Aunt Bess' English Toffee

1 lb sugar (2 1/2 cups)
1 lb butter 
2 6 oz packages of chocolate chips
1/2 cup ground almonds
1 cup walnuts, chopped fine
​
  • Cook butter and sugar in a heavy saucepan stirring constantly.  Use moderate heat and never leave it during cooking.  Cook until it stops foaming up and settles a bit.  It should look satiny and a caramel color (300 degrees on a candy thermometer.)  
  • Remove from heat; stir in ground almonds and spread over a 12" x 18" cookie sheet.  Cool.
  • Melt 6 oz of chocolate chips in a double boiler.  Spread on one side of cooled candy.  
  • Sprinkle 1/2 of the walnuts on top.  Cool until chocolate is thoroughly set.
  • Turn the candy over.  Melt the other 6 oz of chocolate chips.  Spread on candy and sprinkle on walnuts.
  

Whole Wheat Carrot Cake*

2 large eggs
2/3 cup salad oil
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp soda
1 cup grated carrots (finely grated carrots blend better; coarsely grated provide a bit more texture)
  • Stir together the dry ingredients and set aside.
  • In a larger bowl, beat the eggs, oil, and carrots.
  • Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir just until blended.
  • Pour into a greased 8"x 8" square baking pan.  
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Let cool in the pan.
  • When it's cool frost it with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 1/2 oz cream cheese (1/2 of a 3 oz bar)
1/4 cup butter or oleo, softened
1/2 tsp grated orange peel
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
  • Cream together the cream cheese and butter (don't use oleo!)
  • Add in the orange peel and vanilla; stir thoroughly.
  • Add in the powdered sugar, a 1/2 cup at a time.  You may need a little more or a little less as you approach the 2 cup mark.  Check the consistency often.  If you add too much, dribble in some milk.
  • Frost your cake!  
  • Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped walnuts, or a bit of grated orange peel.
​

Popcorn Balls

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
​1/2 cup butter
extra butter for hands
1 package popcorn.  Use a type that doesn't have butter or flavorings added.

To store the popcorn balls, you'll need the following:
10-15 pieces of saran wrap torn into 12" squares.  If you use this approach it's best to do it one or two squares at a time, or they stick together and drive you crazy.  You'll also need some string or ribbon to tie the wrap as you go. 
OR for a faster though not as pretty approach, use sandwich bags that seal and hold them open as the "popcorn crew" drops the balls in the bags.
  • Pop the popcorn.  Pour into a large bowl, or two.  Remove any unpopped kernals.
  • Prepare the sauce:  Combine the butter, corn syrup and brown sugar in a sauce pan.  Cook about 7 minutes at a medium low heat.
  • Let sauce mixture cool for 10 minutes.
  • Pour sauce over popcorn, stirring to try to cover most of the kernals.
  • Allow the mixture to cool.  Check it at the bottom of the bowl.   Stir it up to make sure there is consistent cooling. 
  • Assign someone (in our household, kids formed the popcorn balls, adults handled logistics) to wrap the balls as they're prepared by the popcorn ball crew.
  • ​Popcorn ball crew:  Grab a couple teaspoons worth of soft butter and spread it on the palms of your hands.  You will probably need to recoat your hands during this process.  Form the popcorn into a nice size ball, pressing it together gently, but firmly. Hand off to the wrapping crew.

Grandma Jean's Pie Crust

3 cups sifted flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cold water
1 egg, beaten
  • Mix flour and salt.
  • Cut butter into flour mixture.
  • Add lemon juice, water and egg.  Continue to cut into mixture.  Knead mixture to finish mixing.  If too dry add a tsp of water at a time until it feels right.
  • Roll out on a floured board.  Makes 3 pie crusts.  
  • For recipes that require a pre-baked pie crust, bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes.

I stopped using shortening and switched to butter several years ago.  Unless you have access to bear lard, butter is my preference.  I also did a no-salt in anything stint for a while.  It really isn't the best way to bake, as salt makes things happen in the baking process, besides making things taste good.

Chewy Fudge Bars

15 graham crackers
1 1/3 cups sweetened condensed milk
1 7 oz package chocolate chips
​1/2 c walnuts
  • Crush graham crackers very fine.  (See note below.)
  • Add everything together and mix .
  • Backe in a 8x8 greased baking disch at 350 degrees about 30 minutes.
  • Let cool about 5 minutes, then cut and remove from the pan.

This is an old recipe.  I have found that the graham crackers we buy now are smaller than they used to be, so I always end up adding a 2 more.

Walnut Pie

4 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/8 tsp salt
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

1 9-inch unbaked pastry shell
  • Combine butter, sugars, and salt.
  • Beat eggs in separate bowl and add; mix well
  • Stir in  milk, corn syrup, vanilla and nuts.  
  • Pour into pastry shell. 
  • Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or til knife inserted off-center comes out clean.

Cocoa Fudge Frosting

1/ cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 lb powdered sugar (3 2/3 cups)
1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp milk
​1 tsp vanilla
  • Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add cocoa; stir until blended and no lumps.  Remove from heat.
  • Add alternately powdered sugar and milk.  May need a bit more milk (if seems too dry) or more sugar if too wet)
  • Blend in vanilla.
  • Spread while warm.