Perfect for a Cold Night - Hamburger Minestrone Soup

Try this delicious and easy soup recipe - made enough for four and the same amount to freeze.

HAMBURGER MINESTRONE SOUP
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup cubed potatoes
1 cup cubed carrots
1/2 cup cubed celery
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 No. 2 can tomatoes
1/4 cup rice
1 small bay leaf
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. basil
Salt & pepper
1½ quarts water
Brown hamburger & onions. Add potatoes & bring to boil. Add remaining ingredients. Cook 1 hour. Put grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Family Party - Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Every year for at least 25 or so, we have a giant sleepover Christmas party with Doug's family. It's complete chaos, lots of noisy kids, fun & games, and no sleep. But wonderful. My food assignment, among several, was a fruit salad. And I just happened to have a recipe! This poppy seed dressing would be good on any salad. I doubled the fruit portion, and only used about half of a single recipe of the dressing. It goes a long way, especially since the juice left in the fruit tends to dilute the dressing.

FRUIT SALAD WITH POPPY SEED DRESSING
1 can pineapple chunks
1½ to 2 large Delicious apples
1 avocado (optional)
1 banana
1 can mandarin oranges
Flaked coconut
Miniature marshmallows
Dressing:
1 cup pineapple juice
2 well beaten egg yolks
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
Juice of 1 lemon & 1 orange
1/3 cup sugar
Cook until thick. Add few drops lemon extract. Cool. Add 1 heaping tbsp. poppy seeds and 1/2 cup mayonnaise.

Christmas Dinners - Salad (2) / Trifle / Impossible Pumpkin Pie

It seemed a little strange to not be making a huge Christmas dinner this year. It's the "off" year, which means everyone is off having fun somewhere besides home. We had a lovely invitation from my nephew's wife, phenagled by my wonderful sister, to join them for Christmas eve. My assignment was to bring a green salad. I decided to bring Geralee's recipe for this easy and delicious salad.

SALAD (2)
Lettuce
Grapefruit
Oranges
Avocado
Onions
with Catalina French

Geralee's food assignment was Trifle. Here she is holding the dessert she made. This recipe was attributed to Aunt Julie, but Geralee has made Trifle every year of Bruce's 40++ years of life, according to Bruce. She makes it with Danish Dessert, which is equally yummy to using Jello. And I prefer raspberries over strawberries. I have made Trifle every year since Coray's mission to England. We're a Trifle-loving family!

TRIFLE
Use flat bottom punch bowl. Line bottom of bowl with Lady Fingers or Angel Cake. 2 pkgs. Of jello slightly set. Pour over cake while runny. Let set. Drain fruit (2 pkgs. Strawberries). Use 1 pkg. vanilla pudding layer, fruit & pudding over jello. Set and serve garnished with whipped cream.

For Christmas day, I made this Impossible Pumpkin Pie. Note that there is no crust - perfect for Doug, who scrapes the filling and leaves the crust every time. Including this time! He didn't notice there was no crust until he got to the bottom. A pretty good pie, but I prefer crust over pie, so I like the traditional version best.

IMPOSSIBLE PUMPKIN PIE
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Bisquick
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
1 large can evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 can pumpkin or 2 cups
2½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp. vanilla
Beat until smooth (2 min.). Pour in pie plate & bake 375°F (high alt.) 350°F (reg.) for 50-55 min. Serve with whipped cream.

Salads for the Shelter - Pineapple Cheese Salad / Delicious Salad / Orange Cream Cheese Salad / Bean Salad (3)

While it is a wonderful thing to do and a great time of year to do it, I can't take credit for overwhelming generosity. I had many of the ingredients in my fridge ready to expire, left over from too much food for Thanksgiving. Before anyone gags, I have properly checked expiration dates and they're all safe. And Doug won't eat the cream cheese. Great solution for us all - not wasting food and hopefully someone will appreciate a salad or two.

PINEAPPLE CHEESE SALAD
Bring to boil one #2 can crushed pineapple & 3/4 cup sugar. Add 1 pkg. Knox gelatin which has been dissolved in 1/3 cup cold water. Stir till mixed well. Set to thicken. Add 1 cup shredded cheese & fold in 1 cup whipped cream. Pour in 8" square pan. Chill.

By the way, I had to look up #2 can. It's a 20 ounce. In the "olden days" cans were numbered with some kind of system. I used to know what the numbers were but have lost that in the recess of other unused facts. I still love Google. Today at the grocery store, a lady asked if I knew what scallions were. I told her I was pretty sure they were green onions. Then I asked her if she would like me to "google" it and she said OK. Well, I was right and she was grateful!

DELICIOUS SALAD
1 large pkg. orange jello
1 large bottle maraschino cherries
1 large can whole pineapple
1 can pimentos
2 cups chopped celery
1 pint whipped cream
2 pkgs Philadelphia cream cheese
Set jello with boiled cherry & pineapple juice until slightly thickened. Add celery, pimentos, pineapple, cherries & cream cheese. Blend in whipped cream & set.

ORANGE CREAM CHEESE SALAD
6 oz. pkg. orange jello, set
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 small can pineapple tidbits
1 can mandarin oranges
3/4 cup cubed cream cheese
Set
Thicken pineapple juice. Cool & mix with 1 pkg. whipped topping mix. Spread on top of salad & sprinkle with nuts.

Confession here - I used Cool Whip on top, but I bet it would be really good with the pineapple cream topping.

BEAN SALAD (3)
1 can yellow beans
2 cans kidney beans
1 can green beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
Dressing:
1/2 cup vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
Salt & pepper
Mix & pour over vegetables. Set in refrigerator for at least one or two days.

Cathedral Window Cookies

Sometimes when I tell people this recipe title, they think of the cookies that you carve out a spot and then melt a life saver to make a little window. Not this recipe. These cookies look like stained glass when you cut them. I didn't use an entire bag of colored marshmallows because it was a large bag. I'm glad I didn't. Still I was afraid that I had used too many. I molded the cookies into about six small logs, which made it more manageable than trying to make one big log. After chilling, they hold together well, and taste great. So here's the dilemma with this recipe - the raw egg. Years ago, I don't think they worried about eating raw eggs like they do nowadays. Just have to say at this point that I love Google. You can ask any question and get the answer! I just "googled" raw egg substitute and got a great list of alternatives. The one I chose was 2 tbsp. cornstarch. Tasteless and safe. I added it with the powdered sugar.

CATHEDRAL WINDOW COOKIES
1 square margarine
1 bar German chocolate
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, well beaten
1 pkg. small colored marshmallows
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup coconut
Melt margarine & chocolate in pan stirring constantly so it doesn't burn. Remove from heat. Add sugar & egg to chocolate mixture. Pour mix over marshmallows & nuts. Stir gently. Shape into roll & roll in coconut. Wrap in wax paper & refrigerate. Keep in fridge until used. Cut in slices to serve.

Sugar Cookies Times Three

There are three recipes for sugar cookies in the collection. I decided to stick with a sure thing, so I chose to make the recipe that I must have given to Mom. I got it from my friend Betty, so I recognized it right away. I did use one suggestion from the "Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies" recipe, though. I mixed some sugar with the flour that I used to roll the dough out on. It made it easier to pick up the cookies and I'm guessing that it tastes better too. So here's a trick that I'm pretty sure I made up. Rather than frosting the cookies, I like to use the pastel mint chips (Hickory Farms type). The small mints work best but the large ones are OK too if you cut them in smaller pieces. After baking the cookies about 7 minutes (5 isn't enough), you take them out of the oven and put the mint chips on top. Then put them back in the oven about 30 seconds. Spread with a knife, and voila! Minty frosting.

SUGAR COOKIES (2)
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
Cream together.
3 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Roll 1/4 inch thick. Chill about 1 hour. Bake 400°F 7 min.

Here are the other two recipes for sugar cookies:

OLD FASHIONED SUGAR COOKIES
(Newspaper Clipping)
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup beet sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
In mixing bowl, cream shortening, butter or margarine, and sugar. Stir in each egg thoroughly; then add flavoring. Gradually fold in sifted dry ingredients. Work with about half the dough, keeping the remainder chilled. Roll dough out on board, lightly dusted with mixture of 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup sugar, to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut in desired shapes. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet in a hot oven (350°F) for about 7 to 9 minutes. Cool on cake rack on paper toweling. Makes about 7½ dozen 2-inch cookies.

SUGAR COOKIES
1 cup butter
1½ cup sugar
5½ cups flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vinegar
1½ tsp. soda
1½ tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. almond
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
Cream sugar & butter. Add eggs & vanilla & almond extract. Sift dry ingredients. Add milk & dry ingredients. Roll 1/4 inch thick. Bake 400°F 8 to 10 min.

Divine Divinity

Whew! That's what I said as I put away my candy thermometer. I think I've made all the candy I'm going to make for a while. All that's left now is the gifting - and the eating, unfortunately. I'm not quite sure why I saved Divinity to the last, but I've always been a little intimidated by it. After a few tips from Geralee, I think I did a pretty good job. She said to be sure that the last stage is cooked to a hard crack (rather than hard ball as the recipe says). I used my Kitchen Aid for the beating phase and just kept beating till it started to thicken and lose its gloss. Then I finished a bit by hand and dropped it by teaspoons on my baking mat (still out of waxed paper). While it's not quite as perfect at Geralee's, it's still pretty good. Oh, and as for the saying that you can't make Divinity on a stormy day - Chris tells me that it's a matter of the barometer. If you re-test your candy thermometer and adjust for the difference, then you should be OK. I always use the cold water method as a backup.

DIVINITY
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
2 egg whites beaten well
1/2 cup Karo
1/2 cup walnuts
1 tsp. vanilla
Boil sugar, water, and Karo until it makes a soft ball in cold water. Then take out 1/2 cup full and beat into egg whites. Boil the rest of the syrup until it makes hard ball in cold water. Pour into egg whites and beat until it thickens, then add nuts and flavoring. Pour on buttered platter or drop by teaspoonfuls. For variety, color it and add different flavors to it.

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

That's really the title. I've been making these cookies since I was a young mother. It was fun to find the recipe in Mom's collection. The recipe is taken from Betty Crocker's Cooky Book. When I was trying to carefully manage my food budget, I looked for and tried several different chocolate chip cookie recipes. This became my recipe of choice for one reason - you could get more cookies per one egg, than any other recipe I tried. The fact that it really is a great tasting cookie and never fails also helps! These have become a Christmas cookie several times - here you see them with Andes Peppermint Chips, but I've also made them with red & green M&Ms.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
2/3 cup shortening (part butter & part shortening)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1½ cups flour
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 pkg. chocolate chips
Oven 375°F Bake 8-10 min.

Minted Salt Water Taffy

I've made taffy a lot, but never this kind. We used to make taffy for Family Home Evening, and just last summer Camille wanted her boys to have this fun experience. So I hunted down my recipe for Honey Taffy. Here's a great variety to try. It seemed to cool quite quickly, which made it more difficult to pull, but I think it turned out great and tastes really good. Hint: Essence of Pepperment is another way to say Peppermint Oil - not peppermint extract.

MINTED SALT WATER TAFFY
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1½ tbsp. butter
1 cup light corn syrup
2 cups sugar
1 cup hot water
1/2 tsp. essence of peppermint
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Melt the butter (do not brown); add the grated chocolate. Combine the sugar, syrup, salt, and water. Cook over high heat until sugar is well dissolved. Lower heat slightly and cook without stirring to the hard ball stage (when tested in cold water the syrup will hold a ball when molded between thumb and finger). Remove from heat, add the melted chocolate and butter, and stir only to blend. Pour out on a buttered marble slab or large platter. As candy cools slightly, fold in the edges. When cool enough to handle, pick up and stretch. Add the flavorings and pull until it will hold its shape when stretched out into a long, thick rope. Cut in bite-size pieces. Wrap separately in waxed paper. It will make about 90 pieces.

Minted Nuts

Now here's a recipe that turned out to be more of a challenge than I expected. And it sounds so easy! The challenge came from the marshmallows. I added about a cup of the mini's rather than the large. Same rule applies - about 8 mini's to one large. The challenge came in the stirring and the spreading. The whole mass looked like pecans caught in a giant spider web. I thought perhaps this would be a better Halloween treat! Anyway, with a little patience and two forks, I was able to separate the whole lot into small, bite-size chunks. I let them stay out on the waxed paper over night, which allowed them to dry. I'm sure any nut would be good. I used just over a pound of pecans, which added to my persistence. I wasn't about to waste that many nuts!

MINTED NUTS
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp. Karo syrup
8 marshmallows cut
1 quart nut meat
1 tsp. mint flavoring
Cook sugar, water, & Karo syrup to a soft stage or ball, when dropped in cold water. Take from stove and add marshmallows, stir until dissolved. Add flavoring. Pour over nuts. Mix well and pour on wax paper.

Unusually Good! - Light Fudge

This was my second try at making this fudge. I'm nothing if not persistent! It sounded really good and I remember Mother making this fudge. So I gave it a second chance. The recipe, which was attributed to Mom's club friend Lois Johnson, says to cook it to a firm (real firm) ball. But don't. I think she meant soft ball stage that really formed a ball and not too mushy. My first attempt I cooked it too long. Before I beat the fudge, I added the fruit and nuts, but I think it might have been better if I had waited till the fudge was nearly done. My fudge turned pink as I stirred the cherries. Maybe that was OK - its quite festive this way. It has a nice tangy taste from the sour cream, but not too strong.

LIGHT FUDGE
4 cups sugar
1/4 lb. butter (real)
16 oz. sour cream
Melt butter, add other ingredients. Slow boil to firm ball stage (real firm). Pour into greased dish. Cool till warm. Beat & add vanilla, Maraschino cherries (dried good), nuts or pre-cooked raisins or any kind of fruit you like.

The Trick to English Toffee

I have struggled over the years making toffee, but I never give up because that's one candy that we all love. When it's done right, it's wonderful. One classic problem when making toffee is that the butter starts to separate and leaves a watery mote around a clump of brown sugar. Well, last year I had the AHA moment. My honorary second mom, Betty, was a good friend of my mom. Her daughter Jenna was glued to my side through my entire childhood. Well, Jenna sent me a recipe book of her mom's recipes a couple of years ago, so I looked up Betty's secret to toffee. She said to always cook it on high heat, and if you'll notice in my recipe below, it also says to cook on the highest heat. Somehow in the copying of Mom's recipe to my own file, I left out that important note. Well, never again. I made this toffee tonight in about 15 minutes. High heat - no separation. Can't wait to cut it!

The first recipe is the one I used - the following two are also in her collection.

ENGLISH TOFFEE
Cut coarsely 1 cup nuts into the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan. Turn stove unit onto top heat. Into heavy pan place the following:
1 cup white sugar
1/2 lb. butter
3 tbsp. water
Stir with wooden spoon throughout time of cooking. Mixture should appear fluffy at all times during cooking. Mixture will start to leave the sides of the pan when it turns amber with cooking smoking slightly. Pour immediately over nuts. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Indicate squares while warm. Cool & break.

Note: I used almonds tonight but I often use walnuts. And instead of chocolate chips, I used Hershey milk chocolate bars.

ENGLISH TOFFEE (2)
1 lb. butter
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp. corn syrup
1 cup ground almonds
2½ cups sugar
1 lb. sweet chocolate or 9 5-cent plain Hershey bars
Chopped Walnuts
Cook butter, water, sugar and syrup to hard cracked stage (310°F). Remove from heat and add almonds. Pour into buttered pans (cookie sheets). Have chocolate melted; pour over toffee then sprinkle with walnuts. Let cool, then break into pieces. If using candy bars just lay on hot toffee and spread with knife.

FAVORITE TOFFEE
1/2 cup water
1 lb. butter
2¼ cups sugar
1 cup coarsely ground almonds
Melt butter in heavy sauce pan. Add sugar & water & bring to boil. Add almonds & cook over high heat. Stir candy constantly as it nears end. Cook until brown. Pour quickly into buttered pan. Cool & bread as is - or spread with melted milk chocolate & sprinkle with chopped toasted almonds.

Oh Fudge!

Here are several fudge recipes - two of them I tried. The first was the Marshmallow Rocky Road Fudge. First because I love nuts and marshmallows, easy decision. I had to adjust this recipe a bit because I didn't read the recipe closely enough. I looked at the evaporated milk line and saw 1 can instead of 1 cup. I'm not sure that it shouldn't have been one can if Mom wrote 1 c. Anyway, since I had already added the full can, which is 1-1/2 cups, I adjusted the rest of the recipe to match. Turned out fine - I just had extra of the fudge layer. It's really good!

MARSHMALLOW ROCKY ROAD FUDGE
3/4 cup broken walnuts
1 12-oz. pkg. chocolate pieces
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup evaporated milk
2 cups tiny marshmallows
1/4 tsp. salt
Sprinkle walnuts evenly over buttered pan 9 x 9 x 2. Butter sides of 2 quart heavy saucepan. In it combine sugar, milk, & salt. Heat & stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to rolling boil & boil 2 min. Stirring. Remove from heat immediately stir in chocolate & vanilla. Beat until chocolate is melted. Cover walnuts with 1/2 fudge. Top with tiny marshmallows pressing gently into fudge. Spread with remaining fudge.

Now, since there are two more chocolate fudge recipes all very similar, I decided to only make one of them because I didn't necessarily want or need two more huge pans of fudge! The recipe I tried was a bit different from other easy fudge recipes I've made in the past using marshmallow cream. This recipe called for marshmallows, and since I had just bought them, this recipe one the draw. Here it is:

FUDGE
4½ cups sugar
1 cube butter
1 lg. can milk
Boil together stirring constantly for 7 min. Pour over 1 lb. marshmallows, 2 pkg. chocolate chips. Stir until dissolved. Add nuts & put in fridge to chill.

And here's the other recipe:

EASY FUDGE
4½ cups sugar
1 tall can milk
1-1/3 cubes margarine
1 pint marshmallow topping
2 giant Hershey bars
1 lb. chopped nuts
2 tsp. vanilla
Combine sugar, milk, margarine in saucepan and boil for 6 min. stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and while still hot add chocolate, marshmallow, vanilla and nuts. Blend together and pour into two dripper pans or one large cookie sheet (buttered). Cool in refrigerator overnight. Before cutting, take from refrigerator and sit in room temp. for about 1 hour.

Yummy Gifting - Cranberry Nut Bread

My friends and neighbors are going to benefit (I hope) from my efforts this season. What better chance to try all these recipes for cookies and candy? Well, the home teachers are coming early this month, and my sweet home teacher can't have sugary sweets. So I looked to the collection for something appropriate for gifting but not in the candy section. Cranberry Nut Bread! Still seasonal, not quite as sweet. This recipe was from a magazine clipping. I followed it exactly, but when it came to pouring it into the pans, it didn't pour. The batter was quite thick, which worried me. Much thicker than banana bread, for instance. Anyway, I resisted the urge to add another egg or more liquid, and stayed true to the recipe. I used two smaller pans, rather than one large one, so I reduced the cooking time to 60 minutes. It looked a little dry, possibly too done, when I removed it from the oven. So I decided a little orange glaze might help. Just dumped - powdered sugar and orange juice till it seemed the right consistency. Of course I had to cut one loaf to make sure it was worthy of gifting. Well, I thought it was delicious, but Doug's first word when he tasted it sealed the deal - "WOW!" He liked it, so I guess this is a good gift idea. Hope the home teachers like it!

CRANBERRY NUT BREAD
Grease bottom only of a 9x5x3 in. loaf pan. Line pan with waxed paper cut to fit pan bottom; grease the waxed paper.
Rinse, sort, and cut into halves 2 cups (about 9 oz.) fresh cranberries.
Coarsely chop and add to cranberries 3 oz. pecans (about 3/4 cup, chopped). Set aside.
Melt and set aside to cool slightly 2 tbsp. butter or margarine.
Sift together into a bowl and set aside:
2 cups sifted flour
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
1¾ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Combine:
1 egg, well beaten
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
Stir in the melted butter or margarine. Make a well in center of dry ingredients and add the liquid ingredients all at one time. Stir only enough to moisten all the dry ingredients. Add the nuts and cranberries and 1 tsp. grated orange rind (grated through colored part only; white part is bitter).
Stir just until blended (do not overmix). Turn into prepared loaf pan and spread to corners.
Bake at 350°F about 70 min., or until a cake tester or wooden pick comes out clean when inserted in center of loaf.
Remove from oven; cool 10 min. in pan on cooling rack.
To remove bread from pan, first loosen by running spatula gently around sides. Cover with a cooling rack. Invert and remove pan. Immediately peel off waxed paper and turn bread right-side up. Cool bread completely before slicing or storing. To store, wrap tightly in aluminum foil or other moisture-vapor-proof material.

My Favorite Christmas Cookies - Thumb Cookies & Date Pin Wheels

I have loved Thumb Cookies, aka Angel Thumbprints, since I was little. Mother made them and then I started making them for my family. Then I realized that I was the only one eating them. My good fortune. I love the way the walnuts taste baked on the outside of this cookie. You can also fill the thumbprint with jelly, but I prefer frosting.

THUMB COOKIES
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Mix all together then add 1 cup sifted flour, 1/4 tsp. salt. Mold into balls the size of a walnut, then roll in egg white and finely chopped nuts. Bake five minutes in 350°F oven. Take out and make a depression with the thumb in each cookie then return to oven and bake until brown. Then take out and cover with colored icing.

My other favorite cookie is Date Pin Wheels. This is also one that Mother made every year. The recipe was from a newspaper clipping. I know my sisters make this cookie, but it's not one that I have made very often. The recipe wasn't very specific in the instructions. You need to roll the dough out before you spread it with the date mixture. Then you roll it up and wrap it in waxed paper. Chill it a couple of hours, and then slice the roll with a sharp knife in 1/4 inch slices. I loved the way they turned out! This is probaly another cookie that I would eat all by myself. And that's OK!

DATE PIN WHEELS
1 cup chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg (beaten)
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda
Cook dates, sugar and water slowly until thick. Add nuts and cool. Cream shortening, brown sugar and vanilla. Add egg. Sift flour, salt and soda. Add to creamed mixture, making a stiff dough. Spread dough with date mixture and roll up like jelly roll. Chill in refrigerator for two hours. Bake at 375°F from 10 to 12 minutes.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas! - Caramels & Peanut Brittle

House decorated - check. Shopping done - almost. Wrapping - I've started. But I've got lots of recipes to try before I run out of the best excuse ever to make yummy treats. I started with the caramels this week. I've made caramels before, but it was a very long time ago. The instructions for this recipe were very precise, and I followed them to the letter. My main dilemma is knowing how many degrees to subtract from my candy thermometer reading. I read on a website today that you subtract 2 degrees (F) for every 1000 feet above sea level. I think I'm about 4500 feet so that would be about 9 degrees. But I wasn't that careful. And I have a very cheap candy thermometer. If I were to be a serious candy maker, I'd invest in a decent thermometer. However, these caramels are perfect, if I do say so myself. And I didn't subtract any degrees from my thermometer reading because I was worried about under-cooking it. Warning - it takes a very long time to make caramels - maybe an hour of stirring, but they're worth it.

CARAMELS
2 cups sugar
1 cup white Karo syrup
1 pint whipping cream
Shake salt
Mix sugar & syrup together. Add 1/3 of cream & boil to 230°F. Add 1/3 more cream and bring to 230°F then add 1 inch square of butter and 1/2 tsp. vanilla and bring to 234°F. Break 1 cup nuts on bottom of 9 inch buttered square pan. Pour mixture on top. Cool in refrigerator.

Today I made Peanut Brittle. This recipe was attributed to Lucile F. Can't for the life of me remember who that might be. The instructions say to cook it till it spins a two-inch thread. I had to look that one up! I got the answer from the same website that told me about subtracting 2 degrees. You get some of the syrup and hold the spoon over the boiling candy, and then let the syrup drip off the edge of the spoon. It will start to spin a thread - a little stream of syrup that kind of stays on the end of the spoon. Also the temperature reading according to this chart said 215 to 235 degrees. For what it's worth! Then after I added the peanuts, I stirred for about a half hour - really. Seemed like forever, and then suddenly it was done. So have everything ready that needs to be added at the end and have your tray buttered and ready to pour. I took Mom's advice and didn't add 2 teaspoons of soda - only 1, but I did add 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Why not? And notice Mom's note about the recipe - it must be good if she says so.

PEANUT BRITTLE (GOOD)
2 cups sugar
1 cup corn syrup (white)
1/2 cup water
2 cups raw Spanish peanuts
1 tsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla (?)
2 tsp. soda (?) (I didn't use 2)
Cook syrup, water & sugar until it spins 2" thread. Add peanuts to cooking mixture & continue cooking stirring constantly until syrup turns light golden brown. Take off stove & add soda. Add vanilla & butter. Pour on buttered plate or trays & break when cold.