A couple of weeks ago I mentioned finding my Grandma’s Pickled Figs recipe and how happy that made me. I did not mention that another treasure I found in that box from my Dad was my Grandma Elsa’s 1928 German cookbook. Inside the cookbook were all of her favorite recipes written on slips of paper and collected over the years. My grandparents came to America in 1929 on their honeymoon trip. My dad was born 9 months later in California. I grew up next door to Grandma Elsa. I loved her German food. Now I have her recipes. I have been working on translating them into English for my cousins. I’m thrilled to have them and to taste her food again.
Here is Elsa Shcaefer’s cookbook, covered in fabric she cross stitched her initials into. Grandma was born in 1895. She would have been 33 years old when she bought this cookbook to take with her to America.
Below are recipes that were on slips of paper inside the front cover of the cookbook. I’ve done my best to translate them for future generations.
This first recipe is for Springerle. Grandma made these cookies every year at Christmas time. She kept them for weeks in tins and they were as hard as rock! We would gnaw on them. She would dunk them in her tea. I loved them. There were anis seeds stuck to the bottom of the cookies (she scattered the seeds on the cookie sheet). She pressed the patterns with old worn wooded forms that had designs on them.
Springerle
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
4 lb. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Anis seeds
Beat eggs with 1 cup of sugar. Beat egg yolks with 1 cup sugar. Then combine and add flour and the rest. [Sprinkle the anis seeds on the cookie sheet under the cookies.]
Bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes. (Recipe from Mrs. Detweiler.)
Below is a Springele recipe from Tante Mina, Grandma’s sister:
This recipe for Springele is hard to read. It talks about pressing the dough into a form, then leaving it overnight.
The second recipe is for Schweizer Rüchlein (little Swiss backs??)
It has 1 M. flour, 8 eggs, lemon peel, butter, feinly chopped almonds. The recipe doesn’t seem complete.
Pfeffernusse was another family favorite. Peppernuts. The Mennonite community in Reedley where I grew up was known for making Pfeffernusse during the holidays. The ladies had competitions to see who could make the smallest ones. Grandma made hers about an inch big, like the circle on the recipe below. She put colored sprinkles on them. They were so good.
Pfeffernüsse
1 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. molasses
1/3 c. water
a little salt
6 2/3 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. soda
2 tsp. anise seed
? ( ” oil)
Mix well, chill, roll into long slender rolls 1/2″ in diameter, chill.
Cut into pieces [about the size of a quarter]
Bake 375
Recipe from Mrs. D. C. Krehbiel 1959 [She was my piano teacher!]
The post below has another Pfeffernusse recipe used in our Laemmlen family:
Below are more Pfeffernüsse recipes from the cookbook:
We lived in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, the Fruit Basket of the World. My Grandpa and my Dad were SunMaid raisin growers. We ate a lot of raisins!
Raisin Chess Pie
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1 teasp vinegar
3 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped raisins
Cream butter, sugar & salt. Add eggs, one at a time. Blend in walnuts, raisins & vinegar. Turn into pastry lined pie pan. Bake at 425 for 10 min. Reduce heat to 325 for 35 min. more.
Recipe from Lois Philips, Catharine Suderman
Every New Year’s we had special German Donuts called Neu Jahr Kuchen. Here is Grandma Elsa’s recipe.
New Year Kuchen
1 1/2 cup water or milk
1 yeast
(+ lemon peel)
2 cups flour
Mix and let rise
2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
3 cups floured raisins
Mix the [first] part with this to have a nice smooth dough, let stand an hour or till well raised.
[Drop by spoonfulls into hot oil, fry, roll in granulated sugar.]
Here is the recipe my Mom used that I now use:
Anise Cookies
1 pound sugar
8 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon peel
2 teaspoons anis
1 pound flour
Mix together. Make the dough into small cookies. Put on a floured pan. Let them dry until you can scoot them with your fingers. Bake slowly at 300.
Recipe from Marie Strokmeier
This next one is for Corn Bread.
Corn bread
3/4 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup milk
1 spoon baking powder
1 spoon salt
1 egg
soft butter
This recipe is for Chacolad Cookies (Chocolate Chip)
Chacolad Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teasp vanilla
2 eggs
1 teasp soda
1 teasp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups chacolad [chocolate]chips
1 cup chopt nuts
Here is another version of the Candied Figs Grandma made. I remember eating these. They were sweet and chewy. This recipe is in my Grandma Ruby’s handwriting:
Candied Figs
5 pounds of figs (23-25 med)
sprinkle 2 tbl of soda over & cover with boiling water
let stand 5 min, drain and wash well
Put figs in syrup made of
3 cups sugar
1/3 cup white Karo
1 1/4 cup water
slice 1 orange, 1 lemon in first cook
1 hour 1st day covered
1 hour 2nd day uncovered
1 hour 3rd day uncovered
Place figs to drain on racks
dry in doors or out until not sticky
pack separated by wax paper, cans
This recipe is from Ruby Smuin (Grace’s mother)
Here we have a recipe for Marbled Pudding Cake:
Marbled Pudding Cake
4 eggs well beaten
1 cup sour cream
1 cube soft margerine
1 package yellow cake mix
13 3/4 or 3 5/8 ounce package instant lemon pudding
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teasp nutmeg
1 teasp cinnamon
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
Beat eggs, add sour cream, margarine, cake & pudding mix. Beat 10 min. Oil a 10 inch bake pan. Combine brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon & nuts.
Pour half of first mixture into pan. Add half of sugar & spice mixture sprinkling over top. Pour remainder of cake mixture over sugar & spice, then top with remainder of sugar & spice mix. Insert knife through batter to marbleized effect. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Cool on cake rack.
Flaky Pie Crust:
Pie Crust Flakey Pastry
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
salt
1/2 cup shortening
yolk of one egg
Beat & add 4 tablespoons water
Pumpkin and Lemon Pies:
Pumpkin Pie
1/2 peint pumpkin (pint can?)
1/2 peint milk (pint can?)
1/2 cup sugar, 2 eggs, pinch of salt
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon, some nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
Lemon Pie
1 cup water
2 tablespoons corn syrup
sugar, 2 eggs
[not complete]
Cinnamon Star and Anis Cookies:
Cinnamon Stars
1/2 cup?? some kind of sugar
1/2 cup?? finely ground almonds
2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon, then mix with 3 eggs, sugar and the zest of a lemon?
? half an hour mix, then roll in the almonds ??
Anis Cookies
(not complete)
Lebkuchen was another of my favorite holiday treats in Grandma’s kitchen. These were made in a sheep pan like a bar cookie. They had candied fruit, nuts and raisins in them. Grandma made a very thin icing glaze to put over the top.
Honey Cake Lebkuchen
4 ? honey
1 pint water (make warm)
8 ounces of sugar
8 ounces margarine
1 ? orange zest
1 ? ground almonds
6 eggs (a little salt)
4 ounces cloves
5 1/2 ? flour
Roll out 1/2 inch thick.
Bake 350 degrees
Oct 15, 1964 Mrs. G. Müller
Below is the recipe for Honey Lebkuchen from the cookbook:
Spaetzle is another favorite German side dish, not unlike small noodles. The dough is dropped into boiling water to cook.
Sauerkraut was another common side dish in Grandma’s kitchen.
Pepper Relish from Mrs. Regier:
This next recipe is for Gugelhupf or Bundt Cake:
Bundt Cake
2 lb. flour
3/4 lb. butter
1/2 lb. sugar
6-8 eggs
2 packets of yeast
salt
milk
raisins
nuts
lemon peel
This makes 2 pans of Gugelhopf.
Bake 2 hour at 350.
Below is another recipe for Kugelhapfen (Bundt Cake)
Ingredients
1 lb. flour (500 grams) or 3 cups
200 gm sugar or 1/2 cup
1 T. baking powder or 3 teaspoons
1 Vanilla
1/4 lb butter or margarine
1 cup milk
4 eggs
Bake at 350 or 375 for 1 hour.
The cookbook has other bundt cake recipes:
Snitz Brot is a dense fruitcake filled with dried fruits.
Stollen is a fruit bread, one of my very favorite Christmas foods.
Snitz Brot
1 1/2 c. sieved flour
2 pkts yeast
mix with prune juice and let rise
add more flour, sieved or make ? . nutmeg, salt, shortening and all the fruit you can work in to it.
Stollen
4 lb. flour
1 lb. butter
2 lbs. raisins
3/4 lb. sugar
1 lemon peel (zested)
1 pkg candied fruit
1 cup almonds
1 Tbsp. salt
3/4 qts. milk
2-3 pkt. yeast
Here are more Stollen Recipes:
Here’s one more recipe I need to include. This one is in my Dad’s handwriting. I make this persimmon fruit bread every time I can get my hands on some persimmons. I LOVE it:
In case you want to know how to skin a rabbit. My Dad was an expert at this:
Grandma’s Soap recipe:
It’s amazing how many memories and taste memories these little slips of paper brought back to me! I was lucky to grow up next door to Grandma Elsa. I was in her kitchen helping her bake most Saturday mornings in my growing up years. Her kitchen always smelled heavenly.
Below are some pictures of Grandma’s kitchen. The baked goods filled the table and lined the counter to the left of the refrigerator.
On the right is the wood burning stove that kept the kitchen warm all winter.
