Category: Commentary

This, my first column of the last month of this year, is actually going to be in the paper on the 81st anniversary of one of the worst days of infamy our country has known, and like the day of airplanes being flown into the twin towers, it will never be forgotten. This day, of course is December 7, 1941, when Japanese bombers began strafing Pearl Harbor and destroying so many of our war ships and the base where these planes were stationed. It also took an almost uncountable number of lives. The battleship Arizona is one of the most awesome places that I have ever visited. When I went to Hawaii several years ago, each time we went off or onto the Island we passed that museum. We did a tour of it one afternoon and I still get chills when I think of the horror of what went on at that time.
It is time to start thinking about making cookies for Christmas. If you have the time, it is really fun to make cookies with your children and grandchildren! The simplest way to do that, I have found is to make up the dough one day and then have them over the next to cut out and bake cookies. Most of these recipes can be rolled into balls the size of unshelled walnuts before putting them on the cookie sheets; they then will come out pretty much all the same size. When I want to make cookies, I usually will make up three or four batches of dough on one evening and then bake cookies the next evening. This seems to work really well, at least for me. In fact, you can then bake as many or as few as you want, you don’t have to bake up the entire batch of each dough, and then, you have fresh baked cookies when you have company coming over for coffee!
My son and daughters remember very well when my grandmother would come over and “spend” with us a few days, especially at Christmas. She would help me make ‘anise’ cookies and we would always have a very good time!
Applesauce Spice Cookies
1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3½ cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup thick, unsweetened applesauce
1 or more cups of mixed candied fruit
¼ cup flour
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Cream shortening and sugar together. Beat egg, add to creamed mixture and blend well. Sift flour, cinnamon, cloves, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together and add alternately with the applesauce to creamed mixture, with flour being added first and last. Dredge the candied fruit in the ¼ cup flour and stir into the dough. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto well greased cookie sheets. Bake 375ºF for 12 to 15 minutes.
This recipe goes by many names, including Ranger Cookies and a couple of other ones as well. They are always delicious, and this recipe is from my Mother’s aunt. It is written out just as she had it in a small cookbook that a group put together for one of our family reunions.
Good Cookies
1 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups crisp rice cereal (i.e. Rice Crispies)
1 cup coconut
Preheat oven to325ºF. Cream shortening and sugar very well, add eggs, salt and vanilla. Beat well until blended. Add flour sifted with soda and baking powder. Fold in oatmeal Rice Crispies and coconut. Make a ball about the size of a large marble. Place on greased cookie sheet and flatten with glass dipped in sugar*. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. *Lightly spray glass with nonstick spray or rub a light coat of cooking oil on it, then dip in sugar, flatten a couple of cookies, dip in sugar, repeat until all cookies on baking sheet are flattened.
Delicious Oatmeal Cookies
¾ cup butter or margarine
½ cup granulated sugar
1½ cups brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2½ cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup pecans
1 cup coconut (optional)
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Cream butter and sugars thoroughly; add eggs and vanilla. Sift together the dry ingredients and stir in until well mixed. Add the oatmeal, pecans and coconut (if used). Drop dough by spoonfuls on lightly greased or sprayed baking sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool thoroughly, store in tightly covered container.
Snickerdoodles
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
Mix together and set aside
2 cups shortening (I use 1 cup shortening and 1 cup margarine)
.3 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
5½ cups flour
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Thoroughly cream together the shortening, sugar and eggs. Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Mix into the shortening mixture. Mix well and chill dough overnight. Shape into walnut sized balls; roll each one in cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place 2-inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350ºF until lightly browned, but still soft. They will puff up and then flatten out.
The following sugar cookie recipe is really great as it does not have to be refrigerated before cutting and baking. To decorate, use the cookie paint recipe and paint the cut out cookies before baking. If desired, sprinkle colored sugar to match the paint.
Sugar Cookies
1 1/3 cups shortening
2½ cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
6 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Thoroughly cream together shortening, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla. Add combined dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Roll out 1/8 to ¼-inch thick on lightly floured* board and cut with cookie cutters into desired shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, sprinkle with granulated sugar (if you did not previously paint them,) and bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cookie Paint
Evaporated milk
Liquid or paste food coloring
Plastic egg carton
Small, inexpensive craft paint brushes
Decorative sugars, nonpareils, etc.
Pour about 1 to 1½ tablespoons of the milk into each of several of the cups in the egg carton. Add a few drops of coloring or paste to each on until desired color is reached. Paint unbaked cookies, decorate as desired and bake in preheated oven. Remove from sheets and cool thoroughly.
Molasses Crinkles
3/4 cups soft shortening or margarine (our grandmothers used lard for this recipe)
1 cups brown sugar
1 eggs
1/4 cup molasses (Grandma’s brand, Steens brand, unsulphured)
2¼ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ to 1 teaspoon ground ginger
Cream together the shortening, sugar, eggs and molasses. Mix dry ingredients and stir into shortening mixture. Stir together until well mixed. Chill overnight. Shape into balls the size of small walnuts. Dip tops in sugar. Place sugared side up on lightly greased baking sheet. Dip your finger into some water and press down lightly on each cookie. Bake at 375ºF until cookies are just set. Remove from pan immediately. They will be puffed up and then will flatten out. The pressing down with the wet finger will give them a crinkled top.

Last week, I gave you a couple of pumpkin recipes to begin thinking about desserts for Thanksgiving. Pumpkin pie was not one of them, as there is a wonderful recipe for that on the can of pumpkin you buy to make your pie. My thought is, “if that recipe has been around for years and been being made, there’s no point in changing it”, so this week, I’ll give you another recipe or two for desserts, including a different pie, as well as a side dish for Thanksgiving, that I’ve used for years.
There have been several different publications that I have seen recently that have recipes for sweet potatoes, and it gave me the idea for this article!
In your area, as well as in mine, we use the terms ‘yam’ and ‘sweet potato’ interchangeably. Did you know that this is incorrect?
After checking out two different encyclopedias, I found that both of them said the same thing. In the United States, certain varieties of sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are incorrectly called yams! (A true yam is a starchy root that grows in the Caribbean. It is rough and scaly and not even related to the sweet potato!).
The yam belongs to the genus Dioscorea of the family Dioscoreaceas (called the yam family). There are over 600 known species of true yams. Four of these species are native to the United States.
The sweet potato is among the most important of the tropical root crops. They are baked, boiled, or fried, some are used for soup and some are dried and ground into meal. They are high in Beta-Carotene and vitamins E and C. (Just 2/3 cup of sweet potatoes gives you 100% of the USRDA for Vitamin E). They are also a good source of fiber when eaten with the skin on. They also offer other essential nutrients such as: potassium, iron and Vitamin B6.
The sweet potato is a perennial belonging to the morning-glory family and is chiefly cultivated for its edible roots. The flowers resemble those of the morning-glory and the tuberous roots are usually several inches long. The flesh of the sweet potato may be white, yellow or orange. (I was always told that the darker orange colored potatoes were yams and the lighter ones were sweet potatoes, ho hum, so much for that legend). In the United States, the leading producers of sweet potatoes are Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Years ago, when Sam and I lived in Victoria, there was usually a farmer or two selling fresh sweet potatoes alongside the road between Victoria and Yoakum, yes, we usually stopped and got a few to bring to grandma, as she didn’t always have them.
The sweet potato was introduced into Spain from the West Indies in 1526 and gradually made its way to other parts of Europe. it is generally believed to have first been grown in the United States around 1648. Actually, history tells us that the Native Americans were already growing them when Columbus arrived in 1492. The ship’s log indicated that he took some “Sweet Potatoes” back to Europe with him.
Sweet potatoes require a long, warm growing season. In back issues of our paper, while doing research in old papers, most generally in the 1936-37 era, I have found many references to someone coming by the office and bringing ‘this Editor’ (KK’s grandfather), a sack of locally grown sweet potatoes. Since they grow well in sandy loam, there is really no reason for them not to grow in the Devine area; however, I have not heard of them being raised commercially in recent times.
There are probably as many recipes for cooking sweet potatoes, as there are cooks to cook them. They lend themselves to many recipes. Some folks have never eaten them any way except candied with marshmallows on top at Thanksgiving and Christmas. My very favorite way to eat them is to bake them, split them open, put butter, salt and pepper on them and eat away!
To bake: prick the skin with a fork and bake at 400ºF for 40 to 50 minutes, or until tender. (Be sure to prick thoroughly to keep the potato from exploding while baking, you will have a big mess if you don’t).
A couple of weeks ago, my grandson and his family came for the weekend. My granddaughter-in-law brought me a sweet potato pie. This was a real treat, as even though I had heard of them for years, I had not (to my knowledge) eaten one, nor had I made one. After sharing it with my sister and her husband, she sort of felt that she liked it better than pumpkin pie, so of course, I had to find a recipe and try it. The pie turned out great, and having too much filling for the pie, I just baked that small amount of filling in a pie pan, and it was delicious.
Sweet Potato Pie
1 ¾ cups, baked sweet potato (about 3 medium size), cooled and peeled
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups whole milk
3 large eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 unbaked 9-inch, deep dish pie crust
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Mash cooled and peeled sweet potatoes (I just used a fork, but you can use your potato masher (bean masher), if you prefer
Mix other ingredients in order listed, add potatoes, stir to blend well, and pour into a 9-inch, deep-dish unbaked pie crust. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, covering with foil if the edges begin to brown too quickly. Watch during the last 10 minutes of baking to check firmness of pie. (I sprayed a 12-inch square of foil with non-stick spray and covered mine the last 20 minutes or so of baking.) I also turned the oven to 400º at the same time. My oven is an old propane stove, and it holds the heat way more than some of the newer stoves do.
Sweet Potatoes with Apples
2 to 3 pounds fresh sweet potatoes
4 or 5 large cooking apples
1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar, or to taste
1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
Peel the sweet potatoes and slice into 3/4-inch-thick rounds. Peel the apples and cut into 1/2-inch crosswise slices and remove cores. (If you have an apple corer, the cores can be removed before slicing). Place a layer of sweet potato slices in large pot or baking dish, sprinkle with 1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar and a small amount of the melted butter or margarine, top with a layer of apples. Repeat layers, finishing with a layer of apples. Add 1/4 cup or less water to the pan and place over medium heat. Bring water to a boil, cover and cook without stirring until apples and potatoes are tender. This dish may also be baked in a 350ºF oven until tender. (I have also used canned sweet potatoes, layering them with the apples and cooking until the apples were tender). Serve hot. (This dish is a must at my family’s’ Thanksgiving dinner).
Quick Homemade Apple Crisp
5 cups peeled, sliced baking apples (Granny Smith, Rome Beauty or any tart apple)
3 tablespoons sugar
TOPPING:
¾ quick cooking oatmeal (not instant)
½ cup brown sugar (packed)
¼ cup flour
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
6 tablespoons butter
¼ cup chopped pecans (optional)
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mix apples and sugar and place in a 2-quart baking dish. For topping: in a medium bowl, combine the oatmeal, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; add pecans if used and mix to combine; sprinkle over apples in baking dish and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is golden.