Grandma Iverson Cookies

My post this week takes a cross-family turn.  I mentioned in a previous post that recipe trading was a regular occurrence at gatherings which often included  members from both sides of my family. My featured recipe today is in Gram's recipe box but comes from my great-grandmother Jesse Corbin Iverson.  She is my mom's maternal grandmother.

Jesse Corbin, 1909

I remember Grandma Iverson well.  I was six when she passed away at age 96.  By that time her mobility was pretty limited, she was all but deaf, and spent her days napping and reading in her favorite chair.  I recently learned more about her life as a young woman on the Montana prairie, and I wish I would have had the opportunity to talk to her about it first hand.

Photography and scrapbooking are my other hobbies, and I had the great fortune of discovering a treasure trove of family history a couple of years ago when I went through Grandma Iverson's photo albums.  What I learned might just be my next online project  - her photography documenting life on the Western Plains is nothing short of fantastic.  Through Grandma's photos I felt I got the chance to meet her has a young woman and gained insight on her life and family I hadn't previously had.  What a gift she left us!

Corbin's New House on the Homestead
Circa 1912

My great-grandma had moved to Montana from Illinois with her family in 1909 at age 27.  The Corbin family homesteaded in a place that can only kindly be described as God's Country, southeast of the cowboy and sheep town of Roundup.  Even now it is mostly sage brush, rock and dry rolling hills as far as you can see.  It was a pretty hardscrabble life for a family of 8 kids - some of whom were already grown - and their parents.  They lived off the land and worked it as a family.  As the siblings grew older and married, some stayed for a while but all eventually left except for Grandma and her younger brother Louis.  Her parents went back to Illinois.  Grandma had married in 1914 and stayed on the homestead where she raised three children (two others died by age 3) until her 80's when she moved into town with her daughter, my grandmother Ellen.   My aunt and uncle still live, farm and ranch on the "home place".

Grandma was not known for her cooking skills.  As a matter of fact, I've heard it said that everyone calls this recipe "Grandma Iverson Cookies" because that was all she knew how to make.  I guess if you can only do one thing, it should be good, and thankfully this is!

I likely never ate any of these cookies that were made by Grandma herself - she was probably done baking by the time I came on the scene, but many members of my family make them, each with slightly different results - all delicious!  One aunt has the reputation for recreating them most accurately.  There are a few theories as to why the results vary - the most plausible is that only making them by hand results in the Grandma I cookie most akin to the original.  This makes sense of course because Grandma certainly didn't have a Kitchen Aid on her counter!  The last time I creamed butter and sugar by hand was high school Home Ec.  No thank you . . . My Grandma I cookie turns out moist, soft and chewy and pretty darn delicious if you ask me.

GRANDMA I COOKIES
1 -2 C raisins ( I use 2)
1 C boiling water
1 tsp baking soda
2 C sugar
1 C shortening (I use butter)
3 eggs
1 tsp banilla
4 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 C walnuts (optional).

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a smal saucepan combine water and raisins and bring to a boil over med-high heat on stovetop.  Cook for five minutes.  Set aside and let cool.  Add baking soda, let stand.

If you're game - cream butter and sugar by hand in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon.  Otherwise, with a handheld or stand mixer, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. (about 3-5 minutes with stand mixer).  Add eggs one at a time until combined, add vanilla and raisins with liquid.  Mix well.

Sift together flour and remaining dry ingredients.  Add to shortening mixture and mix until fully incorporated.  Stir in nuts if using.

Using 1 1/2 inch scoop drop dough on parchment or Silpat lined cookie sheets two inches apart.  Bake until thoroughly golden brown about 12 - 16 minutes, rotating baking sheets half way through.  The cookies will start to brown quickly but don't be tempted to take them out too soon. Makes 5 dozen.

Space 2" apart, they will spread

Rotate baking sheets half-way through baking

They're done when perfectly golden all over 

Enjoy!

Best Gingerbread (Over 100 Years Old)

I have mentioned in a previous blog the love affair that Scandinavians have with Gingerbread.  Food historians have traced gingerbread to originate in Armenia, then to Germany, and from there to Sweden where it was loved for its flavor and medicinal qualities.

This week's recipe for a simple gingerbread cake was a staple at Gram's house, it wasn't reserved just for the holidays even though most of us think of it as a Christmas flavor.  Gram probably made at least twice a month, it was rare we went more that a few days without having it with coffee or for our dinner dessert.

When I first found the recipe I got a little excited because it was noted on the card that the recipe was over 100 years old.  Gram's type-written card would have dated back to the 40s or 50s so by now this recipe is probably near to 200 years old.  Because of the pervasive ginger love among Scandinavians, I thought perhaps the recipe may have belonged to Gram's Mother, who might have brought it over with her when she immigrated.  Could it be I had an authentic old country recipe in my hot little hands?

Sadly, no.  It didn't take long to trace the origins of this recipe to a 1935 magazine advertisement for Brer Rabbit Molasses at a great website/blog Recipecurio.com.  While disappointed the recipe wasn't the family heirloom I was hoping for, it was fun read the ad and the recipecurio website is a real find!

There are some minor differences between the original recipe and Gram's.  The original recipe called a 50/50 split of butter and lard.  Gram's recipe called for shortening.  I used all butter.  The cooking time on the original was slightly less than what was on Gram's.  I was pleased to see this because a few previous attempts had resulted in dryer gingerbread than I remember Gram's being and I was planning on a trying a shorter cooking time anyway.  The last difference is that Gram had hand-wrtten "combine molasses with hot water" on her card, where as the original said to add the molasses before the dry ingredients, and then the hot water last.  I followed Gram's instructions.  Maybe one day I'll make both side by side to see if the two different methods would result in noticeably different cakes.  I'd be curious if anyone knows what the difference would be - I tried to research it but couldn't find any scientific explanation why one would be better than the other.  Maybe I'll try to email Alton Brown or the Science Editor at Cook's Illustrated.

I find myself without a square baking pan at the moment so I made this in a 10" round, which turned out fine except as a matter of preference I do like square piece of this cake better than wedges - it is after all a "snacking cake" which would suggest you can eat it with your hands.  I think squares just work better for that.  And for those of us who like corner pieces with a bit of extra crispy crunchy edges, obviously a round pan is sorely lacking corners!

Round or square, this cake it super easy and quick to make.  You probably have everything you need in your pantry so give it a try.  On a recent very cold day, I made it while my daughter was napping and she and I had a nice little afternoon snack with cup of hot chocolate.  It turned out moist and dense and was the perfect way to warm up!

BEST GINGERBREAD (OVER 100 YEARS OLD)
1/2 C shortening (I used butter)
1/2 C sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 C molasses
1 C hot water

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour 9X9 square baking pan.

With a standing or hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 5 min with standing mixer).  Add egg and mix until fully incorporated.

In a large bowl, whisk together remaining dry ingredients.  In a two cup glass measuring cup, heat water in microwave two to three.  Add molasses to hot water and stir well.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture in three additions, alternating with molasses in two additions until fully combined.  Pour batter into prepared ban.  Bake 40 minutes.

Let cool completely on cooling rack.  Serve with fresh whipped cream, sprinkle with powdered sugar, or enjoy plain.  Makes 15 servings.

White Cookies With Date Filling & Orange Scented Glaze

If the idea of dates in a cookie doesn't sound appealing to you, I can relate.  Much like the last post for Sour Cream Cookies, I had a real lack of appreciation for Gram's Date Cookies growing up.  I now really like dates so I wanted to give this recipe a try.  If you're not convinced, I offer alternatives to the dates later in the post.  

Right away I ran into a stumbling block - looking through Gram's cookie recipes, it wasn't obvious which recipe I had in mind.  Gram's recipe box had several recipes for date cookies, so it took me a bit of study to conclude that one labeled "White Cookies" was probably my best bet.  It is noted that the recipe came from Olia, Gram's sister and my favorite Great Aunt.

Reviewing each recipe made me realize that Gram has a number of recipes that have dates or raisins but here are none that call for other types of dried fruit except the occasional "glazed candied fruit" which is the red, yellow and green pieces you see in traditional fruit cakes.  How fortunate we modern bakers are to have such a wonderful variety of dried fruits at our disposal - everything from exotic tropicals to organic and conventional staples.  

For those readers interested in food history, the use of dried fruits is pretty interesting.  Not surprisingly it started in ancient Mesopotamia first with raisins, dates, and figs and over time spread into Europe.  Often, preserving and drying fruits was key to survival during winters and hard times as they are packed with nutrition.  I'll stop there with my digression on date history, a nice overview can be found on Wikipedia.     

Another similarity to my last post is that this recipe is just a list of ingredients with no instructions.  To take the challenge a bit further, the quantity of flour is "enough to roll". The filling is just "date filling" - no ingredients!  Really Gram?  Per usual I did some searching for a similar recipe to get a baseline to get started and found one at www.eatliverun.com. That was a good place to start for the cookie, and I had some ideas about what I would do with the filling based on an Italian fig filled cookie (Cuccidati) I make.

My intention when starting this blog and baking effort was to recreate Gram's baked treats as strictly as I could, so I am a bit conflicted with with my approach to preparing this recipe.  The end result is my own interpretation.  I kept the cookie sacred, but I updated what I remember Gram's filling to be, and at my #1 taster's suggestion, I added a light glaze for a bit of extra sweetness and to compliment the filling.   I'm a big fan of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors.  Since dates originated from that part of the world, it was a natural instinct to use those influences in putting together the filling and the orange scented glaze.  In the end, they turned out delicious and despite the differences, very reminiscent of what I remember of Gram's.

For those of you - and I know there are many - who are not fans of dates, apricots would be an excellent substitution for the dates in this recipe.  You could also use your favorite jam to fill them.  Whichever you choose, I know you'll enjoy them on your coffee break!

WHITE COOKIES

1 egg

1 C sugar

1 C sour cream

3/4 C butter

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3 C flour, plus more for rolling

DATE FILLING

1 C chopped dates, packed

1/4 C honey

1/2 C water

1/4 C finely chopped almonds

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp cloves

1/8 tsp nutmeg

zest of one orange

ORANGE GLAZE

2 C powdered sugar, sifted

2-3 T fresh squeezed orange juice

2T butter, softened

For the Cookies:

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes with the paddle attachment on a standing mixer.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix until just combined.  

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream in three additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture.  Mix until soft dough forms, divide dough in two equal parts, then wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-4 hours, or overnight.

For the Filling:

Add all ingredients to a small saucepan on high, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to med-low and simmer until thickened, about 5 - 7 minutes.   Let cool completely.

For the Glaze:

Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and stir briskly until smooth.  If needed, add additional sugar to thicken, or orange juice to thin.

Assemble and Bake Cookies:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Starting with one dough disk (leave the second in the fridge until needed) roll out on well floured surface to 1/8" thick.  It's important to get the dough this thin - the end result puts two together, so you don't want to end up with an cookie that is too thick.  The dough may be a bit sticky, if necessary kneed a bit more flour into dough, taking care not to overwork.  Cut with 2 - 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter (I used 2 1/4 in).  Place dough circles on parchment or Silpat lined cookie sheet, spacing 1 inch apart.  Place scant teaspoon of filling on cookie, then place another circle of dough over top.  Crimp tightly to seal.

Bake cookies 10 minutes, turning baking sheet halfway through.  Cookies should be lightly golden around the edges.  Transfer to wire racks and let cool completely.  Top with orange glaze.

Sour Cream Cookies With Brown Butter Icing

This week's post is a lesson on the maturing of taste - at least my taste.  Gram's Sour Cream Cookies are a family favorite - everyone absolutely raves about them.  Everyone but me, that is.  I'm not crazy about nuts in most sweets, and walnuts are a key ingredient in these cookies.  I've posted before that I was not always a fan of brown butter icing, so as far as I was concerned these cookies had two strikes against them.  My 10 year-old self probably told anyone who would listen that I wouldn't eat these cookies if they were the last cookies on earth.   That is a ridiculous statement of course because there is no way I wouldn't eat the last cookie on earth, no matter what kind it was.  

Now that I've accepted brown butter icing as one of the better things in life, I've for some time wanted to try my hand at this recipe to see if I might have grown into their "grown-up"taste.  If not, I knew I'd have plenty of eager eaters to pick up my slack.  I hesitated for a while because it is one of the many recipes from Gram's box that is simply a list of ingredients.  I knew I might need some time to experiment in case my first batch didn't turn out so well.  

For research I did a quick look online for similar recipes.  I found a nearly identical one at Food52.com which I used as my baseline for time and temp.  Reviewing the instructions from their recipe revealed an assembly process I was familiar with.  I was comfortable that this recipe would fit into what I call the Batter Cookie category.  I'm quite certain I am not the first to come up with that name, there are two - maybe three basic categories in which most cookies can be assigned.  One of these weeks I may blog about that further. 

I also grilled my Mom for as many details as she could remember about the cookies - they are a personal favorite of hers and I'm sure that she's made them dozens of times herself, albeit quite some time ago.  She described them as almost savory rather than sweet, pillowy soft, moist but not dense, and delicate.  Very important was that the walnuts must be chopped very fine, almost pulverized she said.  I remember that Gram actually crushed them with an old Coke bottle rather than chop them.

Once I got started, the cookies came together very easily.  I chopped the nuts but about half way through I regretted not crushing them, as chopping them to the right consistency was a bit time consuming.  I turned on a favorite podcast and got to work. 

As for the results, let me quote my husband:
"You've never made these before."  (Silent pause while he takes first one bite, then two, then finishes the cookie) 
"These are a damn good cookie.  I think they are my new favorite."

And yes, I have grown into these grown up cookies.  I think they are my new favorite.  Thanks Gram.

SOUR CREAM COOKIES
1/2 C butter
1 1/2 C brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 C + 1/4 C walnuts, separated, chopped VERY fine

BROWN BUTTER ICING
3 C powdered sugar, sifted
7 T butter
3 T+ cream
1 tsp vanilla

For the cookies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl (I used my stand mixer) cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 - 5 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time until mixed well, add vanilla.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, whisking until well mixed.








With mixer on low, add the flower mixture to butter alternating with the sour cream in three additions (begin and end with flour).  Add 2/3 C walnuts and mix until fully incorporated.

Using 1 1/2 inch scoop, drop batter onto parchment or Silpat lined cookie sheets 2 inches apart. (IMPORTANT: cookies will spread while baking, be sure to space as directed).  Bake 10-12 minutes, turning sheets half way through.  











While cookies are baking make icing (you could do it before making the cookies as well): 
Sift confectioners' sugar into a large bowl; set aside. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling pan occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Immediately add butter to confectioners' sugar, scraping any browned bits from sides and bottom of pan. Add cream and vanilla; stir until smooth. Spread about 1 teaspoon icing onto warm cookies, then sprinkle with remaining chopped nuts.  If icing stiffens, stir in more cream, a little at a time.

Cookies freeze very well.  In fact, Gram always said they were better after being frozen.Place in large airtight container with wax paper between layers.  

 Thankfully, my daughter has a much more sophisticated palette than I did at that age!