Mother's Recipes

Grandaddy's Favorite Walnut Bars

Mother found this recipe in Ladies Home Journal in 1953. Of all the treats she baked during the holidays this was Grandaddy's favorite. Once you try it you'll fall in love, too.

Walnut Bars

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon Spice Islands® pure vanilla extract
• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 
  FILLING:
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon Spice Islands® pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts
• 
  CITRUS GLAZE:
• 1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice

Directions

• In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
• Press onto the bottom of a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
• For filling, in a small bowl, combine the eggs, brown sugar, flour, vanilla, salt and baking powder. Stir in walnuts. Spread over crust.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until filling is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
• Combine confectioners' sugar and enough orange juice to achieve desired consistency; spread over filling. Let stand until set before cutting. Yield: 2-1/2 dozen.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 each) equals 165 calories, 7 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 29 mg cholesterol, 127 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 3 g protein. 

Mother's Spritz Cookies

I'm not sure how a "swedish" cookie became Mother's standard Christmas cookie but it was. My earliest memories of these wonderful, decorated, bites of buttery sweetness...

We were required to eat some kind of breakfast before playing with our Christmas presents but being kids, we were too excited to eat much, if anything. As a result, we were starving before dinner was ready and not allowed to eat anything else we would spoil our appetites. Grandaddy wasn't held to the same rules so he would fill his pockets with spritz cookies and sneak them to us without our parents knowledge (they later admitted they knew what he was up to but didn't have the heart to put a stop to our sneakiness).

If you don't like almond flavoring you can use vanilla only, but Mother used both.  Get lots of different colored sugars and sprinkles for the kids to decorate with and be prepared to make two batches, they are favorites of just about everybody and sure to become a family tradition. Remember the little silver balls? They don't pair well with crowns - just an FYI... 

Swedish Spritz Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon Spice Islands® pure vanilla extract
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Frosting

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine the flour and baking powder; gradually add to the creamed mixture.
• Using a cookie press fitted with disk of your choice, press dough into desired shapes 1 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Decorate with colored sugars and sprinkles. Bake at 375° for 10-11 minutes or until edges are firm and lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.  Yield: 5 dozen.

Nutritional Analysis: 2 cookies equals 108 calories, 6 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 23 mg cholesterol, 77 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 g protein.