December 19, 2007
Edited Archival Version
Welcome
Hi Everybody,Merry Christmas!
Yes, it's Christmas time once again, and the end of another year. Is it just my getting older, or has this year gone by fast?
It seems like only yesterday that it was the beginning of the fall season, and now here we are in the firm grasp of winter. In the Peterborough area, there's at least a foot of snow on the ground and more promised. It's certain to be a white Christmas this year.
Vicki and I put up our outdoor Christmas lights last Saturday, then we decided to flop back in the snow and make some snow angels before we got too old to do it. What old-time fun we had. Later, we warmed ourselves with steaming cups of hot chocolate.
I pray you enjoy a fun-filled Christmas with your family and friends this year. And may 2008 prove to be happy, healthy and prosperous.
Thank you for visiting my site. I hope to make it even more interesting for you to visit in the new year.
Till next time,
Don
P.S.- Here's...
A Christmas Present Especially For You!
As my way of saying Thank You for being a valued subscriber to my newsletter, please accept a copy of this special Christmas ebook.Make a cup of hot chocolate, pull your chair a wee bit closer, and enjoy reading the "Vintage Christmas Countdown" on your computer screen, or you might even want to print it out.
PC users, simply right click to download; MAC users, control click to download the following PDF file:
Sorry: This special link was only for ezine subscribers.
The PDF ebook file might take a minute or two to download onto your computer.
(My thanks to author Sharlee Plett and publisher 24kVintageArt.com for making this delightful ebook possible.)
A Very Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!
Website Updates
Welcome to this month's updates:I am pleased to announce several new Christmas dessert recipe pages this month. These old-fashioned recipes for Christmas will come in handy for your holiday baking.
Try an old-time Christmas fruit cake recipe. Your family will love the taste of these traditional Christmas cakes:
Visit the Christmas Fruit Cake Recipes page.
For those who prefer a lighter Christmas cake, check this recipe out:
Visit the Light Christmas Cake Recipe page.
Homemade candy is another great tradition at Christmas time. Be sure to check out these old-fashioned recipes for peppermint candy, and also the historic homemade candy cane recipe:
Visit the Peppermint Christmas Candy Recipes page.
And, here's some more old-fashioned candy recipes for making Christmas treats:
Visit the Christmas Candy Recipes page.
See also the Christmas Fudge Recipes and the new page on Making Christmas Crafts.
And More New Pages To Come
See the next edition for more new recipe pages.Old Fashioned Recipe
What's an old-fashioned Christmas without gingerbread? My Grandma and Mom always made gingerbread at Christmas. Sometimes, Mom and I made a traditional gingerbread house using the hard gingerbread and decorated it with colored icing.Christmas Gingerbread Recipes
These old-fashioned gingerbread recipes are taken from “The White House Cook Book” by Hugo Ziemann, Steward of the White House, and Mrs. F. L. Gillette, a celebrated 19th-century cookbook author, published by The Saalfield Publishing Company, New York, in 1913.Since these gingerbreads were once served to presidents at the White House, they must be good tasting!
Soft Gingerbread Cake
Stir to a cream one cupful of butter and half a cupful of brown sugar; add to this two cupfuls of cooking molasses, a cupful of sweet milk, a tablespoonful of ginger, a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon; beat all thoroughly together, then add three eggs, the whites and yolks beaten separately; beat into this two cups of sifted flour, then a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a spoonful of water and last, two more cupfuls of sifted flour.
Butter and paper two common square bread pans, divide the mixture and pour half into each. Bake in a moderate oven (250°F). This cake requires long and slow baking, from forty to sixty minutes. I find that if sour milk is used the cakes are much lighter, but either sweet or sour is most excellent.
Hard Gingerbread
Made the same as "Soft Gingerbread," omitting the eggs and mixing hard enough to roll out like biscuit; rolled nearly half an inch thick and cut out like small biscuits, or it can be baked in a sheet or on a biscuit tin. When baked and while hot, rub over the top with molasses and let it dry on.
These two (above) recipes are the best I have ever found among a large variety that I have tried, the ingredients giving the best proportion for flavor and excellence. --F. L. Gillette
Plain Gingerbread
One cup of dark cooking molasses, one cup of sour cream, one egg, one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little warm water, a teaspoonful of salt, and one heaping teaspoonful of ginger; make about as thick as cup cake and bake. To be eaten warm.
Also...
See the Renaissance Dessert Recipes section on my website for an original, historic gingerbread recipe that makes the type of gingerbread that Queen Elizabeth I once enjoyed at Christmas time.
More Old-Fashioned Dessert Recipes
You will find more old-fashioned recipes published in past issues of the Easy Dessert Recipes Ezine.Here you can access Old Fashioned Recipes from past issues.
Featured Resource
Old-Time Country Store
Take a peek at the NEW items featured in Grandma's Old-Time Country Store.Visit Grandma's Old-Time Country Store page.
Start Your Own Website In 2008
Here is a special offer to check out...If you are interested in having your own web site for fun or profit, I have found the perfect solution...
Thought For The Day
"I hate to eat and eat and eat and run!"--Neila Ross
Copyright © 2007 by Donald R. Bell
All rights reserved worldwide.