Prancer.
December 8.
that shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly


Grandmother Recipes!
from the forebears of Tenshi & llamajoy, passed down through generations


Granny Hundley's Seafoam Candy
(At every huge Tenshi-family Christmas gathering, the cold back room would be filled with every kind of homemade candy imaginable.
Granny Hundley is in no condition to make candy anymore these days, so that's why I wanted to share this recipe, so that you can make some and pass it along.)

Ingredients:
2 egg whites
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

In the small bowl of an electric mixer, let egg whites warm to room temperature, about 1 hour. In heavy two-quart saucepan, combine both kinds of sugar, corn syrup, vinegar and water.

Cook, stirring with wooden spoon, over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking over low heat without stirring, to 255F (on a candy thermometer), or until a little syrup in cold water forms a hard ball. Set aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, at high speed, beat egg whites with salt until stiff peaks form when beaters are slowly raised. When thermometer goes down to 250F, gradually pour hot syrup in a thin sream over egg whites, beating constantly at high speed. Continue beating until mixture is stiff enough to hold its shape when beaters are raised.

With wooden spoon, beat in vanilla. Drop by rounded teaspoonfulls, 2.5 inches apart, onto a tray lined with waxed paper, swirling each candy into a peak. Let dry at room temperature. Makes one pound.

If you want to store it, do so at room temperature in a covered container. Will keep several weeks.




Grammy Baird's Sweet Potato Casserole
(I always hated it when mom would make this for Tenshi-family gatherings,
because none of it ever made it back home.)

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 well-beaten eggs
1/3 cup milk

1 cup packed brown sugar
5 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

Combine the sweet potatoes, butter, vanilla, sugar, eggs and milk; mix well. Spoon into lightly buttered two quart casserole dish.

Mix all topping ingredients (brown sugar, butter, flour, nuts) and sprinkle on casserole.

Bake uncovered at 350F for 30 minutes. Serves eight.




Great-Grandma Feighner's Freezer Salad
(A staple at every holiday meal in the llamajoy family.
Anecdotally, I'm pretty sure Grandma herself got the recipe out of a magazine.)

Ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons butter

32 large marshmallows

1/2 pint whipping cream
1 regular sized can fruit cocktail

Directions:

In a double boiler, cook the eggs, sugar, vinegar & butter until the mixture thickens. Then add the marshmallows.

When cool, add the whipping cream, and the fruit cocktail (with juice!). Freeze in 8"x8" pan, serve frozen.




Great-great-grandmother Frost's White Cookies
(They just don't make them like this anymore.
Baby llamajoy loved to frost these guys in fun patterns.)

Cookie Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup softened margarine
1 cup sour milk (1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup milk)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 cups flour

Icing Ingredients:
10x powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
milk
food coloring of choice

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Put in fridge to stiffen the dough; it's easier to roll it cold, without adding too much flour. Roll flat and cut out cookies with the cookie cutter shapes of your choice.

Bake at 350F for just enough time for the cookies to go brown on the bottom, anywhere from 8 - 15 minutes depending on the thickness of your cookies and the temperature of your oven.

For the icing, and I quote: "mix until the consistency is right," adding more milk or more sugar until the frosting is just smooth enough to spread over the cookies. Decorate as you like, the more the merrier.


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