Recipe Box Show and Tell

Kay at Mason-Dixon Knitting shared her Mother's Recipe Box and requested we all show our Boxes.

I have two boxes; first is my Mother-in-Law's wooden box that I inherited.



The Photographer can't remember a time in his childhood when it wasn't sitting on their kitchen counter next to the Sunbeam Mixer. It's simply stamped "Japan" on the bottom.

I'm sharing her Crazy Cake Recipe; both my girls as teenagers won ribbons at the Del Mar Fair with this cake.

Crazy Chocolate Cake

2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup shortening (we use butter or half butter and half Crisco)
1 cup cocoa
1 cup sour milk (1 tablspoon white vinegar and rest milk to equal one cup)
2 teaspoons soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup boiling black coffee

Put all ingredient in bowl of mixer in order given -
Do Not Stir until coffee is added.
Beat 3 minutes.
Pour into 2-8" prepared cake pans or a 9"X13" prepared pan.
(Dust pans with cocoa rather than flour)
Bake at 325 degrees F. for 35 mins or until a toothpick comes
out clean.
Cool and frost as desired.
(In our family it was usually chocolate ganache made from semi-sweet chocolate chips)

My Recipe Box is very plain beige plastic but it holds a special memory for me.



Many years ago my old green metal 3X5 file box was overflowing - couldn't even close the lid. One Mother's Day my youngest bought this box and covered the lid with pink wrapping paper as my gift. I've used it and treasured it for years while the pink paper slowly deteriorated. Just this past November while she was over helping with Christmas baking she recovered the top as a surprise for me; she had no memory that the box was originally from her and the pink paper was her childhood handiwork. Seems fitting that she was the one that updated it's look.

My recipe to share is a cookie recipe that I have on a 1 cent postcard dated 1949 that my Mother received from her Mother. It's a soft cake like Oatmeal Cookie.



I usually add vanilla and walnuts and double the cinnamon; sometimes I even add chocolate chips.

The directions are difficult to read so I will write them out.

Put milk on oats in seperate bowl.
In second bowl measure flour, soda, baking powder, cinnamon
In bowl of mixer blend shortening, sugar and eggs. Add vanilla, raisins and nuts and stir in.
Add alternately, oatmeal and flour mixture.
Bake 350 degrees F. for 18 mins on greased cookie sheet.

I hope you try both of these recipes and that you enjoy them as much as the several generations of our family has. If you have any questions I'd be happy to hear from you.