The Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook (32 page)

Graham Cracker Fluff

2 eggs, separated; whites stiffly beaten
⅔ cup milk
½ cup sugar
1 pkg. unflavored gelatin
½ cup cold water
1 cup cream, whipped
1 tsp. vanilla
3 T. butter, melted
12 graham crackers, crushed
3 T. sugar

In a double boiler, cook, stirring constantly, the egg yolks, milk, and ½ cup sugar until slightly thickened. Remove from heat.

Dissolve gelatin in cold water and then add to hot mixture. Cool until mixture begins to thicken.

Gently blend together the beaten egg whites, whipped cream, and vanilla and then gently fold into the egg yolk and gelatin mixture.

Mix together the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, and 3 T. sugar. Sprinkle a small amount of the graham cracker crumb mixture in the bottom of a serving bowl. Add the fluff and then sprinkle the remainder of the crumbs over the top.

You can double or triple this recipe. A doubled recipe fits in a 9 × 13-inch pan and a tripled recipe fits a 10 × 14-inch pan
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Hunt Pies

10 cups flour
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
16 heaping T. shortening
3 cups milk
Home-canned or store-bought applesauce
cinnamon sugar

Mix together everything but the applesauce. Knead until dough forms a ball and then turn out on floured surface and roll out dough a bit at a time, making sure it’s thin. Cut into circles or squares so that finished size will be approximately 3 × 5 inches or so. Place a good dollop of applesauce on one side of the dough and fold other half over the top. Crimp edges. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or so until pastry is browned and crisp and looks done.

Hunt Pies are the perfect treat for hunting camp. They hold up well under rough conditions
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Lemon Butterceam Frosting

½ cup butter, softened
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
3½ cups powdered sugar
¼ cup milk
1 T. lemon juice

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, lemon rind, vanilla, and salt until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar alternately with the milk and beat until creamy and smooth, beating well after each addition. Beat in the lemon juice.

 

Lemon Meringue Pie

1 9-inch baked pie shell
1½ cups sugar, divided
⅓ cup cornstarch
1½ cups cold water
3 eggs, separated
3 T. butter
4 T. lemon juice
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
½ tsp. vanilla

Lemon Filling

In a saucepan, mix together ½ cup of sugar and the cornstarch. Gradually stir in the cold water. Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and bubbles. Boil 1 minute. Slowly stir half of this mixture into 3 slightly beaten egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue). Then beat this mixture into the hot mixture in the saucepan. Boil 1 minute longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Continue stirring until smooth. Blend in the butter and lemon juice. Pour into the baked pie shell.

Meringue

Beat together the egg whites with cream of tartar and vanilla until frothy. Gradually beat in the rest of the sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until the meringue is stiff and glossy.

Pile the meringue onto pie filling, being careful to seal edges onto the crust to prevent weeping. Pull up points in the meringue for decoration.

Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned. Cool and serve. Best if served the same day.

 

Lemon Sponge Pudding

¼ cup butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
⅓ cup lemon juice
⅓ cup flour
1 T. lemon rind
¼ tsp. salt
1½ cups milk
small pinch cream of tartar
small pinch salt
powdered sugar

In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lemon juice, flour, lemon rind, and salt, a bit at a time, beating well after each addition. Add milk in a stream while beating, and combine the mixture well.

In another bowl beat 3 egg whites with the pinch of cream of tartar and salt until they hold stiff peaks. Stir a quarter of the egg whites into the lemon mixture until thoroughly blended and then gently fold in the remainder of the egg whites.

Place pudding in a buttered soufflé or casserole dish. Set dish in a deep pan and add enough boiling water to the larger pan to reach halfway up the sides of the soufflé dish.

Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 50 minutes.

Sift powdered sugar over the top and serve warm or chilled. The sponge will separate, forming a custard-like sauce on the bottom.

To get rid of sugar ants, place some mint jelly in a jar lid or a small saucer. It kills them as they carry it back to their nest.

 

Mama’s Pie Crust

For Single Crust

1½ cup sifted flour
½ tsp. salt
½ cup shortening or lard

For Double Crust

2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. salt
⅔ cup shortening or lard

In a teacup or small bowl, make a paste with ¼ cup of the above flour (

cup if making double crust) and 3 T. water (¼ cup water for double crust). Set in refrigerator. Add salt to the remaining flour and cut shortening into the flour until the size of small peas. Add the flour and water paste and mix just until dough comes together. Form into a ball and turn out on a floured surface. Roll crust ⅛-inch thick.

Bake at 425° for 12-15 minutes.

When baking an empty pie crust, put a cup of raw white rice or small white beans into the bottom of the crust and then bake. The rice (or beans) will weight the bottom so the crust doesn’t puff up while baking. Save your rice or beans in a marked container for future use when baking pie crusts
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Minted Nuts

1 cup sugar
½ cup water
1 generous T. corn syrup
⅛ tsp. salt
8 marshmallows
½ tsp. essence of peppermint
4 cups walnuts, broken
6 drops green food coloring

Cook slowly together the sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt. Cook until temperature reaches 230° on a candy thermometer. Turn heat off but leave pan over the hot burner and add food coloring and marshmallows. Stir until melted. Add peppermint and nuts. Stir with a circular motion until every nut is coated and the mixture hardens (takes about 5 minutes).

Cool on unglazed paper (paper bags are good). These minted nuts can be kept fresh in tightly covered jars for at least a week.

 

Mix-in-the-Pan Chocolate Cake

1½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
4 T. baking cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
6 T. oil
½ tsp. vanilla
1 T. vinegar
1 cup cold water

In an 8-inch square baking pan, mix together with a fork the flour, sugar, baking cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, vanilla, vinegar, and cold water. Pour all at once into the baking pan with the flour mixture and blend with the fork until thoroughly blended together.

Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

This cake is best eaten fresh and slightly warm from the oven. It’s very good with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
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Never-Fail Pie Crust

2 cups flour
½ tsp. salt
⅔ cup shortening
2 tsp. cider vinegar
1 egg
3½ T. very cold water

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a separate bowl, blend together the vinegar, egg, and water. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour the vinegar mixture in the well, and stir until blended.

Work the dough into a ball and then divide into two smaller balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball into a circle big enough to fit your pie plates with about 1-1½ inches draping over the sides. Transfer the dough to your pie plates by rolling it around your rolling pin and then unrolling dough over the pie plate. Crimp edges.

To bake, prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork. Bake at 425° for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden.

The addition of vinegar to this pastry dough results in a soft and moist crust, and the vinegar helps the crust remain pliable and light even if the dough is overworked
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Nut Balls

⅔ cup butter
1 cup ground nut meats
1 cup flour
3 T. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
powdered sugar

Place all ingredients except powdered sugar in a bowl and work with fingers until well blended. Shape into balls the size of large marbles and place on ungreased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan.

Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. While still warm, roll in powdered sugar.

 

Old-Fashioned Custard Pie

½ cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
2 cups milk
⅛ tsp. salt
nutmeg
1 unbaked pie shell

Combine all the ingredients except for the nutmeg and mix
thoroughly for several minutes. Pour the mixture into the unbaked pie shell and sprinkle generously with nutmeg.

Bake at 450° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° and bake another 30 minutes or until the center tests done.

This is a tried-and-true recipe that you can quickly make when you want to serve something delicious and don’t have a lot in the pantry. Custard pie is tasty simplicity
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