Old Fashioned Recipes

Many of these old fashioned recipes have been in our family over 100 years or more. Who can't remember Mama, Grandma orGreat- Grandma, with an apron tied around her waist, those beads of sweat on her face from the hot stove, skirting around the kitchen tasting and testing this and that, to ensure her family had a perfect meal?

Sour Milk Biscuits

Granny Berry’s Sour Milk Biscuits…..

(Lucy Esther Millard Berry, wife of Isaac Berry)

1. cup Sour Milk

1. tsp. Soda

1. tsp. Salt

1/2 cup Lard

2 1/2 cups Flour

Blend lard, flour, and salt together until it is as fine as cornmeal. Stir soda into sour milk, add to flour mixture; stir until it’s a soft ball. Roll out with rolling pin until 1/2 “ thick. Cut with biscuit cutter, brush tops with melted butter. Put in greased pan; bake at 425o for 15 minutes, or until flaky when broken open.

Yummy and good!

Peach Cobbler

Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 Stick of Butter
1 28oz Can of Peaches
2 cup sugar
1 & 1/4 cups of water
1 heaping tablespoon of Cornstarch
2 Cups of Sugar
1 & 1/2 Cups of Self-rising Flour
2 Teaspoons vanilla
Milk
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt 1/2 stick butter in 13×9 metal baking pan.

In heavy saucepan, combine 1-28 oz can peaches (undrained), 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil; in small bowl, combine 3/4 cup water & 1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch and add to peach mixture. Return to boil.

In mixing bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups sugar, 1-1/2 cups self-rising flour, 2 teaspoons vanilla and enough milk to make a thin batter. (a little thinner than a pancake batter).

Pour hot peaches into pan with melted butter, and pour batter all over peach mixture.

Top with cinnamon/sugar mixture, (1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon) and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Sourdough Pancakes

Old Fashioned Sourdough Pancakes

Great-Grandma Ida Lett Porter used to make Sourdough Pancakes for breakfast every morning. She had a crock of Sourdough Starter that she kept in a crock. Every morning she would dip her cup into the starter and make her pancakes. We would love to be at her house during the breakfast hour.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar (optional)
1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active-dry yeast
2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees F.)**

Ingredients:

2 cups sourdough starter, room temperature*
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon warm water

Preparation:
In a large bowl, add sourdough starter, sugar, egg, olive oil, and salt; mix well; set aside.

In a small bowl, dilute 1 teaspoon baking soda in 1 tablespoon of warm water; set aside until ready to bake your pancakes.

Important: Only add the baking soda/water mixture to the pancake batter just before you are ready to cook the pancakes. Make certain everything is ready to go, the griddle hot, so the Sourdough can be cooked while the air is still working in the batter. This will produce light sourdough pancakes that melt in your mouth.

When ready to cook your sourdough pancakes, fold the baking soda/water mixture gently into the prepared pancake batter (do not beat). This will cause a gentle foaming and rising action in the batter. Let the mixture bubble and foam a minute or two before using.

Sugar Cookies

Aunt Kate’s Sugar Cookies

(Cookies baked by Aunt Kate and her daughter Aunt Ruth)

5. cups Flour, more if needed

6. cups Sugar, divided

7. tsp. Soda, mix with the Buttermilk

8. tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 to 1 tsp. Nutmeg

1. cup Oleo/Shortening/Lard

2. Eggs

3. cup Buttermilk

4. tsp Vanilla

5. tsp. Lemon Juice

Sift flour with 1 cup sugar, and add baking powdered, salt, and nutmeg. Cut in shortening. Beat eggs with remaining sugar, add buttermilk with soda and vanilla. Blend into flour mixture mix well and chill in refrigerator for several hours. Bake at 375o for 8-15 minutes — depending on size.

Makes lots of cookies to enjoy.

Many happy and pleasant hours were spent around Aunt Kate and Aunt Ruth’s table, eating these delicious cookies and drinking tea.

Sourdough Starter

How To Make Sourdough Starter

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour*
2 teaspoons granulated sugar (optional)**
1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active-dry yeast
2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees F.)**

Preparation:

Mix the flour, sugar, and yeast together in a clean and sterile container (use only glass, glazed ceramic or crockery to hold your starter. No metal or plastic) that can hold two quarts. Gradually stir in the water and mix until it forms a thick paste (don't worry about any lumps, as they will disappear).

Cover the container with a dish cloth and let it sit in a warm (70 to 80 degrees F.), draft-free place. NOTE: Temperatures hotter than 100 degrees F. or so will kill the yeast. The dish cloth will let wild yeasts pass through into the batter. The mixture should bubble as it ferments (this will foam up quite a bit). Sometimes I place the container in my sink (if sourdough spills out onto your counter, it is hard to clean off once it has dried).

Let it sit out (at room temperature) for 2 to 5 days, stirring it once a day. The starter is ready when it develops a pleasant sour smell and looks bubbly. Once your starter starts bubbling, then start feeding it daily with flour and water according to the directions below. Then stir it, cover loosely with plastic wrap (allow a little breathing space), and store it on your counter top or in the refrigerator (your choice).