Category: Desserts

Grandma’s Tea Cakes with Pecans and Raisins

Both of my Grandmas made Tea Cakes, dating back to the 1915’s.  Mom’s mother had a pecan orchard and plenty of nuts, so she included them, along with raisins, in her Old-Fashioned Tea Cakes. Dad’s mom made them without any add-ins.  I have happy memories of eating them at both Grandmas’ houses.  This recipe is for the fancy Tea Cakes.   Most recipes call for rolling the dough and cutting the Tea Cakes out, but both of my Grandmas just pinched off some dough and used their fingers to flatten the Tea Cakes, so that’s the method I am recommending

¼ cup unsalted butter at room temperature

¼ cup butter-flavored Crisco

1 ⅓ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup buttermilk

½ cup chopped and toasted pecans

½ cup golden raisins

In the large bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and shortening until creamy.  Add the sugar and beat on medium low speed until creamed.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. 

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt and whisk the ingredients to combine.  Add about half of the flour mix to the butter mixture and beat until combined.  Pour in the buttermilk and mix to combine, then add the remaining flour.  The dough will be soft and sticky. Finally, add the nuts and raisins and mix to combine thoroughly.  Using a spatula, scrape together the dough into a ball. 

Turn the dough out onto a piece of Saran Wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.  Remove from the refrigerator and using a medium ice cream scoop, portion out 9 scoops of dough onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Flour your hands and form the scoops into balls.  Using your fingers, press the balls down to about ¼ inch.  Make sure you leave about 1 ½ inches between raw cookies, as they spread out. Bake at 350° for 10-11 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned.  Cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet.  Remove to a rack and finish cooling the cookies.  Store in an airtight container.

Recipe by Mary

Apple Almond Crisp

Apple season is here!   While the thought of a fresh apple pie waifs across your mind, think of this more playful combination of a bubbling filling and a crisp nutty topping under a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  You can experiment with different types of apples in the recipe, and I sometimes use equal amounts of green and red apples for a change.  This desert never fails to please!

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided

1 ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed and divided

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon salt

3 ounces almond paste, crumbled

6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½” cubes

3 ½-4 pounds of Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into ¾ “pieces

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg   

Preheat oven to 350°.  Butter a 13x9x2” glass baking dish.  To make the topping, blend ¾ cup flour, ¼ cup of packed brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of cardamom, ½ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon of grated nutmeg and salt in a food processor.  Add almond paste and process until fine crumbs form.  Add butter and pulse until mixture begins to clump together.  Transfer to a bowl and mix in sliced almonds.

To make the filling, in a large bowl, toss the apples with ½ cup of granulated and 1 cup of light brown packed sugar. Add lemon juice and toss the apples to cover them with the lemon juice. Add the  cinnamon, nutmeg and the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour. Mix well.

Spread the apple mixture in the buttered dish.  Sprinkle on the topping and bake for 1 hour, or until the topping is golden and the apple filling is bubbly. Serve warm with ice cream.  

Recipe by Mary

Plum Galette

The crust for this galette was a happy accident! The shortening didn’t make it home from the store, and coconut oil was the closet thing I had in pantry. It worked amazingly well. The rustic nature of this free form pie hides a world of mistakes with the pastry, which I have to admit I am prone to! Try it with any any fresh seasonal fruit.

Ingredients

For the Pastry:

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 4 tbsp refined coconut oil
  • 1 tsp coarse sea salt
  • 1/2 cup ice water

For the filling

  • 2 1/2 lbs plums
  • 1/4 cup granulated cane sugar
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp almond flour
  • 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter

For the topping

  • 2-3 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1-2 tbsp granulated cane sugar

Method

Make the pastry. Add the flour and salt to a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the coconut oil and process until completely incorporated. Add the cold butter and pulse until the butter is somewhat incorporated, but there are still small pea size pieces of butter in the mix. Add the ice water a few tablespoons at a time, pulsing in between addition until the mixture starts to form a crumbly dough. Form into an oval disc and roll out on a floured surface until 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and set aside while your prepare the fruit & filling. If its quite warm in your kitchen, you can put the pan in the refrigerator until your ready to use it.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Slice the plums in half and remove the pits. Slice into wedges. In a small bowl combine the almond flour, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, and salt. Spread the flour mixture evenly in a circle on the pastry, leaving several inches to fold over the fruit. Heap the plums on the flour mixture, or arrange in a rosette pattern. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Dot with butter.

Fold the pastry over the plums. Brush the pastry with heavy cream and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar. Bake for 35 – 45 minutes or until the fruit is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.

Eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! I promise it won’t last long.

Recipe by Katie