OLDIES, but (baked) GOODIES
4 recipes that should have never gone out of style
Far away on a distant sea lies the Island of Old-Fashioned Baked Goods. There, slices of applesauce cake play in the tall green grass. Charlotte russes dance in the dappled sunlight. Coconut cream pies huddle with date-nut bread to gossip about pineapple upside-down cake.
But despite the appearances, all is not happy on the island. The pleasant, hopeful veneer hides an undercurrent of sorrow.
These baked goods were once beloved. They were in every magazine, they were on everyone’s tongue. But now they are all but forgotten.
Does that diminish their inherent quality? Does that make them any less worthy of being eaten? Does that make them … stale? I say no. I say it is time for these brave and stalwart baked goods of yore to make a stand, to leave the peaceable comforts of their isle and to find their way back to our tables — for the sake of nostalgia, if nothing else.
BUTTERHORN ROLLS Yield: 24 servings
4½ to 5 cups all-purpose flour
2¼ teaspoons (1 package) rapid-rise or instant yeast
1½ teaspoons salt
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) butter, divided
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees Fahrenheit)
½ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
Lightly grease a large bowl with cooking spray and set aside. In a different large bowl, mix together 4½ cups flour, the yeast and salt. Melt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; let cool.
In a bowl, mix together the melted butter, warm milk, sugar and eggs. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture, and pour in the milk mixture. Stir until the mixture is shaggy and difficult to stir. Add more flour if necessary. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough is smooth, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Shape dough into a ball and place in the greased bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat; let cool. Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Working on a lightly floured surface, roll each piece of dough into a 10-inch circle. Brush each circle with melted butter. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut each circle into 8 equal wedges.
Starting at the wide end of each wedge, roll up the dough, ending with the pointed tip on the bottom. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and curl in the ends slightly to make a crescent shape. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap coated with cooking spray and let rise until the rolls are doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
Arrange 2 oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions in the oven, and preheat to 325 degrees. Bake the rolls until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes, switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking. Serve hot or warm.
Per serving: 166 calories; 7 g fat; 4 g saturated fat; 39 mg cholesterol; 4 g protein; 23 g carbohydrate; 5 g sugar; 1 g fiber; 160 mg sodium; 21 mg calcium Recipe from “America’s Best Lost Recipes”
by the editors of Cook’s Country Magazine
LEMON CHIFFON PIE Yield: 8 servings
4 eggs, separated
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
½ cup lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon gelatin (more than 1 packet)
¼ cup cold water
1 teaspoon lemon zest (grated lemon rind)
1 baked pie crust
Whipped cream for garnish
Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored; add ½ cup of the sugar, lemon juice and salt. Cook, stirring, in a double boiler (or in a heatproof dish over simmering water), until it reaches the consistency of a custard.
Meanwhile, soften the gelatin in the water for 5 minutes (it will turn rubbery). Dissolve gelatin in the hot custard, then stir in lemon zest. Cool until mixture begins to thicken.
Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Add remaining ½ cup sugar and beat to stiff peaks again. Fold egg whites into lemon mixture until thoroughly combined. Fill baked pie crust with lemon chiffon mixture, and chill until firm. Top with whipped cream before serving.
Per serving: 283 calories; 11 g fat; 5 g saturated fat; 99 mg cholesterol; 5 g protein; 40 g carbohydrate; 26 g sugar; 1 g fiber; 301 mg sodium; 27 mg calcium Recipe from “American Woman Cook Book” edited by Ruth Berolzheimer
GRAM’S DOUGHNUTS
Yield: About 20 servings
2 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 quarts vegetable oil, for frying
Mix 1 cup of the sugar and the cinnamon in a medium bowl until combined, and set aside. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg in a large bowl. Beat the eggs, buttermilk and remaining 1 cup of sugar in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the egg mixture. Stir together to form a moist and sticky dough. If the dough is too soft to be rolled, add more flour, a little at a time.
On a heavily floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 14-inch circle, about ½-inch thick. Cut out dough rings with a floured doughnut cutter, reflouring between cuts. If you do not have a doughnut cutter, use a 2½-inch cookie cutter to cut the dough rounds and 1-inch cutter to make the holes.
Transfer the doughnuts to a floured baking sheet. Gather the scraps and gently press into a disk; repeat the rolling and cutting process until all the dough is used. (The cut doughnuts can be covered with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 hours.)
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until the temperature reaches 350 degrees. Carefully lower 4 to 6 doughnuts into the hot oil. Turn the doughnuts as they rise to the surface with tongs or a slotted spoon and fry, maintaining a temperature between 325 and 350 degrees, until the doughnuts are golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the doughnuts to a plate lined with paper towels and drain for 3 minutes. Toss the doughnuts in the cinnamon sugar and transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts, regulating the oil temperature as necessary.
Per serving: 305 calories; 15 g fat; 3 g saturated fat; 20 mg cholesterol; 4 g protein; 40 g carbohydrate; 21 g sugar; 1 g fiber; 169 mg sodium; 54 mg calcium Recipe from “America’s Best Lost Recipes”
by the editors of Cook’s Country magazine
SWEDISH TEA RING
Yield: 8 servings
2¼ teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water, 105 degrees to 115 degrees
¼ cup lukewarm milk, scalded then cooled
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
¼ cup shortening
2¼ to 2½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
½ cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ cup raisins
1 cup powdered sugar
1½ to 2 tablespoons milk or water
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
In mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in milk, sugar, salt, egg, shortening and half of the flour. Mix with a spoon until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to handle easily; mix with hand or spoon.
Turn onto lightly floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form into a ball and place inside a greased mixing bowl. Turn until ball is lightly greased all over. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1½ hours.
Roll dough on lightly floured board into rectangle, 9-by-15 inches. Spread with butter. Stir together brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins, and sprinkle evenly over the dough. Beginning with the long side, roll up tightly as for a jelly roll. Seal well by pinching the edges of the roll together.
Stretch roll slightly to make even. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or grease lightly) and form the roll into a ring on it, sealed edge down. Pinch the ends together. Use scissors to make cuts ⅔ of the way through the ring at 1-inch intervals, cutting from the outside of the ring toward the center. Fan out the sections so each one lies more or less on its side. Cover, and let rise until double in size, about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake ring until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
Mix together powdered sugar, milk or water and vanilla until mixture is of a spreadable consistency. Use this glaze to frost ring while it is still warm.
Per serving: 390 calories; 10 g fat; 4 g saturated fat; 31 mg cholesterol; 6 g protein; 70 g carbohydrate; 40 g sugar; 2 g fiber; 166 mg sodium; 46 mg calcium