Baking – Ruth E. Hendricks Photography

Kitchen Sink Cookies

Butter, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, oatmeal, raisins the basic start to a cookie……but then you add Grape-Nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut, toasted pecans…..Kitchen Sink Cookies (click for recipe). There are other recipes that add potato chips, pretzels and toffee.

Idiom – “everything but the kitchen sink”

“……first print reference can be found in 1918 in the newspaper The Syracuse Herald. The expression became popular during World War II, where it was said that everything but the kitchen sink was thrown at the enemy.”

No wheat germ on hand but I did toast the pecans

June 14, 2022 by Ruth Categories: Baking, PhotographyTags: baking, cookies, Grape-Nuts, kitchen, kitchen sink, oatmeal, parchment paper, photography, postaday, raisins, recipe 7 Comments

Gato de Muez de Pesah Walnut and Orange Passover Cake

I am at my sister’s in NYC and sifting through old recipes and photos. This is from 2011.
When I googled this recipe title, from the one she wrote down on a piece of composition paper, I discovered that it is from The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York by Claudia Roden who says it is the Passover Cake of Istanbul and it is imperative to use walnuts that are not stale! You can see the actual recipe in the link above, if you have trouble viewing the handwritten version

Here is a link to a Youtube Video with
Claudia Roden an Interview on Jewish Food from the British Library

The photo of the recipe cuts off the word STIFF but that is how you need to beat those egg whites.

April 14, 2022April 14, 2022 by Ruth Categories: BakingTags: almonds, baking, cake, cake recipe, Jewish Food, NYC, Orange, Passover, photography, recipe, sister, walnuts 8 Comments

The Last Package of Lebkuchen

When I got to Laura’s house there were three packages of Lebkuchen by the guest bed. My daughter knows me well. These are from Germany.

Unfortunately, Oscar the dog got one package and ate some (no ill effects even though he got a chocolate covered one)

but he didn’t get my favorite kind.

I just opened it tonight. One a day for six days and then will have to wait until next Christmas

Kind of a soft gingerbread with a blend of spices, nuts and peel, not too sweet.

Lots of Lebkuchen links below

Lebkuchen ice cream in Berlin

Lebkuchen ice cream at home

Aunt Rhea’s Recipe post from her mother’s father.

Friends in Florida and Massachusetts Bake Aubt Rhea’s Lebkuchen recipe a double guest blog

Annual Lebkuchen Baking

And if you want to experiment with different recipes here’s the blend of Lebkuchen spices

January 2, 2022 by Ruth Categories: Baking, food, PhotographyTags: baking, Christmas, cookies, family, Germany, kitchen, lebkuchen, photography, Pittsburgh PA, postaday, recipe, travel 14 Comments

Buttermilk in Blueberry Muffins

Baking with buttermilk creates delicious results. I used the Best Ever Blueberry Muffins recipe with buttermilk but reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup.

And I used 1/2 c of melted butter instead of canola oil. No butter necessary on the muffin. It’s already inside. The house smells so good when they are baking.

May 16, 2021 by Ruth Categories: Baking, PhotographyTags: baking, blueberry muffins, buttermilk, food, kitchen, muffins, photography, postaday, recipe 9 Comments

Bread Making- Guest Blog

Kristin sent these photos of her husband making bread.
Rick is really good at bread making.
He’s okay with the photos being posted.

I added the first photo of my grandmother’s ode to bread and the last photo of Rick kneading his famous and delicious bread in 2016.

This is a photo of my grandmothers recipe box. there’s a is a poem about bread, glued in the lid. Ella Beyer was my godmother and I was given Ella as my middle name .

A clip of Rick kneading bread from a video I took in 2016

March 7, 2021 by Ruth Categories: Baking, PhotographyTags: baking, bread, bread making, dough, dough rising, friend, grandmother, Guest blog., loaves, Recipe box, yeast 11 Comments

Fruit and Nut Biscotti

March 2, 2021 by Ruth Categories: Baking, PhotographyTags: almond, apricots, baking, Biscotti, cookies, dried cranberries, food, fruit and nut, lemon zest, orange zest, photography, pistachio, postaday, recipe 7 Comments

The Complete Prune Cake Recipe

Yesterday’s post recipe link had a very strange symbol when there was a fraction involved in the amount of a few ingredients.

Sorry about that.

Good thing I have several eagle eye readers to alert me. Here’s the the entire recipe.

I’m thinking the baking is 325 degrees and not 300 as recipe says but that cookbook was from 1984.

Bake until done.

(Also I’ve used a stick of butter and 1/2 c of olive oil together when I didn’t have good vegetable oil in the pantry) I omit the nuts as my kids didn’t care for them but they are in the original recipe.

Here I’ve declared n kno this recipe COMPLETE. Yikes, I don’t see the 1 tsp allspice in this recipe I’m posting today. Be sure to include it.

Still best the second day after baking. I see I wrote “Best cake you’ll ever eat.” I would say now, “that’s debatable!”

February 9, 2021February 9, 2021 by Ruth Categories: Baking, PhotographyTags: 1984, baking, Beaumont Inn, cake, cookbook, Harrodsburg Kentucky, photography, postaday, prune cake, recipe, stained page 5 Comments

Prune Cake- tastes better than it sounds, Promise

Prune cake recipe is from The Beaumont Inn Harrodsburg, Kentucky. I saw it in a newspaper when we lived in Fort Knox.

I’ve baked this recipe for decades. It’s a moist spice cake. Even better the second day.

Be sure you cook and mash the prunes first!

I shared the Prune Cake recipe and the person said later her cake didn’t taste or look like mine. I asked her about it – she didn’t like cooked prunes so she thought she’d improve the recipe by just cutting them up. The prune mash needs to distributed throughout the batter. Doesn’t work her way!

I omitted the warm sauce this time, cutting the calories of extra butter and sugar but it’s delicious that way. Keeps it extra moist.

Many blog viewers baked a spinach pie and reported great success. Not sure how many will be tempted to bake a prune cake. If you do, please let me know.

Dry ingredients with spices. Cooked prunes (mashed)

And buttermilk is key to success.

February 8, 2021 by Ruth Categories: Baking, PhotographyTags: baking, Beaumont Inn, buttermilk, cake, eggs, kitchen, Pandemic, photography, postaday, prune cake, spice 19 Comments

Split-Second Cookies Recipe

Here’s the recipe I used to bake Split-Second Cookies. They are like a shortbread filled with jam.

I creamed the butter and sugar by hand.

Added egg and vanilla.

The combined dry ingredients.

I usually fill them with raspberry and apricot Bonne Maman jam. I was fortunate to receive some delicious marmalade and jam from two different friends.

I used Eileen’s Orange Marmalade and Pam’s Blubarb in addition to the raspberry and apricot.

Eileen’s Marmalade and Pam’s Blubarb Jam

Took a plateful to a friend for her birthday

January 31, 2021 by Ruth Categories: Baking, PhotographyTags: baking, butter, cookies, egg, food, friends, homemade jam, kitchen, photography, postaday, split second cookies, sugar, vanilla 20 Comments

Jan 1. 1977 Three Kings’ Cake and Spring Seeds to Plant

This page is from the January 1, 1977 New York Times Magazine.

My sister sent me the photos of the clipping today as Epiphany or Three Kings Day is January 6th. This day is the traditional day families would take down their Christmas decorations when I was growing up .

One side of the magazine page is Three Kings’ Cake recipe article by Mimi Sheraton. This recipe makes two Loaves of sweet bread with yeast and lemon and orange rind, currants and mixed fruits. Almonds are hidden in the dough to be discovered by one lucky eater .

On the reverse side of the paper is an ad to order seeds for Spring planting. Park Seed is celebrating 150 years of being in the gardening business.

(This is not the same king cake of February’s Mardi Gras.)

Park Seed- 150 years in business in South Carolina

My friend Roberta sent me an email this evening with a video from the University of Pittsburgh French Nationality Room Galette Des Rois (click the name of cake to watch) see how to make another type of Kings’ Cake with Almond paste and puff pastry. The French version.

January 5, 2021 by Ruth Categories: Baking, PhotographyTags: 1977, baking, celebration, Epiphany, food, holiday, Mimi Sheraton, Nationality Room, New York Times, Park Seed, postaday, recipe, Spring planting, Three Kings Day, University of Pittsburgh 4 Comments

Category: Baking

Kitchen Sink Cookies

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Gato de Muez de Pesah Walnut and Orange Passover Cake

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The Last Package of Lebkuchen

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Buttermilk in Blueberry Muffins

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Bread Making- Guest Blog

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Fruit and Nut Biscotti

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The Complete Prune Cake Recipe

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Prune Cake- tastes better than it sounds, Promise

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Split-Second Cookies Recipe

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Jan 1. 1977 Three Kings’ Cake and Spring Seeds to Plant

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