Enjoy Some Old Fashioned Desserts This Holiday Season
There is just something about old fashioned cakes, pies, cookies, etc that I love. And they are never better than at holiday time. Perhaps because they bring back memories of holiday gatherings with family and friends long gone from our lives. Here are some of my favorite recipes from the days of my childhood over 60 years ago. I hope they will bring good memories to mind for you, too.
My husband’s grandfather raised a whole field full of squash. They were made into delicious pies for the holidays.
Squash Peanut Crunch Pie
Pastry for a 9-inch crust
Ingredients:
- 6 tbsp butter (divided)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp packed light brown sugar (divided)
- 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 cup cooked mashed winter squash
- 1 3/4 cups milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped peanuts
- whipped cream for garnish
- ground nutmeg for garnish
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fit pastry into a 9-inch pie pan. Prick bottom and sides of pie crust and bake for 10 minutes; set aside to cool.
In a medium mixer bowl cream 4 tablespoons of the butter with 1/2 cup of the brown sugar and the pumpkin pie spice. Add the eggs and mix together well. Blend in the sour cream. Gradually blend in the squash and the milk. Add the salt and vanilla extract, mixing well. Pour filling into the prepared pie crust. Bake the pie for 15 minutes then remove from the oven.
While pie bakes, melt the remaining butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the remaining brown sugar and cook, stirring, over low heat until the brown sugar is dissolved. Remove mixture from the heat; add the peanuts and still to coat well. Spoon the peanuts over the pie filling.
Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees and return the pie to the oven. Bake about another 40 minutes or until a butter knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Set on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting to serve. Top each slice with whipped cream and sprinkle with nutmeg.
May use freshly cooked squash or frozen mashed squash that has been thawed.
Nutmeg Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup butter (softened (do not substitute))
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
Directions:
In a large bowl, with mixer set at medium speed, beat the sugar and butter until creamy. That should take about 2 minutes.
Reduce the speed to low and beat in the eggs and vanilla until blended. Gradually beat in the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg until well blended. Scrape down sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.
Divide the dough into 3 equal parts and flatten each into a disk. Wrap each dish in plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is firm enough to roll out, probably about 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
On a lightly floured surface, with a floured rolling pin, roll 1 of the dough disks to 1/8-inch thickness. With floured cookie cutters, cut shapes as desired. Gather up the trimmings, ball up, wrap and refrigerate. Place the cookies about an inch apart on large ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until very lightly browned (do not over bake). Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Repeat the process with the remaining dough, including trimmings, until all the dough is used up. Decorate as desired. Enjoy!
The Author:
I am a grandmother of seven who loved cooking with my grandmothers when I was a child. I enjoying sharing the recipes that have been handed down to me so that the younger generation can enjoy them. http://grandmasvintagerecipes.blogspot.com
