THE BEST OF THE OPEN LINE BULLETIN

DECEMBER  PAGES 123456

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CANDY ORANGE SLICE AND DATE BAR

Cook until thick in a saucepan:

½ pound dates, cut fine
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup water

Remove from heat and add 12 candy orange slices which have been cut fine. Cool. Then mix:

1 cup brown sugar
½ cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon soda, dissolved in three tablespoons hot milk
1 1/3 cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt

Place half of batter in a 10 by 15 by 1 inch (jelly roll pan) that has been greased and floured. Then put on the filling. Spread remaining batter on top. Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes. Frost with powdered sugar frosting. (Sister Mary Ameliana, Cascade, Iowa)

CHEWEY COCONUT BARS

Mix ½ cup butter, 1 cup flour and ½ cup brown sugar and bake at 350° for about 10 minutes or until slightly brown.

2 eggs
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup corn flakes
1 cup coconut
2 tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup nuts, chopped

Mix together and pour over baked mixture and bake another 20 minutes at 350°. (Sister Mary Ameliana)

BUTTERSCOTCH PINWHEELS

1 6 ounce package (1 cup) semi sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening
15 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup sifted, all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt chocolate and shortening in tad of double boiler over boiling water. Remove from heat, Add milk, flour and vanilla. Blend well. Spread in 15 by 10½ by 1 inch jelly roll pan which has been greased, lined with wax paper and greased again. Bake at 325° for 8 minutes. Prepare filling while baking.

BUTTERSCOTCH FILLING: Melt 1 six ounce package (1 cup) butterscotch chips and 2 tablespoons shortening in top of double boiler over boiling water.

Immediately turn out chocolate base onto a towel which has been sprinkled with confectioner's sugar. Spread with filling. Sprinkle with ½ cup walnuts, chopped. Roll up starting with the 15 inch side. Wrap. Chill for 6 hours or overnight. Cut into ¼ inch slices. (Sister Mary Ameliana)

APRICOT COCONUT BALLS

1½ cups (6 ounces) dried apricots, ground
2 cups moist shredded coconut
2/3 cup (½ can or 7½ ounces) Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
Confectioner's sugar

In a large sized mixing bowl, blend apricots and coconut. Stir in Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk. Shape into small balls and roll in sugar. Let stand in air until firm. (Sister Mary Ameliana)

Page 2 Top of Page

HERSHEY BAR AND MARSHMALLOW CREME FUDGE

1 can evaporated milk
4½ cups sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 small packages chocolate chips
6 nickel Hershey chocolate bars
5 ounce jar marshmallow creme
1 cup nuts

Boil evaporated milk, sugar and butter or margarine together 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and add vanilla. Add remaining ingredients. Stir until all blended. Pour into pan and cut into pieces when set.

DATE NUT CAKE

2 cups dates, cut up fine
1 teaspoon soda
2 cups of boiling water

Mix and set aside.

1 cup butter or shortening
2 cups sugar
4 eggs

Mix until thick.

3 cups of cake flour or regular flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt

Mix the flour mixture and date mixture. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla and then if you do not intend to make a topping for cake, add 1 cup chopped nuts and pour into a greased and floured 3 quart jello ring mold or Bundt pan. Bake at 350° for 45 to 60 minutes.

TOPPING FOR DATE NUT CAKE

1 cup dates, cut fine
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
½ cup shortening
1 cup pecan meats

Cook until thick and spread on top and sides of cake. Put red and green cherries with almonds on top. Optional: You can pour rum or bourbon over cake also and it will stay fresh for days. (Mrs. Meyer W. Rosen, Cedar Rapids, Iowa)

DATE ROLL

1 pound dates
1 pound marshmallows
1 cup nuts
1 small bottle of maraschino cherries
1 pound graham crackers
1 cup cream, whipped

Cut dates, marshmallows, nuts and cherries into small pieces. Crush or roll  the graham crackers to make crumbs. Flavor cream with sugar to taste when whipping. Reserve 1/3 of the graham cracker crumbs. Mix everything else together. Shape into roll and roll in cracker crumbs. Store in refrigerator.

PUMPKIN CAKE

1 Duncan Hines White Cake Mix
1½ cups pumpkin
2 whole eggs
½ cup sugar
3 teaspoons pumpkin spice
½ cup water

Blend well and follow baking directions on cake mix package.

BUTTERSCOTCH DAINTY COOKIES (NO BAKE)

½ cup evaporated milk
¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla
6 ounce package butterscotch chips
2 cups Grapenut Flakes
1¼ cups cut up flake coconut
¾ cup broken nutmeats

Cook evaporated milk, sugar and butter or margarine over medium heat until it starts to boil and gets bubbly all over the top. Start time, boil and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and add vanilla and butterscotch chips and stir until melted. Sometimes it's necessary to return to heat. Measure Grapenut Flakes and crush slightly. Combine Grapenut Flakes with coconut and nutmeats. Pour syrup over this mixture and stir until all is coated. Drop by teaspoons on wax paper. Let set. Makes 24 pieces.

Page 3 Top of Page

OLD FASHIONED PLUM PUDDING (A Recipe from the late 1800's)

1 cup finely chopped beef suet
2 cups fine bread crumbs
1 heaping cup sugar
1 cup seeded raisins
1 cup well washed currants
1 cup chopped blanched almonds
½ cup citron, sliced thin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ grated nutmeg (one teaspoon)
4 well beaten eggs
1 level teaspoon soda dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water
1 pint flour

Flour fruit thoroughly from a pint of flour. Mix the remainder as follows. Put the well beaten eggs, sugar, spices and salt in 1 cup milk. Stir in fruit, chopped nuts, bread crumbs and suet, one after the other until all are used, putting in the dissolved soda last and adding enough flour to make the fruit stick together, which should take all of the pint of flour. Boil or steam four hours. Serve wine, brandy or any other well flavored sauce.

CRANBERRY PUDDING

3 heaping cups cranberries
1/3 cup flour
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup syrup or molasses
½ cup boiling water with 2 teaspoons soda dissolved in it

Flour cranberries with the 1/3 cup flour. Combine remaining ingredients and fold in cranberries and flour. Pour into mold and steam for 1½ hours. To make a sauce for the pudding, in a double boiler, combine ½ cup butter, 1 cup sugar, ½ cup half and half and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Heat in double boiler about 30 minutes. Should be thickened slightly.

NO-COOK PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

Blend 1 cup peanut butter and 1 cup Karo Syrup, light or dark. Mix 1¼ cups dry milk and 1¼ cups powdered sugar and combine all ingredients. Blend first with spoon and then with hands until well blended. Knead well. Press out to 1/8 inch thick and cut into pieces.

CATHEDRAL WINDOWS CANDY

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1 egg, beaten
1 cup powdered sugar
3 cups colored miniature marshmallows
2/3 cup finely chopped nuts

Melt butter, chocolate chips over low heat. Add sugar to beaten egg. Add slowly to melted chocolate mixture. Remove from heat and fold in marshmallows, stirring until well coated. Pour onto wax paper and form into log 18 inches long. Spread nuts on wax paper and roll log in nuts. Refrigerate and slice off when ready to serve.

BUTTERSCOTCH CANDY

2 cups sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
½ cup butter
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a heavy two quart saucepan. Stir and cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and cook at medium boil, stirring as needed to control foaming. If sugar crystals form on side of pan, wipe off. Cook to hard crack stage (300°). Remove from heat and let stand one minute. Butter two sheets of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet or butter the inside of muffin tins. Drop by teaspoons on foil about ½ inch apart. If candy thickens so it won't drop, set in hot water to thin. If candy sticks in muffin tins, set in hot water and work loose with a knife. Makes 6 dozen patties or 1½ pounds candy.

HARD CHRISTMAS CANDY

4 cups sugar
1 cup white syrup
1 cup water
1 dram (1 teaspoon) oil flavoring (not extract), your choice
powdered sugar and food coloring

Boil sugar, syrup and water to 295°. Remove from heat and add oil flavoring and a few drops of food coloring. Pour quickly onto a jelly roll pan that has been sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar. Sprinkle powdered sugar over candy  also. When cool, break into pieces.

Page 4 Top of Page

ORANGE BLOSSOM

1 medium orange
1 package (two layer size) yellow cake mix
1½ cups sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter or margarine
1 cup water
1 3½ ounce can flaked coconut
1 package fluffy white frosting mix

Cut unpeeled orange in chunks. Blend at low speed in electric blender until  smooth or put through food chopper using fine blade. Use 2/3 cup of the ground orange. Prepare cake mix following package instructions. Fold 1/3 cup of the blended orange into batter. Bake according to directions in two greased and floured 8  inch pans. Cool five minutes, remove from pan and cool. Combine sugar and next four ingredients. Add remaining ground orange. Cook and stir until mixture thickens and boils. Cook two minutes. Cool and stir in coconut. Cut each cake layer in half. Spread each cake layer with frosting making four layers. Frost with frosting mixture and spread on sides of cake.

CARROT BREAD

1 cup sugar
1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs, beaten
¾ cup salad oil

Beat eggs, add to salad oil and mix thoroughly. Add to sifted dry ingredients. Stir in 1 cup grated carrots thoroughly. Bake in bread pans or small orange juice tins.  Fill cans ¾'s full. No time or temperature given. Nuts can be added as an optional ingredient.

DATE NUT TOPPING

Put 1 cup dates, cut fine, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, ½ cup shortening and 1cup pecan nutmeats in pan to cook. Cook until thick. Spread on top and sides of cake. Decorate with red and green cherries and almonds. Rum and bourbon may be poured over topping for additional and traditional flavor.

DATE BREAD

2 eggs, beaten
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups buttermilk
3 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup chopped dates
½ cup nuts
¼ cup melted butter

Beat eggs and brown sugar. Add buttermilk. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon. Stir into egg and sugar mixture. Fold in oatmeal and dates along with nuts. Stir until moistened. Gradually blend in melted butter. Pour into 2 regular 9 by 5 inch loaf pans or four smaller aluminum loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 40 to 50 minutes in the 9 by 5 inch loaf pans.

FRENCH COCONUT PIE

3 eggs, less 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon Kitchen Klatter Coconut Flavoring
1 cup white sugar
2/3 cup white syrup
1/3 cup Staley's Waffle Syrup
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Mix well and stir in 2 cups toasted coconut. Bake at 400° for l0 minutes in an unbaked one crust pie shell, then reduce heat and bake at 375° for 15 minutes and then 350° until done. Let cool and add topping made of Cool Whip and ½ cup marshmallow creme, whipped well. Sprinkle with more toasted coconut.

COCONUT MACAROON PIE

Beat together 1½ cups sugar, 3 medium eggs (or 2 large eggs) and ½ teaspoon salt until lemon colored. Then add ¼ cup soft margarine and ¼ cup flour. Blend well. Add ½ cup milk and fold in 1 cup coconut. Add ½ teaspoon almond extract and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Pour into pie shell, top with ½ cup coconut. Bake at 325° for one hour.

Page 5 Top of Page

EGGLESS COCONUT COOKIES

1 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup butter or lard
½ cup sour milk with 1 teaspoon soda dissolved in it
2 heaping cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup coconut

Drop on buttered cookie sheets. Bake in a 375°-400° oven.

OATMEAL CANDY

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups oats, uncooked
1 tablespoon cocoa
½ stick margarine
½ cup shortening
¾ cup marshmallow creme
½ to ¾ cup flour

Combine sugars, milk, cocoa, butter and shortening and bring to boil. Cool one minute. Remove from heat. Add vanilla, marshmallow creme and oats. Mix well. Add flour for extra stiffness. Pour batter into buttered loaf pan. Cover and place in refrigerator until completely cool (about 2 hours).

APPLE BREAD

2 cups sugar, white
2/3 cup margarine
2 eggs
1 cup cold coffee
2 cups diced apples (using apples that do not cook up like Jonathons)
1 cup dates, diced
1 cup nuts, diced
1 cup raisins, optional
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons soda
1 teaspoon each salt and cinnamon
½ teaspoon each nutmeg and cloves, optional

Cream sugar and margarine. Beat eggs and coffee into creamed mixture. Stir in apples, dates and nuts. Sift dry ingredients together. Stir raisins into sifted dry ingredients. Blend into apple mixture. Divide dough in half. Makes two large loaves or four small loaves. Also bakes well in tin cans. Bake in large loaf pans for one hour at 350°-375°.

ROCK CANDY

4 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup white Karo Syrup

Boil to 300° on candy thermometer and add red food coloring and oil of peppermint or green food coloring and oil of wintergreen or orange food coloring and oil of clove. Remove from heat and put in meat or cake pan lined with powdered sugar forming troughs. Pour hot liquid into troughs. Cut into pieces with scissors as it cools.

GINGER CAKE

1 cup brown sugar
½ cup lard or butter
1 egg
1½ cup sorghum or molasses
1½ teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons ginger
1 cup hot water
2½ cups flour

Cream and beat sugar, butter, egg and sorghum or molasses. Add soda to the hot water. When soda dissolves, add to the flour and spices and sugar mixtures and mix well. Grease pans well. Bake in a loaf pan for 45 minutes at 350° or on large cookie sheets with one inch sides for 12 minutes at 350°.

CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES

¼ cup cocoa
2 cups white sugar
½ cup milk
½ cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix and bring to boil. Boil three to four minutes. Remove from heat and add ½ cup peanut butter. Stir until blended. Stir in 3 cups oatmeal. Drop by spoonsful on wax paper. Work quickly. Makes 2 dozen.

NO-BAKE COOKIES

Melt together 1 package butterscotch chips and ¼ cup peanut butter. Stir in 2½ cups corn flakes and drop on wax paper until set.

Page 6 Top of Page

MARY SUE'S SUGAR-COATED HALF-MOONS

1 heaping cup ground or finely chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc.)
2/3 cup sugar
½ pound butter
2 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add nuts and flour. Roll out on floured board. Cut out in circles then cut in half to make half moons. Bake at 300° for 20 minutes. While hot, dip in granulated sugar.

CHINESE ALMOND COOKIES

1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Makes a very dry dough. Shape into little balls about an inch in diameter. Make a little thumb print with thumb by pressing slightly onto ungreased cookie sheet. With toothpick, trace Chinese markings onto cookie with food coloring. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. May also be decorated with cherries, candies, etc.

MARSHMALLOW FUDGE

Boil 1/3 cup butter, 4½ cups sugar and 1 can condensed milk hard for 5½ minutes. Remove from heat and while still hot, add 13 ounces of chunk chocolate and 2 packages chocolate chips along with a tall, skinny jar of marshmallow creme. Nuts can be added as an optional ingredient.

APPLESAUCE COOKIES

½ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup applesauce
1 egg
2 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup nuts, chopped
1 cup raisins

Cream sugar and shortening. Add remaining ingredients in order given and beat well. Drop on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes.

CINNAMON-TOPPED OATMEAL MUFFINS

1 cup sifted flour
¼ cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup oatmeal
½ cup raisins
3 tablespoons liquid shortening
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk

Mix like any other muffin. Add shortening, egg and milk to other ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full and sprinkle with topping mixture made of 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon melted butter. Bake at 425° for fifteen minutes. Makes twelve muffins.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS FROM US AND OURS...JIM AND BARBARA, DEBBIE AND JEFF, DOC AND MAMA, AND RUSTY AND COCOA.

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