dddavids Hauntingly Good Recipes

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The History of Pancakes
Pancakes are ancient food. The word pancakes appears
in print as early as 1430. Pancakes may have been around
since Neolithic humans domesticated einkorn wheat, ground
it into flour mixed with bird’s egg and goat’s milk and poured
the batter on a heated rock.
It happened before there were pans and long before ovens.
The ancient cooks dropped a little gruel on a hot rock of
campfire, resulting in thin cakes that were tastier than plain
gruel or cakes cooked directly in the embers of the fire.
Perhaps because of this ancient lineage, pancakes are
associated with rituals in many countries – Shrove Tuesday,
Candlemas, and Chanukah to name a few.


Bisquick Original 1925 Pancake Recipe

2 Cups Bisquick
1 1/2 Cups milk
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons melted butter (if desired)
Instructions:
Beat the eggs well with a rotary beater. Add milk and Bisquick.
Beat with the egg beater to mix batter very thoroughly. Mix in
the butter if a richer waffle/pancake is desired.
Drop by spoonfuls onto the hot greased griddle, When surface
of batter is full of bubbles, turn. Pancakes should be turned
only once.
After making these I wondered why I had ever bought pre-made
frozen pancakes from the grocery store. They were light and
fluffy, and much better than I had eaten before. I did, however
change the recipe slightly. I used 1 cup of milk, and a teaspoon
of vanilla, and no butter, though I may try the butter next time.



Fast and easy Flaky Pastry

This is a really easy and fast recipe. Low cost ingredients,
delicious, light, crispy pastry, and definitely worth trying!
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter (at room temperature)
1 3/4 cups Plain, All purpose flour (sieved)
pinch of salt
1/4-1/2 cup of cold water
2 tablespoons sugar (if you want it sweet)
Instructions:
Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. (add sugar if using)
Weigh out the butter and divide into 4 amounts.
Add one portion of the butter to the flour and using
a round bladed knife, incorporate the butter and flour,
while slowly adding enough cold water until the mixture
comes together to form an elastic dough.
Dust the rolling surface with flour, and turn the dough out.
Roll out the dough into a rectangle shape, and keep rolling,
adding more flour if necessary to stop from sticking,
until the dough is about 4 mm thickness.
Rub any excess flour from the surface and using the next
portion of butter, dot the butter (about 1 cm dots) on two
thirds of the rolled out pastry evenly.
Fold the pastry into three portions, bringing the end
without butter to the center, then folding down the other third.
Press together pastry edges with your fingers, give the
pastry half a turn and roll out lightly again until the pastry
is 4 mm thick (same size before you dotted with butter).
Repeat steps 5 - 7 twice more, then fold into three, cover
with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Bake at 450 F. Cooking time about about 8-10 minutes.
Note: Before placing in the oven, brush the TOP with milk.
Not the sides. This will prevent the pastry from rising.
Sprinkle some sugar, spices such as cinnamon, or
savory spices, like BBQ, or Italian seasoning, Cajun spices,
anything that you may like.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 cup (2 sticks) Butter
1 3/4 cups Sugar
2 large Eggs
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In one bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a seperate bowl, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix well, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined.
In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar, Cinnamon, and Cayenne Pepper. Using teaspoons, form small balls of dough and roll in cinnamon/sugar/pepper mixture. Place, about 2 inches apart, on foil lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are set in center, about 10 minutes.
They will keep for about a week, if stored well.


Authentic Mexican Wedding Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup/1 stick of Butter
2 tbsp. confectioners' Sugar
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1 cup sifted Flour
1 cup finely ground Walnuts or Pecans
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Cream butter until fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, mix well. Gradually add in flour. Stir in nuts.
Shape dough into 1" balls, using about 1 tbsp. of dough for each. Place 1" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes, turning sheet so that cookies bake lightly and evenly. Allow to cool, and roll in confectioners' sugar.
Note: I doubled this recipe to make a little over a dozen small cookies.

1800's TEA CAKE Cookie Recipe:

You will need:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2 Tablespoons milk
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups plain flour, sifted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using an electric mixer with the
large bowl, cream the butter and sugar: add the salt.
Beat in eggs one at a time; then add the milk, baking powder,
and vanilla.
Mix on medium speed until well blended.
Reduce the mixer speed to slowly begin adding the sifted flour
to form a soft dough.
Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours. Prepare a baking pan with
spray-oil and set aside.
After the refrigeration time, divide the dough into 3 pieces for
easier handling. Using a floured surface, roll the dough with a
floured rolling pin very thin; then cut out cookies with a cookie
cutter. Place the cookies on the prepared baking pan, and bake in
the preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until very light brown.
Watch the cookies carefully while baking, since they are thin and
some brown quicker than others. If needed, remove individual
cookies from the pan as they brown to prevent over or under cooking.
If you should to choose to frost or glaze them...
Lemon Confectioners Sugar Frosting
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons milk or cream, about
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract or lemon juice
Instructions:
Soften butter. Sift sugar and gradually add sugar to butter,
creaming constantly. Add enough milk to make mixture the right
consistency for spreading. Add lemon extract or lemon juice to taste.
Makes enough to frost cupcakes or a square one-layer cake.

Or you could try the Lemon Glaze
Lemon Icing Glaze Recipe
This simple lemon icing recipe can be used for many baked goods,
such as cookies, cakes, sweet breads, and pastries.
Makes About 1/2 Cup Lemon Icing Glaze
Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp milk
1 small drop food coloring, optional
Instructions:
Combine ingredients in a small bowl and stir until smooth.
These were loved by all who tasted them, and they
especially liked the idea that they were made from an
1800's recipe. With or without the icing they were a hit!


Cooking in the 1800's:
In the 1800's, people didn't have refrigerators, so their food would tend
to spoil quickly.
This means that they had to find a way to save their food from rotting and
bacteria.
The people in the 1800's used three basic ways of preservation.
Canning was the most common way of preserving the food. In this
process of preservation, food was crammed into glass jars.
Next they corked the jars so it was airtight. After that they boiled the
glass bottles to destroy bacteria that could cause spoilage.
Then it is cooled.
Next is cold storage. In the winter, people cut large blocks of
ice from a lake and put the blocks in an icehouse. The ice was covered
with sawdust and, or straw to slow down the melting rate. The ice would
last during the summer.
Another common way of preservation is smoking.
They smoked the meat in the heat of a smoky fire. Meat to be smoked
was cut and hung on wooden racks about a fire. Smoking did not just slow
preservation, it also added flavor.