a dish towel over the top layer as well.  This recipe can be doubled. 

grandma alma's peppernuts

I don't remember Grandma making these every year but they I do recall her making them.  Lisa says that this is Grandma's recipe, I think she said it was the first recipe that Grandma gave her.  It makes quite a large batch and is quite labor intensive.  Maybe that is why I don't remember it being there every year.  These are tiny molasses cookies with all the spices that predominate in the fall/harvest/Thanksgiving/Christmas sweets: ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. 

 

Grandma Alma's Peppernuts

2 cup sugar

1 cup shortening

3/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup dark karo syrup

1 egg

1/2 cup coffee

1 Tbsp vinegar

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp ginger

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

6 cups flour

Mix together, chill at least 8 hours or overnight. Shape by rolling into a rope the size of a pencil and then cutting crosswise into small coins. Works well to cut directly onto the cookie sheet.  Bake 350 for 10-12 minutes. 

oscar and alma's popcorn balls

Oscar and Alma were my paternal grandparents, my dad's mom and dad.  They made popcorn balls each Christmas along with a bunch of other--mostly Norwegian--goodies.  My grandmother would load up her popcorn balls into a large red shortening tin each year.  I have one of her tins.

This is her recipe for popcorn balls.  

Oscar and Alma's popcorn balls

5 quarts popped corn

3/4 cup corn syrup

2 Tbsp water

1/4 cup butter

2 1/4 cup confectioners sugar

1 cup marshmallows

Use a large bowl for the popped corn.  In heavy pan combine all but the popped corn and boil over low heat.  Immediately pour over popped corn and mix to coat all popped corn.  Wet hands with cold water and form into balls.  Should make 12 good sized balls or more smaller ones.  Wet hands several times as needed during the forming of the balls. 

chex mix

We make chex mix every Christmas.  Perhaps I am stuck in a rut but I always make the original.  I buy the cereal and the mixed nuts but often forget to get the pretzels and other add ins.  So ours is just cereal and nuts most years.  This year I used a can of mixed nuts and a bag of Spanish peanuts as that is what I had on hand and I usually make a double batch.

Chex mix

6 cups corn chex

6 cups rice chex

6 cups wheat chex

1 container mixed nuts

1 bag Spanish peanuts

12 tbsp butter (1 1/2 sticks)

4 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp seasoned salt

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

Combine the cereal and nuts in a large bowl.  Melt the butter and add the seasonings.  Pour over the cereal and mix well.  Pour the cereal mixture into a roasting pan and bake at 250° for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes.  Pour onto paper towels to cool.

cooling  chex mix

 

puppy chow

We first found this recipe for puppy chow in a church cookbook.  Although it sounds like it is a dog treat it is really people food.  Similar recipes with different names are prevalent now.  We always make the original.  It is quickly put together and requires only a few ingredients and the first two on the list do not even need to be measured.

Puppy chow

12 oz box of Crispix cereal

12 oz package of milk chocolate chips

1 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter

3 cups confectioners sugar

In microwave or stove top melt chocolate chips with peanut butter and butter.  Pour over cereal and stir gently until all pieces are coated.  Pour coated cereal into a brown paper grocery bag and shake with the confectioners sugar until evenly mixed.  Pour onto parchment paper or waxed paper to cool.

 

caramel puffcorn

One of the snacks that we make each Christmas is caramel puffcorn.  We use the Old Dutch Puffcorn and the recipe comes from the back of the package.  It goes together fairly quickly--a few ingredients melted together on top of the stove and poured over the puffcorn in a big bowl.  Stir until all the pieces are coated and then transfer to two parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 45 minutes.  At the end of 45 minutes pour onto parchment or wax paper to cool.  Break apart any large pieces once it is cool.

Caramel puffcorn

1 9 oz package Old Dutch Puffcorn

1 cup (2 sticks) butter (not margarine)

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup white corn syrup

1 tsp baking soda

Place the puffcorn in a large bowl or large roaster.  Combine the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan.  Heat over medium heat until melted.  Stir in the baking soda.  The mixture will foam and lighten in color.  Pour over the puffcorn and stir until thoroughly combined.  Transfer to parchment lined baking sheets or a large roaster.  Bake at 250° for 45 minutes stirring every 15 minutes.  Pour onto parchment or waxed paper to cool and break apart any large pieces.

puffcorn bagged up into single servings

cookie ornaments

I love Christmas kitchens.  I live in a small farmhouse and so I have a small farmhouse kitchen without a lot of room for non-essentials.  Even though it is small I always try to squeeze in a few baking inspired decorations.

I have a piece of garland that I attach to the shelving that surrounds my stove.  It holds some candy canes, a few tiny wooden spoons and spatulas, some tiny rolling pins and a couple of copper cookie cutters.

My daughter added this to my collection this year.

For several years now I have had a small artificial tree in my kitchen.  It is decorated with more rolling pins and candy canes and some "gingerbread" boys that I made several years ago from a dough with only two ingredients--applesauce and cinnamon.  I store them in a zippered plastic bag and they still smell cinnamony when I pull them out and hang them on the tree.

my tree

"gingerbread" ornament

This year while out shopping my mom mentioned that she is thinking that next year she would like a tree in her dining room.  She has a holiday birthday so I am getting her ornament collection started for next year as her birthday gift.  She has Christmas dishes with snowmen on them and loves all things snowmen so I am giving her some "gingerbread" snowflakes to put on her tree.

Cinnamon ornaments

1 cup cinnamon 

3/4 cup applesauce

Mix the applesauce and cinnamon together until it forms a smooth dough.  I used the food processor.  Roll the dough out until it is 1/4 inch thick dusting the rolling surface with additional cinnamon if the dough is too sticky.  Cut with cookie cutter.  Use a drinking straw to poke a hole for the string.  Place on parchment lined baking sheet and bake in 200° oven for 2 1/2 hours.  Cool.  Attach twine for hanging. There are several similar recipes on the internet, with the same ingredients in the same proportions.  Some of those recipes do not require baking but instead are air dried for 2 or more days until they are thoroughly dry.  During the drying process the cookies need to be turned over several times to allow for even drying on both sides.  I used 1 1/2 times the amount of ingredients and made 13 4 inch snowflake ornaments. 

I went looking for candy canes that she could also use on  her tree.  Mine are the wrapped ones and I keep them and use them every year.  This year all our local big box had were the wildly colored ones so I am keeping my eye out for the traditional red and white ones.

Happy Birthday Mom!

I am joining Susan at Between Naps On The Porch for Metamorphosis Monday.

snowman faces

These cookies I made last year for the first time after seeing something similar on a blog.  I used sugar cookies cut into circles and decorated them with royal icing.

cookies ready to decorate

outlining the faces with white royal icing

flooding the outlined areas with thinned icing

the icing is drying

Outlining and flooding the stocking cap with blue royal icing

adding a cuff to the cap with a star tip and white

adding a face with edible marker

painting on a carrot with food coloring and brush

snowman faces cookies

1 recipe vanilla-almond sugar cookies 

1 recipe royal icing (divided)

6 Tbsp meringue powder

scant 3/4 cup water

1 1/2 pounds confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp corn syrup

few drops clear extract

Combine the meringue powder and water in bowl of stand mixer with paddle attachment and mix until foamy.  Add the sifted confectioners sugar, extract and corn syrup and mix until stiff peaks form.  Do not over beat.  Cover until ready to use so it doesn't dry out.  Use as is in decorating bag for outlining and thin with small amounts of water at time to make flood icing for filling in the outlined areas.

When decorating these cookies I used part of the icing in a decorator bag with a round tip to outline the white faces and allowed that to dry. 

I then thinned some of the white with small amounts of water to make flood icing and I used a squeeze bottle to fill in the faces and allowed that to dry.

Next I colored some of the icing with blue food coloring and put some of the blue in a decorating bag with a round tip and outlined the hats which then were left to dry.

The remainder of the blue icing  was thinned to flood the hats and allowed to dry.

Once the hats and faces were dry I used the original white icing with a star tip and piped a cuff on the hats.  I think you could also use the blue for a cuff. 

I used an edible marker to dot on the eyes and smiles.  Some of my cookies were further along in the drying process and the marker made a small dot on top of the cookie surface.  Some of the other cookies were slightly less dry and the marker made a colored depression on the cookie surface. 

Next I mixed a drop of red liquid food color with two drops of yellow to form an orange color and used a small artist brush to add a carrot to the faces.

on a cookie tray

Source for royal icing (recipe and tutorial) here,

snowman cookies

I have to admit that someone more creative than I came up with these cute cookies  (I found them on a blog last year) but they were just too cute not to copy.

I started out by mixing up a favorite sugar cookie recipe and rolling it out and cutting into squares.  Once the cookies were baked and cooled it was time to decorate them.  For the background I used a confectioners sugar icing made with milk and confectioners sugar with a teaspoon of corn syrup and vanilla added.  This will dry hard and allow the tree and snowman to be added over the top.  I started by using white icing to do the snowy ground.  Using a squeeze bottle with a fairly large opening I outlined a rectangle on one edge of the cookie and filled it in. This will be the snow on the ground.

After doing all of the cookies they are set aside to dry.

Then I outlined and filled in the sky portion of the cookie.

 While the icing was still wet I sprinkled it with white sprinkles.

I used white royal icing in a pastry bag to pipe three dots to represent a snowman.  I used pale green icing in a pastry bag to add a Christmas tree. This uses such a tiny bit of royal icing that I decorated these cookies when I was doing other cookies with royal icing.

 

On the cookie tray you can see the finished cookies.  I decided the tree was a little too pastel so I painted a little green food coloring over parts of the tree with an artist's brush.  I used a edible food marker to paint a little black hat above the snowman's head.

snowman cookies

1/2 recipe vanilla-almond sugar cookies

confectioners sugar icing for background

mix together
confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp corn syrup
few drops clear extract
milk, enough to make thin enough glaze to pour and will level

royal icing for snowman and tree

6 Tbsp meringue powder
scant 3/4 cup water
1 1/2 pounds confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp corn syrup
few drops clear extract

Combine the meringue powder and water in bowl of stand mixer with paddle attachment and mix until foamy.  Add the sifted confectioners sugar, extract and corn syrup and mix until stiff peaks form.  Do not over beat.  Cover until ready to use so it doesn't dry out.  Use as is in decorating bag for outlining and thin with small amounts of water at time to make flood icing for filling in the outlined areas.

Source for royal icing (tutorial) here

lefse

Once or twice a winter our family gathers to make lefse.  This year it was the second generation (my parents) and the third generation (Lisa and I and friend Perry) and the fourth generation (Kaylee and Chase).  Nikole (fourth generation) makes lefse at her home and is carrying on the tradition.  She has promised to do a post with her recipe. 

Last year Ruth,  a friend of Mom and Dad, shared with them her recipe and it has become our new favorite.  Where our previous favorite recipe used chilled mashed potatoes this recipe calls for cooking a few  potatoes at a time and rolling them out while still warm. 

Here are a few action shots followed by the recipe.

two lefse rolling pins one with the stockinette on

Lisa at work rolling out the lefsea

one lefse on the board and one on the grill

We use two grills,a stick is used to turn

once cooked the folded  lefses are tucked in a dish towel

a growing pile of lefses

 

Ruth's lefse

Cook five medium potatoes at a time.  Rice them and measure out 2 cups.  While rolling and grilling the first batch another five potatoes are cooking for the second batch.  We used the same potato water, adding more as it cooked away.  

To the 2 cups of riced potatoes add

3 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup cream 

Mix well and then add 

1 1/2 cup flour.  

Divide the lefse dough into ten roughly equal pieces and shape into balls.  We dipped each of the balls into flour and then rolled them out very thinly adding additional flour as needed to keep them from sticking. We use a lefse turning stick to transfer the lefse rounds to the grill.  When the bottom is cooked the stick is used to turn the lefse  over to cook the top side.  When the second side is cooked the turning stick is used to lift the lefse from the grill and  they are placed, folded in quarters, in a pile and covered by a dish towel.  The towel keeps the heat and moisture in and the lefses are  kind of steamed.   Once the pile has cooled we  package them in  ziplock bags and freeze them for Christmas or eat them fresh.  We usually apply a thin layer of butter and a sprinkle of sugar before rolling them up.  We used ten pounds of potatoes (russets) which made 6 or maybe 7 batches.

holly and berry cookies

This cookie recipe was originally in a Christmas baking magazine published many years ago.  The original cookie was a sandwich cookie with a filling and a decorated top.  I cannot recall what the filling was--possibly an uncommon berry--but I remember that the cookie was a sugar cookie type with cinnamon added so I adapted my favorite sugar cookie recipe to add a little cinnamon and decorated the tops in a similar fashion.

The cookies are rolled thin and cut out with a round cookie cutter.  They are frosted with a confectioner's sugar glaze and while the glaze is still wet three red hots or imperials are set in place and the cookies are allowed to dry for several hours.  I often do this step on one day and finish them the next allowing them to dry overnight.

a dab in the center of the cookie

spreading the frosting

I use the tip of a spoon to drop three candies into the wet icing.

five trays of cookies drying

 The next day I paint the holly outlines on each cookie using a tiny paintbrush and liquid green food coloring and let them dry again. I am not very artistic so this is what works best for me:

tiny artist's brush and pinch bowl with 4 drops of food coloring

the stem

one side of the leaf

finished cookie

I paint the curved stem first and then make first one side of the leaf with resembles a cursive u and then make the other side of the leave in the mirror image. 

Holly and berry cookies

1/2 recipe lollie's roll out sugar cookies with 1 tsp cinnamon added with the flour

Confectioners icing

2 cups confectioners sugar

1 tsp corn syrup

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

small amount of milk

candy imperials

liquid green food coloring

Once your  cookies are baked and cooled mix up your confectioners icing using just enough milk to make an icing that will spread easily on the cookie and level itself without running off the edge of the cookie.  I never measure when making this icing so the listed amounts are an approximation.  It might take some experimenting but you can add more liquid or more confectioners sugar until you get a consistency that works.   I have tried using a spoon to drop a bit of icing into the center of the cookie and then used an offset spatula or a butter spreader  to spread the icing to about 1/4 of an inch from  the edges and I have used a squeeze bottle to apply the icing and both work well.

While the icing is still wet place three red hot candies in a little group close to one edge of the cookie.  I usually frost 5 or 6 cookies at a time and then add the candies to those before going on to do more.  I put the cookies on parchment lined baking sheets or trays  and allow them to sit undisturbed to dry.

Once the cookies have dried the glaze should be hard and the candies imbedded.  I put a few drops of green food coloring in a small bowl and use a small artist brush to paint the holly.  I bought a new brush and have used it only for cookies.  Now that they made edible markers I would think that those could be used as well.

snowflake cookies

These are a favorite cookie of mine each year at Christmas.  They are fun in a cookie assortment and add a little sparkle to a cookie tray.

I use lollie's roll out sugar cookie but any cut out sugar cookie recipe would work.  Once the cookies are baked and cooled I frost them with a dab of confectioners sugar icing and while the icing is wet sprinkle them with edible glitter and let them sit until the icing has set.

Here are my cooled cookies on parchment in case some of the icing drips off the cookie.  I use a confectioners sugar icing and I put it in a squeeze bottle for frosting.  Make sure the icing is thin enough to squeeze out of the bottle and thick enough to stay on the cookie.  I used about a cup of confectioners sugar a tsp or so of corn syrup, a few drops of vanilla and maybe a Tbsp of milk.  I mixed it in a bowl and then put it in the bottle.  I have a fairly large opening cut on the tip of the bottle top.  After the first couple of cookies i decided that my icing was too thin so I added a little more confectioners sugar to the bottle and stirred it with the handle of a wooden spoon.

cookies cooling on the rack

This year I tried frosting a few with a six legged cross

icing

and glitter

but decided I liked the look of my old  way better.

a dab in the center

spread to the edges with an offset spatula

and sprinkled with glitter.

The edible glitter that I use is made by Wilton and I have found it with their other decorating supplies.  It comes in a little plastic jar and some jars have a shaker type top.

finished tray of cookies waiting to dry