I happened to notice this recipe for cottage cheese griddlecakes (pancakes) in The Fannie Farmer Cookbook while preparing another dish. I did a double-take. Yes, this pancake recipe has cottage cheese as the main ingredient. It was too different—I had to try it.
Place 1 cup of cottage cheese in a sieve. (I used a colander.) Press the cottage cheese down to start removing the moisture. Let it stand in the sieve for an hour over a bowl to allow it to dry.
Beat 3 eggs well in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the cottage cheese, 2 tablespoons melted butter, ¼ cup of flour, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Stir together just enough to blend the ingredients.
Add pats of butter to your griddle or skillet and allow it to melt on a medium heat. (A cast iron skillet worked best for me.) Pour ¼ cup of batter onto the hot skillet.
These griddlecakes are delicate. Wait slightly longer to turn than you would a normal pancake or they will fall apart. Then turn them gently.
What’s immediately noticeable is the difference in texture so your first pancake might be too done or not done enough as you figure it out. I let them cook a minute and then started to work the spatula around the edges to prepare it for turning.
Surprisingly good! In fact, they reminded me more of a potato pancake with the soft center than a regular pancake. Actually, the taste and texture is about halfway between breakfast pancakes and potato pancakes. They aren’t sweet and require no syrup. Two were a filling, satisfying meal.
I noticed that these were Keto except for the flour so I made them again. This time I substituted the flour for almond flour. I liked these even better with the hint of almond flavor—and they are low carb!
I love to find easy recipes for items normally stocked in the fridge and pantry. I’ll make this again when I want a low-carb pancake.
Let me know what you think!
Sources
Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.
My preschool grandchildren love to cook with me so I often search for easy recipes to involve them. This recipe for griddlecakes (pancakes) from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook fit this criteria. So with a few messy adventures along the way, the three of us made blueberry pancakes.
Wash ½ cup of blueberries and set on paper towels or a cloth towel to drain.
Sift 1 cup of flour in a separate bowl. Mix in 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 tablespoons sugar, and ½ teaspoon of salt and set aside.
In another mixing bowl, stir together ½ – ¾ cup milk (you’ll add more if needed for the right consistency as you combine all the ingredients later,) 1 slightly beaten egg, and 2 tablespoons melted butter.
Add the flour mixture all at once to the wet ingredients. Add more milk, a little at time, to achieve the desired consistency.
Fold in ½ cup reserved blueberries. (I doubled the recipe and poured half the batter into a separate bowl and then added the berries to only one of the batters. This way we had plain pancakes for family members who preferred that over blueberry pancakes.)
Spray your griddle or skillet with cooking spray, or use enough vegetable oil to barely coat the bottom. Heat to a moderate heat. Two tablespoons of batter make a small pancake. Use a ¼ cup of batter for larger pancakes.
Cook the pancakes on one side until the top is full of bubbles and then turn with a spatula to brown the other side.
You can keep them in a 200-degree (Fahrenheit) oven so they stay warm until all the griddlecakes are cooked.
We actually served these with bacon for a fun brunch meal with the children. It was a big hit. Both children cleaned their plate and ate every bite of pancake! I can’t often say that about them. 😊
I think that perhaps another tablespoon of sugar would have enhanced the flavor of the blueberry pancakes. Perhaps another ¼ cup of berries—or a heaping ½ cup—wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Though it was a tasty meal, it seems I am always looking for ways to improve new dishes I try.
Making pancakes from scratch is nearly as easy as using a boxed mixture—and you probably have the ingredients in your pantry.
This is a good and easy recipe if you’d like to try it.
Sources
Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.
I had about a pound of asparagus in my fridge so I checked my 1877 cookbook, Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, for recipe ideas. The one that snagged my attention was for asparagus salad. It was almost time for supper and this quick and easy recipe sounded delicious.
Mrs. Lewis Brown, an 1877 cook, provided this recipe. She gave no measurements.
Wash the asparagus and set on paper towels or a cloth towel to drain. Slice off the bottom third of each asparagus spear to remove those tough, fibrous section.
Boil water to blanch the vegetables. Add a teaspoon of salt to the water.
Place the asparagus in the boiling water. Cover and cook for 2 – 3 minutes for desired tenderness. I cooked them for 3 minutes.
Remove the vegetables from the water immediately. Add ¼ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, and 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Mrs. Brown suggested using strong cider vinegar. I had raw apple cider vinegar on hand and used that.
Once the asparagus has cooled, place it in a serving dish. Whisk 3 tablespoons of olive oil with the vinegar that the vegetables marinated in and pour over the top. (Mrs. Brown’s recipe says that you can replace the olive oil with melted butter—your choice.)
As mentioned, Mrs. Brown provided no measurements so I guessed at quantities. I used a 1:1 ratio for vinegar and olive oil. Next time I will reduce the oil to 2 tablespoons to allow a stronger vinegar taste.
I really enjoyed this salad. The vinegar flavor enhanced the dish with a nice snap. The olive oil added a smooth texture.
It could have used a bit of crunch. Next time I will toast some almonds and sprinkle them on top of the salad.
A quick and easy summer salad!
Sources
Compiled from Original Recipes. Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Applewood Books, 1877.
Fellow author and friend Shelia Stovall shares a family recipe from her novel with us today. Welcome to Historical Nibbles, Shelia!
by Shelia Stovall
Thank you, Sandra, for the opportunity to share my recipe for Southern Fried Blackberry pies.
According to Wikipedia, fried pies were known as “Crab Lanterns” in the American South. This term dates back to at least 1770. It may originate from crabapple pies that had slits for ventilation, thus resembling a lantern.
In my book, Every Window Filled with Light, Mrs. Dot, the owner of Dot’s Deluxe Diner, features a different flavor of fried fruit pie each week. The idea to do this in my novel came to me while I waited in line at Habegger’s Amish Market. My mouth watered as I stared at their fried pie display. In Every Window Filled with Light, blackberry is Pastor Bob’s favorite fried pie. So, I’m sharing my mom’s recipe for Southern Fried Blackberry Pies. I’m sure she never bought a blackberry in her life. We picked wild blackberries in late June.
Mama made her pie crusts with lard, but I buy pie crusts. It needs to be at room temperature or the crust might crack.
I sprinkle powdered sugar on my cooled pies to hide flaws while mom served them plain.
Ann’s Southern Fried Blackberry Pie
Ingredients:
3 cups blackberries
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons salted butter
¼ cup water (to dissolve corn starch)
1 tablespoon corn starch
Vegetable oil
Sifted powdered sugar
1 box rolled pie crust from the refrigerated section of your grocery.
Filling:
Combine blackberries, lemon juice, brown sugar, melted butter. Mash berries, bring the mixture to a boil, and then stir in dissolved corn starch and simmer until thickened. (About 5 minutes.) Set aside until completely cool. (About an hour.) It’s okay to store in the refrigerator overnight.
Unroll the pie crust on waxed paper.
Cut into 3 ½ inch circles with cookie cutter or glass.
Place 1 teaspoon of cooled blackberry mixture in the center of each circle. Moisten edges of pastry; fold in half, making sure edges are even. Press pastry edges together firmly with a fork dipped in flour.
Heat 1 to 2 inches of oil in a skillet to 375° (I prefer an iron skillet). Cook 4 to 5 pies at a time until golden brown on both sides, turning once. (About 2 minutes on each side.)
Drain well on a wire rack on a cookie sheet for at least 15 minutes and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Depending on the size of your pies, this recipe will make about 12 – 14 pies. You will have about a cup of filling left. I usually refrigerate this and use it on toast. Yummy!
I believe there’s a fruit for every season of life. I hope you’ll try my recipe and let me know what you think.
“ 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 ESV.
About Shelia:
Shelia Stovall is the director of a small-town library in southern Kentucky, where only strangers mention her last name, and the children call her Miss Shelia.
Missionary travels are taking her to Africa—again. She’s the self-proclaimed worst missionary ever, but is glad God continues to send her.
Shelia and her husband Michael live on a farm. Spending time with family, especially her grandchildren, is her all-time favorite thing. The only hobby Shelia loves more than reading uplifting stories of hope is writing them.
Welcome to Weldon, Kentucky, where the only things the locals love more than fried pies are gossip and match-making.
Librarian Emma Baker, a young and childless widow, believes her dream to build a family is over. It’s been two years since a student accidentally stabbed Emma’s husband to death, and her grief has stifled any interest in romance—until she meets Pastor Luke Davis. But when Emma learns Luke is counseling her husband’s killer fresh out of jail, her temper gets in the way.
Meanwhile, Emma discovers twelve-year-old Harley, abandoned by her drug-addict mother, hiding in the library, and takes the girl in as her foster mom. Then a young mother is made homeless by an apartment fire, and Emma opens her home again. One person and one prayer at a time, Emma begins to discover hope.
I bought The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, originally published in 1896. I’ve always loved bread pudding AND chocolate desserts. I couldn’t resist trying it.
The recipe calls for homemade bread crumbs. Since I make banana bread often, I wondered how this would taste in this bread pudding. First, I made my banana bread. Using 3 bananas enhances the fruit flavor of the bread.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Chop homemade bread (I used banana bread as an experiment) until you have 2 cups of crumbs.
Melt ¼ cup of butter and set aside.
Heat 4 cups of milk to scalding.
Spray or butter a 1 ½ or 2-quart baking dish and set aside.
Break 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate into small pieces and melt them in the milk. Stir until the mixture is smooth.
Add the bread crumbs and stir until mixed. Set aside until it cools to lukewarm.
Then add the butter, 1/3 cup sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 slightly beaten eggs. Mix well.
Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and bake at 325 degrees for about 50 minutes or until set.
Serve it chilled with whipped cream. (If you have heavy whipping cream on hand, make you own whipped cream. You can’t beat the fresh, creamy flavor!)
I tried this without whipped cream. It’s a moist pudding. This was enough chocolate for this chocolate lover, but it overpowered the banana flavor. Whipped cream definitely enhanced this delicious dessert.
The banana bread added to the moist quality of the pudding but not to the flavor. I will use homemade white bread next time.
I’d love to hear if you try this recipe.
-Sandra Merville Hart
Sources
Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.
I bought The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, originally published in 1896. I wanted a lemon dessert and found a recipe for lemon pudding in this book.
What appealed to me about this “old favorite” was its claim of “soft lemony custard on the bottom and sponge cake texture on top.”
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Separate 3 eggs and set aside.
Beat 2 tablespoons of butter until soft. Stir in 7/8 cup sugar a bit at a time, until the butter and sugar are blended. Add egg yolks one at a time and stir before adding the next yolk.
Stir in 1 cup of milk and 1 ½ tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Add the zest of 1 lemon and 1/3 cup lemon juice—1 large lemon provided enough juice for this recipe.
Beat the mix. The recipe said that the mixture will look curdled, which mine didn’t. I blended the butter and sugar completely—perhaps that made a difference. Set this mixture aside.
Using a mixer, beat the egg whites until they are at soft peaks. Fold this gently into the batter.
You can use a 1 ½ quart baking dish or ramekins for individual servings as I did. (Mine made 7 servings.) Prepare with cooking spray and spoon into the dish(es). Set in a pan and pour hot water around the dish until it is halfway up the side.
Bake in preheated oven at 350. If using 1 large dish, bake 50-60 minutes or until very lightly browned. Individual dishes take less time, about 30-35 minutes. When it was cool, I sprinkled powdered sugar over the top. Serve cool or cold.
Delicious! Both my husband and I thought that the lemony flavor of the dish was plenty. The two different textures—custard on the bottom and sponge cake on top—made it a unique dessert. We loved it!
I will make this again.
-Sandra Merville Hart
Sources
Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.
My mom has been gone for several years. I always miss her but I find myself thinking of my parents more often during the holidays.
After I got married, I loved being invited to dinner at their house—especially when there was no specific reason. “Come to supper on Thursday,” she’d call me to say. “No need to bring anything since you’ll be working all day. I’ll make a cake.”
What a precious invitation! No need to worry about supper. My mom was cooking. And she’d make dessert. She often made yellow cake because the ingredients were readily available. I got nostalgic for that cake and recently made it.
Here’s her recipe:
(Makes 2 9-inch layers)
2 ½ cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp. salt
3 ½ tsp. double-acting baking powder
1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup shortening (I use butter)
¾ cup milk
Blend all these ingredients thoroughly by hand or mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add:
½ cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Blend by hand or mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Spray cake pans with cooking spray and pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees about 35 minutes or until lightly browned. If using self-rising flour omit baking powder and salt. Cool and frost.
Just reading the recipe took me back in time to my mom’s kitchen where she blended everything together in her stand mixer. We’d get a spoon of leftover batter from the bowl. Yum!
Hint: I didn’t have cake flour but this is easily remedied. Remove 2 tablespoons of flour per cup of all-purpose flour and replace with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.
This makes a nice, creamy batter. Remember to sift the flour—it removes any clumps and lightens the batter.
We usually ate unfrosted cakes because we didn’t have confectioners powdered sugar to make the icing. When my mom did make icing, it was either vanilla or chocolate. I no longer have her icing recipe. I made chocolate buttercream frosting.
Delicious! It’s a basic yellow cake yet the flavor took me back to my childhood when desserts were a rare treat. It was my mom’s “go-to” cake when guests arrived unexpectedly.
I hope you enjoy the cake!
Sources
“Chocolate Buttercream Frosting,” Live Well Bake Often, 2020/12/13
I planned to make dessert for a family gathering over the holidays. My son-in-law, who has been following the Keto diet for months, asked me to make something he could eat without cheating.
Since I was making a frozen chocolate mousse pie for everyone else, I decided to make a version for him that he felt good about eating.
Searches online revealed lots of possibilities. I settled on a Quick Keto Chocolate Mousse, partially because I had all the ingredients in my fridge or pantry.
I melted unsweetened baking chocolate and used it instead of cocoa powder. My zero-calorie sweetener was Sweet’N Low because the package contained a great chart showing exactly how many packets equaled ¼ cup, 1/3 cup, ½ cup, and 1 cup of granulated sugar. The original recipe calls for ¼ cup powdered zero-calorie sweetener.
To ensure there was leftover dessert, I tripled the recipe.
What an easy dessert to prepare! My son-in-law was thrilled to enjoy chocolate mousse while everyone else ate pie.
You might prefer a different sweetener.
I’m so glad I tried it. Keto lovers, let me know what you think if you make it.
I’ve been watching The Great British Baking Show and learning a lot about dishes that are new to me. Even more helpful is The Great British Baking Show Masterclass, where talented bakers Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry demonstrate their own recipes.
Paul Hollywood demonstrated a recipe for flaounes, a new dish to me. With the cheese filling baked with the pastry, it looked delicious. I watched him prepare the flaounes several times and wrote down all the instructions.
Finding the ingredients for this Cypriot pastry challenged me. I found Pecorino Romano cheese at a cheese shop while on vacation. The shop sold a wide variety of cheeses but I didn’t recall the name of the Halloumi cheese at the time. I found it later at a specialty grocery store.
Semolina flour is a new flour for me. My local grocer carries it.
I wasn’t able to find sultanas, which are made from green seedless grapes. I substituted raisins for sultanas.
Mahlepi, a Greek spice, wasn’t available in specialty grocery stores near more so I left it and the mastic powder out of my recipe. I’m certain this made a difference in the flavor, but I have to say it was delicious without them too.
Other than those differences, I followed his recipe. May I say that I appreciated his skills with pastry more than ever after making the dough. There is something to be said for years of experience.
Flaounes are a completely new flavor for me. The Halloumi cheese, a crumbly wet cheese, was also new to me.
The cheese filling really made the whole dish. It’s a filling lunch. I ate several bites before deciding that I really liked it.
I’m so glad I tried it. Let me know what you think if you make it.
My dad always wanted black-eyed peas as a side dish on New Year’s Day. He said that it brought good luck into the new year. I’ve carried on this tradition for my family.
Looking for ideas for meals to serve on the first day of the year?
Here are some suggestions for New Year’s Day from an 1870s cookbook.
