Saturday, July 11, 2015

Second-Stab Saturday: More Cake Drops!

A while ago, we at A Book of Cookrye tried out a cookie recipe that ended up more like little cakes than cookies. Far from being annoyed, we were pleased to have discovered cake drops.

Cake Drops
1 c shortening
1½ c sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp nutmeg
½ c buttermilk (or sour cream thinned with water)
½ tsp baking soda
1½ tsp baking powder
3 c flour

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating in each thoroughly. Stir in the vanilla, nutmeg, baking soda, and baking powder. When all is mixed, add the buttermilk. Lastly, mix in the flour. Chill for at least 30 minutes, preferably a few hours.
When ready to bake, heat oven to 350°. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet, leaving plenty of room for them to spread. Bake until browned at the edges, golden on top, and puffy. Ice when cooled.
To get them baked faster, bake them on sheets of greased foil. That way, you can clear the cookie sheet for the next batch without waiting for them to cool.

A Book of Selected Recipes, Mrs. George O Thurn, 1934

With the annual family reunion soon, we decided this would be a good time to bring some cake drops! Have you ever look at a bowl of cookie dough and realize you'll be spending a long time before you've managed to bake it all? At least with cakes, you just dump it in one pan and that's it.

That is part of why we decided to make big cookies. We also went with big cookies because everyone likes big cookies. Little ones are all right, but they're better for looking dainty on a platter than for eating.
The first batch of cake drops came out sad and flat. Also, you can definitely tell the cookie sheet is a wee bit bent. I can't complain because if I didn't warp this one when learning to cook, I warped the one just like it to an equally severe extent.
Do you think the cookie sheet has a slight bend to it?

We at A Book of Cookrye were helpfully informed (Thanks, Mom!) that they came out flat because we should have refrigerated the dough first. Unlike the last time we made them, it's hot out.
Success!

I wish I could show you how lovely they looked with the icing on top, but instead all I had time to do was get this picture of how well they went over:
Sharp-eyed people will notice the remnants of a pink polka-dotted icing job.

I think this recipe's worth repeating.

4 comments:

  1. You made Amish church cookies!

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    Replies
    1. Are they really? That's so cool!

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    2. Totally! Very similar to my grandma' s recipe. Pink icing is extra fancy. They are church cookies because you slip them to the little kids during the ridiculously long church service.

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    3. You got cookies? All we got was a baggie of Cheerios! (Also, it's an honor to have inadvertently nearly made your grandma's cookie recipe!)

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