Kolachies with Grandma

Ok, if anyone knows the Hambys well, you understand their love of the kolachie. I mean....L O V E. Some of us don't really care for them, but most of the time, when a new spouse comes into the family, or child, they love them and understand they are a rare item to see on the counter top at Grandma Linda's kitchen. Usually the new ones will grab one right out of the oven, only to burn their tongue on it's hot, PIPING hot, apricot filling. Some have tactics. One brother in law, to remain nameless, said, that he grabbed one when they came out of the oven and no one was around to see, so he slowly savored it. Then when the feeding frenzy began, he was in the kitchen grabbing three more, only he had already had one! This is how much the Hambys love themselves some kolachies. Traditional kolachies look like sugar cookies with a dollop of raspberry jam in the middle. These are much different. They are little flaky pastries with a apricot filling in the middle. The obsession with them? They take awhile to make the dough and then it has to sit overnight. Then you have to roll out the dough, divide evenly, and then you get the idea....lots and lots of work. My husband is lucky to get them on his birthday. I am pretty sure I could have whatever I want if I were to make these for him...but I don't even like them myself, so I don't. Here are some pictures I took at Thanksgiving time with Grandma showing yet another granddaughter how to make the kolachies. So cute.

I also forgot that this was the time that Allison had fallen, so look at her poor eye :(

Drooling yet?

What a great memory these photos will be later on for Allison. I am so happy to have them.
I will post a picture of a cooked one soon....

Good night all,

Doughnuts

Doughnuts. Some are airy, some are caky, some are filled, and some are sprinkled. I love doughnuts any way. So, while looking through a cookbook I acquired after my mom passed away, I was happy to give these yummy treats a try. Seems like fall is the time to cook up your own doughnuts! This cookbook is copyrighted 1950. Much older than I am. It is old and tattered. Allison wants to play with it, but no way on this one! Whenever I cook with a cookbook, I usually give her one of my Everyday Food "cookbooks" to play with while I am using the real one! I love this cookbook because it has different things in it. I actually tells you how to be a good hostess, what to keep in your "traditional" kitchen and other cute tid bits that make me smile. I also appreciate it because it has my mom's handwritten recipes on the inside cover.

So, I attached my kitchen aid mixer with the attachment and got my ingredients together.

Here is the recipe:

Beat well 4 egg yolks (or 2 whole eggs). Beat in 1 cup of sugar and 2 tbsp shortening. Stir in 3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk. Sift together and stir in: 3 1/2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cinnamon.

Chill the dough for 2 hours. Heat up your oil while rolling the doughnuts. You need to have your oil at 390 the whole time you are frying them. Fry until brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Serve plain, sugared or glazed.



Here Tyler is helping, because he wanted to eat them!

He helped a lot! If you are doing it alone, have everything prepared before hand. It was much easier once he smelled them cooking and ran in to help me flip them! We used a powdered sugar glaze and didn't really care for it. I had some leftover chocolate frosting that I had made last week, and heated it up and dipped them in that! OH BOY was that crazy good! These doughnuts are a caky kind, so we found that they get too greasy in certain glazes. It was a lot of fun! I had never made doughnuts before. Enjoy!

Here they are! Cinnamon Sugar, Chocolate and Powdered Sugar.



Coffee-glazed oven brisket

Got a great new recipe! Everyone knows how much I love coffee, so how could I resist a coffee glazed brisket? I couldn't! Really easy, yummy...it was a winner. Everyone loved it. I actually couldn't find brisket on my weekly shopping trip to Fry's, so I just got another roast that was similar.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Season 3 pounds of beef brisket (thin first cut) with salt and pepper. In a large dutch oven over high heat, warm two tablespoons of canola oil. Add the brisket, fat side down, and cook until well browned, 4 to 5 minutes each side. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup freshly brewed black coffee, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup chili sauce, 1/2 cup honey, 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1 minced garlic clove, and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Pour over brisket. Cover; Bake, flipping halfway through, until meat shreds easily with a fork, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove from over: slice on the bias against the grain. Transfer remaining sauce from dutch oven to a gravy boat, or I just poured it over the sliced meat. Enjoy!!