It is fun to check my recipe space each day and see what the most hits are for.  This week the #1 winner is White Fudge.  This is my mother's recipe.  Very simple.  Leave out the coconut if you want.  I like it in there as I love coconut.  If you would like to visit my recipe space you will find a lot of pictures of my family in years gone by.  I treasure the pictures of Jim when he was young and the ones of my kids.

Mom's White Fudge

My mother used to start making candy about a month before Christmas.  She would store the candy in a large can and keep it in a cool place.  This was one of my favorites.

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
• 3/4 stick margarine
• 1 (12 ounce) can angel flake coconut
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Mix sugar, milk and margarine together and cook until mixture comes to a boil, stirring frequently.  Boil for 5 minutes over medium heat stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in coconut and marshmallow creme, then add nuts.  Stir until mixture starts to thicken.  Pour into buttered pan.  Cool before cutting.  Makes about 2 pounds.

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It is right at the freezing mark today.  At least the sidewalks are clear.  I had some ice on the steps leading off my porch so I put some trusty ice melt on it.  I will have to refinish the steps this spring but it is a small price to pay for saving myself from a fall.  I made my way to workout.  There are a great bunch of ladies there.  I am very small in comparison to some.  I have my heart rate up and my BP down so my cardiologist will be happy at my next visit.

Gotta get busy and do just a little bit around the house.  No baking or cooking today.  Hello Marie Callendar.  Today I am splurging.

After I finished my workout this morning I headed south on 57 to Meijer.  Time to pick up the ingredients for my Texas Lizzies.  As I was coming home I was passed by a black Porsche speeding along at a rapid pace.  I was able to catch the license plate as he sped by me -  A TURN EE -  I was ready to call 911 and report him as he was doing at least 25 miles over the speed limit.  Then I got to laughing and thought oh what the heck he'll get his...   lol  I should pass this along to my nephew who is a lawyer in WV.  He might want to apply for a license plate with that on it.

It is nice here today, not a flake of snow anywhere and 40 degrees.  Just a little windy, but  then the wind always blows in Illinois.  What's that song "The Wind Always Blows in Chicago?"  It blows downstate as well.

I am going to make some Texas Lizzies on Friday I think.  Wow, the ingredients cost a fortune.  I bought the smallest bottle of whiskey I could find.  It was $10.40.  I don't imbibe at all but Texas Lizzies are not the same without the whiskey in them.

TEXAS LIZZIES...

I have posted this recipe on my blog for the last three Christmas seasons.   This recipe is from Naomi's Home Companion by Naomi Judd. Jim loved to help me make all kinds of cookies at Christmastime.  

Naomi says, "These are delicious, festive cookies, almost like tiny, tiny fruitcakes."

MAKES ABOUT 9 DOZEN

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1 box (16 ounces) light brown sugar

4 large eggs

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 to 3/4 cup whiskey

3/4 pound walnuts chopped

3/4 pound pecans chopped

1 box (15 ounces) golden raisins

1 1/4 cups dark raisins

8 ounces each candied red and green cherries, chopped

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees; grease or use baking spray on several cookie sheets.

2.  In a large bowl, with an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the butter until smooth and creamy.  Beat in the sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time until thoroughly mixed.

3.  Into another large bowl  sift together flour, baking soda and spices.

4.  On low speed, beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternately with the whiskey beginning and ending with the flour mixture.  Stir in the nuts, raisins and candied cherries.

5.  Drop dough by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.

5.  Bake at 350 degrees until set in the center, 10 t0 12 minutes.  Transfer to wire racks to cool.  Store in tightly covered containers.

***Note - I do not like the taste of nutmeg so I always leave that out and add some vanilla in place of it.

 

• Small box of raisins
• 1 cup of water
• 3/4 cup of shortening (may use Crisco or margarine)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1TBL maple syrup
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups oatmeal
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Use ungreased baking sheet.  Simmer raisins and water in saucepan over low heat until raisins are plump.  Drain raisin liquid into measuring cup.  Add enough water to make 1/2 cup.

Mix all dry ingredients together and set aside.

Using mixer mix shortening, eggs, and sugars together.  Add maple syrup and vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients with the raisin liquid.  Fold in the raisins and the nuts.

Drop rounded tablespoons of dough on baking sheet about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 8 - 10 minutes until golden brown.

If you are a lover of spice you may add 1tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp cloves. 

***I made my weekly trip to Meijer for groceries today.  The forecast for tomorrow does not look promising and I was down to my last couple of cans of diet caffeine free pepsi.

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 4 egg yolks (beaten)  Save the egg whites for the meringue
• 2 TBLs butter
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 9 inch pie crust, baked
• 3 or 4 bananas, sliced

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, flour and the salt.  Add the beaten egg yolks to the 2 cups of milk mixing thoroughly.  Pour into dry ingredients mixing thoroughly.  Turn on medium heat and cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and starts to bubble.  Be careful not to scorch.  Turn off heat.  Add butter and vanilla and mix thoroughly.  Slice the bananas into the cooled pie shell. Pour the filling over the bananas.  Have your oven preheated to 350 degrees.

Fix the meringue.  Whip the egg whites on high until they begin to peak.  Add 1/3 cup sugar to the egg whites and continue beating until stiff peaks form.  Spread the meringue evenly over the filling.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

You know, enough is enough.  I am getting downright tired of the white stuff.  It just keeps coming and coming.  As I walk down the steps from my porch on to the sidewalk the snow on either side of the sidewalk is higher than my head.  Granted, I am only 5 ft 4 inches tall  but that much snow is bordering on the ridiculous.  Deanie, I don't see how you guys can put up with it.

As you all know, when I am depressed I bake.  First it was Texas Lizzies, then date bread, then lemon bread and now M&M cookies.  Out of everything the lemon bread is my favorite.  I baked 4 loaves and my neighbor came over as I was putting the glaze on.  He put up my new smoke detector so I sent him home with2 loaves.  Then my neighbor down the street came up to help my next door neighbor to learn how to operate my big snow blower so I had to send a loaf home with him.  Well shoot, I had to keep a loaf for my self.  ;o)

I kind of put together the recipe for lemon bread when my kids were small and I hadn't made any for at least 15 or more years.  Marcia found the recipe for me so I made it; I ate it; and here is the recipe.

BETH'S LEMON BREAD

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 2 eggs
• 1 TBL lemon juice (use the bottled kind; it's easier)
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk

Mix all dry ingredients together and set aside.  Cream butter and sugar together; add eggs and beat until light and fluffy.  Add the dry ingredients alternately with the lemon juice and the milk.   Bake in a loaf pan sprayed with pan spray at 350 degrees for 45 - 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  It should be pale golden brown and the top should be cracked a bit.

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• Enough lemon juice (about 2 TBL's or so) to make it pourable.

Loosen sides of hot lemon bread.  Poke holes into the bread with a fork and pour on your glaze.

Happy eating.