Vintage Pecan Icebox Cookies

These Vintage Pecan Icebox Cookies are made from a tried-and-true classic recipe from Imperial Sugar Pure Cane Sugar. The dough is chilled (or frozen) before baking so you can slice and bake as needed. 

Growing up in Houston, the only sugar we would ever buy was refined from pure cane syrup about 10 miles from my childhood home in a little town called, appropriately, Sugar Land. (The two-word name is one way we separate Texas transplants from locals, as newcomers tend to want to write it, Sugarland. It’s an amusing test.) 

Starting with a single sugar mill back in 1843 and then incorporated in 1905, Imperial Sugar is still my sugar of choice for all the varieties but nowadays it’s no longer a family enterprise. It is run as a subsidiary of United States Sugar Corporation. Thankfully, quality remains high though.

Over the years, Imperial Sugar produced many cookbooks, often in collaboration with the Parent-Teacher Association of Sugar Land as fundraisers. The 48-page promotional cookbook - A Bag Full of Recipes, 1930 edition - this recipe was adapted from was one of those, featuring classic household recipes and baking tips. 

Icebox cookies were a homemaker's ace-in-the-hole for unexpected guests! Kept chilled, they could be baked at a moment's notice. These days, we can freeze the dough and keep it fresh even longer. 

All of the Imperial Sugar vintage cookbooks are available for download on the Imperial Sugar website here: https://imperialsugar.com/vintage-cookbooks/ Such a motherload of vintage recipes! 

Vintage Pecan Icebox Cookies

It is essential that you roll, wrap and chill this dough for at least three hours before slicing to bake the cookies, because they will spread out. The dough can be frozen, well-wrapped, for a couple of months. This makes about 3-4 dozen 2-inch cookies, depending on your slicing. 

Ingredients

½ cup or 60g chopped pecans 

½ cup or 113g unsalted butter, at room temperature 

¾ cup, tightly packed, or 150g dark brown sugar 

1 large egg 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 ¼ cups or 156g flour 

½ teaspoon fine sea salt 

¼ teaspoon baking soda 

Optional for decoration: pecan halves

For wrapping the dough:

Baking parchment or waxed paper

Method

Place the chopped pecans in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. 

Add the butter and brown sugar and pulse to combine. 

Add the egg and vanilla and pulse until combined. 

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and baking soda. 

Turn the flour mixture into the food processor and pulse until smooth. 

Tear off a sheet of waxed or parchment paper about 15 inches long. Spoon the dough onto the paper and roll into a log about 15 inches or 38cm long. 

Wrap the dough up and chill for at least three hours or preferably overnight. (You can also store the log in the freezer in a zipper-top bag for up to 3 months.) 

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375ºF or 190°C, with a rack in the middle. 

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it back and forth on the counter until it is about 1½ inches in diameter. Mine was a challenge to roll into a neat round tube. Is my fridge too cold? Who knows! I just wish I had rolled it more round before chilling! You should. 

Slice the dough roll into circles just under 1cm or ½ inch thick.

Arrange them on a silicone- or parchment-lined baking pan, at least 1 inch or 2cm apart.

If desired, press a pecan half into each round. I like to do this because 1. If someone has a nut allergy, it’s an immediate red flag that says: Do NOT eat, and 2. They are prettier with a pecan on top! 

Bake, one pan at a time, until the cookies are golden brown and crispy around the edges, about 8 minutes. 

Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the pans between batches. Alternatively, as mentioned above, it can be frozen, well-wrapped, for a few months. Slice and bake at will! 

Store the cookies for up to a week in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing cookie recipes, just ‘cause we want to. Because who doesn’t want more cookie recipes? Exactly no one. Many thanks to our host, Karen of Karen’s Kitchen Stories. Check out the links below. 

• Candied Orange Peel Chocolate Chip Cookies from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Fig Newton Swirl Cookies from A Messy Kitchen 
• Frosted Cake Cookies from Karen’s Kitchen Stories 
• Marbled Tahini Cookies from Culinary Cam
• Peaches and Cream Rustic Thumbprint Cookies from Faith Hope Luck and Love Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Ragi Nankatai from Sneha’s Recipe 
• Strawberry Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Cookies from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Thandai Cookies from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Tropical Treat Gluten Free Cookies from Sid’s Sea Palm Cookies
• Vintage Pecan Icebox Cookies from Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Marmite Roast New Potatoes with Sausage and Butter Beans

Marmite Roast New Potatoes with Sausage and Butter Beans is a savory delight of a meal. Lots of protein and a big bucket load of delicious flavor. 

Seriously, guys, we love this meal. It’s easily adaptable to whatever you want to roast to set on top of those beans but at the minimum, make the bean and add some Marmite. The Parmesan cheese! The cracked black pepper! The recipe I adapted this from wasn’t called cacio e pepe butter beans for nothing! 

Marmite Roast New Potatoes with Sausage and Butter Beans

If you haven’t tried Marmite before but love salty, savory things, I encourage you to try and find a jar. It’s readily available in the UK, whence it comes, of course, but in the States, I’ve had luck online and in World Market. It’s quite strong on its own but adds so much flavor to savory dishes.

Ingredients

1 cup or 180g dried butter beans 

1 teaspoon baking soda

7 oz or 200g smoked sausage

10 3/4 oz or 305g new potatoes

Olive oil

Fine sea salt for the potatoes, plus extra at the end, if needed

Freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons Marmite

2 tablespoons butter

1 garlic clove, crushed and minced

1 3/4 oz or 50g Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra for serving

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black peppercorns – I use a mortar and pestle

6 good handfuls spinach, about 2 oz or 57g

Method

In a heat proof bowl, pour boiling water over the dried butter beans. Cover the bowl and leave to soak for one hour. 

Pour the water out. Add the beans to a small pot and cover with fresh water. Bring the water to the boil, add the baking soda and turn the heat down to simmer. Simmer for 35-45 minutes or until the beans are soft. 

Set the pot aside and leave the beans to cool in the liquid. Depending on how old your dried butter beans are, these can be cooked and holding their shape or, for newer beans, very soft, almost mushy. I like them either way.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180ºC. Skin and cut the sausage into rounds. 

Put the potatoes in a roasting dish. Drizzle them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Give it a good stir to coat the dish and the potatoes.

Tuck the sausage rounds in amongst the potatoes. Roast in the preheat oven for about 20-25 minutes. 

Meanwhile, combine the softened butter and Marmite until you have a homogeneous mixture. 

Remove the sausage to a large covered bowl to keep warm and drizzle the potatoes with the Marmite butter. Stir well to coat. 

Roast for a further 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. 

Meanwhile, add the minced garlic and half the cracked pepper to the bean pot.

Remove the potatoes from the roasting pan and add them to the sausage bowl so you can deglaze the hot pan by adding a good drizzle of water. 

Scrape all the sticky goodness up and add it into the bean pot. Stir well.

Pop the bean pot back on the stove and reheat. Add in the spinach and stir till the beans are heated through and the spinach has wilted, 5-6 minutes.

Stir in the grated parmesan.

Add the rest of the cracked black pepper. 

Taste and season with a little more salt if necessary. Divide the beans between four bowls, then top each with potatoes and sausage. 

Serve with a little more freshly grated Parmesan, if desired. (Always desired, nay, obligatory, at our house!)

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing potato recipes ahead of National Potato Day on August 19th. How will you celebrate? Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out the links below.

• Appe Batata Vada by Sneha's Recipe
• Baked Spicy Herby Potato Wedges by Sizzling Tastebuds
• Baked Potato Soup by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Budget-Friendly Potato Soup with Fresh Dill by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Campfire Potatoes by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Copycat Baked Arby's Curly Fries by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Creamy Mashed Potatoes Without Butter or Cream by Culinary Cam
• Jacket Potatoes by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Marmite Roast New Potatoes with Sausage and Butter Beans by Food Lust People Love
• Three-Color Potato Salad with Vegetables by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Warm Potato Salad by A Messy Kitchen

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Pan-fried Chicken with Curried Leeks and Lentils

This Pan-fried Chicken with Curried Leeks and Lentils makes a lovely meal full of wonderful flavors, nutrition and protein, with a fab creamy sauce. 

I don’t post all the chicken meals we eat but we eat a lot of chicken, especially thighs. They aren’t too expensive and they lend themselves so nicely to a variety of sauces and spices. Chicken is adaptable! Plus, it is a good source of protein, something I’ve been trying to eat more of. 

We loved this dish and writing this up reminds me that I need to add it to the coming week’s menu again. 

Pan-fried Chicken with Curried Leeks and Lentils

This recipe is adapted from one in my (now-defunct) favorite food magazine, delicious. I really miss it. Among other things, the original added two cans of lentils. Our appetites aren’t that large and one suited nicely. Drain and add a second can, if you’d like, but only save and use the liquid from the first one. 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 large chicken thighs

2 shallots, finely sliced

3 garlic cloves, finely sliced

2 leeks, sliced

1 tablespoon mild curry powder

5 oz or 150ml dry white wine

1 can (14.1 oz or 400g) green lentils (or two, see note above)

5 oz or 150ml whipping cream

Fine sea salt, if desired

For garnish: a few leaves cilantro

Method

Peel and finely slice the shallots and garlic. Clean the leeks well and slice them into rounds.

Season the chicken with salt and a few generous grinds of black pepper. 

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, then add the chicken thighs, skin-side down, and cook until the skin is crisp and golden (about 8-10 minutes.)

Transfer the chicken to a plate. 

Add the shallots, garlic and leeks to the pan. Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen all the lovely brown bits. 

Stir in the curry powder. Leave to simmer until the wine is reduced by half.

Drain the can of lentils, saving the liquid. Add the lentil liquid to the pan along with the cream.

Return the chicken to the pan, skin side up, and cover with the lid. 

Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through juices should run clear when a sharp knife is pushed into the thickest part of the thigh.

Remove the lid, push the chicken to one side (or remove it to give yourself more room to stir) and add in the lentils. 

(I tried the side push first and I guess my pan wasn't quite big enough for me to stir well.) Stir to combine.

Add the chicken back again if you removed it or center it in the pan if you didn’t. Simmer for 7-9 more minutes to reduce the sauce a little and heat the lentils through. 

Taste and add salt if needed. Garnish with a few leaves of cilantro to serve. 

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes made with fresh vegetables. Many thanks to our host, Sneha from Sneha’s Recipe. Check out the links below. 

• Creamy Italian Ranch Corn & Green Bean Salad from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Curry Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus from A Messy Kitchen
• Garlic Basil Wax Beans from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Garlicky Margherita Pizza from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Pan-fried Chicken with Curried Leeks and Lentils from Food Lust People Love
• Pinzimonio from Culinary Cam
• Roasted Chinese Eggplant from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Tendli and Potato Fry from Sneha's Recipe
• Veggie Mac & Cheese from Mayuri's Jikoni

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join. 

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with Curried Leeks and Lentils!

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Elotes – Spicy Cheesy Grilled Corn

A great summer dish when sweet corn is at its peak, these elotes - spicy cheesy grilled corn - will be eaten with gusto. They are a tasty side for any barbecue.

A couple of summers ago, my favorite now-shuttered (RIP) food magazine, delicious. published a recipe for elotes which looked gorgeous! The creative team had pulled back the husks on whole ears of corn and braided them to use as handles while grilling – and for eating! 

I thought that was one of the cleverest things I’d seen in a very long time so you know I had to try it. The problem is, in Jersey, here in the Channel Islands, I had never seen corn on the cob still in the husk. It always arrived in our shops fully denuded. 

BUT, we took a trip to the mainland to visit friends and do some shopping and by some miracle, we came across a farmer’s market in London one Sunday and woo hoo! There was sweetcorn. Unshucked! It wasn’t cheap but, at that point, I didn’t care. 

I bought four, brought them home in the car on the ferry and made this dish for the first time. We ate the elotes with grilled local octopus and it was wonderful.

The very next summer, I finally found whole, intact ears of corn at a farm shop on the east side of the Island (we live in the west side) so I was delighted to make this again! Between the first and second time, I had managed to procured some Tajín, which added more flavorful elements to the finished dish. We enjoyed it with grilled duck breast. 

Hey, when you have the coals lit already, why not make full use of them? It just makes sense and my husband, the master griller, is always willing to do the needful.

 

Elotes – Spicy Cheesy Grilled Corn

If you can’t find Mexican crema, you can substitute plain Greek yogurt like I did or use sour cream. This recipe is adapted from an old one on Serious Eats.

Ingredients

½ cup or 110g finely crumbled Cotija or feta cheese

¼ cup or 60ml mayonnaise

¼ cup or 60ml Mexican crema or plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)

¼ cup finely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems

½ teaspoon cayenne

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

1 clove garlic, finely grated 

4 ears corn on the cob with husks intact

To sprinkle on:

Tajín OR more cayenne and smoked paprika

Method

Combine ½ of the cheese, mayonnaise, crema or yogurt, cilantro, cayenne, smoked paprika and garlic in a large bowl. Stir until homogeneous and set aside. 

Steam the whole cobs, husks on, for five minutes. Gently pull the husks back and remove the silk. Braid the husks and secure the ends with string, if necessary.

Cover the braided husks with aluminum foil.

Light a chimney fire starter full of charcoal. This is the one we have. It’s a Weber.  When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour it out and spread the coals evenly over the coal grate. 

Place the corn directly over the hot coals and cook, rotating occasionally, until the ears are a little charred in spots on all sides.

Place the ears on a plate or cutting board and remove the foil.

Coat the corn with the cheese mixture, then sprinkle on the reserved cheese and some Tajín. Serve immediately. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with corn. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out the corny links below.

• All the Summer's Darlings Salad from Culinary Cam
• Cachapas - Venezuelan Corn Pancakes from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Corn Patties / Corn Potato Chops from Sneha's Recipe
• Elotes - Spicy Cheesy Grilled Corn from Food Lust People Love
• Fresh Corn Relish Salad from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Roasted Corn and Sweet Pepper Chopped Salad with Tomatoes, Black Beans and Summer Squash from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Smoked Paprika Cornbread Croutons from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Southwestern Corn Salad with Chives from Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Succotash Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join. 

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