Betcha Can't Eat Just One

Whoopie Pies--these two words make me think of back home and our  Pennsylvania Dutch country kitchen with the old-fashioned wood stove. So I have something in common with the famous whoopie pies--we both originated in Pennsylvania. I can feel my five senses beginning to work overtime.
                                                                                                                                           

Sight: Whoopie pies actually aren't pies at all. They're a sandwich cake, 2 round little (or make them as big as you want) chocolate cakes with rich, creamy filling (and lots of it) in the middle.

Hearing: I hear myself asking Mom, "May I make whoopie pies?" And her answer, "Yes."


Smell: Just like a Food Network Star says, "It smells so good in here. We need smellavision."

Touch: Most of the time I'd eat my whoopie pies just like a sandwich, getting tasty bites of the soft mixture of moist chocolate cake and cream filling. Other times I'd try eating them like an oreo cookie. First, one soft chocolate cake, then lick off the filling, followed by the other round little cake.

Taste: Perfect combo--the deep chocolate flavor with the vanilla-white filling. I always doubled the ingredients when mixing the filling so I could be extra generous scooping on the creamy stuff!

With all the varieties of whoopie pies today--pumpkin cakes with cream cheese filling, or chocolate cakes with raspberry--or peppermint--or peanut butter--or espresso filling--I still like the originals the best.

And why are they called whoopie pies? Appparently,  Pennsylvania Dutch Amish wives would bake these desserts and pack them in their husbands' lunchboxes. When the farmers would open their lunches and see the sweet temptations, they would shout, "Whoopie!"

Pennsylvania Dutch Recipes

The cooler weather the last several days has given me "fall fever" which is not a good thing since the hot weather is said to be returning soon!  One of my favorite things about fall is Snitz and Knepp (Schnitz un Knepp).  Of course, I can eat this comfort meal any time of the year, but I associate it with fall, probably because of the apples in it.

Let me tell you about  Snitz and Knepp!  It  is a Pennsylvania Dutch Recipe consisting of dried apples (the snitz/Schnitz) and flour dumplings (the knepp), so it translates "Apples and Dumplings." 

To make Snitz and Knepp, you start by cooking two pounds of ham covered in water for about two hours. Add 2 cups of dried apples (that’s the snitz/schnitz) that have been soaked in water overnight. Also add the water they were soaked in. Add 2 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Make sure there’s still enough water to cover.


Then you  make the dumplings (the knepp). Mix 2 cups flour, 4 tablespoons baking powder, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup milk to make dumplings. Drop by spoonfuls into the boiling ham, apples, and liquid. Cover the pan and cook for 15-20 additional minutes. (This is when my mother would shoo me out of the kitchen because, as a little girl, I always wanted to lift the lid and peek, which is a "knepp no-no"!)

Serve and enjoy, being sure to include some ham, snitz, and knepp in each bite!

When I make Snitz and Knepp, I use smoked sausage instead of ham, simply because my mother made it with sausage and that is how I like it.  I usually don't have dried apples on hand, so I just use fresh tart apples, peeled and sliced.

I grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and my heritage is Pennsylvania Dutch.  The Pennsylvania Dutch today are descendants from German-speaking immigrants. The "Dutch" does not mean we are Dutch people from the Netherlands. Rather, the German word for German is "Deutsch." So we are really Pennsylvania Germans or Deutsch.  You can see how the "Deutsch" ended up being "Dutch".  So Pennsylvania Germans are called Pennsylvania Dutch!

Shoo, Fly!

What do you save room for on Thanksgiving?  Pie!

Yet, there was probably no pumpkin, apple, or pecan pie at the First Thanksgiving Feast in 1621.  The Pilgrims had venison and fowl to cook with, and it quite likely that their pies were made with these meats.

My family--being Pennsylvania Dutch--always adds Shoo Fly Pie to our dessert menu on every holiday.

The name certainly gets attention!  The "fun" reason for the name is that the farmer's wife put the pie in the window for it to cool, but the sweetness attracted the flies. So she shooed them away.  So,  Shoo Fly Pie. However, some people spoil that fun and claim shoofly is an alteration of some German word.  (The Pennsylvania Dutch today are descendants from German-speaking immigrants.  The German word for German is "Deutsch."  So we are really Pennsylvania Germans or Deutsch who somehow ended up being called Pennsylvania Dutch.)

Anyway, here is my sister's recipe for Shoo Fly Pie:

1 cup flour
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 T. shortening
1 egg, beaten
1 cup King syrup
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup hot water

Make crumbs of flour, dark brown sugar, and shortening.  Reserve 1/2 cup for topping.

In a separate bowl, mix egg, King syrup, and 3/4 cup hot water. Add to dry mixture.

Dissolve baking soda in remaining 1/4 cup water.  Add to mixture.  Pour into unbaked pie shell. Top with reserved 1/2 cup crumbs.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

My favorite pie is, yes, the Shoo Fly Pie!  What is your favorite pie and/or pie story? Please comment!

I'm Traditionally Correct Today!

(photo by Limages, Dreamstime.com)

Today I am a "traditionally correct" German/Pennsylvania Dutch descendant.   I am eating pork and sauerkraut for dinner.  I put the pork in the crock pot along with lots and lots of sauerkraut, and the smell in the house is reminding me how impatiently hungry I am.  (The cats smell it, too!)   Now all I have to do is peel some potatoes and mash them.  And so my first meal of the New Year promises me good luck and prosperity during 2010!

At least that's what Pennsylvania Dutch tradition says.  I don't believe in luck, and I certainly don't believe that prosperity is dependent on what I eat one day of the year.  But since one of my favorite meals is pork and sauerkraut,  I am always happy to follow this tradition. 

Why pork? Some people say it is because it is difficult for a pig to look back as it has to turn around to see behind itself .  So the pig is thought to be an animal that looks forward.  We may all want to look forward on New Year's Day! 

Is there anything we should not eat on New Year's Day?  If you believe in luck (or the lack of it), you don't want to eat chicken.  It is said that because a chicken scratches backwards, that signifies dwelling on the past and living with regret.  Another chicken theory says that because a chicken has wings, your good luck could fly away.

So what are you eating this New Year's Day?  Are you following a tradition common to where you live?

"Koom Essa" or "Come Eat"

My heritage is Pennsylvania Dutch. (See blog post  Too Soon Old And Too Late Smart! ) We like to cook and eat!  Our recipes are simple and hearty.  Many recipes have been passed down from mother to daughter, either by word of mouth or handwritten on paper scraps such as the backs of torn-off calendar pages.  Ingredients might be measured by "handfulls", "pinches", "enough to sweeten", or "salt to taste."

So, "Koom essa," or "Come eat".   This is how you may be invited to a Pennsylvania Dutch meal where there is plenty of good food!

(photo by Cathy Clapper,  Dreamstime.com)

Red beet eggs are a popular pickled  Pennsylvania Dutch food.  My family includes them in the menu at every family gathering, even our traditional Easter and Christmas dinners.

Recipe for Red Beet Eggs

2 cans red beets and juice

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup sugar

6 hard-boiled eggs, whole with shells taken off

Heat the beets, vinegar, and sugar together until sugar dissolves.  Add the eggs to this mixture; the juice needs to cover the eggs.

Make this recipe at least one day early so the eggs absorb the pickled taste and turn a deep red beet color.

Too Soon Old And Too Late Smart!

I grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, also known as "Amish Country."  The Amish are Pennsylvania Dutch, but not all Pennsylvania Dutch are Amish.

"Dutch" does not mean they are Dutch people from the Netherlands.  Rather, the German word for German is "Deutsch."  So they are really Pennsylvania Germans or Deutsch who somehow ended up being called Pennsylvania Dutch!  The Pennsylvania Dutch today are descendants from German-speaking immigrants.

I've been thinking about PA Dutch sayings or expressions I heard or spoke as a child.  However, when I left home at age eighteen, I quickly learned to change some of my words!  You'll understand why!

It wonders me . . .

Outen the lights.

I get so befuddled.

She writes so fancy like.

I can't make her out.

Eat yourself full.

And, of course, I could always entertain people by telling them some old stand-by PA Dutch idioms or proverbs.

We get too soon old and too late smart.

Kissin' wears out . . . cookin' don't!

No woman can be happy with less than seven to cook for!

A plump wife and a big barn never did any man any harm!

What's the use of a pretty table if there's nothing on it?

Can you add any Pennsylvania Dutch expressions?  Please comment.

What's That Aroma Coming From the Oven?

Yesterday I was leafing through my recipe box which contains some of my mother's old recipes.  I found her recipe card for Raisin Pie.  It is well-worn with food stains on it.  So doesn't that mean it was a much loved recipe and used often?

Raisin Pie is also sometimes called Funeral Pie.  It was a popular dessert to take for the potluck meal following a funeral.  It could be made ahead of time, and would also keep well without refrigeration.

My Mother's Recipe for Old Fashioned Raisin Pie/Funeral Pie

2 cups raisins

2 cups water

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 TB cornstarch

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 TB white distilled vinegar

1 TB butter

Combine raisins and water and cook for about 5 minutes.  Blend brown sugar, corn starch, cinnamon, and salt.  Add to the raisins and cook until clear, stirring while cooking.  Remove from heat and stir in vinegar and butter.  Pour into pastry-lined plate.  Cover with top pastry.  Bake at 425 degrees until brown (approx. 30 minutes.

Do you need a good pastry recipe to go with this pie? This pastry recipe has vinegar as an ingredient, which helps the dough to be light and flaky.

Vinegar Pastry

3 cups flour

1 cup shortening

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

5 tablespoons cold water

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

Mix flour, shortening, and salt until fine crumbs about the size of small peas.  Beat in egg.  Add cold water and vinegar.  Combine with flour and shortening mixture.

This recipe makes three single 9-inch pastries.  Bake at 425 degrees.  You can freeze the unbaked dough, or store it in the refrigerator about two weeks.

So what's your favorite pie?