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By MARY THERESE BIEBEL; Times Leader Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 15, 1998 Page: 1B
When the telephone rang, Eleanore Larson was baking.
No problem there. The Newport Township woman simply grabbed the phone with
her clean hand and started talking recipes.
The caller was looking for directions for a few good cookies. And, since
Larson had baked dozens for the Newport Township VFW Auxiliary Christmas
party, it was likely she’d have some instructions to share.
“I’ll just wash my hands,” Larson said. “And read it to you.”
One recipe led to another. By the time the conversation ended, Larson had
shared her time-honored formulas for the quick and easy No-Bake Date and
Coconut Balls, Blanket Cookies that can be filled with apricots or nuts, and
even her sister-in-law Tina’s recipe for bar cookies called Chinese Chews.
Then a quick call to Ruthmary Newell of Laflin, a winner in last year’s
Times Leader Cookie Contest, revealed her family recipe for Tetian Flats, or
Welsh Cookies- a not-too-sweet treat fried in the griddle. Look for her recipe
at the end of the accompanying story.
And Joy Wickard of Sweet Valley took time from helping to bake 124 dozen
cookies for a fire company auxiliary fund-raiser- “We’re all going to be
baking our heads off,” she said- to share a butter cookie recipe passed down
from her aunt, Emma Ide.
Asked for advice to novice bakers, these experts suggest mixing the
ingredients for roll-out cookies in advance and refrigerating the dough so it
will be easier to work. Another tip: Keep an eye on Aunt Emma’s Butter Cookies
while they’re in the oven, Wickard said, because “one minute they’re all right
and the next thing you know they’re brown.”
Happy baking.
AUNT EMMA’S
BUTTER COOKIES
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons heavy cream or evaporated milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Mix all ingredients and chill for a few hours. Roll dough to 1/4-inch
thickness or less. Cut with cookie cutters dipped in flour. Decorate as
desired with sugar, nuts or raisins. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 6 to 8
minutes, until brown around the edges.
NO-BAKE DATE
AND COCONUT BALLS
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup butter
1/2 pound chopped dates
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 cups Rice Krispies shredded coconut
In saucepan mix together egg, butter, dates, pecans, vanilla and sugar.
Boil for one minute and remove from heat. Stir in Rice Krispies. Let stand
until cool enough to handle. Form into balls and roll in coconut.
CHINESE CHEWS
1/2 pound oleo
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
10 ounces dates, chopped
2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped
Mix together all ingredients. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees on
well-greased and floured cookie sheet. Cut into squares and roll in powdered
sugar while still warm. These cookies store very well.
BLANKET COOKIES
1 pound oleo
16 ounces of cream cheese
6 cups of flour powdered sugar
Cream together first three ingredients and refrigerate overnight. Roll out
in powdered sugar. Cut in squares- approximately two inches on each side- with
pastry wheel. Add a half teaspoonful of either nut or apricot filling (recipes
below) to each square and fold inside, creating a triangular shape. Pinch the
dough closed with a finger that has been dipped in beaten egg. Bake 15-20
minutes in a 350 degree oven on cookie sheets that have been covered with
parchment paper or lightly coated with vegetable oil spray.
NUT FILLING
1 pound ground walnuts
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dissolve sugar into warm milk. Add vanilla and ground walnuts, stirring
slowly until thoroughly blended.
APRICOT FILLING
1 pound dried apricots
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
Boil apricots and sugar together in water until mixtu
