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As the years go by, and new members of the family host holiday gatherings we find that mothers and grandmothers are sometimes released from their main-dish commitments, but are still held responsible for the sweetest part of the meal. More and more time is spent with the generations mingling because the younger members fear that the old recipes and the old stories will someday be lost if they don't pursue a gentle interrogation of their elders.

Here is the recipe for Winnie McCarthy's Irish Bread. We found this recipe handwritten on the end papers of a well-used copy of The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook. Winnie McCarthy was an Irish maid working for a Mrs. Powell, in North Scituate during the 1920s and 1930s.

The owner of the book enjoyed Winnie's bread while visiting with Mrs. Powell, and requested the recipe. This bread is not the traditional crumbly Irish soda bread, but a firmer loaf. Winnie suggests testing for doneness with a silver knife.

Chocolate Graham Toffee Fingers [printer friendly]

Makes 40 pieces

Several years ago our friend, Cynthia Broner, gave us a recipe for chocolate covered matzo. It was an instant success. We began experimenting with different kinds of chocolate—dark, milk, and white. We added coconut and chopped walnuts and pecans to this seasonal treat. We threw caution to the winds, and our adaptation morphed into an everyday treat: Chocolate Graham Toffee Fingers.

13 or 14 chocolate or plain graham crackers, each broken into 4 sections
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
8 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped or 8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
2 oz. white chocolate, melted (optional)

1. Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cover a jelly roll pan, approximately 11-inches by 17-inches by 1-inch, with foil, shiny side up, and coat with vegetable spray. Line the bottom of pan evenly with graham crackers.

2. Heat butter and brown sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture comes to a boil. Cook 3 more minutes, stirring constantly.

3. Pour butter mixture over graham crackers in jelly roll pan, spreading evenly with an offset spatula. Place pan in oven and bake 7 to 8 minutes, or until surface is bubbling and golden brown. Check every few minutes to make sure mixture is not burning or browning too quickly.

4. Remove pan from oven and place on rack. Sprinkle chocolate across top, let sit 5 minutes, and then spread melted chocolate with an offset spatula. Sprinkle toasted nuts across top. Drizzle white chocolate from a pastry bag over the surface. Cut into sections while still slightly warm, following the outline of the crackers. Chill in the refrigerator until set. Store between sheets of wax paper in a covered tin in refrigerator.

This manuscript cookbook contained the recipe for Canadian Fruitcake. The book dates from the 1940s. It is from England and is inscribed "With Love and All Good Wishes for Christmas and New Year, from Rosamond" Many of the recipes address the need for rationing of ingredients and substitutions during WWII. We found baking the Canadian Fruitcake a challenge because many of the ingredients were in pounds and ounces.

After several attempts, we were able to produce a respectable sweet which should be served in thin slices. This manuscript cookbook was found in a bookshop in the northeastern part of the United States. It contains handwritten living recipes for Scones, Brandy Snaps, Shortbread, Christmas Pudding, and an Almond Tart from the BBC.

This is a photo of All About Home Baking, our mother, Dorothy Katziff Brass' first cookbook. She jotted recipes on the inside cover and front pages of the book, many of which are in Heirloom Baking.

Sheila collects copies of this cookbook for sentimental reasons, when she finds them. All About Home Baking is from the 1930s.

Holiday Apple Custard Pie [printer friendly]

Makes 12 Slices

We found this recipe written on the back of a private outpatient admitting notification form from Salem Hospital. The recipe was credited to someone named S. Lake. Although it was titled German Apple Pie, we found similar recipes for Swiss Apple Pie and French Apple Pie. We decided to refer to it as Holiday Apple Pie because it’s not only simple to make and bakes in less than an hour, but it also presents well. No holiday is complete without a good apple pie.

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
4 medium apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thin wedges (enough for two layers)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small dice

1. Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 450°F.

2. Arrange approximately half of apple slices on bottom of pie crust in an overlapping pattern. Sift together sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Sprinkle half of cinnamon sugar over apples.

3. Pour heavy cream into 2-cup glass measuring cup. Add eggs and vanilla and beat with a fork or small whisk to combine. Pour half of egg mixture over top of pie. Layer remaining apples in pie and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar. Pour remaining cream mixture over top of pie. Dot with butter.

4. Bake 10 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 350°F, and bake 45 minutes more, or until filling bubbles rapidly and edges of crust are nicely browned. Check pie during baking; if crust is browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil. Cool pie on rack at least 2 hours before serving. This pie is best served the day it is baked. Store covered with paper towels and plastic wrap in the refrigerator.

Sanding sugar can be found on the shelves of your local supermarket as
decorating sugar or sparkling sugar.  Sanding sugar comes in two textures,
fine and coarse.  It is often colored red, orange, green or other colors and
used for decorating cookies and cakes.  We sometimes call for coarse, colorless
sanding sugar in the recipes in Heirloom Baking.

Note: Please change the amount of butter for Mrs. Marasi's Butterballs, on page 252, to 1 cup of butter, not 2 cups of butter.

This is the first discrepancy noted in Heirloom Baking. We want you to be sure to know about it.  Sorry for any inconvenience.

Marilynn and Sheila