Recipes From Days Of Old

These recipes come from my good friends at Lehman's, the Amish hardware store.

Sugar Christmas Cookies 100-Year-Old Recipe
It just wouldn't be Christmas without cut-out cookies. This classic, never-fail recipe has been passed down for generations in our Mennonite community of Kidron, Ohio. Our Granite Ware Cookie Sheet is a must for evenly, perfectly baked cookies.

Ingredients:
1 tsp. baking powder
4 cups flour, not sifted
1/2 tsp. salt1 cup shortening (lard or butter) I use half Crisco and half butter
1 heaping cup sugar
1 tsp. soda
2 eggs, well beaten
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions: Sift together baking powder, flour and salt. Add shortening and mix together as one mixes pie dough. In a different bowl, blend together well the sugar and soda. Then add the eggs, milk and vanilla. Add this to the dry ingredients, blending until smooth. Roll out and cut out as desired. Bake on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes at 375°F. Cool and decorate.
This recipe may be doubled.

Buttercream Frosting
A bit "younger" than 100 years, but still perfect!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Crisco
1/2 cup margarine
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
5 cups powdered sugar
3 T. milk

Directions: Cream Crisco and margarine with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar. Add milk and beat until light and fluffy. Food coloring may be added to color the frosting.

White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake
Rich, creamy white chocolate cheesecake is studded with crunchy bits of peppermint candy - simply sublime. Our glass-bottom springform pans are perfect for baking this holiday treat. The clear glass bottom doubles as an elegant serving plate - just carry it right to the table!

Ingredients:
1 c. graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbsp. melted butter
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 8-oz pkg. cream cheese
3 eggs
4 1-oz squares white baking chocolate
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. crushed candy canes
whipped topping
red and green sugar (optional)

Directions: Mix graham cracker crumbs, 3 Tbsp. sugar and melted butter together to make crust. Press mixture into bottom of 10" springform pan. Bake crust at 325°F for 10 minutes. Cool. Mix cream cheese and 3/4 c. sugar until just blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each until blended. Melt white chocolate in double boiler and stir into cream cheese mixture. Gently fold in crushed candy canes. Pour mixture over cooled crust. Bake 45-50 minutes at 325°F or until center is almost set. Cool completely, then refrigerate for (at least) 4 hours. When ready to serve, spread a thin layer of whipped topping on top of cheesecake and sprinkle with more crushed candy canes and red and green sugar.

Holiday French Toast Casserole
A sweet treat for your family breakfast - before opening gifts, or afterward for brunch if the kids can't wait that long! Best of all, you make it the night before. Bakes up wonderfully in our heavy-duty Commercial Quality Bakeware or Stainless Steel Cake Pan.

Ingredients:
1/2 c. margarine or butter
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
8-12 slices of bread
8 eggs
pinch of salt
2 c. milk

Directions:Melt margarine in a 9 x 13 pan. Add brown sugar and cinnamon and stir well. Lay bread on mixture. Beat eggs and salt together in a separate bowl, then add milk and mix well. Pour over bread. For best results, cover and place in refrigerator overnight (or at least 2 hours). The next morning, uncover and bake at 350°F for 45 minutes. Cut into squares and place upside down on plates so the sugary syrup is on top. Serves 6-8.

New Year's Bread, c. 1880
This is my great-grandmother's recipe. My family still makes it every year for New Year's Day. It's a soft, sweet bread that goes great with your sauerkraut supper. Sometimes my mother makes it a "breakfast bread" by brushing it, while still hot, with buttercream frosting and adding maraschino cherries. It also makes wonderful toast. Our traditional wooden spoons lend an old-time flair to the mixing.

Ingredients:
2 c. milk, scalded
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. shortening (or 1 stick butter)
7-7 1/2 c. flour
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
2 packages dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water

Directions: Combine sugar, salt and butter or shortening. Pour hot milk into this mixture to melt shortening. Combine yeast with warm water and set aside. Add 2 cups flour to milk mixture. Beat in the eggs, yeast mixture and 2 more cups flour. Stir in the rest of the flour (mixture will be a little sticky). Knead a few minutes. Let rise in a bowl until double, 1-2 hours. Punch down, roll out on a floured surface and braid into a loaf (or smaller loaves of desired size). Let rise for another 1-2 hours. Bake at 375°F for 15-25 minutes.

From all of us at Lehman's,
HAVE A BLESSED HOLIDAY.
Sarah Nussbaum