Tag Archives: pecans

Desserts and Sweets

Turtle-Shaped Chocolates

These homemade chocolate candies are modeled after DeMet’s (formerly Johnston Candy Co.) Turtles® brand chocolates, which were candies fashioned into turtle shapes by combining pecans halves, caramel, and chocolate into the appropriate shape.

Here’s a recipe to which you can apply your artistic turtle-making abilities. Good luck.

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 t vanilla
  • 6 oz. pecan halves
  • 2 bars (4 oz. each) German chocolate

Line an 8×8″ pan with foil. Butter lightly. In pot, combine all ingredients except vanilla, nuts, and chocolate. Cook, stirring with wooden spoon, over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking to firm ball stage (244ºF).

Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Turn into pan; let cool 30 minutes. With sharp knife, cut into 26 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball; place on buttered cookie sheet 1/2″ apart.

Press 5 pecan pieces into each side to form head and feet. Melt chocolate in double boiler. Spoon 1 t melted chocolate over each caramel. Refrigerate to set chocolate.

Desserts and Sweets

Mexican Wedding Cakes

Also known as Viennese crescents: delicious little nutty cookies.

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup sugar (1/2 cup with pecans)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup ground walnuts or chopped pecans
  • 1 t vanilla
  • if using pecans, 3 t water

Cream butter and sugar. Add flour, nuts, vanilla and water if pecans are used. Combine well and shape into crescents or balls. Bake on greased baking sheet for 15 to 20 minutes. Dust with icing sugar.

Desserts and Sweets

Oatmeal Cookies

This has to be a favorite in almost every family that ever made homemade cookies.

Ingredients for Oatmeal Cookies

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 T water
  • 1 cup wholewheat flour
  • 1/2 t cinnamon
  • pinch salt
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cups raisins
  • 1/2 cup broken pecans

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and water. Mix flour, cinnamon and salt. Add flour mix to butter mix. Add oats, raisins and nuts. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 F for 15 minutes or till light brown.

Desserts and Sweets

Maria Teresa’s Apple Pudding

María Teresa’s Very Special Apple Pudding from Chile

This recipe is so simple, has absolutely no flour in it (though it does have all that sugar in the sweetened condensed milk), and is scrumptious. It is one of those concoctions that you see one moment, and the next, it’s gone, it gets eaten so fast.

  • 2 lbs. of apples, peeled, cored, and halved
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
  • 2 t baking powder
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 4 egg whites beaten stiff with 2 t sugar

 

In a blender or food processor, mix the milk, apples, egg yolks, and half the nuts. When well blended, add the baking powder. Stir in the rest of the nuts by hand (to avoid grinding smaller in the blender).

Turn into a buttered, oven-proof dish. Place in a 350 F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until set.

Meanwhile, make a meringue with the egg whites and sugar. Spread on top of the pudding and return to oven until meringue is golden.

This pudding is good chilled before serving (if it lasts that long).

Note from Maria Teresa, Oct. 21, 1982

Maria Teresa's Apple PuddingIn her note, Maria Teresa states that her Apple Pudding normally serves 8 unless Juan Esteban eats the whole thing first…

Desserts and Sweets

Meatless Mincemeat

Although true mincemeat, as the name suggests, usually contains chopped beef, beef suet (fat), and at times, venison, here is a tasty meatless version that’s great as a pie filling. Red wine can be substituted for the rum, if desired, but the favor will change accordingly.

Pyes of Mutton or biefe, must be fine minced and seasoned with Pepper and salte, and a lyttle Saffron to colour it, suet or marrow a good quantytye a
lyttle vyneger, prunes, great raisings, and dates, take the fatteste of the broth of poudred biefe, and if you will have paste royall, take butter and yolkes of egges, & so temper the flower to make the Paste.

From "A Proper New Booke of Cookery," transcription of the edition in the British Library, published in 1575 by William How. Medievalcookery.com

Dried fruit and nuts

Meatless Mincement Ingredients:

  • 1 large firm, tart apple, finely chopped
  • 3/4 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
  • 1/2 cup fruit peel, chopped
  • 1/2 cup sugar, golden, packed
  • 1/4 cup butter, unsalted
  • 1/4 cup rum, dark
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon, ground
  • 3/4 t allspice, ground
  • 1/2 t nutmeg
  • 1/4 t ginger

Mix all ingredients together. Cover with a plate and let stand at room temperature up to 6 hours to meld flavors before using. Servings: Filling for 1 pie.

Vegan tweak:

Substitute coconut oil for the butter and orange juice or kombucha tea for the rum.


Desserts and Sweets

Carob Nut Balls

Variations of these healthy carob-based sweets, sometimes called Bliss Balls, Power Balls, or Energy Balls, were always on the shelf by the cash register at Annie’s Health Food Store, Grand Forks, B.C. (no longer in existence). Vary the ingredients in any way you want, as long as your proportions of dry to wet allow them to hold firm without being sticky.

Carob Nut Balls

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup carob powder
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup dry milk powder
  • 3/4 cup mixed chopped walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds
  • Unsweetened coconut

Combine all ingredients except coconut, adding enough nuts and seeds to form a mixture that will stick together. Add extra milk powder if necessary. Mix well and press into balls 1 inch in diameter. Roll in coconut or additional carob powder. Store in sealed jar.

Vegan version

For a vegan version, substitute the honey for agave syrup, maple syrup, or processed dates, omit the milk powder (or use finely ground rolled oats or oat flour instead), and add a bit of coconut oil or more peanut butter if the mixture needs more moisture.

Family, by Anna (carob nut ball recipe)
Family, by Anna