Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share a virtual kitchen table with other readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by to talk about music, your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper…. Newcomers may notice that many who post in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table and hope to make some new friends as well.
For so many years, no matter what Air Force base my family was on, Christmas was heralded by the arrival of a box of goodies from my father’s sister, a very glamorous woman who liked everyone to call her Aunt Lou. The box would contain a variety of cookies and homemade confections. Aunt Lou has been gone a long time now but years ago, she did share some of her recipes with me. And now I will share them with you.
Sadly, I don’t seem to have her recipe for Peanut Brittle. But that one’s a hard one to make if you don’t have a huge marble slab and Minnesota temperatures to make the candy set right.
Spiced Nuts
4 Tablespoons cold water
2 lightly beaten egg whites
Dissolve ½ cup sugar in egg white and water. Add 1 tsp each salt, cinnamon, cloves, allspice. Mix well. Add 1 pound each walnuts and pecans to mixture. Spread on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 250F until golden — about 1 hour.
This one is technically not a candy but a cookie. But they are tiny, dime sized cookies that kind of eat like candy. Aunt Lou used to make these with her neighbor, Sally. It really does takes two people to manage making this recipe. Getting the frozen dough sliced and into the oven takes coordination. But man, the spicy anise scent of these treats was the aroma of Christmas for me.
By the way, Aunt Lou said you cannot substitute anything for the lard. It won’t work.
Peppernuts (½ recipe)
¾ cup medium syrup
1/8 cup molasses
1 ¼ cup lard
3/8 cup hot water
1 ½ cup sugar
½ Tablespoon soda
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
3/8 tsp anise oil
1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
6 cups flour
Mix into stiff dough. Chill a couple hours.line a 9” 13” pan with wax paper. Roll tablespoons of dough into 12” logs, fold into wax paper. Freeze. Slice into 1/4” rounds. Bake at 375F for about 7 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Coat with powdered sugar.
Below is something that is sometimes called Honeycomb Candy. It’s a miracle of kitchen chemistry.
Fairy Food
1 cup white sugar
1 cup dark syrup
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 Tablespoon baking soda
Combine sugar, syrup, and vinegar in a heavy kettle.
Cook, stirring while sugar melts.
Cook to300F. Stir in baking soda (it will foam). Pour into a well greased 9” x 13” pan.
Break into chunks when cool. May be coated on both sides with chocolate before breaking up.
And now, the best of the best! Aunt Lou’s superb English Toffee. It’s the most wonderful candy, bar none.
English Toffee
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
½ cup water
1 cup butter
Boil the above to 285F, stirring occasionally.
Lightly toast 2 cups blanched almonds. Add 1 cup of the almonds to the sugar mixture. Pour into a jelly roll pan. Let cool. Spread with melted chocolate chips. Sprinkle lightly with half the remaining nuts. When chocolate is set, invert onto another pan. Spread other side with melted chocolate and nuts. When cool, break into pieces.
Come in, be comfortable, and share your Christmas Day, your weekend plans, your menus! This is an open thread.