Marguerites Cookbook

A cooking blog all about making vintage recipes from a cookbook we inherited from our grandmother

Christmas Cake Cookies

christmas cake cookies header

A Merry Christmas Eve to everyone! As Christmas approaches, many of you have probably made countless desserts to share with family and friends this holiday season. If you haven’t started yet, or you’re looking for something different to add to your Christmas time cookie arsenal, we have a Christmas Cake Cookie recipe that is a fun and tasty twist on the traditional holiday fruitcake.

christmas cake cookies

Here’s what Marguerite had to say:

christmas cake cookies recipe

As you can see in Marguerite’s ingredient list, she called for dates in addition to quite a few other ingredients. We couldn’t find them easily and we also weren’t too keen on putting them in this recipe anyway. So we decided to skip them and just go with the ingredients we were more familiar with. Now, some of you may be looking at this and saying, ‘a pound of nuts and a pound of candied fruit is going to make a lot of cookies.’ Aaron really wishes he had thought that before he mixed all these ingredients together. Over an hour later and a lot of spooning of dough, Aaron had churned out almost 90 cookies! Now that we’ve made and tasted these cookies, we’re glad we made that many to share with our friends and families, but boy was it tiring at the time.

christmas cookies

I mentioned earlier that these Christmas Cake Cookies are a twist on the holiday fruitcake. We here at Marguerite’s Cookbook have never actually had a traditional fruitcake, but we know all about the negative stereotype fruitcake has been saddled with. If fruitcake has been labeled as dry and hard, these Christmas Cake Cookies are the exact opposite! The cookies were soft and cooked through perfectly, turning out to be yet another success.

cake cookies

We both really enjoyed these cookies, because well, they’re cookies. Having more brown sugar than other cookie recipes was a big plus for me, since I would bathe in brown sugar and butter if it we’re practical. Aaron liked the combination of nuts and candied fruit. The reds and greens of the candied cherries helped put us in a holiday mood and makes these cookies extra festive.We hope our friends and families enjoy these Christmas Cake Cookies as much as we did as we share them over the holidays!

christmas cake cookies and milk

Christmas Cake Cookies
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
90 cookies 1 hour
Cook Time
30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
90 cookies 1 hour
Cook Time
30 minutes
Christmas Cake Cookies
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
90 cookies 1 hour
Cook Time
30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
90 cookies 1 hour
Cook Time
30 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: cookies
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs.
  3. Sift dry ingredients together and add fruits and nuts to dry ingredients.
  4. Add dry ingredients to the rest of the batter.
  5. Drop by teaspoonfuls into tea sized (mini) cupcake liners. Do not grease papers or trays.
  6. Bake for 13 minutes at 350.
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Pumpkin Bread

pumpkinbreadheader Happy Autumn everyone! As the weather cools down around us and the leaves begin to change, that brings to mind one of the most popular fall flavors. Pumpkin. The most famous pumpkin recipe is probably pumpkin pie, but we’ve got that coming for you a bit closer to Thanksgiving.  Today we have a delicious pumpkin bread that really ushers in the fall season.

Here’s what Marguerite had to say:

 

This recipe is actually from another of Marguerite’s teaching colleagues and friends from her many years of teaching, Kathy Hoffman. You may notice it appears one thing is missing from this recipe. While making it, Aaron wasn’t sure the flour was mistakenly forgotten, but it was obvious once all the other ingredients were mixed together that this wasn’t going to turn into bread without flour.

Pumpkin Bread Loaf

After that, this pumpkin bread recipe was very simple to make. It was actually on the same page in the book as our zucchini bread recipe, and is very similar as far as ingredients and prep. I do not like pumpkin flavored things, but I found this pumpkin bread to be delicious! It tasted like autumn. That is, the spices masked the pumpkin flavor enough that I was able to enjoy this. I had too many pieces!

Pumpkin Bread

Aaron also loved how this pumpkin bread tasted more like spices than pumpkin. He also loved the color once it was baked, as well as the smell of the bread baking. He was so excited after tasting it, that he went right back into the kitchen and made another loaf with the remaining pumpkin we had! This was mostly because he knows his coworkers will eat it all up and there will be none left for us! We hope you enjoy this pumpkin bread recipe this fall with us.

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Pumpkin Bread
Print Recipe
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Pumpkin Bread
Print Recipe
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix all ingredients together.
  3. Grease one pan for a large loaf or two pans for two smaller loafs.
  4. Bake approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour.
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Coffee Cake

coffee cake header

Coffee cake is one of those desserts that can be made in so many different ways and with many different flavors. This is just a basic coffee cake recipe given to Marguerite by another of her teaching colleagues, Susie Matha. Sometimes, plain and simple recipes are the way to go.

 

Here is what Susie had to say:

sour-cream-coffee-cake-recipe

First things first, Aaron was confused that this recipe was called sour cream coffee cake and he was confused that the recipe did, in fact, contain sour cream. He did not realize that sour cream can be a common ingredient in baked goods. He also didn’t realize how much work could go in to preparing a baked good to be made. We both felt that it took a bit too long of a time to put together, between the combining of ingredients, the grinding of nuts, and the layering of batter and filling in the pan. But it was sooooooo delicious.

sour cream coffee cake

It was soft and spongy like a well made cake should be, plus the cinnamon, sugar, and nuts (we used almonds), made a delicious filling. We made sure to grease and flour the pan before pouring the batter, which was great help in removing the pieces of cake after baking.

 

The aroma of this cake filled our apartment for like two hours. By the time we cut into it, we we’re impatient and hungry. Cutting the coffee cake a little too soon caused it to be too soft and to crumble as we tried to take it out. Once cooled the cake was easy to cut and plate to eat. Was it ever delicious! I wasn’t crazy about how brown the sides and bottom got, and that may be due to over baking it, or even due to the type of tube pan we used. But I did enjoy the insides of the coffee cake. Aaron enjoyed it greatly as well. He, of course, enjoyed several pieces along with coffee.

coffee cake

Thankfully for both of us, Aaron took the extra to share with his coworkers. They also really enjoyed it and upon cleaning out the container it was in, told Aaron he could “take it home and fill it with more coffee cake!” I think we would consider that a great success.

Coffee Cake
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 cake 40 minutes
Cook Time
90 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 cake 40 minutes
Cook Time
90 minutes
Coffee Cake
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 cake 40 minutes
Cook Time
90 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 cake 40 minutes
Cook Time
90 minutes
Ingredients
Batter
Filling
Servings: cake
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Cream butter and sugar together very well.
  3. Add one egg at a time, beating after each one.
  4. Add sour cream, then vanilla.
  5. Mix well.
  6. Sift together dry ingredients, then slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix well again.
  7. Combine filling ingredients.
  8. Grease and flour tube pan. Put one third of batter into pan, then one third of filling. Then second third of batter and second third of filling. Pour on remaining batter and cut through as for marble cake. Top with remaining filling and bake one and a half hours at 350.
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Pittsburgh Ham Barbecue Sandwiches

Pittsburgh Ham Barbecue Sandwiches

Chipped chopped ham is a Pittsburgh culinary tradition and one of those unique regional things you just can’t find anywhere else. So the fact that we made this recipe from Chicago was a little difficult. Oh? You’re not familiar with the term “chipped chopped ham?” Allow me to explain…

Pittsburgh Ham Barbecue

According to Isaly’s, the premier deli meat supplier in Pittsburgh, chopped ham is made from ham chunks and seasonings, all ground together and then smushed into a loaf. Then, it’s sliced super thin, making it both chipped and chopped. We found thin deli meat very easily, but we could not find chopped ham! We totally could have had some shipped to us here in Chicago, but we have poor planning skills, so we had to settle with ye olde thin ham.

Here is what Marguerite had to say:

Ham Sandwich recipe

Though it wasn’t in the instructions, Aaron decided to cube the ham. Cubing it certainly made it easier to “stuff” the buns more and get more meat on the sandwiches. I highly recommend this extra step.

Pittsburgh Ham Sandwiches

For as simple as the sauce recipe was, it certainly packed a lot of flavor. We we’re both huge fans of these ham barbecue sandwiches and we’re planning on making them frequently (and maybe ordering some chipped chopped ham from Pittsburgh.) Serving them with some potato chips and Pepsi was *muah*

Pittsburgh Ham Barbecue Sandwiches

Her note about purchasing “good buns” for the sandwiches was ignored by us and boy was it a mistake. The barbecue sauce makes the buns beyond soggy. If you’re going to make this, get good buns. Also, it’s very important to use Heinz ketchup in the sauce. Again, it’s a Pittsburgh thing…

Pittsburgh Barbecue Sandwiches

If you’re outside of the Pittsburgh area and don’t want to ship chipped chopped ham in (I totally don’t blame you if you don’t) the regular, thin sliced ham you can pick up in the deli section worked just fine for us. Now go enjoy some ham n’at!

 

Pittsburgh Ham Barbecue Sandwiches
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
8 sandwhiches 5 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Servings Prep Time
8 sandwhiches 5 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Pittsburgh Ham Barbecue Sandwiches
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
8 sandwhiches 5 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Servings Prep Time
8 sandwhiches 5 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: sandwhiches
Instructions
  1. Combine the ketchup, water, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and cinnamon.
  2. Put the barbecue mixture into a saucepan and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
  3. Add the meat and simmer another 10 minutes.
  4. Serve on sandwich buns.
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Cheesecake Recipe

Cheesecakeheader

I love cheesecake. Aaron’s mom makes great cheesecake, so I lucked out marrying into a family of great cheesecake. That being said, I was really excited to try out Marguerite’s cheesecake recipe!

Cheesecake Recipe

Here is what Marguerite’s cheesecake recipe looks like:

Cheesecake Recipe

Preparing the ingredients for the crust was a very time consuming process! It took us a full thirty minutes to crush up regular whole graham crackers into crumbs small enough for the crust. We did want to try to make it exactly as Marguerite would, so we went through all that trouble. What we did find out, as you can see, is that 20 graham crackers made a very thick crust.

Cheesecake Recipe Piece

Even though the crust was thick, it was delicious! The addition of walnuts and cinnamon in the crust made for a delicious extra boost of flavor that really complemented the plain flavor of the cheesecake.

Cheesecake Recipe

My other favorite thing about cheesecake is having strawberries with it. So we made some sugared strawberries to go on top of our cheesecake. At that point I was itching to have some of this cheesecake. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed! It was simply delicious. Aaron really enjoyed it too (is there anything he doesn’t enjoy though?)

Cheesecake Recipe

Our first attempt at cheesecake did not come without some difficulties. The cheesecake cracked across the top, and parts of the sides browned a little more than other parts. We consulted with our cheesecake expert, Aaron’s mom, and she let us know what she thought happened. First of all, even though Marguerite’s instructions said so, Aaron’s mom thought it was a little too high of a temperature in the oven.  She would suggest a lower temperature for a longer length of time. She also thought we could have over beaten our batter, could have had some difficulties due to it being the inaugural run of our spring form pan, or it could have been due to using an electric oven instead of gas. Regardless, this cheesecake was delicious and we will be making it again, probably halving the crust so it’s not as thick. Hope you enjoy it too!

Cheesecake Recipe

Cheesecake Recipe
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 Cheesecake 45 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
35 minutes 5 hours
Servings Prep Time
1 Cheesecake 45 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
35 minutes 5 hours
Cheesecake Recipe
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 Cheesecake 45 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
35 minutes 5 hours
Servings Prep Time
1 Cheesecake 45 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
35 minutes 5 hours
Ingredients
Crust
Filling
Servings: Cheesecake
Instructions
Crust
  1. Mix graham cracker crumbs, chopped walnut and cinnamon. Add melted butter.
  2. Press into spring form pan.
Filling
  1. Combine all the filling ingredients except the sour cream. Mix until smooth.
  2. Add sour cream.
  3. Pour into crust.
Baking Instructions
  1. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.
  2. Let cool in the oven with the door open for one hour.
  3. Chill for at least four to five hours.
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Zucchini Bread Recipe

Zucchini Bread

Zucchini + Bread is the way to a girl’s heart. More specifically Shannon’s heart. I love bread and zucchini dishes get me hyped up. Needless to say, I was excited for this recipe.
When we initially picked this, I browsed over it quickly and saw “bread” and “zucchini.” I actually thought we were making breaded/fried zucchini. Oops.

I was disappointed for a hot second, but then I got very excited to try something new.

Here is what Marguerite had to say:

Original Zucchini Bread

The best way to describe this bread is a flavor-packed, fluffy slice of deliciousness. Seriously, if you want an appetizer that’s rich and easy to make, try this zucchini bread.

Zucchini BreadNot only did we enjoy this zucchini bread, but we shared it twice with friends and family over the past month and it was a smash success both times.

Aaron took the leftovers of our first attempt to work and his co-workers raved. Then we hosted my parents and Aaron’s mom for dinner so that we could share some of the cool things Marguerite’s book has been teaching us. Again, the bread was a hit. The other dishes were also enjoyed, but more on those later.

Zucchini Bread

Our favorite thing about this bread was how easy it was to make and how moist it turned out. Based on our very limited cooking knowledge, we believed achieving moistness in bread to be a difficult thing to do. If that is the case, this zucchini bread recipe is the exception.

Zucchini Bread

As much as I love zucchini dishes, I actually felt like this was just a little too heavy on the zucchini flavor. Say what? I guess I was expecting more of a bread with a hint of zucchini, instead of the packed in flavor this bread delivers. It may just be a personal preference as well.

Aaron loved the consistency of the bread. Each time we made it, he was in charge of zucchini prep and felt chopping it then blending it was “tedious.” I think he just wanted to try it sooner…

Other than a somewhat laborious prep (if you have a food processor, this won’t be as much of an issue) this bread is very easy to make. Once you’ve got everything chopped up, it’s as simple as mixing and throwing it in the oven.

PinterestBread
Zucchini Bread
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
2 loaves 30 minutes
Cook Time
45-60 minutes
Servings Prep Time
2 loaves 30 minutes
Cook Time
45-60 minutes
Zucchini Bread
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
2 loaves 30 minutes
Cook Time
45-60 minutes
Servings Prep Time
2 loaves 30 minutes
Cook Time
45-60 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: loaves
Instructions
  1. Grate the zucchini to whatever thickness you'd like. For this, very fine works best.
  2. Beat eggs until light and foamy.
  3. Add oil, sugar, vanilla, and grated zucchini.
  4. Mix together dry ingredients and add to egg and zucchini mixture.
  5. Put in two greased loaf pans.
  6. Bake at 325 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until lightly browned. Test to see if done. Remove from pan at once and cool on rack.
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