All my life I’ve relished good bread and loved the resilience of dough in my hands, the relaxed rhythm of kneading, the fragrance of baking, the beautiful even-grained cross-section of a well-risen loaf. Nowadays my ideal day begins in my Greenwich Village garden, with the little fountain splashing among the flowers, an amazing number of birds in full voice, and the distant sounds of a great city waking up. I carry out a tray with a steaming pot of tea, curls of fresh butter, and a couple of thick golden slices of homemade toast to munch slowly.
For more and more people, I find, real bread is a part of life, one offering tremendous reward for very little effort. Even if your days are very busy or very cut-up, you’ll find the breadmaking process is so flexible that it’s easy to complete on stage now and another later; you can do your kneading by machine, you can let dough rise in the refrigerator overnight, and you can make a big batch and freeze some loaves to use later. There’s so much to say about bread, and there are many variants and possibilities, that I’ve denoted one whole book, Beard on Bread, and a big section of Theory & Practice, to the subject without exhausting it. In this book I’ve made it a point to give some rather unusual combinations and some new and practical experimental results. Once you’ve mastered basic bread baking, you’ll want to play around and use your imagination. Don’t be inhibited. Once you get a feel for dough, you can pretty well count on a good loaf every time.
Basic white bread
Pullman loaf or pain de mie
Dark rye bread
Pumpernickel bread
Polygrained bread
with cornmeal
with walnuts
with garlic and dill
Egg bagels
with onions
with sesame seeds
with poppy seeds
Gruyère garlic bread
Carrot bread
Raisin bread
Hard rolls
Breakfast baps
Brioche bread
Brioches à tête
Mrs. Maynard’s cinnamon rolls
Lenten buns
Crumpets
Cottage cheese bread
Nut rum bread
Mealy bread
Whole-wheat bran muffins
Knusper brote
Tuiles
Soft almond cookies
Almond cookies
Cornmeal butter wafers
with sesame
Chinese chews
Lace cookies
Ginger cakes
Oatmeal carrot cookies
Vadis bars
Lemon meringue bars
Chocolate macaroons
Gino’s macaroons
Florentines
“Monster” peanut butter cookies
Meringue kisses
Linzer bars
Blond brownies
Sugar cookies
Apple pancakes
Brambles
Basic White Bread
Makes 1 large loaf or 2 smaller 8-inch loaves
1 package (1 tablespoon) active dry yeast
½ cup water (110° to 115°, approximately)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1½ cups plain yogurt (110° to 115°, approximately)
3¾ to 4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1½ to 2 tablespoons softened butter
1 egg white, beaten with 2 tablespoons cold water
Add the yeast to the warm water, along with the sugar, and stir well until the yeast is completely dissolved and starts to swell and bubble. Place the yogurt in a bowl. Stir in about 1½ cups of the flour with a wooden spoon. Add the yeast mixture, salt, and remaining flour, 1 cup at a time. Remove the dough to a floured board and knead, adding more flour as necessary if it gets sticky, until it is supple, satiny, and no longer sticky. Butter a bowl and place the dough in it, turning to coat all sides with the fat. Cover and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about 1½ to 2 hours.
Deflate the dough by punching it firmly 2 or 3 times, return to the floured board, and knead 4 to 5 minutes more. Divide into 2 equal parts and shape into loaves the size of your pans, or make 1 large loaf for a large pan. Place in buttered pans, cover lightly with a towel, and let rise again until doubled in bulk. Make 3 or 4 slashes across the loaves with a sharp knife and brush with lightly beaten egg white and water. Bake in a 400° oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped with the knuckles. Remove the loaves from the pans and put them in the oven for a few minutes longer to become crisped.
Pullman Loaf or Pain de Mie
Makes 1 large loaf or 2 smaller 8-inch loaves
2 packages (2 tablespoons) active dry yeast
1½ cups warm water
2 teaspoons sugar
6½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons coarse salt
1½ sticks (¾ cup) sweet butter
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in ¾ cup of the warm water with the sugar, and let stand until it starts to swell and bubble. In another bowl, combine 6 cups of the flour with the salt, then—using two knives—cut the butter into the flour and salt, being careful not to overwork it. (Or, using your hands, squeeze pieces of the butter into the flour very carefully.) Add this flour-and-butter mixture to the dissolved yeast, mixing it gently with one hand only, and add the remaining water to create a stiff, sticky dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and work it hard for a good 10 minutes: slap it, beat it, punch it, and give it a thorough kneading. When finally smooth, let it rest for a few minutes, then shape into a ball. Place the ball of dough in a well-buttered bowl and turn to coat the surface. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot for 1½ hours.
Punch the dough down, let it rest for 3 to 4 minutes, then turn it out and knead again vigorously for 3 to 4 minutes. Shape into a ball and put back in the buttered bowl to rise again, for from 45 minutes to 1 hour. Punch the dough down and let it rest another 3 or 4 minutes. Knead a third time and then shape carefully into a loaf to fit a well-buttered 13½-by-4-by-3⅓-inch pan or two 8½-by-4½-by-2½-inch pans. Let rise, covered, until almost double in bulk, approximately 1 hour. For this bread, the pans must be covered during baking so the bread remains compact and square-shaped. If you are using a pullman tin (the bread pan specifically designed for pain de mie), butter the inside of the lid. Otherwise use foil, well buttered, with a weight placed on top large enough to cover the baking tin (or a buttered cookie sheet with a weight on top would also do), and place in a preheated 400° oven. Immediately turn the heat down to 375°. After 30 minutes turn the tin on one side for 5 minutes and then on the other side for 5 minutes; it is all right to remove your improvised lid and weights at this point; the bread will be solid enough. Set it upright again and remove the lid if you are using a pullman tin; the bread should have risen to the top of the pan.
Continue to bake until it is a golden color, which will take about an additional 12 to 15 minutes. Turn the loaf out of the pan and put it directly on the rack of the oven to bake for a few minutes longer, until the bread is a beautiful color and sounds hollow when tapped with the knuckles. Let it cool thoroughly on a rack before slicing.
Dark Rye Bread
Makes 1 eight-inch loaf
¼ cup warm water (110° to 115°)
1 package (1 tablespoon) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
¾ cup milk, warmed to lukewarm
¼ cup light or dark molasses
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon caraway seeds (optional)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups rye flour
Ice water
Pour warm water into a large bowl; add yeast and sugar; stir until dissolved. Cover and set aside until mixture has swelled slightly and has surface bubbles—about 5 minutes.
Blend in milk, molasses, butter, salt, and, if you like, caraway seeds. Stir in 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup at a time. Next, stir in all the rye flour, ½ cup at a time. Then beat vigorously until dough is smooth and elastic. Stir in most of remaining flour to make a stiff dough.
Turn out onto a heavily floured board. Knead until dough is not sticky—smooth and satiny—about 8 to 10 minutes. Add more flour while kneading, if necessary. Put dough in greased bowl; grease top lightly. Cover bowl and set in warm place to rise until almost doubled in bulk (about 1½ to 2 hours).
Punch down, turn out onto a lightly floured board, knead slightly and form into a loaf.
Put the loaf into a greased bread pan. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until almost doubled in bulk (1½ to 2 hours). Bake at 425° for 10 minutes, brush with ice water, lower the temperature to 350°, and continue baking for approximately 40 to 45 minutes until the bread has turned almost mahogany on top. Turn the loaf out of the pan and put directly on the rack of the oven if you want it very crusty. Let cool on a rack.
Pumpernickel Bread
Makes 2 large loaves
1 cup cornmeal
1½ cups boiling water
½ cup beer
2 packages (2 tablespoons) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup warm water
2 cups pumpernickel flour
3 tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons oil
3½ to 4 cups all-purpose flour (approximately)
Combine the cornmeal with the boiling water, mix well, and add the beer. Let the mixture rest until it comes to room temperature (put your finger in to make sure). Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water and let stand until it swells. Put the cornmeal mixture in the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook attachment, and add the pumpernickel flour, cocoa, salt, oil, and yeast mixture. With the mixer on at its lowest speed, knead the dough until well combined. Gradually add the all-purpose flour, ½ cup at a time, until you have a firm, evenly textured dough.
Remove the dough to a floured work surface and shape it into a ball. Clean your bowl, butter it, and then place the dough in it, turning to coat all sides. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot, until doubled in bulk.
Punch the dough down, let it rest for 2 or 3 minutes, then knead by hand this time for a good 5 minutes. Shape the dough into 2 free-form loaves and place on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal, and let rise, covered, until double in bulk. Bake the loaves at 425° for about 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350° and continue to bake for an additional 40 to 50 minutes. When done, the loaves will have a dark crust and will sound hollow when tapped on the top and bottom with the knuckles. Remove from the oven and cool thoroughly on racks before slicing.
Makes 2 loaves
1 cup boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup cracked wheat
2 packages (2 tablespoons) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon brown sugar
½ cup warm water
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup yogurt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
Pour the boiling water over the rolled oats and cracked wheat in a large mixing bowl. Set aside and allow to cool. Dissolve the yeast with the sugar in the warm water. Add the yeast to the oats and cracked wheat when cool enough to stick a finger in and hold it there comfortably. Add the salt, yogurt, olive oil, and 2 cups of the flour, and mix well. Turn out onto a floured board and knead, adding additional flour, until you have a smooth dough. Clean the bowl, butter it well, return the dough to it, and turn to coat the surface evenly. Let rise, covered lightly with a towel, until double in bulk, about 1½ hours. Punch the dough down and let it rise again. Form the dough into 2 loaves, place in greased pans, and let rise again. Bake in a 400° oven for 1 hour.
Polygrained Bread with Cornmeal. Use 1 cup coarse cornmeal instead of the rolled oats.
Polygrained Bread with Walnuts. Add 1 cup chopped walnuts to the bread mixture.
Polygrained Bread with Garlic and Dill. Add 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped, and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or 2 teaspoons dried dill weed.
Egg Bagels
These ethnic rolls, distinctive in their shape and twice cooked—once in water, once in the oven—are eternally popular.
Makes 16 bagels
1 package (1 tablespoon) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3½ to 4 cups hard-wheat flour
2 eggs
1½ tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons water
Dissolve yeast in mixing bowl with the warm water and sugar. Add salt, 1 cup flour, 2 eggs, and oil. Add remaining flour to make a firm dough. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 10 to 15 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until double in bulk, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Punch down dough and divide into 16 equal parts. Shape each part into a smooth ball, punch hole in center with floured finger and pull gently to enlarge the hole and make a uniform shape. Let rise 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°.
Heat approximately 4 quarts water to barely simmer in a large pot. Put the bagels in the simmering water, 4 at a time, and simmer about 7 minutes, turning once. Remove from water, brush with 1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tablespoons water, place on a greased baking sheet, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.
Egg Bagels with Onions. Sauté 1 medium-size onion, finely chopped, in 3 tablespoons butter until translucent. Brush the onion mixture over the bagels before placing in the oven.
Egg Bagels with Sesame Seeds. Spread a layer of sesame seeds on a plate and before baking carefully press the tops of the bagels into the seeds so that they adhere to the surface.
Egg Bagels with Poppy Seeds. Follow same procedure as for sesame seeds.
Gruyère Garlic Bread
Makes 1 loaf
1 package (1 tablespoon) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1½ cups warm water
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon pepper
¾ cup grated Gruyère cheese
Butter or oil
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
Dissolve the yeast with the sugar in the warm water. Combine the salt, garlic, and 2 cups of the flour. Add the yeast mixture, blend well, and add enough flour to make a manageable dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes. Sprinkle the pepper over the dough and knead for another minute. Add the cheese and knead again until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Clean the bowl, butter it well, return the ball of dough to it, and turn to coat the surface evenly. Cover with a towel, place in a warm spot, and let double in bulk (about 1 hour). Punch the dough down, shape free form in a round or oval loaf, and allow to rise again, covered lightly, until double in bulk. Lightly brush the top with egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon water. Bake in a 350° oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done.
Carrot Bread
Makes 1 or 2 loaves
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
1½ cups grated carrot
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
3½ cups unbleached flour
1 cup graham flour
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup chopped candied fruits and raisins
1 package (1 tablespoon) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
¾ cup warm water
1 tablespoon each honey and water
Cracked sunflower seeds
In a large mixing bowl, combine the oil, sugar, grated carrot, egg, and salt, then add the flours, spices, and fruits and raisins, and mix thoroughly.
Dissolve the yeast with the sugar in the warm water, and add to the carrot mixture. Lightly knead into a soft dough. Clean the bowl, butter it well, return the dough to the bowl, and turn to cover the surface evenly with the butter. Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Punch the dough down, then let it rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and form into 1 or 2 loaves, depending on the size of your pans. Brush the tops of the loaves with a mixture of honey and water, and sprinkle with cracked sunflower seeds. Let the loaves rise in the pans for 10 minutes. Bake for 15 minutes at 400°, then lower the heat to 375° and bake 40 to 50 minutes longer.
Raisin Bread
Makes 2 loaves
1½ cups sultana raisins
¾ cup sherry or cognac (approximately)
1 package (1 tablespoon) active dry yeast
2 cups lukewarm milk
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
Melted butter
½ teaspoon ground mace
2 teaspoons grated fresh orange rind
1 egg yolk, beaten with 2 tablespoons cream
Plump the raisins overnight in enough sherry or cognac to barely cover.
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in ¼ cup of the warm milk. Add the remaining warm milk, sugar, salt, and butter. Then, using one hand or a heavy wooden spoon, gradually stir in enough flour to make a stiff dough. Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth, elastic, and glossy. Clean the bowl, butter it well, return the dough to it, and turn to coat the surface with butter. Cover and set in a warm, draft-free spot to rise until doubled in bulk—about 1½ to 2 hours.
Punch the dough down and knead for 3 minutes. Return it to the bowl and let rise again for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and roll each out into a rectangle about 7 by 20 inches. Brush with melted butter. Drain the raisins and mix with the mace and orange rind. Sprinkle over the dough and roll each rectangle up tightly, tucking the ends under. Fit the roll, seam side down, in 2 well-buttered 8-by-4-by-2-inch loaf pans. Cover the loaves and let rise in a warm spot until the dough just shows above the tops of the pans, approximately 45 minutes. Brush with the egg-yolk-and-cream wash and bake in a preheated 400° oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350° and continue baking for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on top and bottom. If necessary, return the loaves to the oven rack without their pans to brown the bottom crusts.
Hard Rolls
Makes about 24 rolls
2 packages (2 tablespoons) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 cups warm water (100° to 115°, approximately)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 cup gluten flour
4 to 5 cups soft-wheat flour (available in health-food stores)
Cornmeal
⅔ cup ice water mixed with 1 tablespoon salt
Combine the yeast with sugar and warm water in a large bowl and let stand until it starts to swell. Mix the salt with the gluten flour and add to the yeast mixture. Add the remaining soft-wheat flour, 1 cup at a time, until you have a firm dough. Remove to a lightly floured board and knead until no longer sticky, about 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary. Place in an oiled bowl and turn to coat the surface of the dough. Cover and let rise in a cool place for about 2 hours, or until doubled in bulk.
Punch down the dough. Turn out on a floured board and knead for about 2 minutes. Cut the dough into 24 pieces and form into balls. Place on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Slash the tops of the rolls. Cover, and let rise until doubled, approximately 30 minutes.
Place 4 small custard cups filled with boiling water on the corners of your oven rack. Preheat the oven to 400°. Place the baking sheet on the rack and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, brushing rolls with the salted ice water every 5 minutes during baking, until rolls are nicely browned and sound hollow when tapped. Remove to a rack to cool.
Breakfast Baps
Baps are a rather light roll, usually baked fresh and served for breakfast in Scotland. Somewhat oval in shape and delicious with butter and marmalade, they may also be used successfully as hamburger buns, split and filled with a freshly cooked hamburger and condiments.
Makes 16 rolls
3 packages (3 tablespoons) active dry yeast
Warm water
3½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
¼ cup lard
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup milk
½ cup hot water
Barely cover the yeast with warm water and let stand in a warm place for 5 minutes. Mix the flour and salt and rub in the lard. Add the sugar to the yeast, then add to the milk and water. Pour this into the flour mixture and blend to a soft dough with a wooden spoon. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk—about 1 hour.
Turn out onto a floured board and knead until you have a smooth ball of dough. Cut this into 16 pieces, work each into a ball, and place on a greased baking sheet to rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. Bake for about 15 minutes in a preheated 400° oven.
Brioche dough is light and spongy in texture, less firm than most bread doughs, and needs to be handled rather differently. When you form brioche dough into traditional shapes (requiring special fluted brioche tins) such as brioches à tête, the familiar large or small brioches with a little topknot used in the recipes for Brioche Bohémienne (see page 26) and Brioche with ham (see page 27), or roll it out for Coulibiac (see page 214) or Sausage en Brioche (see page 436), the dough should rise once at room temperature and a second time under refrigeration, to give a firmer, more workable quality. When making a brioche loaf, refrigeration is not necessary. After the first rising, the dough can be arranged in the buttered loaf pan and given the second rising in the pan. Brioche bread makes wonderful breakfast toast and delicious little sandwiches.
The following recipe may be baked as loaves or rolled out like pastry and used to wrap Sausage en Brioche. Double the recipe for the coulibiac of salmon.
Brioche Bread
Makes 2 loaves
1½ packages (1½ tablespoons) active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup warm water (110° to 115°)
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1½ teaspoons salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs
Egg wash (1 egg yolk beaten with ¼ cup light cream or evaporated milk)
Combine the yeast, sugar, and water in a cup measure and allow to proof (it is proofed when it begins to swell and bubble). Mix the melted butter and salt. Combine the flour, eggs, melted butter, and yeast mixture in a large bowl and beat with your hand until well combined and smooth. Butter a second large bowl, put the dough in it and turn it around so the surface is lightly coated with butter. Cover with a dish towel and put in a warm, draft-free place to rise until light and doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1½ hours.
Punch down the risen dough with your fist and divide it in half. Butter two 8-by-4-by-2-inch loaf pans. Form the dough into loaves and put in the pans. Cover with a towel and let rise a second time until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 400°.
Brush the risen loaves with the egg wash. Bake in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the loaves are a deep golden brown and, when removed from the pans, sound hollow when rapped on the bottom with the knuckles. If not quite ready, return loaves to the pans and bake another few minutes. Cool on a rack.
Brioches à Tete
Makes 12 large brioches or 24 small
After the dough has had one rising, deflate it by punching it down. Remove from the bowl and knead it for about 3 minutes. Return to the bowl, cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
When ready to bake, punch down the dough, beat by hand for 2 minutes, and turn out onto a heavily floured board. Divide it into 2 portions, 1 portion 3 times as large as the other.
Butter 12 large brioche tins or 24 small. Divide the larger portion of the dough into 12 pieces of equal size and form into balls. Put a ball of dough into each tin—it should fill it by two-thirds. Form the remaining portion of dough into 12 roughly pear-shaped pieces. Poke your floured finger into the top of each large dough ball in its tin, making an indentation about an inch deep. Brush the holes and the tapered ends of the smaller pieces of dough with cold water, and gently press the tapered ends into the indentations so they are well rooted (these will form the classic topknots).
Cover the pans lightly with a towel and let the brioches rise until a little more than doubled in bulk. Brush lightly with egg wash. Bake in a preheated 375° oven for about 20 minutes, until delicately brown. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick in the center of a brioche; it should come out clean. The brioches will also shrink very slightly from the edges of the pans.
Mrs. Maynard’s Cinnamon Rolls
You will find that this dough is extremely soft. It is wise to begin the kneading with the aid of a dough scraper, which looks something like a paint spatula, until you have a slightly firm dough.
3 packages (3 tablespoons) active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup warm water
½ cup softened butter
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs
3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup golden raisins soaked in rum
½ cup chopped pecans
ICING
1 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons water
Dissolve the yeast and the 2 teaspoons sugar in the warm water. Stir, and let stand 15 minutes.
Using an electric mixer, if you wish, cream together thoroughly the softened butter, ½ cup sugar, and salt, then add the well-beaten eggs. Add the yeast mixture and blend well. Add enough flour, mixing it in thoroughly, so that the dough is not sticky. Cover the bowl, put it in a warm place, and let the dough rise until double in bulk.
Punch the dough down and roll it into a rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Spread with the melted butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Drain the raisins, distribute them evenly over the top, and sprinkle with the chopped pecans. Roll up the rectangle lengthwise so that you end up with a long cylinder. Cut the cylinder into 1½-inch slices and place them on a buttered cookie sheet, not touching. Cover with a towel and let rise again for 30 minutes.
Bake the rolls in a preheated 350° oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until they are nicely browned. Mix the powdered sugar and water into a thick paste and spread on top of the hot rolls.
Lenten Buns
Makes 12 to 14 buns
2 packages (2 tablespoons) active dry yeast
1¾ cups milk
¼ pound unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
3¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1 pint heavy cream, whipped
1 cup almond paste
Confectioners’ sugar
3 cups hot milk
Sprinkle the yeast into a mixing bowl and cream with a few spoonfuls of milk. Melt the butter, add the remaining milk, and heat until lukewarm, about 95°. Pour the melted fat and milk mixture onto the yeast and stir in the salt, sugar, ground cardamom, and 2 cups flour. Gradually work in the remaining flour and knead the dough until it is smooth and shiny, about 4 minutes only. Do not overknead. Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a cloth, and allow to rise until doubled in bulk.
Punch the dough down and knead on a board. If the dough seems too loose, work in some additional flour. Form into 5" buns, and put them on well-greased cookie sheets. Leave to rise for 45 minutes, then brush the tops of the buns with beaten egg, which gives a shiny finish. Bake in a preheated 425° oven for about 8 to 10 minutes.
Allow the baked buns to cool slightly, then cut in half sideways and pick out the soft insides. Mix these soft crumbs with whipped cream. Line the bottom of each bun with almond paste, add the crumb-cream mixture, and replace the tops of the buns. Sprinkle the tops with sifted confectioners’ sugar. To serve, put buns in soup plates, pour hot milk over them, and eat while hot.
Crumpets
Makes 8 to 10 crumpets
½ cup milk
½ cup boiling water
1 package (1 tablespoon) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons salt
1¾ cups sifted all-purpose flour
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110° to 115°)
¼ teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water
Combine the milk and boiling water and cool to lukewarm. Add the yeast and sugar and allow to proof. Blend the salt and the sifted flour, combine with the yeast mixture and the remaining warm water and beat thoroughly for several minutes with a wooden spoon or with your hand. Let the batter rise in a warm place until almost doubled in bulk and rather bubbly. Add the dissolved soda and beat into the batter. Allow to rise again until doubled in bulk.
Into buttered rings placed on a moderately hot griddle spoon the batter to a depth of about ½ inch. Cook until dry and bubbly on top. Remove the rings, turn the crumpets, and brown lightly on the other side. Let cool. To serve, toast and flood with butter.
Makes 2 loaves
1 package (1 tablespoon) active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
8 ounces cream-style cottage cheese (at room temperature)
½ cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 well-beaten egg
2½ to 3 cups unbleached white flour
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add all the other ingredients and mix until well blended. Turn out onto a floured board and knead the dough for 10 minutes. Clean the bowl, butter it well, return the dough to it, and turn to coat the surface evenly. Cover the dough with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk—about 1¼ hours. Punch the dough down and let it rest for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a floured board and shape into 2 loaves. Place the loaves in greased bread pans. Let rise again, covered, for about 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 40 minutes.
Nut Rum Bread
Makes 1 loaf
4 tablespoons butter, softened
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1½ cups all-purpose white flour
1½ cups whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups milk
½ cup dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup golden raisins
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
Cream the butter and sugar until smooth, add the eggs, and beat well. Add the white and whole-wheat flours, baking powder, salt, milk, rum, and vanilla. Stir briefly to moisten the dry ingredients and stir in the raisins and walnuts. Spoon into a buttered 8½-by-4½-by-2½-inch loaf pan and bake in a preheated 375° oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a straw comes out clean when inserted in the center. Remove the loaf from the oven and turn out onto a rack to cool.
Makes 1 loaf
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup yellow cornmeal
¼ cup honey
1½ cups boiling water
1½ cups white flour
½ cup whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons salt
¾ cup yogurt
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 eggs, slightly beaten
In a large bowl, combine the oats, cornmeal, and honey; with a whisk, briskly stir in the boiling water until the mixture is smooth. Set aside and let stand for 15 minutes.
Add the white and whole-wheat flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the oat mixture. Briskly stir in the yogurt, butter, and eggs, mixing only to moisten all the dry ingredients. Spoon the batter into a buttered pan and bake in a preheated 375° oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a straw comes out dry when inserted in the center of the loaf. Remove from the oven, turn onto a rack, and cool.
Whole-Wheat Bran Muffins
Makes 12 medium-size muffins
1 cup bran
½ cup whole-wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, separated
Preheat the oven to 375°. Butter the muffin pans or line with paper cups.
Combine the bran, whole-wheat and white flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Stir to mix.
Mix together the melted butter, honey, buttermilk, and 2 slightly beaten egg yolks. Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Add the mixed liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold the egg whites into the mixture. Fill the muffin pans two-thirds full. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the centers are dry when a toothpick is inserted.
This is a traditional German recipe highly reminiscent in flavor of some of the coffee cakes of Western Europe, which are sometimes flat and crisp (you’ll note no baking powder or yeast is used). It keeps very well if stored in an airtight tin.
Makes 30 to 32 squares
1 cup butter
¾ cup sugar
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
1 cup sliced blanched almonds
Crystallized sugar (available from bakers’ and confectioners’ supply shops)
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour, milk, and cinnamon to make a rather firm batter. Butter a 15½-by-10½-inch baking sheet and press the batter into the pan. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with the sliced almonds and crystallized sugar. Bake in a 350° oven for approximately 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cut into rectangles 1½ by 2 inches while still warm. When cool remove from pan.
Cookies
Like bread baking, cookie baking can vary a great deal. You can take one recipe and do it two or three different ways by adding different flavorings, adding more flour, more egg, or more liquid, and find that you are achieving a much different cookie every time. Cookies now have taken on an enormous importance all through the country. There are cookie shops, there are cookies on wheels, and there are cookies to be found in the most incredible locations. People seem to be cookie mad! But I am still convinced that a good, simple, homemade cookie is far preferable to all the store-bought cookies one can find.
A classic French almond cookie that takes its name from its shape, similar to curved terra-cotta roof tiles. It is delicate and crisp, a lovely partner for sherbet. You’ll sometimes find it made in a very large size. Be sure to shape the cookies while they are hot and pliable.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies
6 tablespoons butter, softened
½ cup sugar
2 egg whites
⅓ cup sifted all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup sliced almonds
Cream the butter and sugar together until well blended. Stir in the egg whites, flour, salt, and nuts. Butter a heavy cookie sheet and drop the batter by teaspoonfuls 1½ inches apart, leaving enough room to allow them to spread. Bake in a 400° oven for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges and slightly yellow in the center. Remove the cookies from the sheet with a spatula and press them onto a rolling pin while still hot. Leave for a few minutes and remove to a cake rack to cool completely.
Soft Almond Cookies
The following two recipes are from the Near East, where almonds are much used in cooking. While they have a certain similarity, the first—which is dipped into syrup—is the more characteristic and unusual.
Makes about 30 cookies
1¼ pounds blanched almonds
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 eggs
SYRUP
½ cup sugar
1½ cups water
1 tablespoon orange-flower water
Confectioners’ sugar
Pulverize the almonds in a blender or food processor, then place in a bowl. Add the sugar and grated lemon zest, and stir until thoroughly mixed. Make a well in the center, drop in the eggs, and stir until the batter is completely smooth. Divide the batter in half and roll each half on a well-floured surface into a cylinder about 18 inches long and 1½ inches in diameter. (Flour your hands frequently as you roll the dough.) Flatten the cylinders into oblongs about 2 inches wide and cut diagonally into 1½-inch slices. Dust them with flour and place about an inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 15 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
Prepare the syrup by boiling the sugar and water together in a saucepan for about 10 minutes. Let cool, then add the orange-flower water. Dip the cookies into the syrup, then roll in confectioners’ sugar.
Almond Cookies
Makes about 30 cookies
1¼ cups sugar
2 cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ pound chilled unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg white, lightly beaten
¼ cup finely chopped almonds
Combine 1 cup of the sugar, the flour, and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into ½-inch bits. Work the butter into the flour with your fingers until it is the consistency of coarse meal. Stir in the egg yolk and vanilla, and form the dough into a ball. Chill 1 hour.
Form the dough into 2-inch fingers and cut these into ½-inch pieces. Place 2 inches apart on a well-buttered cookie sheet, and flatten each piece with the palm of your hand.
Brush the tops of the cookies with the lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with a mixture of the remaining ¼ cup sugar and the finely chopped almonds. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 10 minutes.
Cornmeal Butter Wafers
A distinctive cookie with a nice lemony flavor and a crunchiness imparted by the cornmeal. Very easy to make.
Makes about 24 cookies
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
Combine the butter and sugar and beat until light and well blended. Add the yolks and mix well, then stir in the lemon zest, flour, and cornmeal, blending thoroughly. Chill the dough until firm. It may then be rolled into a long cylinder and cut into ¼-inch rounds, or rolled out and cut into different shapes. Arrange the cookies on ungreased baking sheets and bake in a 350° oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
Sesame Butter Wafers. Instead of the cornmeal, use 1¼ cups toasted sesame seeds and add ½ teaspoon Oriental sesame oil.
Chinese Chews
I have no idea why these are called Chinese Chews, but I’ve been making them for over 15 years and I’ve yet to find anyone who doesn’t find the combination of flavors irresistible.
Makes about 30 cookies
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ pound (1 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
TOPPING
1½ cups brown sugar (light or dark)
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon baking powder
Mix 2 cups of the flour, the butter, and 1 cup of the sugar until crumbly, and spread this in a shallow 8-by-16-inch baking pan. Bake in a 300° oven for 10 minutes, then remove from oven.
Beat the ingredients for the topping together and spread the mixture evenly over the prepared crumb crust. Return to the oven and bake until light brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Cool. Cut into fingers.
Lace Cookies
A traditional oatmeal cookie that has been popular for generations.
Makes about 30 cookies
1½ cups uncooked oatmeal
1½ cups light-brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, slightly beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla
Mix the oatmeal, brown sugar, flour, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter, then add the egg and vanilla, and combine well. Drop the batter by half-teaspoonfuls, about 2 inches apart, on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in a 350° oven until lightly browned—about 5 minutes. Cool slightly and remove the cookies from the baking sheet with a spatula as soon as they are firm. If they become too firm and tend to break before you have lifted them from the baking sheet, return them to the oven for a minute to soften in the heat again.
Ginger Cakes
The smooth texture of these cookies with a hot overtone of ginger is rather like a ginger shortbread. Use the shortbread technique of pressing the mixture into the pan with your fingers.
Makes about 50 cookies
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ pound (1 cup) unsalted butter
Mix the flour, sugar, ginger, and baking soda thoroughly, then combine with the butter, cut into small pieces, until the mixture is well blended and crumbly. Place a ½-inch thickness of the mixture in square 8-inch layer-cake pans, pressing it down in the pan with your fingers. Bake in a 325° oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until lightly browned. While the cake is still warm, cut it into finger-shaped pieces about 1 inch wide. Remove the pieces with a spatula and, when cool, store in covered tins.
Oatmeal Carrot Cookies
Makes 24 cookies
¾ cup butter
¾ cup sugar
1 cup grated raw carrot
1 egg
1 to 2 teaspoons lemon zest
1¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup rolled oats
Cream the butter, cream in the sugar, beat in the carrot and egg, and blend well. Mix in the zest and the flour, salt, and baking powder sifted together. Stir in the rolled oats. Place about 1 teaspoonful of dough on a greased teaspoon and push off with the back of another onto a well-oiled or buttered baking pan or sheet. Continue with all the dough. Bake in a preheated 375° oven 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are a delicate brown around the edges. Loosen from the pan while still warm, cool on a rack, and store in airtight containers. These freeze well, as does the unbaked dough.
Vadis Bars
This cookie recipe came from a pastry chef at the Quo Vadis Restaurant in New York City many years ago. It makes a lot of cookies, but they keep well when stored in tins, and the sweet-toothed really go for them.
Makes 140 bars
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons sugar
¾ pound (1½ cups) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons grated lemon zest
6 hard-boiled egg yolks, mashed
4 raw egg yolks
BUTTER CRUNCH TOPPING
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
½ cup heavy cream
½ pound (1 cup) unsalted butter
3 cups blanched and sliced toasted almonds or filberts
2 teaspoons vanilla
Place the flour in a bowl, make a well in the center, and add all the remaining ingredients to the well except the topping ingredients. With the fingertips, make a paste of the center ingredients, then gradually incorporate the flour to form a smooth, firm ball of dough. Work quickly so the butter does not become oily. When the sides of the bowl are left clean, wrap the dough in wax paper and chill until it is firm enough to roll.
Roll out the dough between sheets of wax paper into a rectangle about 11 by 16 inches, and press this into a lightly greased 11-by-16-inch jelly-roll pan. Prick well with a fork, and chill.
Meanwhile, make the butter crunch topping. Combine the sugar and lemon juice in a heavy saucepan or skillet. Stir over low heat until the sugar is completely melted and golden brown, then add the cream and butter, and let the mixture boil. (At first the sugar will harden, but it will soon melt and blend with the liquid.) Stir until smooth. Stir in the nuts and set the mixture aside to cool. Just before using, stir in the vanilla.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and bake it in a 350° oven for about 45 minutes, or until almost completely baked. Remove from the oven and spread with the topping. Return to the oven, placing the pan on a high rack, and bake 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until the top is bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before cutting into very small bars with a greased knife.
Lemon Meringue Bars
This rather rich cookie, good with tea or with ice cream, is not difficult to make.
Makes about 2 dozen bars
¼ pound (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
2 egg yolks
1 cup sifted flour
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 egg whites
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Put together in a bowl the butter, confectioners’ sugar, egg yolks, flour, salt, and lemon zest. Knead with the hands until the mixture is smooth and the color evenly distributed. Spread in a 10-inch square or 10-by-12-inch ungreased pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool while making meringue.
Beat egg whites until stiff. Add sugar gradually. Add lemon juice, and beat until the meringue stands in peaks. Spread meringue on the dough and return to the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until nicely browned. Cool and cut into bars.
Chocolate Macaroons
Makes approximately 12 macaroons
½ pound almond paste
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
½ cup sugar (to be used if almond paste has not been sweetened)
3 to 4 egg whites
Combine almond paste and chocolate and mix until well blended. Blend in sugar if needed. Add only enough egg white to make a thick paste. Put into a pastry bag fitted with a No. 6 tip. Onto a buttered baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper squeeze 3-inch rounds. Bake in a 350° oven for 20 minutes, or until firm.
Makes 20 macaroons
8 ounces almond paste
7 tablespoons superfine sugar
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
⅓ cup egg whites
Grated rind of 1 lemon or orange
Granulated sugar
Line an ungreased baking sheet with kitchen parchment. Break the almond paste in pieces and put in the food processor or blender. Blend until smooth, then add the sugars and mix until thoroughly blended, about 1 minute. Transfer the almond-paste mixture to a mixer and gradually beat in the egg whites to make a soft but firm paste. Mix in the lemon or orange rind. Beat at high speed for 3 minutes.
Put mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a No. 7 metal tube and form into 1½-inch rounds on the parchment, 1½ inches apart. Or use a teaspoon and drop the mixture on the parchment, spreading to 1½ inches in diameter. Brush the tops with a pastry brush dampened with cold water, then sprinkle them lightly with granulated sugar. Bake in a 350° oven for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. These can be stored in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to 6 months.
Florentines
Makes approximately 18
3½ ounces candied orange peel, finely chopped
5 ounces blanched almonds, finely chopped
1½ ounces slivered almonds
⅓ cup pastry flour
3 tablespoons butter
¾ cup heavy cream
¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla
7 ounces semisweet chocolate
Combine the candied peel and nuts in a bowl and toss with the flour Reserve.
Place the butter, cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches 240° on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in the reserved dry ingredients and vanilla. Batter should be soft and kept warm. If it should become too firm stir in a few more drops of heavy cream or milk.
Grease 6 three-inch tartlet rings with butter. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the rings on the parchment paper. Drop 1 tablespoon of batter in the center of each ring. Spread the batter with the back of a spoon and bake in a preheated 350° oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, remove the rings, and allow to cool completely.
Melt the chocolate over hot water. Spread the chocolate over the bottom side of each florentine with a spatula and allow to cool until the chocolate is hard.
NOTE: These may be stored in plastic bags or a cookie jar. Do not put them in the refrigerator.
“Monster” Peanut Butter Cookies
I’ve always had great fun baking outsize cookies as big as a small plate. This recipe makes about a dozen 6-inch cookies, but you can increase the number by doubling or tripling the ingredients. You may use any favorite recipe for oatmeal, chocolate chip, or sugar cookies. Just follow the rule of using ⅓ cup dough for each cookie.
Makes 12 six-inch cookies
1 cup (½ pound) butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter
2½ cups flour
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the peanut butter and the flour. When well mixed, scoop up ⅓-cup measures of the mixture and place on a well-buttered cookie sheet, being sure to leave lots of room between the mounds. When all the dough has been used, dip the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate in sugar and press the mounds firmly, flattening them to 6-inch circles. Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 15 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven but leave them on the cookie sheets for at least 5 minutes before lifting them with a spatula. This is essential, as they are thin.
Meringue Kisses
A very popular type of meringue in America is kisses—little drop-type cookies that may be flavored with vanilla, cocoa, spices, or chocolate bits. Crisp on the outside while moistly crunchy inside, kisses are one of the most delicious and palate-pleasing of cookies.
3 egg whites
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
1 cup superfine sugar
1 tablespoon rum or brandy flavoring, or vanilla
Beat the egg whites in an electric mixer with whisk attachment until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and salt and beat until fluffy, but not at all dry. Be careful not to overheat them at this point. Gradually add the superfine sugar, 3 or 4 tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. When half the sugar has been added, beat in the flavoring or vanilla. Continue beating until the sugar is completely dissolved and the meringue stands in stiff, upright, glossy peaks.
Have ready 2 Teflon-coated baking sheets, or baking sheets lined with cooking parchment. Push the meringue mixture from the tip of one teaspoon with the back of another onto the baking sheets in small mounds, leaving at least an inch between the mounds. Bake in a preheated 275° oven for about 20 minutes, or until they are set and very lightly colored. Remove from the oven and cool slightly. Remove the meringues from the baking sheet to a rack to cool completely before storing them in airtight containers between sheets of wax paper or foil.
Linzer Bars
Makes about 30 bars
½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup each brown and white sugar
1 cup chopped almonds or filberts, or a combination of both, toasted
1 egg, lightly beaten
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon mace
1 tablespoon cocoa
Grated rind of 1 lemon
1 cup raspberry jam
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the nuts and egg.
Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Press two-thirds of the dough into a 4½-by-13-inch flan ring or 8-inch baking pan. Combine the lemon rind with the raspberry jam and spread over the dough.
Roll out the remaining dough between 2 pieces of wax paper to a thickness of about ¼ inch. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and cut the rolled dough into ½-inch strips and place diagonally over the raspberry jam, creating a lattice top. Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 30 minutes. Cool. Cut into narrow wedges or 1½-inch squares.
Makes about 24 brownies
½ cup butter
5 ounces white chocolate
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, macadamia nuts, or pecans
Melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan (1½ to 2 quarts) over low heat. Remove from the heat, stir well, then stir in the sugar and beat in the eggs and vanilla. Quickly stir in the flour, salt, and nuts to just lightly mix. Spread in a well-greased 8-by-10-inch or 9-by-12-inch baking pan. Bake at 325°, 35 minutes for the smaller pan, 30 for the larger. Do not overbake, or they will lose their nice chewy texture. Remove the pan to a rack to cool. While still slightly warm, cut into squares with a greased knife.
Sugar Cookies
Makes about 48
½ cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1¼ teaspoons vanilla
2½ cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Cream the butter and cream in the sugar until fluffy, then beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour sifted with the baking powder and salt. Blend well. Chill the dough for easier handling; if you are in a hurry, spread it out on aluminum foil in 2 portions, wrap, and place in the freezer for 10 to 30 minutes. Use only half the dough at a time for rolling and cutting. Roll between sheets of wax paper to ¼ to ⅓ inch thick. Peel off the wax paper: peel it off the top of the rolled dough, flop the dough over onto a lightly sugared board, and peel off the other sheet.
Cut the cookies with a sugared 3-inch cutter. Lift with a spatula onto a lightly buttered baking sheet. Allow about 1 inch between them for expansion. Sprinkle the cookies with sugar, preferably coarsely granulated white sugar. Bake in a preheated 375° oven 8 to 10 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges. Loosen from the pan while still quite warm. When they have cooled on a rack to room temperature, store in airtight containers.
Makes 8 to 10 pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon melted butter
½ teaspoon vanilla
1¼ cups homemade applesauce
Sift the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Stir in the milk, egg, butter, vanilla, and applesauce. Beat well, then spoon the batter onto a hot greased griddle, making cakes about 4 inches in diameter. When the edges are lightly browned, turn and bake on the second side. Serve as a dessert, with warmed honey or with melted apple jelly and whipped cream.
Brambles
Makes 20 to 22 cookies
1 recipe lard pie crust for a 2-crust pie (see page 509)
1 cup raisins
1 lemon
1 egg
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons cream
Roll pie dough to ⅛ inch thick; cut into 4-inch rounds. Put the raisins and lemon through a food grinder or food processor. Combine them with the egg, sugar, and salt. Place a spoonful of this mixture in the center of each round, fold over to make a half moon, seal edges with water, and pinch edges with fork. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush with egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons cream just before baking. Bake in a preheated 375° oven until brown—about 20 minutes.