Autumn Favorites!

Autumn Favorites

By Tamera Bastiaans

One of my favorite autumn memories would have to be coming home to the smell of apples and dumplings on a rainy day. My mom always made a pot as soon as she saw it start to sprinkle. She didn't know how much we expected it until one precipitus afternoon when I came tromping through the door with my friends, sniffed the air and proclaimed "See! I TOLD you she'd make them!" Unbeknownst to my mom, I had been bragging on the bus that I liked when it rained because my mom ALWAYS had apples and dumplings for us when we got home. None of them believed me and challenged me to prove it. That was just one of the many times mom came through for me!

Tamera's Mom Shares the Recipe!

Oh my goodness, I made up the recipe for Apples and Dumplings. I just peeled and sliced apples, put them into a pan with water, sugar and cinnamon. Cooked them till tender. Thickened the juice with a small amount of cornstarch, then made the dumplings with the bisquick recipe (2 cups Bisquick and 2/3 cup milk, but added a bit of sugar and some cinnamon.) Dropped the mixture by spoonfuls (about 10) onto the apples, covered with a lid, and let them cook on the lowest setting till the dumplings were done (about 10 minutes). Served the apples over a dumpling, and sometimes served them with a scoop of ice cream.
~Love,Mom
Another favorite autumn memory would have to be seeing dad come home from Grandma's house, "in town" bearing homemade persimmon cookies. Since he worked in town he would always stop by to visit and in the fall, she usually sent him home with a tin. That was one thing about Grandma, she was never without an empty tin to send something home in! I NEVER hear of anyone out here in Southern California making anything with persimmons anymore. In fact, I often find them a little difficult to locate. Since I have inherited Grandma's recipe for persimmon cookies, I look at it as my job to be sure to find persimmons each fall and spend a few hours peeling, pureeing and freezing the pulp, so that I can make my dad some of these wonderfully moist, delicious cookies when my parents come to visit! Here is Grandma's recipe.

Persimmon Cookies

1 cup persimmon pulp, strained

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 egg

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1 can raisins, optional

Cream Sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl. Add egg, pulp and soda. Stir well. Add all dry ingredients. Add walnuts and raisins last. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

About the Author

Tamera is a stay-at-home-wife who loves to cook, read, write, garden and craft. She has a free email newsletter called Tamera's Tea Time Talk and Culinary Chatter. If you would like to sign up for her newsletter click here.

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