My Mother's Fruitcake

Note: This is a blog post from a while back, but I was just working on the Fruitcake Christmas ornament page and it brought my mother’s fruitcake to mind)))

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Well it’s Christmas Day and you may be wondering…..why is this person sitting at a computer, blogging on Christmas day? At our house, it’s the quiet after the storm….the grands, daughter and son in law have gone to spend time with his family, our extended family get togethers were done yesterday….the shop is closed for a day or two giving us a break from Trendy Tree……so what else could I do……make my Mother’s fruitcake)))

My Mother has been gone now for over 10 years….but my memories of her Christmas fruitcake are still fresh as yesterday. You may be thinking….well….it’s it a little LATE to be making a Christmas fruitcake…..especially if the family dinners are over……yes, I’m selfish…..and that’s all I have to say about that.

The ingredients to this cake are simple……and measurements are not exact, but basically here they are:

1 Box of Graham crackers
1 Jar of Maraschino cherries
1 Jar marshmallow cream
1 Cup of pecans
1 Cup of raisins
Sweetened condensed milk, or Pet Milk…..just in case more moisture is needed

First step is to crush up the Graham crackers. Now…on my ingredients I buy store brand for a lot of things, but for this I prefer Nabisco Honey Maid Graham crackers. They’re just crisper and have a better taste. I’ve seen my mother make this cake with vanilla wafers too instead of Graham crackers.

Be careful taking the crackers out of the box, because you need to keep the box to pack you cake bake in. So remove the crackers and prepare the box by cutting it and lining with waxed paper or parchment paper.

 

Next, crush up the Graham crackers. I like to use a food processor for this. Crush to the consistency of something like cornmeal.

This is really just too simple! Next just add the rest of the ingredients. But first, I like to take the pecans and very lightly. Just long enough to heat through and through. This just enhances their flavor. Be very careful and don’t burn!

 

Once the pecans have cooled, just break them up a bit, you want coarse chunks and leave some of them whole.

Add the raisins and cherries, leaving the cherries whole. Reserve the cherry juice in case you need extra moisture toward the end.

Toss this together and add your marshmallow cream. You can also melt a large bag of marshmallows and use that just as well. Mix together well and if it seems a little dry and not sticking together well….add a little of the reserved cherry juice….sweetened condensed milk or Pet milk. I used cherry juice in this cake, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 cup.

If I had been making two cakes, I would have probably used the sweetened condensed milk or Pet milk….but since I didn’t need that much liquid….I just used the cherry juice.

Mix together with your hands until you get a consistence that will stick together and form ball.

Spoon the cake into your wax paper-lined box and press it firmly with your hands. It will all fit back into the box….don’t worry))))

One thing I almost forgot……reserve a few of your whole cherries and pecan halves for decoration…….I had to go back to dig a few cherries out!

Now, this is the hard part……cover the fruitcake with wax paper, close the box and store in the refrigerator for several hours, or overnight.

Told you this was the hard part…….course…..it has been a couple of hours now since I put mine in the frig……..maybe I should just check to see how it’s firming up…….sure……..bbl.

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If you have a special fruitcake recipe or special memories….or even memories of the fruitcake that would NEVER GO AWAY…..here’s a great ornament to put on your tree. I promise it will bring a smile every time you view it))

Three Little Kittens Christmas Ornament

The Three Little Kittens Christmas ornament from Merck Family's Old World Christmas is introduced 2014.

12423 Three Little Kittens

Hang Tag: These three little kittens have found their mittens and just in time for Santa! While the familiar Mother Goose nursery rhyme was first published in Britain in 1833, the moral of the story is as true today as ever. Even "after" misbehaving, a mother's love is always constant and true.

Each figural glass ornament produced for The Merck Family's Old World Christmas is hand crafted in age-old tradition using the same techniques that originated in the 1800's. Molten glass is mouth-blown into finely carved molds available only to the Merck Family's Old World Christmas, before a hot solution of liquid silver is poured inside. The ornaments are then hand-painted and glittered in a series of labor-intensive steps to achieve the beautiful creations

This Day in in History April 10th and the Rubber Chicken!

On this day in history, April 10, 1930, synthetic rubber was first produced. What better way to commemorate this day than with the infamous Rubber Chicken!

44051 Rubber Chicken Christmas Ornament

Old World Christmas introduced the Rubber Chicken ornament in 2009. It makes a great gag gift))) The hang tag reads: A Rubber Chicken is a popular gag and slapstick comedy prop used by comics. However, as part of political campaigning, someone who “travels the rubber chicken circuit,” does so by attending or making speeches at many gatherings where dinner is often overcooked chicken. Either way, this chicken likes to have fun!

Assorted Spritz Cookie Christmas Ornament - Memories of Making Cookies in the 1950's

32190 Assorted Spritz Cookie Ornament

As soon as I saw this Assorted Spritz Cookie ornament…..my mouth started watering! It conjured up memories of those melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies my mother used to make…using a cookie press while I hung over the table with anticipation while each little cookie came squeezing out.

Cookie presses were always hard for me to use….the cookie dough has to be just right…..not to soft…..not too stiff. For shortbread cookies I seem to have better luck just pressing them into a pan in one whole sheet, then cutting them in rectangles.

But seeing these ornaments made me want to try the cookie press again. I love jelly stars…..absolutely love them…who doesn’t?? So….I pulled my 1950′s Betty Crocker  Picture Cookbook out of the cabinet….and started looking.

This isn’t my mother’s cookbook…..after she died several years ago, we just have been unable to find it. No doubt she put it safely away somewhere. So I found this exact replica on eBay….bid on it…bought it! I just pretend that it’s hers)))

I remember how exciting it was to see her reach in the cabinet and pull out the red cookbook…..you just knew something good was going to happen))

Growing up in the 1950′s was very different from today ….and no different than I’m sure my daughter or grandchildren will remember their younger years…..but there wasn’t any running to the cabinet to grab a handful of cookies, Little Debbies, snack bag of chips or granola bars. Well….we did occasionally have a box of Moon Pies or Twinkies.

Desserts were for Sundays, sometimes Saturdays….picnics…church functions and birthdays. Always cake on birthdays))

Cookies…we had them frequently enough I’m sure my mother thought….but we would have loved to have had them everyday)) Teacakes and brownies…..no recipes needed for those…..but when the Betty Crocker came down out of the cabinet….you could look forward to something new and delicious.
After looking at the Assorted Spritz Cookie ornament….I decided to look up the recipe and see what Betty Crocker had to say about the spritz.

I scanned the page right out of the book, but unless you click on the image you won’t be able to read it I’m afraid, so it’s repeated below.

How to Make Cookies with a Press

Force dough through a cooky press (or pastry tube). Follow directions accompanying cooky press. Hold the press upright, and force out the dough until it appears at the end of the mold ….then lift the press away. Dough should be pliable. If ery warm, chill dough. (Crumbles if too cold.)

SPRITZ Recipe – Crisp, fragile, buttery-tasting curlicues.
Mix together thoroughly:

• 1 cup soft butter
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tsp. flavoring (almond or vanilla) or 4 tbsp. grated almonds.

Work in with the hand – 2 1/2 cups sifted Gold Medal Flour

(Note – the cookbook did not say self rising, so I imagine this means plain flour)

Force the dough through cooky press onto ungreased baking sheet in letter S’s, rosettes, fluted bars, or other desired shapes. Bake until set….but not brown.

Temperature: 400 degrees (mod. hot oven)
Time: Bake 7 to 10 min
Amount: About 6 doz cookies

Here’s are more images from the Cookie section of the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook. circa 1950s

 

The memories of my mother and her Betty Crocker Cookbook are very different from the memories that my daughter and grandchildren will have. The days of sitting at the table with mother and turning the pages one by one, drooling over the goodies that we hoped she would choose to make for us, will fast forward to memories of NeNe (that’s what the grands call me) flying into the sunroom in a rush and pulling up a recipe on the internet to fix in a flash…..or the little one might remember sitting in my lap in front of a desktop or iPad…browsing Pinterest for something special.

The youngest grandson…..had me pinning things for him at age 4-5……”hey NeNe….I like that! Pin it!” Who would have ever believed))))