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Great Recipes From the Past

Archives for October 2018

Pumpkin Bars

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This recipe for Pumpkin Bars comes from House Specialties Encore by Deanna House. House taught home economics for years and also wrote extensively. You can find used copies of her books online…just go googling.

“Each fall when the pumpkins are harvested, I review my file of pumpkin recipes and find these charming pumpkin bars top the list of ‘must bake’ recipes. These are so easy and so delicious,” writes House.

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Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients

Cookie Bar

  • 1 2/3 cups sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 15-ounce can pumpkin
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1 3-ounce package cream cheese softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups confectioner's sugar sifted

Instructions

  1. In large mixing bowl, beat together eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin with an electric mixture until light and fluffy. 

  2. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

  3. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and mix thoroughly.

  4. Spread batter in ungreased 10x15 inch jelly roll pan. 

  5. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Cool.

  6. In medium mixing bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese. Stir in vanilla.

  7. Add confectioner's sugar a little at a time, beating well, until blended.

  8. Frost cooled pumpkin bars. Chill. Cut into bars and store chilled in covered container.

Perfumed Rose Petals

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The Cross Country Cookery cookbook has all sorts of delicious recipes. It also has a handful of old-time homesteading ‘recipes’ like this one for perfumed rose petals.

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Perfumed Rose Petals

Ingredients

  • 2 gallon rose petals loosely packed
  • 1/2 oz oil of geranium
  • 1/2 oz oil of cloves
  • 1/2 oz oil of lavender
  • 1/2 oz oil of spike

Instructions

  1. Measure rose petals when fresh. Gather 1/2 gallon at a time just before they shatter from the stems. Spread the gathered petals loosely on newspaper in coolroom. Mark date of petals gathered on each paper. The petals must be stirred each day so they will dry properly. It takes 4-6 weeks for petals to dry.
  2. After petals are dried, put them in aluminum pan (aluminum will not absorb the "precious oils"). The oils are mixed together, and then poured over the petals which are stirred well. Mix dried petals from your geraniums, larkspur, statice, lavender, blue salvia for color. Before placing in container, rub the inside of the container with glycerine. This will prevent loss of oils.
  3. Put some in a ginger jar - or net, tied with velvet ribbon and small velvet flours for a nice gift!

Recipe Notes

This recipe came from Hawaii.

Sicilian Sweet and Sour Pumpkin

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This recipe for Sicilian Sweet and Sour Pumpkin comes from my personal collection of recipes. I think this version probably came from an old edition of Cooking Light or Vegetarian Times, though I can’t be sure.

It’s a nice twist on pumpkin, that’s for sure, and would work well with most any winter squash.

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Sicilian Sweet and Sour Pumpkin

Course Side Dish

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds pumpkin baked and cubed
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
  • 2 onions thinly sliced
  • 6 tablespoons sugar
  • 2/3 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint chopped

Instructions

  1. Cook onions in 1 cup stock until tender. 

  2. When most of the liquid has evaporated, sprinkle the onions with sugar and cook until onions begin to caramelize.

  3. Add vinegar, and remaining stock, and continue cooking until onions are deep brown but not burned.

  4. Toss pumpkin cubes with onion and stir to coat.

  5. Sprinkle with coarsely chopped mint and serve hot.

Date Nut Cookies

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The request for these Date Nut Cookies comes from reader Darlene. Looks like these would be a lovely Christmas cookie.

Sadly, Darlene lost all of her collection in the Katrina hurricane. She said that after the collection was under water, it turned into one solid block of recipe cards that could not be separated. The collection I got at the thrift store had some cards sticking together, but definitely not that bad.

Darlene also asked for Shortbread Squares!

Date Nut Cookies My Great Recipes

Using only a few ingredients make these crunchy cookies easy to put together. There is also very little clean-up.  These cookies can be frozen if packed airtight.

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Date Nut Cookies

Course Cookies
Keyword Date, Nuts

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup dates pitted and finely snipped
  • 1/2 cup walnuts chopped

Instructions

  1. Cream butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until blended. With hands, work in flour, dates, and nuts.

  2. Shape into 1-inch balls. Arrange close together (cookies do not spread) on buttered cookie sheets.

  3. Bake at 300 (above center of oven to avoid excessive browning on bottom) for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

  4. Remove from sheets. Roll in additional powdered sugar while still warm. Cool on wire racks. Store airtight.

Date Nut Cookies My Great Recipes

Shortbread Squares

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The request for these Shortbread Squares comes from reader Darlene who asked for “Shortbread Cookies.” These are as close as I can get! Looks like these would be a lovely Christmas cookie, too.

Sadly, Darlene lost all of her collection in the Katrina hurricane. She said that after the collection was under water, it turned into one solid block of recipe cards that could not be separated. The collection I got at the thrift store had some cards sticking together, but definitely not that bad.

Darlene also asked for Date Nut Cookies!

These bite-sized cookies are very easy to make and can be made well ahead. They keep their flavor and texture if stored airtight in a cool place. They are not oversweet and almost melt in the mouth.

Good served with tea or coffee, and with fruit, frozen desserts, and many light desserts.

Shortbread Squares My Great Recipes

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Shortbread Squares


Course Cookies
Keyword shortbread

Ingredients

  • 2 cups butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • colored, coarse, granulated sugar

Instructions

  1. Butter a 13x9 baking pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 275.

  2. Cream together butter and sugar by hand or with mixture until creamy and smooth.

  3. Add flour all at once. Mix with hands or spoon until ingredients are well blended. Turn mixture into prepared pan.

  4. Cover with waxed paper. Evenly spread dough by pressing on paper with palms of hands. Remove paper. Prick top of dough closely with fork.

  5. Bake on center shelf at 275 for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off heat. Remove pan from oven.

  6. Cut at once into 1-inch squares. Return pan to oven. Close door. Remove pan when oven is cool.

  7. Sprinkle squares with colored sugar. Store in pan, wrapped airtight in foil, or remove squares and place in airtight containers.

Have all ingredients at room temperature. You can use powered sugar, if you like, instead of the colored granulated sugar. A variety of colors can be used for the granulated sugar. Several colors are often available packed together in glass vials. They enhance plain puddings and fruit when sprinkled on top.

Shortbread Squares My Great Recipes