Chicken Paprika

1 large cooked chicken
4 T paprika
3 T cooking oil
2 onions sliced
2 green peppers, chopped
1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 c chicken broth
salt and pepper
2 c sour cream
2 T cornstarch

Remove the chicken meat from the skin, bones, and carcass. (Save the skin and bones to make stock.) Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces.

In a dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the paprika and fry for a minute. Add the onions, peppers, mushrooms, and garlic. Fry for five minutes or so until the vegetables are soft. Stir occasionally.

Add the chicken and chicken broth. Cover the pot, and simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with some of the cooking liquid. Slowly stir into the pot, and cook until the liquid is thickened. Remove the pot from the heat. Slowly stir in the sour cream. Serve over noodles or rice.

Date No-Bake Cookies

2 c graham cracker crumbs
2-1/2 c small marshmallows
1 c chopped dates
1/2 c chopped nuts
1 can Eagle brand condensed milk

Mix well and form into small balls and roll in Angel flake coconut.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2-1/4 c flour
1/2 t soda
1 t salt
1 c shortening
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c white sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2 t vanilla
1 c chopped nuts
1 c chocolate chips

Sift flour, soda, and salt together. Cream shortening, brown and granulated sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat thoroughly. Add sifted dry ingredients. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips. Drop from teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet. Bake in moderate oven (350°F) about 10 minutes.

Soft Sugar Cookies

5 c flour
2 c sugar
1 c sour cream
1 c shortening
1 t soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t salt
4 eggs

Mix as little as possible. Chill. Roll out. Bake at 400°F.

Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 c shortening
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c milk
2 c oats
2 c flour
3/4 t soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 c raisins

Mix in order given. Drop by teaspoonfuls on baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes.

Note: Cost of ingredients approximates 7¢ per dozen cookies (1944).

English Cookies

2 c brown sugar
1 c shortening
1 t baking powder
1 t soda
1 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
1 c cold coffee
2 eggs
3 c flour
2 c raisins
1/2 c chopped nuts

Sift together dry ingredients. Mix in the other ingredients. Drop by teaspoonfuls on a greased pan. Bake in a medium oven (350°F) for 10 minutes.

Toffee

Norma Dobler

1 c butter
1 c sugar
3 T water

Boil rapidly 10 minutes on high.

Add 1 t vanilla. Pour into two 9-inch pie pans. As soon as slightly set on surface, place 1-1/2 Hershey bars on each. Spread to cover surface, cool, and break into pieces. ou can spread surface with chopped nuts.

Note: This recipe was from my mother's best friend, Norma Dobler. This was always a Christmas treat, and we often received a box of toffee from the Doblers.

Uncooked Fudge

4-1/2 c sugar
1 can evaporated milk

Boil five minutes. Remove from heat and add:

3 large (5 oz) Hershey bars
2 packages chocolate chips
1 pint marshmallow creme

Add quickly to sugar mixture, stir, pour out into pan.

Peanut Brittle

2 c sugar
1 c light corn syrup
1 lb unroasted peanuts
1 t vanilla
1 t water
1 t soda
1/4 t salt

Combine sugar and syrup in heavy skillet, stir until sugar dissolves. Heat slowly to boiling, stiring constantly. Cook to hard crack stage (290°F). Add peanuts and continue cooking until peanuts are a light tan color, stirring constantly - about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, add vanilla, water, and soda. Stir slightly. Pour into well-greased pan or platter.

Chocolate Waffles

1 c sugar
1/2 c butter
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1 c chopped walnuts
1-1/2 c flour
1 t baking powder
2 squares chocolate, melted

Mix in order given. Drop by tablespoon, one in each section of a waffle iron. Bake three minutes. Do not substitute shortening for butter.

Note: These were a special dessert when we were kids. Mom served them with whipped cream.

Chocolate Chip Fudge

4 c sugar
1/2 lb butter
1 large can evaporated milk
1/8 t salt
14 oz chocolate chips
1 pint marshmallow creme
1 t vanilla

Cook to a soft but firm ball, stirring most of the time. When it has reached the right consistenc, add the chocolate chips and the marshmallow creme. Beat until cool, and add the vanilla. Optionally add nuts, raisins, coconut, or peanut butter.

Fudge Squares

3/4 c sifted cake flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/8 t salt
1/3 c shortening
2 oz (squares) chocolate
1 c sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1 t vanilla

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Melt shortening with chocolate. Beat sugar into eggs, add chocolate mixture and blend. Add sifted ingredients, nuts, and vanilla, and mix well. Bake in a greased 8"x8" pan in a moderate oven (350°F) about 35 minutes

Cool and cut into squares. Makes about two dozen

Yummy Balls

1 c butter
6 round T sugar
2 c flour
2 c nuts
2 t vanilla

Shape in round, small balls. Cook in slow oven 325° 20 - 30 minutes. Roll in powdered sugar. Keep in cool place. Keeps for months.

Divinity Fudge

2-1/2 c sugar
1/2 c corn syrup
2 egg whites
1/2 c water
1 t vanilla
3/4 c chopped walnuts

Cook sugar, syrup, and water until it spins a thread. Slowly pour 1/2 mixture on egg whites which have been beaten stiff. Cook other half until it will form a hard ball in cold water. Add this to other half of mixture. Beat until creamy. Add vanilla and nuts and stir in thoroughly.

Caramels

2 c sugar
1-1/2 corn syrup
1 c butter
2 c cream or evaporated milk
2 t vanilla
1 c nuts

Put sugar, syrup, and butter and 1 c cream on stove, stirring constantly. When it boils stir in second cup of cream. Continue stirring. When it forms a brittle ball in water, take from stove and beat at once until thick. Add nuts and vanilla, and pour into greased pan. When solid turn out of pan and cut with a sawing motion.

For chocolate caramels add 2 squares chocolate at the first.

Meringue

3 or 4 large egg whites, beaten stiff (including a pinch of salt)

Fold in:
1 c sifted sugar
10 small soda crackers crushed very fine
1 t baking powder
1/2 c chopped nut meats
1 t vanilla

Bake for 30 minutes in ungreased pie pan at 335°.

Oatmeal Cake

Add 1 c quick oats to 1-1/3 c boiling water. Set aside.

Cream:
1/2 c shortening
1 c brown sugar
1 c white sugar
2 eggs

Mix together:
1-1/2 c flour
1/2 t salt
1 t soda
1 t cinnamon.

Mix the dry ingredients with the creamed shortening mixture. Stir in the oatmeal. Bake in greased 9-inch pans at 350°.

Frosting:
1 stick margarine
1 c brown sugar
2 T condensed milk

Boil 1 minute. Add 1/2 c nuts and 1/2 c coconut. Mix well, pour on hot cake, and brown under the broiler.

Walnut Meringue Torte

I'm sure that my Mother never made this recipe, at least never made it after I was born.

3 egg whites
1/4 t cream of tartar
32 California walnut halves
2 c heavy cream
1 to 2 pt of slightly soft butter pecan ice cream

Day before:

1. On two pieces of wax paper draw a 9-inch circle; place each on a greased cookie sheet. Heat oven to 300°.

2. In a medium bowl, with mixer at high speed beat egg whites with cream of tartar until frothy. With mixer at low speed, beat in 1 c sugar, 2 T at a time. Beat at high speed until very stiff and glossy.

3. With half meringue mixture in decorating bag and pastry tube no. 5, make a ring around inner ring of one of the circles. Then top entire circle quickly with parallel lines of meringue in one direction, then three more, crisscrossing them.

Repeat step 3 on the remaining circle. Bake both meringue rings in the same oven for 30 minutes or until light brown, exchanging lower sheet for upper in 15 minutes. When done, peel wax paper from meringues at once on cake rack.

5. In small skillet, over medium heat, melt 2 c sugar until it forms a golden syrup. Drop walnuts a few at a time, into syrup, coating all sides. With fork, place 2 walnut halves together.

Next day, about 15 minutes before serving:

1. Whip cream until stiff. On large cake plate, spread a thin layer of cream in same circle as meringue. Place one of the rings on the whipped cream.

2. Now spoon ice cream evenly over meringue. Then top with second ring. With some remaining whipped cream, in decorating bag with pastry tube no. 5, fill each of the 16 holes in lattice pattern with a mound; top each with a glazed walnut.

3. With rest of whipped cream make rosettes around sides. Serves 12

Substitute raspberry sherbet for butter pecan ice cream, and fresh raspberries for glazed walnuts.

Coffee Cake

2 c flour
1/2 t salt
4 t baking powder
2 T sugar
1/2 c milk
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
1/2 c shortening
1 egg

Mix as you would for biscuits. Pat dough into pan (8 x 8) and top with:
1/4 c sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
2 T butter

Bake in hot (400°) oven.

Chocolate Angel Food

11 egg whites
2/3 c flour
1/3 c cocoa
1-1/2 c sugar
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 t cream of tartar
1 t vanilla

Beat whites, before stiff add salt and cream of tartar. Add sifted sugar and baking powder. Add flour and cocoa which are sifted together. Vanilla. Bake as other angel food cakes.

Note: Beware of the pitfalls of this recipe. Usually the flour is folded into the whites in angel food recipes. This looks like an interesting cake, though - chocolate angel food?