It was bitterly cold with blowing and drifting snow today and the
sundogs were out all day.
Since I finished my household chores during yesterday's storm, today I sat down to read some more of my vintage magazines
The December 1956 issue of Family Circle magazine had a lovely spread of
"Sweet tokens from Sugarplum Land".
On the left side of the page, the Penny Wafers in a teacup caught my eye. Last week, Mari over at Once Upon a Plate made
Ginger Pennies and wrapped them up in vintage tea cups for gifts and I just thought it was the best idea ever. It was so funny to see it even was a popular thing to do 52 years ago.
The right side of the page held a platter of cookies including one called Taffy Rolls. Now anything with the word Taffy in it is my kind of treat so since we are stuck at home today with all area events canceled, I decided to make them.
I found the recipe on page 60 right next to an advertisement for Princesse Party dresses complete with sequins and lace for $5-$8.
Taffy Rolls (from Family Circle Magazine, December 1956)
Shattery bits of butter-nut goodness. They break easily so pack carefully.
Bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.
½ cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
½ cup finely chopped pecans
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1. Cream butter until soft in medium size bowl; gradually add sugar, creaming well after each addition until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; stir in nuts, flour, and salt.
3. Drop batter by small teaspoonfuls about 5 inches apart on lightly greased cooky sheet; spread thinly. Work with only 6 cookies at a time for easier handling.
4. Bake in a slow oven (300 degrees) 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
5. Cool cookies on cooky sheet 3 minutes, or just until firm enough to hold their shape. (When hot from the oven they are too soft to handle.)
6. Loosen, one at a time, with spatula; quickly roll around handle of a wooden spoon; place on wire cake rack to cool and crisp. While shaping, if cookies become too brittle, slide pan into oven for 30 seconds to soften them.
7. Bake and shape remaining cookies until all dough is used.
My notes:
First of all, I typed the recipe exactly as it appeared in the magazine. In 1956, a cookie sheet was spelled cooky (or were they referring to a single cooky/cookie? I just found that interesting.)
I tried two cookie sheets with silpat and parchment paper and the cookies ripped while trying to lift them off. A non-stick cookie sheet with a light spray of non stick spray worked the best for me. Waiting 3 minutes to lift the cookies off was also too long of a time. They lifted and rolled best after 1 minute. This is not the cookie to make if you are looking for fast and quick. If your baking is anything like mine, don’t expect 6 dozen perfect cookies either. I had more failures than perfection as you can see by my tiny plateful. This wasn’t a bad thing as they taste so GOOD and we got to eat the failures as the day went on.
The magazine's recipe describes them best..."shattery bits of butter-nut goodies".
They were so crisp and delicious, I wonder why I have never heard of them before?
How fun to find this 1909 postcard in our collection from Jeff's family. It is amazing to know that it was sent to his great grandma 100 years ago and has been held in her hands, grandma Mabel's hands, Allen's hands, Jeff's hands and Jayme & Nathan have held and read it! Five generations and 100 years of history, we will treasure it with the rest of the keepsakes.
All the text on this card was written on that little brown envelope in the front of the card. (How cool is that? It only measures about 1 1/2 inches across and 6 inches long unfolded) It was mailed to Grandma Mary as she spent New Year's in Rochester away from her family as evident by the 1 cent Benjamin Franklin stamp. LG writes and tells her "Dear Mary, (annwa) got your postal yesterday, glad to see that you are getting along so well and hope that you’ll soon be on your way home. I am out here now. We will butcher tomorrow. I will try and go home again Saturday. Mabel and Myrtle are getting along fine. They have big times, Mabel can sing nice we will all write tomorrow a big fat letter. We all wish you a Happy New Year and hope that you will try and enjoy it. With best wished from us all. L.G."
I like Silly, wish you a Happy New Year and that this year will treat you better than the passed one did :-)
