Archive for August, 2007

Grandma LaFerney’s Christmas Fruit Cake

Contributed by: Donna Wheatley (LaFerney)

Source: Irene Henry by way of Mom

Mama made this cake every year for Christmas when we were growing up. She got it from Mrs. Irene Henry, who was a friend of hers when we lived in Logansport, Indiana for one year in 1965-66. It was the only recipe I ever knew her to refuse to share, and that was because she would often use it as Christmas gifts. It is a lot of work, because you inevitably have to crack and pick out the Brazil nuts, but it is very simple to mix up. I have never had another fruitcake to compare to it. (The Brazil Nuts are much easier to crack if you freeze them for 24 hours. Use a hammer and gently strike them on the angles.)

  • 2 cups whole dates
  • one-half pound whole Brazil nuts (1 pound in the shell)
  • 1 one-half-pound whole English walnuts
  • 2 8 oz. jars of candied cherries: 1 red, 1 green
  • 1-one-half teaspoons Baking powder
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 one-half-cup flour
  • 3/4 cups brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • Dash salt
  • 1-teaspoon vanilla

    • Put fruit and nuts into large mixing bowl. Mix dry ingredients separately and sprinkle over the nuts and fruit. Mix together.

    Beat eggs and pour over above. Mix altogether.

    Bake 1 one-half hour at 250 degrees.

    Mom used to make 1 tube pan cake for our family (grease the pan) and 1 loaf to share, or 3 loaves. She would make it several weeks before Christmas, wrap it in foil and keep it in the refrigerator to “age”. She would pour a little pineapple juice over it weekly to keep it moist. No brandy allowed in her kitchen!

    Jones :: Aug.21.2007 :: Desserts :: No Comments »

    Grandmama Alcy Wheatley’s Cream Pralines

    Contributed by: Donna Wheatley

    The year I was pregnant with Evonne, Earl and I traveled to Seattle to spend Thanksgiving with Earl, Sr. while we were there, he informed us for the first time that he was going to get married to a lovely lady from New Orleans, Louisiana! She had sent a big box of homemade goodies to him for all of us to enjoy, and the moment I tasted her incredible pralines, I knew I was going to be good friends with her! :) Over the years, the Evonne, Erin, and I have spent many happy December afternoons making these pralines for Christmas snacking.

  • 1-Cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 cups pecans (1/2 pound), coarsely broken, not chopped
  • 1-teaspoon margarine
  • one-half plus 1 Tablespoon evaporated milk

    • You will eventually drop the pralines onto waxed paper. Get your waxed paper out and lay it out on the counter before you start!

    Mix all ingredients together thoroughly in a 1 to 2 quart saucepan before cooking.

    Then cook over medium heat to soft ball stage, stirring constantly. (To test, pour a drop of the cooked liquid into a cup of cold water. You should be able to put your hand down into the water and form a very soft ball with it. In other words, it may not make a ball as it falls into the water, but it will form a soft ball and hold together when you use your fingers to form it in the water.) This process doesn’t take as long as you think, so check it in the water frequently.

    Remove it from the heat. Let it cool slightly and then beat it with a spoon by hand until it begins to thicken. This is the critical part. You don’t have a very big window of time between the time that it’s so runny that it will not form a patty, and the time that it turns hard and sugary and falls apart. We always consider the first batch to be a test run, and don’t worry! If it’s too thin, you have fabulous ice cream topping. If it’s too thick, break it into crumbles and sprinkle it into salads (yes, green salads), on top of sweet potatoes, or what the hey! Just eat up the “failure”!

    When it is thick enough (the surface of the candy will be shiny), drop it by spoonfuls (make sure there are some nuts in each one) onto the waxed paper. It should set up into soft patties immediately. This candy is guaranteed to impress boyfriends, bosses, co-workers, and especially PREACHERS!

    Jones :: Aug.21.2007 :: Desserts :: No Comments »

    Grandmama Alcy Wheatley’s Date Pecan Cake

    Contributed by: Donna Wheatley (LaFerney)

    Source: Grandmama Alcy Wheatley - Earl Wheatley’s Stepmother

    This is a traditional Christmas cake for us. The girl’s Grandmama Alcy Wheatley made it for us every year, until I began doing the holiday cooking. She was from New Orleans, and this is a typical New Orleans twist on fruitcake.

  • 4 cups pecan halves, coarsely chopped
  • 1 pound of pitted whole dates, cut in halves
  • 1-cup sugar
  • 1-cup flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • Pinch of salt
  • 4 eggs, lightly beaten

    • Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease a tube pan. Put nuts and dates into large mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients and mix. Add vanilla and eggs and mix well. You may have to use your hands. Pack firmly into cake pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes. Then at 350 degrees for 5 to l0 minutes more. Let the cake cool completely in the pan before removing it.

    Jones :: Aug.21.2007 :: Desserts :: No Comments »

    Fruit Cobbler

    Contributed by: David LaFerney

    Source: My Mom by word of mouth

  • 1 stick margarine - melted
  • 1 cup self-rising flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 - 2 quarts of fruit (peach and cherry are my favorites)
  • Spices to taste

    • In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients except fruit and margarine. To deep baking dish add butter then fruit and then batter. At this point it will look like you have done something wrong, but not to worry. As you bake in a 400-degree oven until brown the batter will rise to the top, and all will be well. Serve with ice cream of course.

    Jones :: Aug.21.2007 :: Desserts :: No Comments »

    Jean O’Mire’s Fresh Peach Pie

    Contributed by: Donna Wheatley

    When we moved to Meridian, MS in 1989, we moved into a fixer upper kind of house. It took a month to get the inside painted and begin unpacking. In the midst of the mess, a lady from the church, Jean O’Mire brought us this pie. She came in a sat down in the midst of our mess, and we got acquainted. It made me feel right at home! This is a simple and scrumptious dessert, but it is only good with fresh peaches. It tastes like summer to us!

    Peel and slice enough fresh peaches to fill your pie plate to about an inch from the rim.

    (About 2 cups for a 9″ dish)

    In a separate bowl, mix the following:

  • 1-cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup self rising flour, OR 1/3 cup regular flour with 1/8 t. baking soda
  • 1 beaten egg
  • 1/3 cup melted margarine

    • Pour over the peaches in the plate and stir around a little.

    Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees in the middle of the oven. Earl thinks it needs ice cream. I don’t. You decide.

    Jones :: Aug.21.2007 :: Desserts :: No Comments »

    Mom’s Apple Crisp

    Contributed by: David LaFerney

    Source: My Mom - Jean LaFerney

    Topping Ingredients:

  • 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
  • one-half Cup Sifted Flour
  • one-half Cup Oat Meal
  • 3/4 Tsp. Cinnamon
  • 3/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg
  • one-half Cup Soft Butter

    • Filling Ingredients:

  • 2 one-half Tbsp. Flour
  • 1/4 Tsp. Salt
  • 2 Tsp. Butter
  • 4 Medium apples more or less - cored and sliced

    • Mix the filling ingredients, mix them with the apples, put into a greased pie or casserole pan (about 8″), mix the topping ingredients and spoon them over the apples. Bake in a pre-heated 325-degree oven for 30-35 minutes, or until hot and bubbly and brown on top. Serve with vanilla ice cream or course.

    Jones :: Aug.21.2007 :: Desserts :: No Comments »

    Mom’s Apple Pie

    Contributed by: David LaFerney

    Source: My Mom - Jean LaFerney

    I don’t know if I like Mom’s apple pie or Mom’s apple crisp the most. But, one or the other of them is my favorite desert.

  • 3/4-Cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 Cup white sugar
  • 3/4-Cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 Tsp. Salt
  • one-half Cup melted butter
  • one-half Tsp. Cinnamon
  • 3-4 tart cooking apples (Granny Smith is a good variety) peeled and sliced

    • Combine all ingredients except the apples. Pile apples into a 9″ piecrust, and cover with topping mix. Bake for one hour in a pre-heated 350-degree oven.

    Pie crust

    Dry ingredients:

  • 4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. Baking powder
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 1 tbsp. Sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups Shortening

    • Wet ingredients:

  • 1 egg - beaten
  • 1 tbsp. Vinegar
  • one-half-cup cold water

    • Blend the dry ingredients, then cut in the shortening, then mix in the wet ingredients. Roll dough into piecrust. This will keep in refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.

    Tip - If your apples don’t have lots of flavor (sour flavor that is) or if you are cutting them up in advance of baking your pie, toss the apple slices with a tablespoon of lemon juice. This will keep them from oxidizing (turning brown and mushy) while adding flavor.

    Jones :: Aug.21.2007 :: Desserts :: No Comments »

    Ms. Donna’s Blueberry Crunch

    Contributed by: Donna Wheatley

    Although I have never been considered a wonderful cook, this one dessert is the one thing I can take to any carry-in dinner and know that the dish will be absolutely clean when I bring it home! I grow the blueberries in my own yard, and you should too! They are extremely beautiful and easy plants to grow and easy fruit to pick. To freeze them, just put them into Ziplocs. Do NOT rinse! If you have to buy your blueberries, this is an expensive dessert. If you grow them yourself, it’s very cheap, as desserts go.

    In one 9 x 13 dish, layer the following in this order:

    1 pound can crushed pineapple

    4 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries (no need to thaw them)

    one-half cup sugar if you used pineapple in heavy syrup

    OR

    Use 1-cup sugar if you used pineapple in its own juice.

  • 1 box yellow cake mix (dry. Just sprinkle it evenly over the top)
  • 1 stick of margarine, thinly sliced, and laid evenly over top
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/4-cup sugar

    • Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Punch holes in top to let the juices run, and bake 25 minutes more. Top will be brown.

    Jones :: Aug.21.2007 :: Desserts :: No Comments »

    Nestle’s Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Contributed by: David LaFerney

    Source: Nestle company - This recipe is probably on every package of Nestle Chocolate chips.

    These are the cookies of my childhood and they are still what I think of when I hear the word “cookie”. My Mom and Sisters made them quite often when I was a kid, and they are still my favorite.

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1-teaspoon baking soda
  • 1-teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1-teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups (12-ounce package) Nestle’s Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • 1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

    • PREHEAT oven to 375 F.

    COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

    BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

    Jones :: Aug.21.2007 :: Desserts :: No Comments »

    Teri’s Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

    Teri is a great cook and even though her recipes never have eggs in them (because of her son’s egg alergy) her dishes are always big hits at family get togethers.

    Melt 2 sticks of Butter or Margarine in a saucepan. Add 1-tsp. vanilla and stir in 1-cup Peanut butter (creamy or crunchy). When peanut butter is dissolved, pour in 1 box of 10X Powdered Sugar. It will turn into a Cookie dough texture. Press to desired thickness and it could be chilled or kept at room temperature. Store in an airtight container.

    Jones :: Aug.21.2007 :: Desserts :: No Comments »

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