Greatmom came from what some have dubbed "the greatest generation." She grew up during the depression and sent a husband off to WW II while keeping a handle on four little ones. Money was something that was always scarce, but that didn't stop her from making great meals and treats, even on a shoestring so thin it broke if you tugged on it.
You may have heard me talk about her biscuits before. Love them! But her basic biscuit recipe also served as dumplings (click here for her chicken and dumpling recipe) and the basis for her fried pies.
First for the biscuit recipe.
In a mixing bowl, combine:
- 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
- 2 Tbsp. Canola oil
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
Mix well, turn onto floured surface and knead until no longer sticky. Only a couple of minutes Form into ball and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine 1 cup cocoa and 1 cup sugar. Set aside.
Pinch off a small ball of dough and roll into a thin five inch circle.
Spread flat with butter or margarine. Don't be too chintzy. Sprinkle with two tablespoons of sugar/cocoa mixture. 
Fold in half and--here's Greatmom's trick for sealing the edges--roll a saucer or small plate around the edges to both trim and seal.
They're ready for frying.
Greatmom usually fried hers in a small amount of butter or margarine. Since I didn't have enough, I used canola oil, which actually made them puffier.
Brown first side, then flip over and cook until other side is golden brown.
Greatmom's little chocolate pies. See the chocolaty center oozing out?
This was kind of an impromptu thing. We were at the ranch last week and the boys were complaining that there wasn't anything sweet to eat. Well, I wasn't about to run to town. These only took me maybe thirty minutes to make. An hour later, I was chastised for not making more.
Man, when you got hungry men around, there's just no pleasing them.
Do you have a fast fix idea when those you love are scavenging for a sweet treat? We'd love to hear it.
A lot go good recipes came out of the depression. I know mum hates pumpkin to this day as it was one of the cheapest and easiest to get vegetables around when she was a child and she just cant stand it. I have a few of her mothers recipes from that time and they reused things like the dripping from a roast, and used items to stretch a meal. Back then if they didn't eat there meal it was think of all the starving in China. (I got Africa) Mum on day said to her parents well you can pack mine meal up and send it to China. From what I hear it didn't go down to well the comment that is.
ReplyDeletejust a note I am feeling a little better but still so tired and weak and I hate feeling like this.
Glad you're feeling better, Jenny. It takes time to recover from a blood loss like you experienced!
DeleteJenny, I got Africa too. Seems I used your mother's comment a time or two as well:-)
DeletePraying you'll feel better soon. Jan's right, though. It takes time.
Thanks im up for a bit feeling really nauseated at present like I was in hospital. I hate the feeling and have been feeling it a bit for a few days but tonight its so bad I cant sleep. I wont be sick just feel it.
Deletecould use prayer for it to ease. I see the dr Thursday morning.
Mindy, what a great idea! Love it! Dave's grandmother was German... She came over when she was eleven years old, she and her brother traveled alone across the ocean in 1911. 13 and 11, can you imagine?
ReplyDeleteTheir dad was here, their mom refused to step foot on a boat. Anyway, someone credited Grandma with "bringing" her cheese kuchen recipe over. She laughed to me and said, "Bring, nothing! I had eight kids (at that time) and it was the Depression. I taught myself to klabber milk to make cheese, added some syrup to sweeten it, and made sweet milk dough on the stove. I was eleven when I came over. Making food wasn't something that even entered my mind!"
Necessity as the mother of invention. Gotta try these!
I have this image of a little girl standing on the deck of a ship with a fist full of recipes...
DeleteRuthy, I love some of those old German recipes. If you have any, you must share.
DeleteOooohh...no deep frying so I can make these! If I can find self-rising flour around here. I haven't seen it before but maybe that's because I haven't been looking for it. And really, what a simple idea! Sigh, slather anything up with chocolate and butter and you know it's going to be good.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any quick sweet fixes except that I usually freeze cookie dough because I live alone and really, I can't eat a whole recipe worth of cookies in a week. Well, I could but then I'd be as round as a cookie. So I freeze half the batter and then when I've a hankering for something sweet I can bake up a few. Great for when unexpected guests drop by too.
gosh I had to click on your name to see where the heck you could be that doesn't have self-rising flour?! :-) I don't think I can do these- even frozen- I'd probably break a tooth or something. no willpower when it comes to this kinda stuff!
Deletewell until I learn to bake any loved ones will have to do like my parents did - go next door to randall's or bring it with you! thank goodness Randalls next door to me bakes or at least brings in 'home baked' stuff..and for ice cream there's a really good Dairy Queen just down the road -thankfully it's on the other side of the road and can be a pain to get to - otherwise I'd be in big trouble. the road being under construction has helped considerably - don't think anyone compares to their ice cream - not even Sonic...darn can anyone tell I have weight watchers today?!
Susanna
Kav, self-rising flour is regular flour with salt and baking powder added. The general substitution is for each cup of all-purpose flour, add 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
DeleteRandalls? Dairy Queen? Susanna, do you live in Texas? Houston area, maybe?
DeleteYeah, I had weigh in at WW yesterday. Not pretty after a week at the ranch.
Kav found this for you.
Delete• 1 cup (250 mL) self-rising flour (flour already containing leavening, commonly found in British and Australian cookbooks) = 1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour plus 1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder and 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt. (Self-rising flour is now available in many Canadian supermarkets.)
Mindy - yes sw Houston - Houston city limits, county line but fell on the Harris Co side :-(, Stafford address..originally from East TExas near Longview/Tyler area but been in Houston since fall 1990. lucky me has a Randalls walking distance from my townhome(yes I posted this same info once and someone on the chat knew exactly where I lived because they lived a block or so away a while back! small world!)
DeleteSusanna
Oh yes, these do look wonderful!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever tried substituting the chocolate filling for a fruit filling? Or cinnamon-sugar?
Just thinking out loud - chocolate would always be my first choice!
And Kav, I had never bought self-rising flour until I tried Mindy's Chicken and Dumplings recipe. You can find it in the north, believe it or not...
I've also heard you can make your own (combine baking powder and flour), but I'm not sure of the proportions.
Jan, on occasion, Greatmom would make vanilla ones. That meant she left out the cocoa and just added sugar. I've thought about doing them with fruit filling, but I know my boys won't eat them. Might resemble something healthy. It's chocolate or nothing for them. And you know what that means? I'd end up eating them all myself.
DeleteOh, that sounds terrible, Mindy ;D
DeleteOh, WOW! These look amazing! I would never think to just spread butter and add the powder! YUM!!!
ReplyDeleteMissy, they really are easy. I bet your kids would love them.
DeleteThis totally reminds me of something my college roommate used to make. She was from Mississippi and made little round balls called beignets..... And the best part was it was BREAKFAST FOOD. Oh my goodness. Delish.
ReplyDeleteI'm now going to pretend I never saw this post. I'm trying to be healthy and deep friend YUM doesn't fit.
Maybe in a few days. Or tomorrow. Or later today...
Yes, Virginia, I only recommend making these when you have other people around to help eat them :-)
DeleteHahaha! I meant 'deep fried YUM' not 'deep friend YUM'. Maybe the same thing??
ReplyDeleteYum doesn't even begin to describe this.
ReplyDeleteSigh.
Down here in MS, we make them all...fried apple pies, fried peach pies, fried chocolate pies. They're ALL good. Mindy, I never knew about the trick with the plate to seal them. Cool. I was taught to use a fork dipped in water, but I like the plate thing.
A really quick and easy sweet is to take flour tortillas, smooth a little margarine on them, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, roll up, and stick in the microwave for a few seconds. If you're feeling up to it, you can fry them like Mindy's pies.
This was something my kids could make on their own. Once when my youngest was about 8-9 yo, he had company, and I had to run an errand. While I was gone, they got hungry, and he decided to make these. When I got back, I found the sugar, margarine and PAPRIKA on the counter. The boys were playing the video game as happy as could be, none the wiser that they'd sprinkled paprika on their tortillas instead of cinnamon. lol