Tag Archives: country cooking

Country Recipe: Kefflins (Butter/Almond Cookies)

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(From Vinnie Ann “AJ” Jackson)

My mama (Vinnie Arella Jackson) made Kefflins only for Christmas. She would make them the day after Thanksgiving so they would have time to cure. We had them every Christmas and we never knew where Mama hid the crock, because if we had found it, there would not have been any cookies left for Christmas day. All these years later, I still don’t know where she hid that crock.

Kefflins

1 pound butter

1 cup ground almonds

1 cup sugar

4 cups flour

powdered sugar

Cream butter and sugar, add almonds and flour. Mix and knead with hands. Roll into crescents. Bake at 375̊ on an ungreased cookie sheet until lightly browned. Layer in a crock (or a sealed container) with powdered sugar, and seal for at least a month to cure before eating.

I’ve posted this early in the holiday season so you might have a chance to plan ahead and have enough time for your cookies to cure. What recipe do you make every year as a family tradition?

Country Recipe: Sweet Potato Pie

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(From Vinnie Ann “AJ” Jackson)

CharlieBullock3I’d like to dedicate this post to my brother-in-law Charlie Bullock. He passed away at the age of 87 on March 13, 2013, the morning we posted his recipe for cough syrup (also see his remedy for diarrhea relief). He was born and raised in the hills of Alabama, and was a down-to-earth kind of guy with a great sense of humor. I’ll miss him. This photo of Charlie was taken years ago, but I never thought it looked quite like him – he’s wearing his teeth. Charlie carried his teeth in a shirt pocket everywhere he went but hardly ever put them in, even to eat. He grew his own sweet potatoes and one of his favorite desserts was Sweet Potato Pie. Try this recipe out and let us know what you think.

Sweet Potato Pie

  • 1 lb sweet potato
  • 1/2 c butter, softened
  • 1/2 c white sugar
  • 1/2 c brown sugar
  • 1/2 c evaporated milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Boil the sweet potato whole (in skin) for 40 – 50 minutes, or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potato and remove the skin.

Cut up the sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter and mix well with a mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, spices, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth, and pour the filling into an unbaked pie crust.

Bake at 350° (175° C) for 55 – 60 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. The pie will puff up and then sink down as it cools.

Country Recipe: Kefflins (Butter/Almond Cookies)

Posted on by
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(From Vinnie Ann “AJ” Jackson)

My mama (Vinnie Arella Jackson) made Kefflins only for Christmas. She would make them the day after Thanksgiving so they would have time to cure. We had them every Christmas and we never knew where Mama hid that crock, because if we had found it, well, there would not have been any cookies left for Christmas day. All these years later, I still don’t know where she hid the crock.

Kefflins

1 pound butter

1 cup ground almonds

1 cup sugar

4 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar, add almonds and flour. Mix and knead with hands. Roll into crescents. Bake at 375̊ on an ungreased cookie sheet until lightly browned. Layer in a crock (or a sealed container) with powdered sugar, and seal for at least a month to cure before eating.

We posted this early in the holiday season so you might have a chance to plan ahead and have enough time for your cookies to cure. What’s your favorite holiday recipe?

Country Recipe: Old-Fashioned Tea Biscuits

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(From Vinnie Ann “AJ” Jackson)

Grandaddy Edwards (my mom’s papa) would place these cookies in a sealed jar with a few slices of apple to keep them soft. They would pick up a slight apple flavor. I grew up on these cookies just like all my aunts, uncles, and cousins. There was a bunch of us. Looking back, I think Mama and Grandmama always made this recipe because it makes a lot of cookies.

Old-Fashioned Tea Biscuits

1/2 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 cup sour milk*

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

7 cups flour

Mix and roll out 1/2 inch thick, and cut out cookies with a biscuit cutter. Bake at 375̊ on a greased cookie sheet until lightly browned.

*To make sour milk: add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to one cup milk and let stand for 5 minutes.

Make a batch and let us know how they turn out for you.

Country Recipe: Grandmama’s Bread

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(From Vinnie Ann “AJ” Jackson)

I learned to make this bread from my mom and she learned it from her mom. When my Grandaddy and Grandmama Edwards came to New Mexico from Choctaw Nation, Tennessee in a covered wagon, this is the bread Grandmama made. It didn’t take milk or eggs, things most people didn’t have on a trip back then. Life was very simple and they made do with what they had. I still make this bread today and so do my children.

Grandaddy and Grandmama Edwards

Grandmama Edward’s Bread

2 cups lukewarm water

1 package yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons oil (Grandmama & Mama used bacon grease)

6 cups flour (or enough to make a stiff dough)

Stir the yeast into the lukewarm water. Add sugar, salt and oil. Add flour to mixture one cup at a time until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. The amount of flour needed depends on the weather. If it’s raining, it takes more flour. Knead until smooth. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a dish towel, and put in a warm spot to rise. Let rise until double in size. Punch down and shape into rolls or a loaf, let rise again. Makes 2 regular size loaves or one large. Bake at 350̊ in a greased pan until golden brown, about 1/2 hour.

For a change:

Make the dough and roll it out, spread sweet/hot mustard on it, add ham and cheese, then roll it up jellyroll style and bake on a cookie sheet. You can also put minced onion and/or garlic on the bread before baking it. I have even done it with pizza sauce and pepperoni and cheese. It’s like a ready-made sandwich.

Give Grandmama Edward’s bread recipe a try, and let us know what you think.