Young eskimo girl with blueberries.
Young eskimo girl with blueberries.
The Winterlake Lodge Cookbook 
KIRSTEN DIXON
Imagine that you are a winter guest at the lodge. It’s a quiet, brisk morning and it is snowing heavily. You walk from your cabin to the lodge. A warm cup of coffee and a freshly baked oatmeal muffin are waiting for you. These delicious muffins are like enjoying a bowl of hot oatmeal in easy snack form. Add raisins, currants, or nuts if you wish.
1⅓ cups old-fashioned oats
1⅓ cups buttermilk, slightly wanned
2 eggs, lightly beaten
⅔ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
⅔ cup butter, melted and cooled ⅓ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter a 12-cup muffin tin.
• In a large bowl, combine the oats and buttermilk and let stand for about 1 hour. Add the eggs, brown sugar, and butter to the oat mixture, stirring until combined.
• Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the oat mixture, stirring just until blended. Fill each muffin cup ¾ full with the oat batter.
Streusel Topping
¼ cup flour
¼ cup butter at room temperature
2 tablespoons brown sugar
• For the streusel topping, in a small bowl combine the flour and butter, mixing until mealy in texture. Add the brown sugar. Sprinkle some of the topping on each muffin.
• Place the muffin tin on the center rack of the oven. Bake the muffins for about 12 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
MAKES 12 MUFFINS.
Baked Alaska SARAH EPPENBACH
Muffins aren’t just for breakfast in Alaska. Vehicles for whatever berries might be in season, they round out the contents of lunch boxes, picnic hampers, backpacks. A friend from Fairbanks keeps a basket of fresh muffins on the kitchen counter at all times, for noshing.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup vegetable shortening
⅓ cup sugar
2 eggs
⅔ cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
Jean Rogers, a Juneau children’s book author and accomplished baker, likes to put these muffins in the oven so that they emerge just in time for dessert. Her dinner guests eat them piping hot and slathered with butter, scraping the papers for the last crumbs. She also makes a “guilt-free” version, using margarine and undiluted fat-free evaporated milk.
• Heat oven to 400°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line the tin with papers.
• Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt, and set aside. Cream the shortening with the sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs and milk and beat lightly. Stir in the dry ingredients, then the blueberries, mixing only enough to distribute the berries. The batter will be quite stiff.
• Fill the muffin cups % full and bake 20 to 25 minutes. The papers will stick a bit when the muffins are hot but will peel off cleanly when cool (if you can wait that long).
MAKES 12 MUFFINS.
Cooking Alaskan RECIPE BY MARTHA THOMAS, Second place, 1980 Tanana Valley Fair Bake-Off, Bake-Off Cookbook, 1961–1980, Fairbanks
1½ cups brown sugar
1½ cup oil
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup sour milk (see Note)
1½ cups diced rhubarb
½ cup walnuts
2½ cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
• Beat together brown sugar, oil, egg, vanilla, and sour milk. Add rhubarb and walnuts.
• In a separate bowl mix flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to liquid ingredients, stirring only until moistened. Spoon into greased and floured muffin cups.
• For topping, mix all ingredients together. Scatter over filled cups and lightly press into the batter.
• Bake at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes. Test with a toothpick for doneness.
MAKES ABOUT 20 LARGE OR 30 MEDIUM MUFFINS.
Note: If you don’t have sour milk on hand, you can make it by stirring in 1 tablespoon of either vinegar or lemon juice per 1 cup of milk. Let stand for a few minutes.
Topping
2 teaspoons melted butter
⅔ cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
A Cache of Recipes LAURA COLE
Try these with strawberry jam.
Scones
2 cups of all-purpose flour
⅓ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup chopped fresh apricots (or ⅓ cup chopped dried apricots)
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1¼ cups heavy cream
• To make the scones: Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the apricots and lemon zest, and mix well. Slowly add the cream, mixing just until a dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, roll out to the desired thickness, and cut into the desired shapes. Transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Topping
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
• To make the topping: Mix together the lemon zest and sugar. Brush the tops of the scones with melted butter. Sprinkle the lemon sugar over the scones.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. The scones will be light golden brown. Serve warm.
MAKES 12 SCONES.
Saturday was baking and cleaning day. When I was nine and a half, during that first winter in Fairbanks, I made my first batch of molasses cookies. After that nearly every Saturday morning found me making cookies. Mother baked pies, many of them, and doughnuts. These were put out into the cache or the screen porch and frozen, the same as the meat and the fish, and the many loaves of bread. All over town the women would be doing the same kind of thing.
—Two in the Far North, MARGARET MURIE
The Riversong Lodge Cookbook KIRSTEN DIXON
I love to make these popovers when I am having an especially busy breakfast. They are quick and easy and everyone loves them. Steam causes the batter to rise the way it does.
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
⅔ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
• Preheat the oven to 450°F. Generously grease the popover pans or regular muffin cups (popovers can be difficult to remove if they stick), and preheat them. Beat all the ingredients together until just smooth. Don’t overbeat the mixture.
• Fill the prepared pans one-half to two-thirds full. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350°F without opening the oven door. Bake until the popovers are firm and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. Carefully remove the popovers to a linen-covered basket and serve warm with butter and jam.
MAKES 8 TO 12 POPOVERS.
Alaska Sourdough RUTH ALLMAN
4 cups Sourdough Starter (page 30)
2 cups warm potato water
½ cup sugar
6 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon salt
10 cups flour, approximately
• Make soft sponge mixing the Sourdough Starter, water, sugar, oil, and salt. Add half the flour. Set in warm place to double in bulk.
• Add remainder of flour to make dough that is easy to handle, smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl. Cover. Let rise in warm place until double in bulk.
• Knead down. Let rise to double in bulk.
• Form into loaves or roll out ¼ inch thick. Roll lengthwise and place on cookie sheet. Slash. Bake 500°F for 10 minutes, then 400°F for 45 minutes.
Alaska Sourdough RUTHALLMAN
It is imperative never to use any metal pot or metal spoon with sourdough, as it causes a chemical action. A wooden spoon is a must to go with the sourdough pot—a crock or jar.
Simple Method
1 cup active Sourdough Starter
2 cups water—rich potato water
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
Simplest method:
• Obtain a cup of Sourdough Starter from an active working sourdough pot. Even a “smidgen of a cup” of starter will get the busy little enzymes working to build up a bubbling sourdough pot. Dump starter in a jar or crock to be used as the sourdough pot. Add the potato water, flour, and sugar (approximate proportions).
Your Own Sourdough Starter
2 cups thick potato water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups flour (more or less)
½ teaspoon yeast (optional; use yeast only to speed action)
• Salt is omitted for it retards the action. Sugar used to speed up action—not to sweeten—and brown the sourdough.
Now, in case there is no Sourdough Starter available, just start your own. It’s fun! It’s easy!
• In pot, boil 2 medium potatoes with jackets on until they fall to pieces. Lift skins out and mash potatoes making a puree. Cool. Add more water to make sufficient liquid, if necessary. Richer the potato water, richer the starter. Put sugar, flour, and yeast in the pot with the potatoes. Beat until a smooth, creamy batter. Put in a crock or jar and cover. Set aside in warm place to start fermentation. Sourdough works best when the room temperature is between 65°F and 77°F
Just how long does it take the Sourdough Starter to become “ripe”—in prime working condition? Exponents differ.
• 3-Day Starter: Sourdough Starter can be used now, providing those little enzymes have started working. But it is better to wait a few more days. Toss in extra fuel for the sourdough to work on—a spoonful of sugar along with a couple spoonsful of flour. Add water if batter is too thick. Mix well. Cover. Put in warm spot to work more.
• 1-Week Starter: Starter is now effervescing with a million bubbles. Looks like sour cream, smells like sour cream, but is rich, luscious Sourdough.
• 2-Week Starter: Disciples of sourdough claim that waiting this extra time gives extra flavor, which is not to be compared with any other batter.
• 3-Week Starter: The Sourdough Pot is now bubbling like the old witch’s cauldron.
• 1-Month Starter: Sourdough is now a rich, creamy batter that is honeycombed with bubbles.
• 1-Year Starter: Old-timers claim a year must elapse before the sourdough matures and offers the distinctive taste appeal nothing else can imitate—Sourdough!
Note: For those wanting more information on the history of sourdough, making and keeping sourdough, and cooking with sourdough, see Alaska Sourdough and Cooking Alaskan.
Nature made it impossible for fruit trees to grow in the North. But she compensated for this with the most lavish gift of berries, and in those early times, because fresh fruit from the States was so rarely seen and more costly than jewels, it was necessary for each household to put up berries for the winter. Right after the Fourth of July celebration the picking began, blueberries first. Walking out from town in almost any direction in the open tundra you came to blueberries. Mother made blueberry pie, blueberry muffins, blueberry cobbler, blueberry syrup for the sourdough pancakes. We ate bowls of blueberries with canned milk and sugar on them. But more than all this, they must be put up for the winter. Berries and sugar were put in a 50-pound butter barrel—a layer of berries, a layer of sugar, and so on clear to the top. The best scheme for this project was to go out to some friend’s on the creeks and spend three days picking the berries and packing them out there. Then you put them down in one of the mineshafts, where it was very cold. When winter came, the friend brought the barrel in and you put it in your own cellar under the kitchen, and all was well. A quart measure dipped into the barrel brings up a quart of juicy berries, almost like fresh ones.
—Two in the Far North, MARGARET MURIE
Cooking Alaskan RECIPE BY THE OLD HOMESTEADER
Set the sponge by mixing the following ingredients in a large bowl. Cover it loosely with a foil or waxed paper lid and allow the mixture to work overnight in a warm place.
Sponge
½ cup Sourdough Starter (page 30)
1 cup lukewarm water
1 cup all-purpose flour
When you are ready to bake, assemble these ingredients:
Biscuits
1½ cups all-purpose flour, to be added in two portions
¾ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon margarine, melted
2 tablespoons corn meal (optional)
• Beat 1 cup of the flour into the sponge that has been working overnight (or at least 6 to 8 hours). In a small bowl combine the remaining ½ cup flour with the salt, sugar, baking powder, and soda, and sprinkle this mixture over the dough. Blend quickly with a fork.
• Turn dough onto floured board and knead lightly about 10 times or until it is springy. Roll out to ½-inch thickness. Cut with a biscuit cutter (a can with both ends cut out makes a good one) and dip in a mixture of oil and margarine. If you wish, sprinkle half of the optional corn meal in bottom of baking pans and the rest on the top of the biscuits.
• Place biscuits in pan close together. Cover with a clean cloth and set in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes. Bake at 375°F until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
MAKES A BAKER’S DOZEN GOOD-SIZED BISCUITS.
A group of “sourdoughs” were the first known climbers to summit the North Peak of Mount McKinley in 1910. Their high-altitude food supplies included bacon, beans, flour, sugar, dried fruits, butter, coffee, hot chocolate, and caribou meat.
—To the Top of Denali, BILL SHERWONIT
Alaska Sourdough RUTH ALLMAN
½ cup sourdough
½ cup black strap molasses
½ cup shortening
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
3½ cups flour, more or less
2 teaspoons ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon cardamom
2 teaspoons grated orange (lemon) peel
1 teaspoon soda
• Cream sugar and shortening. Add molasses, egg, and orange rind. Mix in sourdough. Add dry ingredients. Use enough flour to make soft dough. Chill the dough. Roll out on floured board. Cut. Bake on greased cookie sheet 375°F 10 minutes.
MAKES ABOUT 4 TO 6 DOZEN COOKIES.
KARL EID, A FORMER OLYMPIAN, SKI JUMPING COACH, AND PASTRY CHEF, MAKING CHOCOLATES AT SPENARD PIGGLY WIGGLY, ANCHORAGE
Baked Alaska SARAH EPPENBACH
On Sunday evenings our dear friend and neighbor Judy Cooper would climb the many stairs to our house for the 9 P.M. broadcast of Masterpiece Theater, accompanied by a small contingent of her red Siberian huskies. Often she would bring dessert: depending on the season, a blueberry or rhubarb pie, or a brown paper bag of chocolate chip cookies hot from the oven.
These cookies have succored hundreds of Alaskans during Judy’s 25-plus years in Alaska as a VISTA volunteer, recreation director, trans-Alaska pipeline laborer, artist, musher, kennel owner, and environmentalist. They have launched innumerable late-night ferry departures, energized skiing and hiking expeditions, sustained board meetings, and been auctioned at art and charity events. They’re the best.
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 extra-large egg
3 tablespoons hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• Preheat the oven to 375°F
• Sift or stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt, and set aside. Cream the shortening and sugars until fluffy and light, then mix in the egg, hot water, and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients, followed by the oats and chocolate chips, and drop the dough by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until the cookies brown and flatten. Cool on the baking sheets a couple of minutes before removing.
MAKES 5 DOZEN COOKIES.
Variation: Substitute 2 cups raisins or 1 cup raw sunflower seeds and 1 cup raisins for the chocolate chips.
The Winterlake Lodge Cookbook KIRSTEN DIXON
These delicious cookies are soft, light in color, and very pretty. You may use any dried fruit, and if you are lucky enough to have dried blueberries where you shop, you should try them in this recipe. We use bittersweet chocolate, but you may certainly use semisweet or white chocolate if you prefer, or even try the recipe without any chocolate.
2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon grated
nutmeg
8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 cup sour cream
½ cup chopped dried cranberries
½ cup chopped bitter sweet chocolate
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a baking sheet.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.
• In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and egg and blend until smooth. Add the sour cream alternating with the flour mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer and with a large wooden spoon stir in the cranberries, the chocolate, and the pecans.
• Drop tablespoons of the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Remove the cookies and place them on a rack to cool.
MAKES ABOUT 3 DOZEN COOKIES.
The Winterlake Lodge Cookbook KIRSTEN DIXON
In any wilderness lodge repertoire, it is essential to have lots of cookie recipes, coffee cake and other snack cake recipes, and some good bar cookie recipes. This recipe is so quick and easy we can start it when guests depart from Anchorage for Winterlake and have them out of the oven and onto the coffee bar by the time they arrive. I make blueberry jam every late summer and fall, when the lodge is surrounded by plump berries.
2¼ cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped black walnuts
1 cup butter at room temperature
1 egg
½ cups Homemade Fresh Blueberry Jam (page 197)
• Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch-square baking pan.
• To make the crumb mixture for the bottom and the top of the bars, combine the flour, sugar, walnuts, butter, and egg in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the mixture at a low speed until the mixture is crumbly, about 2 minutes. Set aside 2 cups of the crumb mixture.
• Press the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of the baking pan. Spread the blueberry jam over the crumb crust, leaving about a ½-inch edge free of jam. Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture evenly over the top of the blueberry jam. Press the crumb mixture lightly into the blueberry jam.
• Place the baking pan in the center of the oven and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until the crumb topping is browned. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Cut the bars into 2-inch squares.
MAKES ABOUT 24 BARS.
Cooking Alaskan RECIPE BY DENISE BALLIET, First-Place Winner, 1979 Tanana Valley Fair Bake-Off,
Bake-Off Cookbook, 1961–1980, Fairbanks
1¾ cups flour
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
½ cup butter or margarine
1½ cups sugar
¼ cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
6 egg yolks
1 cup whipping cream
4 cups shredded fresh rhubarb
1 cup sliced strawberries
½ teaspoon lemon juice
6 egg whites
½ cup sugar
• Mix 1¾ cups flour and powdered sugar in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press mixture into greased 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350°F until golden, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Mix sugar, ¼ cup flour, and salt in a large bowl. Lightly beat egg yolks. Stir egg yolks and cream into sugar mixture. Stir in rhubarb, strawberries, and lemon juice. Spread mixture evenly over crust. Bake until firm at 350°F, about 1 hour.
• Beat egg whites in a large mixer bowl until foamy. Beat in ½ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until stiff peaks form. Spread over rhubarb mixture. Bake until light golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.
MAKES 24 BARS.
We made coffee and I felt privileged to be with such fine company. I had regretted losing my other companions, but these folks were fearlessly honest. Here we were away from outsiders, volunteers, and the media. We could confess our mistakes, share both our doubts and tidbits of hard-won wisdom. Food was a big subject. Lesley confessed to living on M&Ms and salmon strips, while Karen brought out a cheesecake bar that was perfect for the lditarod. I had been chewing on rock-hard energy bars at the high risk of breaking a tooth. Strangely, Karen’s treat did not freeze.
—Running with Champions, LISA FREDERIC
The Riversong Lodge Cookbook KIRSTEN DIXON
We make brownies nearly every day at the lodge in the summer, then wrap them individually in plastic wrap and include them in river lunches. In the winter, our brownies sit on a large platter near the coffeepots.
1 cup unsalted butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 13-by-9-by- 2-inch baking pan.
• Melt butter and the unsweetened chocolate in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat. Set aside.
• Beat the sugar and eggs in a large mixer bowl on high speed for 10 minutes. Beat in the melted chocolate mixture on low speed. Add the flour, mixing just until blended. Add the nuts and the chopped chocolate, mixing well.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Bake on the center rack of the oven until the center of the brownies is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool the brownies and cut into squares.
MAKES 32 BROWNIES.
Baked Alaska SARAH EPPENBACH
When pie or cobbler seems too much dessert and sorbet too little, this light and lemony yogurt pound cake makes the perfect foil for Alaska’s summer berries. For a richer, even more magnificent cake, use 6 eggs instead of 4 eggs.
3 cups cake flour, stirred before measuring
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
Powdered sugar, for dusting
About 3 cups mixed fresh berries, sweetened to taste, for serving
Fresh Raspberry or Strawberry Sauce for serving (page 206)
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease and flour tube or bundt pan.
• Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside. Cream the butter until light; gradually add the sugar, and cream the mixture until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the lemon juice. (The batter may curdle slightly but will smooth out during the next step.) Blend in the yogurt alternately with the dry ingredients, followed by the lemon zest.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the cake tests done with a wooden toothpick. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before inverting onto a rack. When completely cool, dust the cake with powdered sugar. Cut into slices and serve with the berries and a spoonful of Fresh Raspberry or Strawberry Sauce.
MAKES 10 TO 12 SERVINGS.
Variation: Instead of dusting the cake with powdered sugar, make a tart lemon glaze by stirring together 2 tablespoons lemon juice and ¾ cup powdered sugar. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake.
Cooking Alaskan RECIPE BY BERNICE KINNEY, An entry for the Tanana Valley Fair Bake-Off, Bake-Off Cookbook, 1961–1980, Fairbanks
1¼ cups salad oil
2 cups sugar
2¼ cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 eggs
3 cups finely grated carrots
Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream Cheese Frosting
¼ cup butter
4 ounces cream cheese
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• Combine sugar and oil; mix well.
• Sift dry ingredients together, then add half to sugar mixture and blend. Add remaining dry ingredients alternately with eggs, mixing well after each addition. Stir in carrots. Pour into lightly oiled 10-inch tube pan and bake at 325°F for 70 minutes. Or, pour into three 8-inch layer cake pans and bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes. (Double the frosting recipe for a layer cake.)
• Cream all ingredients together. Add enough milk to spread easily.
MAKES 12 SERVINGS.
Baked Alaska SARAH EPPENBACH
Northern bakers tend to collect apple recipes, as might be expected—any fruit that travels well, keeps beautifully, tastes wonderful raw, and can be baked into a variety of delicious goods deserves unlimited space in the recipe box. My sister, Kate, gave me this recipe for hearty, eat-out-of-your-hand apple cake. You can vary the spices to suit your mood. I often add cinnamon or cardamom. Snack cakes like this don’t need to be frosted—at most, a quick dusting of powdered sugar does the job.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups peeled, diced apples (3 to 4 medium apples)
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts Powdered sugar, for dusting
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
• Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, allspice, and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl.
• In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs, then beat in the oil and vanilla. Stir the mixture into the dry ingredients. Add the diced applies, raisins, and nuts and mix thoroughly; the batter will be very stiff. Turn the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes or until the cake tests done with a wooden toothpick. Cool and dust with powdered sugar.
MAKES 12 SERVINGS.
A kettle of lima beans bubbled on the stove while I deepened my postholes. Babe came sliding in on the skis. Something very special this time, a fancy chocolate cake. Sister Florence had sent Babe’s wife money to bake me a birthday cake.
—One Man’s Wilderness, SAM KEITH FROM THE JOURNALS
AND PHOTOGRAPHS OF RICHARD PROENNEKE
Baked Alaska SARAH EPPENBACH
The sweet-tart combination of apples and cranberries shows up in many North Country desserts. In this example, cardamom, the favorite Scandinavian baking spice, lends an exotic touch to a satisfying fall crisp.
5 cups peeled, cored, and sliced tart apples (about 5 medium apples)
1 cup cranberries
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
Streusel Topping
⅔ cup all-purpose flour
⅔ cup firmly packed brown sugar
⅓ cup butter
⅓ cup rolled oats
⅓ cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
• Toss together the apple slices, cranberries, sugar, lemon juice, and cardamom and place in the prepared pan.
• For the streusel topping, mix the flour and brown sugar and cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives (or use a food processor). Add the oats and nuts, and spread the streusel evenly over the fruit mixture. Bake for 1 hour, or until the streusel browns and the fruit juices bubble around the edges of the pan.
MAKES 8 SERVINGS.
Baked Alaska SARAH EPPENBACH
For those who love baking, the glory of Alaska’s summers lies in the variety of wild berries rewarding those with nimble fingers and a two-pound coffee can. The combination of blueberries and raspberries produces a beautifully colored cobbler with an intense berry flavor. If you like lots of unadulterated berry juice beneath your biscuit topping, leave out the cornstarch, which thickens the juice very slightly.
Biscuit Topping
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar, plus more to sprinkle on top
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons vegetable shortening (or 3 tablespoons shortening plus 3 tablespoons butter, for additional flavor)
¾ cup milk
Filling
4 cups blueberries
2 cups raspberries
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
Heavy cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving
• For the biscuit topping, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal, then add the milk and mix gently with a fork. Gather the dough into a rough ball and knead a couple of turns to smooth. Chill until ready to roll out.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F
• Combine the blueberries, raspberries, sugar, and optional cornstarch in an 8-inch square pan, deep-dish pan, or casserole. Place in the oven until the fruit bubbles around the edges of the pan.
• While the fruit heats, pat or roll the biscuit dough to a thickness of ¾ inch. Cut into rounds or squares and arrange them on top of the hot berries. Sprinkle generously with sugar and return the cobbler to the oven and bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Serve warm, with heavy cream or vanilla ice cream.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS.
Discovering Wild Plants JANICE J. SCHOFIELD, Recipe contributed by Ree Nancarrow, McKinley Park
½ to ⅔ cup sugar (depending on your taste and the sweetness of the berries)
1 cup cold water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 cups blueberries (divided)
1 tablespoon butter
1 prebaked 9-inch pie shell
• Cook sugar, water, cornstarch, and ½ cup blueberries until thick. Stir in butter, then cool slightly. Put 3½ cups blueberries in the cooled prebaked pie shell. Pour cooked mixture over the top of the berries. Cool until set.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS.
NATIVE WOMEN IN KUSPUKS CARRYING PAILS OF BERRIES.
Alaska Wild Berry Guide and Cookbook
6 cups salmonberries Water
⅔ cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Dash of salt
Whipped cream
Baked 10-inch pie shell
• Crush 2 cups berries and force through sieve. Add enough water to make 1½ cups. Mix together sugar, cornstarch, and salt and add to berries. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until the mixture is well thickened. Allow to cool. Place remaining 4 cups of berries in pie shell, then pour on cooked mixture. Chill for several hours. Serve with whipped cream and garnish with a few perfect, whole salmonberries.
MAKES 8 SERVINGS.
What a man never has, he never misses. I learned something from the big game animals. Their food is pretty much the same from day to day. I don’t vary my fare too much either, and I’ve never felt better in my life. I don’t confuse my digestive system. I just season simple food with hunger. Food is fuel, and the best fuel I have found is oatmeal and all the stuff you can mix with it, like raisins and honey and brown sugar; meat and gravy and sourdough biscuits to sop up the juices with; a kettle of beans you can dip into every day; rice or spuds with fish, and some fresh greens now and then.
—One Man’s Wilderness, SAM KEITH FROM THE JOURNALS
AND PHOTOGRAPHS OF RICHARD PROENNEKE
The Riversong Lodge Cookbook KIRSTEN DIXON
This pie has cranberries added, which give it an unusually rich flavor. I always thicken pies with tapioca rather than cornstarch because tapioca thickens without making the fruit cloudy.
2 cups whole frozen blueberries, thawed and drained
2 cups whole frozen cranberries, thawed and drained
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons tapioca
Pinch of salt
Pastry for a 9-inch double-crust mealy pie shell
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Pastry
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter
½ cup ice water
• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the blueberries and cranberries in a large bowl. Combine the sugar, tapioca, and salt, and stir into the mixed berries.
• For the pastry, mix the flour and salt together and place on a countertop. Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces. Rub the butter and flour between your fingertips until the mixture is the desired texture (pea-sized for a flaky crust, cornmeal texture for a mealy crust). Add the cold water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough is just moist enough to form a ball. Flatten the dough with the heel of your hand to layer the butter and flour. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling out.
• Roll out half of the pastry and line a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie pan with it. Spread the fruit mixture onto the pastry. Dot with butter. Sprinkle the rim of the pie shell with a little water to moisten the edge.
• Roll out the remaining pastry and place it over the top of the pie. Seal the edges by pinching with your fingertips or crimping with a fork. Cut slashes in the top crust for steam to escape, and decorate with shapes cut out of any leftover dough. Brush the crust lightly with cold water. Place the pie on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS.
The Winterlake Lodge Cookbook KIRSTEN DIXON
This Winterlake-simplified recipe of the classic Alaskan dessert is as good as any labor-intensive version. Baked Alaska, called “omelet surprise” or omelet á la norvégienne, was served by Thomas Jefferson at a White House dinner in 1802. It was renamed Baked Alaska at Delmonico’s Restaurant in New York City in 1876 in honor of the newly acquired territory of Alaska. This recipe contains the safe version of meringue in which the egg whites are heated before being whipped.
8 ½-inch-thick slices of pound cake
1 pint vanilla ice cream
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pint fresh seasonal berries
1 tablespoon crème de cassis
• Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut 8 circles from the pound cake slices. Place a scoop of ice cream onto one round. Top the scoop of ice cream with an additional round of cake. Press down lightly and, using a knife, smooth away any ice cream that has pressed out the sides. Repeat with the remaining rounds of cake. Place the 4 cakes onto a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Place tray in the freezer for at least 15 minutes to firm the ice cream.
• In a large saucepan, bring about 1 inch of water to a simmer. In a metal bowl that will fit over the saucepan, place ½ cup of the sugar, the egg whites, 2 tablespoons water, and the cream of tartar. Set the bowl over the simmering water and beat with a handheld electric mixer at a low speed, moving the beaters around the bowl constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer registers 140°F. Increase the mixer speed to high and continue beating over the heat for a full 3 minutes.
• Remove the bowl from the heat and beat the meringue until cool, about 4 minutes. It will form peaks. Beat in the vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator to chill for at least 15 minutes.
• When ready to assemble the dessert, preheat the broiler. In a small bowl, gently mix the berries, crème de cassis, and the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and set aside. Remove the cakes from the freezer, and quickly spread them with the meringue, swirling it to make peaks. Place the cakes under the broiler, as close to the broiler flame as possible, just to brown the meringue at the tips, about 1 minute. Serve the cakes immediately, surrounded by some of the berry mixture.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS.
The Riversong Lodge Cookbook KIRSTEN DIXON
Although Yukon Jack is a Canadian liqueur, we have adopted it as our own. This dessert is very popular at the lodge.
Sourdough Bread Pudding
½ cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 pound day-old sourdough bread (about 8 cups), cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Yukon Jack Sauce
½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons Yukon Jack liqueur
• To make the pudding, soak the raisins in the rum for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking pan.
• Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. Pour the milk and cream over the bread. Let soak for 5 minutes.
• Whisk the eggs with the sugar, melted butter, vanilla, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Pour the egg mixture over the bread. Add the raisins and rum and toss to mix. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Bake on the center rack of the oven until the bread pudding is golden brown, about 1 hour.
• To make the sauce, melt the butter, the brown sugar, and the granulated sugar together over low heat, stirring until the sugars are dissolved. Whisk the egg in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in some of the melted butter-sugar mixture, then return all to the saucepan. Whisk until the sauce is smooth, without boiling. Whisk in the liqueur. Spoon the warm bread pudding onto dessert plates. Spoon the sauce over the top.
MAKES 8 TO 12 SERVINGS.
The Riversong Lodge Cookbook KIRSTEN DIXON
This pudding is probably my favorite dessert. Vanilla ice cream is a perfect accompaniment.
¼ cup unsalted butter
1 pound day-old sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 8 cups)
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
8 egg yolks
⅔ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
• Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the bread cubes and stir until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer the bread cubes to a large bowl; cool slightly. Combine the cream and milk in a heavy, medium saucepan. Bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Stir until melted.
• Whisk the egg yolks, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt together in another large bowl. Gradually whisk in the warm chocolate mixture. Pour the mixture over the bread. Top with a small plate to keep the bread submerged in the custard. Let the mixture stand until the bread has absorbed almost all the custard, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 9-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan.
• Pour the bread mixture into the baking pan. Cover the baking pan with foil. Make several small holes in the foil to allow steam to escape. Set the baking pan in a large roasting pan. Add enough hot water to the roasting pan to come 1 inch up the sides of the baking pan. Bake until the custard is set, about 45 minutes. Cool at least 30 minutes on a rack. Serve warm.
MAKES 8 SERVINGS.