Tag: Frosting

Banana Drop Cookies

Banana Drop Cookies

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

A Recipe from Mary Margaret McBride Encyclopedia of Cooking (1959)

About the Recipe

It was a rainy day on Long Island yesterday and that means only one thing – cookie time! As with most toddlers, Maxx is obsessed with bananas, which means we buy a lot of them. We got a huge bundle the other day and they all started to go overripe at once. I thought to myself – if any book is going to have a banana cookie recipe, it’s going to be Mary Margaret McBride.

I did the drop version of these cookies. The result is light, fluffy almost mini banana breads. I didn’t think the lemon would work, but it adds just a little bit of acid and tang and actually gives the cookie some good depth. Honestly, these are 10/10 – easy to make and absolutely delicious!

About the book

Goodness me, I love this tome of a book. I’ve never had a bad recipe out of it, and it’s just so comprehensive. For more recipes from the Mary Margaret McBride collection click here.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

2 cups sifted enriched flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (3 medium)
1/2 t lemon extract
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Confectioners’ sugar frosting

Directions:

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Cream together shortening and sugar; and eggs, beating well. Add dry ingredients alternately with mashed bananas. Add flavoring extracts and nuts and beat thoroughly.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls on greased baking sheets and bake in moderate oven (350*F) 12 to 15 minutes. While still warm, frost with thin confectioners’ sugar frosting. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Caramel Cream Sandwich Cookies

Caramel Cream Sandwich Cookies

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

A Recipe from 100 Prize-Winning Grand National Recipes from Pillsbury’s 6th Grand National $100,000 Recipe and Baking Contest (1955)

About the Recipe

I had intended to have these cookies as a fun treat with Maxx, but then everyone started trying them. And wow are they delicious. The butter cookie melts in your mouth and is complemented so perfectly by the brown butter frosting.

A few quick notes and tips on these:

  • After the initial flour amount, I added about a tablespoon at a time until I got to the dough consistency, and then I refrigerated for a solid 3 hours before actually trying to use the dough, which made it much easier to handle.
  • After the first batch of tiny, marble-shaped cookies I got a little bored and decided to make bigger ones, about the size of a cherry to start before you smoosh them. I think those worked just as well, and if you’re not sad about cutting the quantity down are certainly a way to make it go faster.
  • My oven runs a little bit cold, but I found these needed a solid 13-14 minutes in the oven, even at the smaller size.
  • Let the cookies cool before you try to frost them. This should be a given, but I tried to do some too soon and they just crumbled in my hand.

Other than that, these are perfect, just the way they are. Thanks a bunch to Helen Beckman of Mt. Vernon, Iowa for this snappy prize-winning recipe.

About the book

Out of all of my Pillsbury books, I think this might be the one I’ve cooked out of the most. There are some good, not too complicated recipes, and we haven’t yet entered the era of pre-made dough or mixes. For more Pillsbury, click the tag, or check out the Pillsbury Challenge that I did during the pandemic.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 unbeaten egg yolk
2 1/4 cups sifted flour

Browned Butter Frosting:
2 T butter or margarine
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1/2 t vanilla extract
4-5 t cream

Directions:

Cream butter or margarine. Gradually add brown sugar, creaming well. Blend in egg yolk, then add flour. Stir until mixture forms a dough. Chill if necessary for handling.

Shape into balls about the size of a marble. Place on ungreased baking sheet and flatten to a 1/8″ thickness with the palm of the hand. Mark a design by pressing with fork in one direction.

Bake in slow oven (325*F) 8-10 minutes until cookies begin to brown very lightly. Remove from sheets while warm. Place flat sides of two cookies together with frosting, sandwich-style. Cookies are also delicious plain.

Browned Butter Frosting:
Brown slightly butter or margarine in saucepan. Remove from heat and blend in confectioners’ sugar. Gradually add vanilla and cream until of spreading consistency. 

Seven Minute Frosting

Seven Minute Frosting

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 1 Comment

A Recipe from Good Housekeeping’s Christmas Cook Book (1958)

About the Recipe

This marshmallow fluff frosting is so light and delicious. I don’t do corn syrup in my house, so I substituted real maple syrup instead, and it gave it just a hint of warmth that really balanced out the rest of the sweetness. It was the perfect frosting for this Confetti Christmas Cake. Don’t let the double boiler scare you – dive in and you’ll be rewarded with a delightful addition to your next cake.

About the Cookbook

This book came in a set of Good Housekeeping booklets that I bought for myself as a housewarming present. As with the other books, it’s a great set of recipes. The mid-century modern graphics and accents are so much fun. There are some truly creative recipes in this book, and I can see putting it to good use each year during the holiday season.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 T white corn syrup
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla extract

Directions:

In double-boiler top, combine egg whites, sugar, water, corn syrup and salt. With electric mixer at high speed, beat over rapidly boiling water until mixture holds peaks – about 7 or 8 min. Turn into bowl; add vanilla; beat until mixture forms stiff peaks.