Grandmas Easter Biscuits

Easter biscuits were traditionally baked and given as gifts at Easter time. This recipe comes from my grandmothers kitchen.. and she baked them every year,

Lightly spiced and speckled with currants they are delicious and make a change from the usual chocolate confections.

75 g (3oz) butter
75 g (3oz) caster sugar
1 medium egg separated
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
50 g (2oz) currants
15 g (½oz) mixed peel
175 g (6oz) plain flour (all purpose)
about 3 tablespoon milk
granulated sugar to sprinkle

• Pre-heat oven to moderate (180℃ (160℃ fan)/350°F/gas mark 4).
• Lightly grease two baking trays.
• Beat butter and add sugar gradually until light and fluffy
• Add egg yolk and beat again until smooth.
• Add currants and peel and stir through
• Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and spice. 
• Gradually fold into mixture to a firm dough
• Tip out mixture onto a floured board
• Roll out to about ¼in  thickness. 
• Use a 3in round cutter to cut out biscuits and place on the trays. 
• Gather up the trimmings, roll and repeat.
• If the mixture becomes difficult to work with, place in the fridge for 15 minutes 
• Lightly beat the egg white 
• Brush the surface of the biscuits with the egg white, then sprinkle with a little granulated sugar.
• Place trays into oven and bake for 15 minutes or until a pale gold colour.
• Allow to cool for about 10 minutes on trays before using a spatula to transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack.

Escalloped Potatoes Hungarian Style

Today’s recipe is from the 1942 edition of Short Cuts and Left-Overs by Hannah W. Schloss. A great book for using leftovers in an easy and appetizing way, with what you have on hand.. very much in the spirit of 'waste not..want not'.  Recipes like this would help home front housewives use up every last bit of food in their kitchens. 

 

One problem though. None of these recipes have directions for oven temperatures and many don’t include cooking times. Less than half actually have a list of ingredients, so there is a lot of guess work involved

But a 1940s housewife would work with what she had and adapt a recipe accordingly. So with potatoes leftover from yesterdays dinner, and dried parsley instead of fresh,  I followed the recipe with what I had. Because  I was serving it with some herbed chicken strips, I cooked at 375 for 20-25 minutes. And it was really nice...like a hot potato salad. The eggs were a pleasant addition and you could definitely add things to give the dish more flavour and colour. And who wouldnt like a sprinkle of cheese on the top?

• Butter a baking dish and dust with bread crumbs. 
• Slice cold boiled potatoes and some hard-boiled eggs. 
• Fill the baking dish alternating with the potatoes and sliced eggs, sprinkling the layers with salt, pepper and chopped parsley. 
• Over all pour sour cream and bake for 20 minutes. 

This makes a very good main luncheon dish.

Barbecued Fried Chicken

This is a light, easy to fix chicken recipe works as well today as it did in the 1940s. I used chicken breasts instead of a whole fryer and they turned out moist and flavourful. The recipe comes from the 1944 edition of The Good Housekeeping Cook Book.

2 1/2 lb fryer chicken, cut up
4 tbsp salad oil or fat
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp bottled thick meat sauce
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 c catsup
dash tabasco sauce

• Wash the fryer and dry it slightly. 
• You can reserve the backbone, neck, and wing tips for making chicken broth later.
• Heat the salad oil in a skillet, then add the chicken. 
• Brown on all sides over high heat. 
• Remove the chicken and place in a shallow baking pan. 
• Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken. 
• Bake uncovered in a moderate oven of 350°F for one hour or until the chicken is tender
• Baste every 10 minutes with the sauce in the pan. 
• Place in a broiler oven which has been preheated and allow to brown slightly. 
• Make sure it doesn’t burn. 
• Remove from broiler. 
• Put the chicken on a platter and pour the remaining sauce over it to serve. 
• Serves 4.

The Good Housekeeping Cook Book.1944

Wartime Bara Brith

Another wartime recipe to celebrate St Davids Day

“Bara Brith” is a traditional Welsh fruit loaf that literally means speckled bread. The recipe calls for lots of dried fruit, soaked in tea overnight and orange zest to give it a little zing. Using only one egg it easily fit into a rationed diet... and could be easily adapted during the war to use orange marmalade instead of orange juice and zest. Finely grated carrot could also be used to replace some of the fruit.

Delicious spread with a little butter....and served with a nice cup of tea

1lb of self raising flour (I used plain with 5 teaspoons of baking powder)

1/2 pint of tea

1lb of mixed dried fruit (substitute 1/3 with finely grated carrot to save on rations)
6 oz of light brown sugar
1 medium egg
1 or 2 teaspoons of mixed spice
1 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon or orange juice
1 tablespoon of orange zest (or use 2 tablespoons of orange marmalade to replace the honey, orange juice and zest)

• Make 1/2 pint of strong tea and add the dried fruit and grated carrot to the tea
• Place in fridge overnight
• The next day mix the honey, orange juice and zest (or marmalade) with the sugar and egg
• Add that to the fruit and tea mixture
• Sift the flour and spice into a large bowl
• Add the fruit/tea mixture
• Mix until all flour is mixed in
• Place in two small greased loaf tins or one large one
• Cook at 160C or 320 F for about 1 to 1.5 hours (use foil to cover if getting too brown)
• Remove and cool for a while then glaze with honey or a sugar water mix
• Remove from tin and cool thoroughly before storing in a tin
• Slice and serve with butter

Wartime Welshcakes

Crossed between a scone and a pancake and also known as a Welsh teacake, these Welsh Cakes are the perfect afternoon teatime treat for St Davids Day

These cakes are a wartime classic recipe that provided soldiers and coal miners during the World War with a fruity sweet snack but are great for any occasion 

They are incredibly quick and easy to make and are cooked in a griddle or frying pan instead of the oven 

6 oz plain flour with 3 teaspoons baking powder added (or use self raising flour)
2 oz margarine, butter or dripping
2 oz sultanas (or mixed dried fruit)
1 small carrot grated
2 oz sugar
1 fresh egg or 1 dried reconstituted egg
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

• Rub fat into the flour and baking powder mix until resembles bread crumbs
• Stir in nutmeg, sugar and dried fruit
• Mix the egg and milk together and add to dry mix to form a stiff dough (add more liquid or more flour as needed)
• Treat mixture as pastry and roll out on floured surface to 1/4 inch thick
• Use 3 inch rounds to cut out
• Pre-heat griddle or heavy frying pan
• Grease
• Put in Welsh Cakes and cook until golden brown on both sides over a moderate heat (about 4 minutes)
• Set aside a cool
• Sprinkle with a little sugar
• Serve with butter/jam and a nice cup of strong tea!
• Makes about 12-18

**Wartime Welsh Cakes**

March 1st is St Davids Day.. when Welsh people.. including me.. celebrate their patron saint with the wearing of a daffodil... and eat traditional Welsh fare... including these delicious little Welsh Cakes

Crossed between a scone and a pancake and also known as a Welsh teacake, these Welsh Cakes are the perfect afternoon teatime treat for St Davids Day... or any time of the year

These cakes uses a wartime classic recipe that provided soldiers and coal miners during the World War with a fruity sweet snack but are great for any occasion

They are incredibly quick and easy to make and are cooked in a griddle or frying pan instead of the oven

Recipe: https://the1940skitchen.blogspot.com/.../wartime...

#WartimeWednesday

#WW2Recipes

#WW2Rationing

#1940s

#The1940sKitchen

#StDavidsDay

#1940sRecipes

Molasses Cookies

This cookie recipe comes from the Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, March 1940. The are simple to make, not very sweet, with a rich molasses flavour and a hint of coffee. Hubby said they are lovely with his morning coffee.

This recipe makes a LOT of cookies.. so I halved the recipe and they were still a success. 

3/4 cup shortening 

1 cup sugar  

2 beaten eggs 

1 cup light molasses 

4 cups flour 

1 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon soda 

2 teaspoons cinnamon 

1 teaspoon ginger 

3/4 cup cold, strong coffee 

• Thoroly cream shortening and sugar
• Add eggs and molasses; beat well. 
• Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with coffee. 
• Drop from teaspoon onto greased cooky sheet. 
• Bake in moderate oven (350°) 15 minutes. 

Better Homes and Gardens Magazine 
March 1940

Hamburger Pie

A very simple dish from Better Homes and Gardens, August 1946. It makes and tastes almost like a Cottage Pie.. but Im not sure why we leave the middle of the mashed potato topping open!

The only changes I made to the original recipe.. was to add some chopped carrots that were leftover from another meal... and a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce. 

Not too bad at all!

4 potatoes
1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1 (15 ounce) can green beans, drained

Salt and pepper to taste

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. 
• Peel and quarter potatoes, and introduce into boiling water; 
• Cook until tender, about 15 minutes. 
• Drain and mash. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef and onion until beef is brown. Drain. 
• Stir in tomato soup and green beans. 
• Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. 
• Top with well seasoned mashed potatoes in a ring around the meat mixture (do not cover meat).
• Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes, until potatoes are golden

Better Homes and Gardens Magazine
August 1946