Butter mints magic

The holy grail of butter mints

Betty McEachin's butter mints were legendary growing up. Our grandmother savored them and only spare us a taste. They were cool and buttery and melt-your-mouth magical.

For as long as I remember, we were told that the recipe was a family secret. I made butter mints growing up using a recipe from American Girl magazine. I'd dye the dough and sculpt snowmen, Santas, and the North Polar Bear. My creations may have measured up in creativity and design, but they didn't compare to Betty McEachin's in taste. When Mom suggested I make mints for the wedding preception, Grandmom said that she thought she could get Betty McEachin's recipe, and procure it, she did. She passed it along saying, "The real trick, as I'm sure Betsy knows, is a cold marble slab."

The American Girl recipe that got me started. It's a completely different technique than pulled butter mints.

I had no idea that a marble slab was required or even suggested and didn't own one. Marble slab made me think of the ice cream chain, not mints. Buying one ended up being the longest step in the process. We waited for the family store to get them in, but they kept being delayed. I considered calling up a contractor to see if they had any odd-sized pieces. In the end, I went the easy route and ordered online.

Leading up to the preception, I finally got my marble slab and made a practice run. They stuck all over my hands! I quickly discovered that the directions weren't joking when it said to butter your hands. I was apprehensive that I'd somehow pull them too much, so they ended up softening and not holding their shape after I cut them. Delicious nevertheless. Traveling with the mints didn't make much sense, so I planned to make some once I was in state for the preception.

A couple of evenings before the preception, I boiled up more butter, sugar, and water and began pulling and pulling the mints. Like before, the mixture stuck all over my hands. I wanted the mints to hold their shape this time, so I pulled and pulled. The mixture kept sticking everywhere, and then, suddenly it turned to sandy crumbs.

Huh? I was startled. Had I pulled it too hard? Was it something I said? I stuck the sugar crumbs back into the pot and added more water and boiled it back to a syrup again. This time, I didn't pull quite as long and began snipping off pieces before it turned too sandy. Once again, the mints didn't hold their shape, but they did soften and melted in our mouths. After a bit of research, I discovered that the problem was likely the humidity. It had poured that afternoon, and rainy days are suboptimal for candy making.

Last weekend, we had a master class with Betty McEachin. We learned not to stir the pot as the contents boil and that peppermint oil is the way to go. And we pulled and we pulled and we pulled.

Pouring the boiling syrup onto the marble slab.

Ingredients
3 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups water
3 Tbsp margarine*
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp oil of peppermint*
* Betty said that it's probably fine to do 100% butter instead of 50/50 butter/margarine, but to use oil of peppermint rather than extract. She often finds oil of peppermint at drug stores.

1. Combine all of the ingredients except the oil of peppermint in a pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, and let it boil without stirring until mixture reaches 260-265 degrees F. This is hard ball stage. You can confirm the consistency by putting a bit on a spoon and then sticking it into a bowl of water.
2. While waiting for the mixture to reach temperature, liberally butter your marble slab. If it's a hot day, you should have already cooled down your marble slab by places ice cubes on it to chill the marble and then wiping it dry. If it's winter and cold out, no need to chill your marble beforehand.
3. When the mixture reaches 260-265, turn off the heat and pour the syrup over the marble, being sure to spread it over the surface.
4. Dab the peppermint across the surface of the syrup.
5. Butter your hands. Stretch the edges out to increase the surface area and allow the mixture to cool faster. As the edges cool, fold them back over the mixture and pull out areas that haven't yet cooled.
6. Once it has cooled enough to handle, start pulling. A single twist per each pull in order to create the ridges. See video for what it looks like.
7. Keep pulling until it begins to get hard. Then, lay your cord out on wax paper and begin cutting with kitchen shears. The cord should be ~1 inch thick and you should aim to cut the mint pieces ~1/4 inch thick. (I had always imagined that it was the reverse.) Do not let the cut mints touch on the wax paper once they're cut. Otherwise, they'll stick together.
8. Pack in airtight container with wax paper between the layers. Again, spread the mints out so that they don't touch.
9. It will take a day or so for the mints to cream, though no one will blame you if you go ahead and try one or three while they're still in their taffy state. ;)

Tips

• Too hard means that the mints were overcooked. Sandy means that the mints were under cooked.
• Do not stir the boiling mixture. Don't do it. I know you'll want to fuss over it.
• You can stir in food coloring right before pouring onto the marble if you like.
• Keep mints at room temperature. Can freeze in an airtight container. Let warm up to room temperature before giving away.
• You can't compete with the master who has been making these for decades. Her touch will always be the epitome of butter mints.

Packing the cut mints away, and maybe snitching a couple tastes, too.

And so the year goes...

2015 was a busy year. We moved, started new jobs, and cooked a lot, but we didn't write much. Well, one of us wrote quite a bit, but it wasn't food related.

We ate our hoppin' john and collards earlier today. Then celebrated with doughnuts, eggnog, bananagrams, and laundry. In recent years, our family has been scattered on New Year's Eve or on the road. New Year's food traditions fell by the wayside. I can't remember the last time that I had eggnog. I'm pretty sure that the last time we made it, I was too young to help with the cooking. (It's non-alcoholic, so that was never a concern.)

Our recipe comes from Barb. She and Mel were neighbors in all senses of the word, to the point they count as family. As mom said earlier today, if either of us ever get married, we have to invite Mel and Barb. Here's the recipe in Barb's handwriting:

Preparation notes: it's really sweet. I'd cut the sugar a bit. Even if not serving with doughnuts.

Here's to 2016 and the delicious food to come! As far as blogging goes, we'll see...

Christmas Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Grandmom decided to go with a cinnamon coffee cake this year. No doubt delicious, but not Christmas for me the way her cream cheese coffee cake is. I took down mom and dad's recipes cards and sorted through until I found the directions, then set to work. Christmas was coming after all.

Notes:

1. I missed that on the top line it says that it makes two. Whoops. Thankfully, Sarah found that.
2. Grandmom rolls out the dough, but patting it out in the foil worked fine. Plus, it saves you on dishes.
3. Bake uncovered. I baked it covered for the 25 minutes, but it didn't brown at all. It turned out fine baking another 10 minutes unwrapped and cranking the temp up to 375 for the last couple of minutes, but it will save you a bit if you bake it uncovered from the beginning. (Most importantly, it means that you'll be disturbed from your Christmas eve nap less frequently.)

The next generation of holiday foods

"Nana, what's this?"

The funny looking tool must have hung on the wall next to the stove since before I was born. But I don't think I noticed it until I was in college.

Can we agree that it's funny looking?

It's a dougnut cutter.

It is genius. I'm not sure how the fancy cooking gadgetry shops aren't selling these en masse throughout the holiday season. (I found one British site that has something, but it's missing the hole.)

1) It's a super-fun tool.
2) But it is mostly single use.
3) That would pair well with specialty sugars and glaze mixes and decorating supplies and whatever the hot doughnut cookbook is that season. (Actually, edit, is there a hot doughnut cookbook? Liz, we could propose a cookbook! That sounds like a great post-graduation career plan, right? ... Scopes out the competition. Top Pot published something three years ago. Maybe I'll stick with Plan A after all.)

Anyway.

The photos aren't date-stamped, but we think we made doughnuts with Nana the last Christmas in the house.

Elizabeth and I agreed then that we'd probably argue over who got the doughnut cutter when we divided the kitchen. Especially since I haven't had much success finding a similar cutter. Even in the internet age. Refer to my tangent.

This fall we sat on the apartment floor sorting. You take the cookie sheets. I get the silverware. Do either of us have space for the stand mixer? These baby pie plates are so cute!

We stared at each other when this came up. And then mom swooped in and claimed it.

Which obviously means that this was the Christmas for making doughnuts at mom's house. We pulled out the community cookbook, decided that 4.5 cups of flour was probably more than we needed and scaled down.


 


Doughnuts (makes not quite a dozen)
1/2 cup milk
4 teaspoons shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 packet yeast
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
dash nutmeg
1.5 - 2.5 cups flour, divided
Lots of oil for frying
Powdered sugar + spices for dusting

Scald the milk. Add the shortening and salt.
When it's cool enough, add the yeast and a cup of flour. Mix well. Then let the dough proof for 15 minutes "until full of bubbles."
Meanwhile mix the egg, sugar, and nutmeg. When the dough is ready, add the egg mixture and another half cup flour. Add flour by the half cup until it's kneadable. Then knead.
Let the dough rise for about an hour.
Turn out on a lightly floured board and roll. The recipe says 3/4 inch thick, but since we were making a third of the recipe we were closer to 1/4 inch thick.
(No, that wasn't the actual logic. Yes, that was the actual measurements.)
Cover with cloth and let rise "until top is springy to touch of finger."
Heat oil to 350-375ºF. (Our stove was finicky, so we kept turning the heat on and off to maintain the right temperature when we were frying. The candy thermometer was critical for this.)
Drop a doughnut into the hot fat with the raised side down. This lets the top side rise while the other side cooks. Fry for about a minute. Flip. Fry other side for a minute. Transfer to a paper towel to drain.
To dust with powdered sugar, put the sugar in a small paper bag. Put in 3 doughnuts at a time to shake, shake, shake.

~~~
Other cooking this holiday season:

Cheese straws and lady fingers a la Grandma Gerri

Chocolate Orange Peels. This year mostly following this post. Hot tip was to blanch the peels when they're in large sections and then cut into small strips before the candying process. Other experiment, when I ran out of chocolate chips, I tossed the rest in cocoa powder (this year was super sticky). Chocolate is better.

And I didn't cook them, but did get the recipe for Grandmom's Sausage Balls.

Our Biscuit Counting Family

Cousin: "What brings you to town?"

Mom: "Oh, Betsy was in the state, so we needed to visit Grandmom."

It seems that I have reached the age where I return home with decreasing frequency. Although I'm here for much of the summer, that isn't likely to happen again. Thus, my return is enough of an event to require a visit.

Although I almost always visit Grandmom when I'm home, I hadn't helped her cook in awhile. Often, I'm only there briefly, so dinner has already been made or in the middle of preparation by the time that I arrive. However, this time dinner wasn't until the second day of my visit, so I had all afternoon to help. And of course, I was most eager to bake biscuits.

If you are not related to me, these might not be exactly the biscuits you are used to--they're not Bojangles at any rate. But if you are related to me, then you always know exactly how many biscuits you and each of your cousins have eaten and agree that the only biscuits that can beat Grandmom's are Aunt Nancy's.

Grandmom's Biscuits:

2 cups sifted, self-rising flour (Red Band is best, but Adluh will work)

5 "soup-spoonfuls" of shortening (6ish Tablespoons?)

3/4 cup buttermilk

Blend the flour and shortening together with a pastry cutter. Then, stir the buttermilk into the mix. If needed, add a bit more flour to bring the dough together and keep it from sticking.

Light pass the dough back and forth between your hands to bring it together. Remember that you want the dough light, so don't knead it too much. Roll out the dough without pressing down to a bit thicker than a quarter inch. There should be more shearing action than pushing flat.

Cut out rounds, and place close together on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until done.

Condiments

I believe that what you wear should tell a story. Right now I'm wearing a tank top and a skirt. It's my first real tank top, bought at the mall around with my friend Allison. Skirt, one I made from a favored pattern. Even though it's the wrong type of fabric for the pattern, I knew I wanted to make it work.

I like what's dressing up my food to have a story too. The best stories come when you make it yourself. If food is your clothing, then condiments are the jewelry, adding the sparkle that sets everything off. I haven't tried ketchup--it requires more tomatoes and canning than I have, but I'll venture into other condiments.

Today I made mayonnaise for the first time. The process of making it accentuates how it is FAT. All the more reason to only have a small amount at a time. I think the recipe below makes about a cup of mayo, but I'm not certain. At one point when the blender didn't look like anything was happening I took a step over to the sink to rinse something. Mayo explosion! Be warned.

Mayonnaise in my Blender

(adapted from More With Less)

Whirl in blender:

1 egg

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Add 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Now for the FAT!

Start your blender. Carefully remove cover (or just cap if you can pour in) and SLOWLY pour in

1/4 cup of oil. (I used olive oil.)

Then add 1 Tablespoon vinegar. (I used white vinegar.)

Finally, and still slowly, add another 3/4 cup of oil.

Nana's Mustard

I haven't made this in the new apartment yet, but it's only a matter of time. It's great sweet-sour, spicy mustardy deliciousness.

Mix: 1/4 c. ground mustard
1/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
Dash of salt

Heat to boiling: About 1/3 c. brown vinegar

Stir in enough vinegar into dry ingredients to right consistency.

Add: 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric

Let season one day to develop flavor.

Note: Turmeric is a strong yellow dye, so be careful about getting it on your clothes.

Found Them!

I found Grandma Gerri's recipe cards! We need to send her goodies next Christmas. Or  this summer.

Ladyfingers

3/4 cup Margarine

4 Tablespoons confectioners sugar

2 cups self-rising flour

3 Tablespoons cold water

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup nuts

Mix together. Grease pan. Bake at 250º-350º. Roll in confectioners sugar

Cheese Krispies (4-5 dozen)

2 sticks oleo

1 package (8 oz.) Cracker Barrel sharp cheese, grated

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper

2 cups plain flour

2 cups Rice Krispies (not used by Gmom)

Mix well and fold in Rice Krispies. Pinch off a teaspoons worth at the time and mash with fork. Bake at 350º for 10 minutes.

Pecan Pound Cake (3 loaf pans)

5 cups of pecans (chopped)

1 pound margarine (Walmart) softened

3 cups sugar

4 cups plain flour; sifted

1/2 cup self-rising flour; sifted

eggs (8 medium/ 7 large) 3/4 cup, rest of 2 cups milk

1 Tablespoon vanilla

Cream together margarine and vanilla. Add ~1/3 of the flour. Add cup of eggs and milk and beat. Add another third of the flour. Add the last cup of eggs and milk. Add the final third of flour. Fold the nuts in. Grease and flour pan. Bake at 300º for approximately 90 minutes. When it pulls from the side of the pan, then it's done.

Pecan Pie

Recipe pastry

2 eggs beaten

1 cup dark Karo syrup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons melted margarine

1 cup pecans (whole)

Roll pastry, line pan.

Mix eggs, syrup, salt, sugar, vanilla, butter, etc. together. Fold pecans in last.

Bake in 400º oven for 15 minutes. Reduce to 350º and bake 30-35 minutes longer.

Happy cooking!