Christmas at Carnton (Carnton 0.5)(59)



1 cup water

1 cup vegetable oil





4 large eggs


1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree 3 cups flour





2 teaspoons baking soda


? teaspoon baking powder

1? teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves





1 teaspoon nutmeg


1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts) Mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl. Pour into three greased standard-size loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. This no-fail recipe is wonderful on a cold winter’s eve, especially when shared with someone you love.



Scrumptious Southern Shortbread ? cup butter at room temp (1? sticks) ? cup powdered sugar

? teaspoon vanilla

1? cups flour (sifted)


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray small (8-or 9-inch) cast iron skillet very lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, then vanilla. Next, work in the flour. You can use an electric mixer, or you can get into the 1860s way of doing things and knead the dough on an unfloured surface until smooth.

Press dough into skillet and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes, then flip pan over onto wooden cutting board. Cut shortbread into pieces while still warm; it will set up as it cools. Or serve warm. Yields 10 to 12 servings. And it really does. This recipe is rich and delicious!



Tempy’s Old-Fashioned Butter Cookies 1 cup butter, softened

? cup sugar

2 large egg yolks (no whites) 1 teaspoon vanilla





2 cups flour


? teaspoon salt

Pecan halves


Combine butter, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla in mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well combined. Add flour and salt; beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten balls to ? inch with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Place pecan half in center of each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to cooling rack.



VARIATIONS: ? Use a decorative cookie stamp instead of the bottom of a glass.

? To make old-fashioned crescent cookies, use almond extract instead of vanilla and crushed almonds instead of pecans. Delicious!

? This recipe also makes scrumptious thumbprint cookies. Add your favorite buttercream frosting on top and voilà! Another wonderful holiday cookie along with great memories when you involve the kids.



Aletta’s Chocolate Cream Pie 2? cups milk, separated

1 cup sugar





4 tablespoons flour


Dash salt


3 tablespoons cocoa


3 egg yolks, well beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon butter





1 baked 9-inch pie shell



Heat 2 cups milk to almost boiling, being careful not to burn. Mix sugar, flour, salt, and cocoa; stir dry mixture into ? cup cold milk until well moistened. Add beaten egg yolks. Then add entire mixture to hot milk and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Add vanilla and butter. Cool slightly before pouring into baked pie shell. Cover with basic meringue (recipe follows) and brown in oven.



Basic Meringue





3 egg whites


Dash salt


? teaspoon cream of tartar





6 tablespoons sugar



Beat egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar until stiff but not dry. Gradually add sugar; beat after each tablespoon until sugar is partially dissolved. Scoop onto pie, making sure to seal the edges. Bake at 325 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes, watching closely so as not to overbrown. Enjoy!



Carrie McGavock’s Chow-Chow Carrie McGavock’s recipe for this cherished vegetable relish appeared in the Tennessee Model Household Guide. She noted, “Will keep for years.”





2 pecks green cucumbers


? peck green tomatoes





1 pint green peppers


? peck onions

1 ounce celery seed

1 ounce white mustard seed 1 ounce turmeric

1 ounce whole cloves





3 tablespoons ground mustard


Grated horseradish and black pepper to taste





2 pounds brown sugar



Slice or chop vegetables fine, salt well, and hang in thin cloth to drip in eve. Next morning scald in weak vinegar, then squeeze, dry, and add strong vinegar.

Now what on earth is a peck, you might ask? I asked the same thing. A peck is one-fourth of a bushel. Does that help? No, it didn’t help me much either. In dry measure, a peck is 8 quarts. So when Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, exactly how many peppers did Peter Piper pick? That depends on the type of pepper, of course, but the answer would be somewhere between 10 and 14 pounds. So this recipe is definitely intended to be canned—unless you’re making chow-chow for a very large crowd! Or, say, a hog killing or Women’s Relief Christmas auction!

Thanks to the staff at Carnton for giving permission to share this family recipe.

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