Aunt Danola's Baby Ruth Cookies

My Aunt Danola was an older sister to my grandmother, Hattie. She was truly a great lady whom I always admired; she really enjoyed a good laugh and always had a good story to tell. She had a chuckle that just made you feel good and would often begin a remark with, "Now, children..." They sure don't make 'em like Aunt Danola anymore.

  



Chewy and rich, salty and sweet,you'll want a tall,
cold glass of milk to go with these!



Like my grandmother, she was an excellent cook, and completely won me over about 15 years ago with her baked beans.  This cookie recipe was given to me by her son, Joel, and I promise you won't regret making them. (I would recommend, however, making sure there is milk in the fridge before you do.)

Aunt Danola's Baby Ruth Cookies

1 c. margarine

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs
2 2/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
3 large Baby Ruth bars, cut-up

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs, and beat until creamy. In a separate bowl, combine flour, soda and salt; add to sugar mixture.  Add vanilla and Baby Ruth candy; stir until well-combined.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake for about 10 minutes, or until tops are delicately browned. Remove from oven, and as soon as cookies have cooled enough to hold together, transfer them onto cooling racks. (This can be somewhat tricky, as any melted caramel from the candy will harden onto the cookie sheet as they cool.) Makes about 52 cookies.

I like to use a small ice cream scoop to drop cookies; this insures that they will be a uniform size,
and it allows you to skip the step of chilling the dough, since you don't have to handle it.  

Mom-ma's Homemade Biscuits

Mom-ma's Biscuits: my absolute favorite

Every cook makes biscuits differently.   If you put my grandmother's biscuits on a plate beside my mother's, I could instantly tell the difference, even though they're both delicious. Biscuits are sort of like a trademark...many people will recognize you for the bread you make (cornbread, especially, but I'll post about cornbread later...).  Like many other foods that are made from scratch, there are all kinds of ways to make biscuits, but the basic principle is always the same: flour + fat + milk + high heat = biscuits. 

Fortunately, I come from a good line of biscuit-makers (haha!): both of my grandmothers made heavenly biscuits, and my mom is also pretty darn-good at it. However, I find that I am constantly trying to perfect my own, as so much of how they turn out is in the handling. If my sisters stay with us, or my husband requests biscuits, I will usually ask "What kind do you want?" This means: Do you want Granny's biscuits, or Mom-ma's biscuits...etc.? 

Today, I'm going to give you Mom-ma's (my grandmother's) biscuit recipe. She makes my absolute favorite biscuits, which are incredibly light and delicately textured. They are just perfect no matter how you eat them!  One thing that's kind of different about Mom-ma's biscuits is the fat she puts in them.  Almost every biscuit recipe in a cookbook will call for shortening to be cut into the flour before the liquid is added.   What Mom-ma does differently than most is use oil instead of shortening. If you have always used shortening, I think you'll be surprised at how well the oil works. I think it also helps make for a lighter biscuit. Not only does using oil save time and effort (because you don't have to cut the oil in), but it's also healthier for you.

Mom-ma's Biscuits

2 c. self-rising flour
1/4 c. oil
3/4-1 c. milk
1-2 T. softened butter

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place flour in mixing bowl, and add oil and milk.  Add only 3/4 c. milk at first, and add more as needed.  Dough should be very soft, but should still hold its shape.  Stir vigorously for about 10-15 seconds, but only until ingredients are combined. (Over-stirring will cause bread to be tough.) Place dough onto a floured counter top.  Sprinkle top of dough with flour, and be sure to coat fingers so dough will not stick.  Don't knead the dough, but simply pat-out until about 1/2" thick, then cut with a biscuit cutter.  Place onto ungreased pan and spread softened butter over tops of biscuits. (You could also just spray them with a quick blast of non-stick cooking spray.) Bake in hot oven (450 degrees) for about 8-10 minutes or until tops are delicately browned. Serve hot with favorite topping, or serve plain.

Mom-ma uses oil instead of shortening, which also saves time, because you don't have to cut it i.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured counter top, pat-out, and cut with biscuit cutter.

Place on ungreased pan, spread tops with softened butter, and bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Serve hot, plain or with favorite spread.



Top left to bottom right: apple butter, apple jelly, honey and blackberry jelly
(all homemade--except for the honey--it was locally made).

 These are excellent with anything: gravy, sausage, butter, jelly, apple butter, molasses, honey, or plain.  These biscuits are so good, and so light, you will be perfectly satisfied eating them with nothing but a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee! Here in the South, biscuits aren't only a breakfast bread: they are often served with dinner, especially if the main course is fried chicken or ham.  Try them, and let me know what you think!

My Favorite Cookbook

This cookbook is my absolute-favorite cookbook--period!  This is actually an exact reprint of Betty Crocker's first comprehensive cookbook which was first published in 1950. It is not only a wealth of culinary information, but is an interesting read for those of us who are rather nostalgic and would love to play June Cleaver for a day. It is also nice enough to give someone as a gift for a holiday or special occasion.

My grandmother, Hattie, gave this to me for Christmas a year before she passed away.  It now permanently graces the cookbook stand on my kitchen counter. (It's also the prettiest cookbook I own!) Anyone who knew Granny knows that she LOVED to cook and took great pride in making people happy through her food...and she was REALLY good at it!  I think of her every time I try to get my husband to go back for a third or fourth serving of something; after all, one serving means it's edible, two servings means it's really good, but three servings means if I were going to be executed, I would want this to be my last meal.  Anyone who takes her cooking seriously will tell you (whether she wants to admit it or not) that this is the exact effect she desires to achieve every time she concocts something. There's a good chance, actually, that Granny and myself would even take it personally if no one went for seconds.  Now, this isn't because we think we are hot stuff (ha ha!), but because we love it so much.  Cooking isn't just something we do, it's a part of who we are. Not liking our cooking is the same as not liking us.  I guess there is something about food that ties us to our most basic instincts. It's that primitive idea of food = love.  If we cook for you, we love you; if we don't like you, we probably won't cook for you.  Regardless of how we feel about people, our love for cooking is constant. And it is this shared passion, along with shared recipes, that keep me close to Granny and help to remind me that part of her is always here.