The holidays are rapidly approaching so please check your files. If you're missing a favorite recipe please send in your request as soon as possible.
Perseverance pays off. Sometime ago, Ruth B. Mires, of Georgetown, Del., asked us to find her a recipe for Eccles Cake. She wrote that she had enjoyed the cakes while in England. We found this recipe in "Muffins and Quick Breads" by Irena Chalmers; Longmeadow Press -- 1989, $4.50.
This recipe makes ten cakes.
Eccles Cakes
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup currants or raisins
1 tablespoon chopped candied ginger
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
6 tablespoons butter, chilled
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3 to 4 tablespoons cold water
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons cold milk
Combine the butter, sugar, currants, ginger, lemon rind, allspice and nutmeg in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, salt and sugar. With your fingertips, work in the butter and vegetable shortening until they are the size of peas. Add the water and toss until the dough holds together. Shape the dough into a disk and chill for one hour before using.
Heat the oven to 475 degrees.
Roll the dough out on a floured work surface into a sheet one-quarter-inch thick. Cut out ten three-inch rounds with a biscuit cutter or a glass dipped in flour. Gather the scraps, dusting off any excess flour and reroll as necessary to make the full number of rounds.
Put a tablespoon of the currant mixture in the center of each pastry round. Draw up the edges and pinch them together to seal the pastry. Place the cakes seam side down on a baking sheet.
Make a glaze by beating the egg yolk with the milk in a small bowl and brush it lightly over the rounds. Cut a cross on the top of each and bake for about 15 minutes until the pastry is golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Here's Hutzler's celery seed dressing for H.W. Sheppard of Baltimore. This is a copy of the actual Hutzler's recipe.
Celery Seed Dressing
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons dry mustard
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 onion, grated
1/2 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons celery seed
2 cups oil
Mix all dry ingredients and combine with the oil and vinegar.
Here are some flavored butters for Jennie von Briesen, of Baltimore. The recipe for pumpkin butter is from Joan Demshock, of Timonium.
Pumpkin Butter
2 1/2 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup apple cider or orange juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer, uncovered ten minutes or until mixture thickens. Cover and chill. Makes three cups.
This peach butter recipe is from Margaret Smith of Dundalk.
Pacific Peach Butter
1 pound fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped OR one 12-ounce package frozen unsweetened peach slices, chopped
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
In a two-quart saucepan combine peaches and orange juice. Bring just to boiling. Reduce heat. Cover and cook peaches in juice for five to ten minutes or until soft.
Place the undrained peach mixture ina blender container or food processor bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and blend or process until the mixture is smooth. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
Apricot Butter
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup finely chopped, dried apricots
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Whip butter until fluffy; add remaining ingredients and mix well. Yields about three-quarters cup.
Recipe Requests
* Dorothy A. Hussey of Baltimore wants a recipe called Little Fellow Lemon Pies. She thinks the recipe came from a newspaper 25 to 30 years ago. The recipe included an uncooked custard baked in an uncooked pastry shell.
* Eleanor J. Zaur of Towson would like a recipe for Amish macaroni salad as served at Santoni's and some Super Fresh stores.
* Helen Berrs is looking for an applesauce/raisin cookie recipe. The recipe contains applesauce, raisins, oatmeal and spices. "These are my favorite Christmas cookies," she writes.
* Emily P. McDaniel, of Baltimore, wants recipes that use rose water. She is also curious to know if rose water can be substituted for vanilla extract.