The Aunts' Cook Book

Mix like cake. Turn pans upside down and spread on paste with broad-bladed knife. Cut out with any fancy cutter. Sprinkle with finely chopped nuts and bake in a slow oven. Aunt Virginia's Aunt Deborah's Cookies 5 cups of sifted flour 2 cups of sugar , 1 cup of butter 1 teaspoon of baking powder Sufficient milk to make the batter stiff enough to roll, flavor with nutmeg — ^the recipe calls for soda, but baking powder can be used. Aunt Gertrude's Oat Meal Macaroons 1 tablespoonful butter 3^ teaspoonful salt J^ cup of white sugar 2 teaspoonsful baking powder 2 eggs 1 teaspoonful vanilla 2 cups rolled oats Beat eggs light and whip in the sugar. Add the other ingredients in the order given, baking-powder mixed with flour. Drop from teaspoon onto well-oiled cookie sheet in tiny cakes, shaping into symmetrical rounds. Bake in moderate oven. Cakes and Cookies 121 Aunt Virginia's Crullers 1 lb. butter 12 eggs 1 J^ lbs. powdered sugar Mace and nutmeg to taste. Sufficient flour to roll out on board. This is for a large quantity. It is best to cut out all before cooking, as it requires full attention in the frying. These are rich and delicious. Directions for frying crullers: The fat should be about 4 inches deep when it is melted in the kettle. Heat the lard slowly. When it is so hot that it hisses if a small piece of dough be dropped into it, it is ready for frying. If so hot that the dough turns dark brown in a minute, remove to a cooler part of the stove, before putting in the crullers. Drop in but a few at a time. They will fall to the bottom at first, but should rise almost immediately. Drain them in a sieve or colander, then remove same to make room for the next. Handle lightly, and use as little flour as possible in cutting them out. Aunt Virginia's Doughnuts Flour enough to make a 2 tumblers of milk stiiF dough 1 tumbler of butter and lard 2 tumblers sugar 1 tumbler of yeast 4 eggs Nutmeg Stir all together, warm the milk and lard together, let it rise twice before rolling out. 122 Cakes and Cookies ICINGS Aunt Robbie's Chocolate Icing Use XXXX confectioners sugar and cocoa instead of chocolate. Beat together with egg-beater sugar, cocoa and cream, adding either more cocoa or more sugar according to taste and color. Regulate consistency with the amount of cream used. When enough has been mixed spread on cake. Aunt Emery's Frosting for Three Layer Cake 4 squares bakers chocolate Cream Confectioners sugar Little butter (about teaspoonful) Melt melted chocolate and butter in sauce pan big enough to mix sugar too. Then add sugar and cream alternately till of dark coffee color and right consistency to spread. Beat thoroughly. Aunt Elinor's Icing for Devils Food 3 cups brown sugar 3 tablespoons butter 1 cup shaved chocolate Enough milk to moisten 1 tablespoon vanilla Boil sugar, chocolate and milk together to soft ball stage. Add butter when you take it from fire and beat thoroughly. Add vanilla when cool. If icing hardens too rapidly, beat in cream to keep it the proper consistency to spread. Cakes and Cookies 123 Aunt Elinor's Mocha Frosting y^ cup sweet butter 1 tablespoon cocoa or chocolate 1 J/^ cups confectioners sugar Strong coflFee Work butter with wooden spoon until creamy (as for hard sauce). Add sugar and cocoa, then strong hot coffee drop by drop until consistency to spread. Aunt Elizabeth's Chocolate Icing ^ cup of cocoa 2 cups of sugar 2 cups of milk J^ teaspoon of salt Let boil for 8 minutes and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Aunt Virginia's Icing — Boiled Two cups of granulated sugar dissolved in ^ cup of boiling water. Let it boil until it candies in water. As soon as it candies pour it over the beaten whites of two eggs and 2 or 3 teaspoons of cream, and flavor with essence. The chocolate icing is the same, using about 3^ cake of chocolate for a whole cake.