Butterscotch Brownies

About 16 Thin 2¼ Inch Square

This is a family favourite which is easily made:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350˚

2. Melt in a saucepan: ¼ cup butter
Stir into it until dissolved: 1 cup brown sugar
Cool these ingredients slightly.

3. Beat well in:
1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla

4 Sift, then measure: ½ cup all-purpose flour
Resift it with: 1 teaspoon double acting baking powder
½ teaspoon salt – Stir these ingredients into the butter mixture.

5. Add: ½ to 1 cup finely chopped nuts or ¾ cup grated
coconut. Chopped dates and figs could be substituted entirely or just in part.

6. Use a little of flour over them. Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 9 inch pan. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes. Cut into bars when cooked.

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Christmas Chocolate Bars Cockaigne
You get about 108 bars – 1 x 2 inches

These bars may differ very much from the preceding cakes for they are abundantly flavoured with chocolate. If you can not choose between them, it is better to bake them both and you could ice one with chocolate icing and the other with a white glaze.

1. Preheat oven to 350˚

2. Sift: 2¾ cups light brown sugar (1lb)
Then beat until light: 6 eggs

3. Add the sugar gradually and beat these ingredients until well blended.
Grate and add: 4 oz chocolate

4. Combine and shift: 3 cups all purpose flour, 1 tbsp cinnamom, 1½ tsp cloves, ½ tsp all spice and 1 tsp each of soda and 1 tsp salt.

5. Add the sifted ingredients to the egg mixture, alternately with ½ cup honey or molasses

6. Chop and add in all:
2½ cups citron, candied lemon, orange, pineapple and nuts – preferably blanched almonds.

7. Spread the dough with a spatula in two 9 x 13 inch greased pans.
Bake about 20 minutes. When cool, ice with Chocolate icing and cut into bars.

*Royal Glaze or Quick Decorative Icing*

This will make about 2 cups

Note: This icing will become very hard. So to avoid a naturally greyish tone that will develop during preparation, just add to the portions that you what to keep white a slight amount of blue vegetable colouring. Do not use blue in any icing that you plan to colour yellow, orange or any other pale warm tint.

Sift: 3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
Beat until stiff, but not dry: 2 eggs whites
Gradually add the sifted sugar and: Juice of a lemon with 1 to 2 drops glycerine – until it is a good consistency to be spread. Cover with a damp cloth until ready to use.

DARK FRUIT CAKE

Two 4½ x 8 inch Loave pan plus Two 9 inch Tube Pan – about 12 pounds
*Have all ingredients at about 75˚

1. Preheat oven 275˚

2. Sift before measuring:
4 cups all purpose flour – Reserve 1 cup

3. Resift the remaining with:
1tbsp each of cinnamon, cloves, all spice, nutmeg, ½ tbsp mace and 1½ tsp salt.

4. Wash: 2½ lbs currants
cut up: 2½ lbs raisins and 1lb citron

5. Break coarsely: 1lb pecan meats – sprinkle these ingredients well with the reserved flour.

6. Sift: 1lb. brown sugar: (2 2/3 cups, packed)
Cream until soft: 1 lbs butter

7. Add the sugar gradually. Cream until very light.
Beat in: 15 beaten egg yolks

8. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternately with:
¼ cup bourbon whisky and ¼ cup wine or ½ cup thick fruit juice, prune, apricot or grape.

9. Fold in the floured fruits and nuts. Beat until stiff but not dry:
15 egg whites — Fold them into the butter mixture gently.

10. Bake a 2½lbs. cake in prepared pans, for 3 to 4 hours. Over 5 lbs. allow at least 5 hours.

11. Place a shallow pan filled with water in the oven. Remove it the last hour of baking. Cool and store.

kettle: