write a family cookbook

bookmark: http://www.tastebook.com/

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream together 1/2 sugar and 1 tablespoon butter in a large mixing bowl. Add milk and blend.

In a smaller bowl, sift together 1 cup flour, 1 and 1/2 tablespoons cocoa, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well. Pour into an 8×8 inch buttered cake pan.

Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa. Spread over cake batter. In the meantime, bring 1 and 1/4 cups water to a boil. When the water comes to a boil, pull a rack partially out of the oven and place cake pan. Pour boiling water over the entire top and carefully push rack into the oven as not to splash water and prevent getting scalded. Bake cake for for no more than 30 minutes. Do not overbake. Cake may appear not done even though it is. A rich pudding will form under a brownie like top as it bakes. This recipe can be doubled using a 9×13 oblong pan. No adjustment in baking time is needed.

I decided to start posting recipes that I want to use in my family cookbook. This supposed old family recipe came from my husband’s mom. For years I thought it had been handed down through generations until we came across it on an old tin of Hershey’s cocoa after my mother-in-law passed away. The story makes for a good laugh whenever we talk about ancient family recipes.

I think I will start giving this goal some serious attention this year. I have several recipes that both my daughter and stepdaughter have been wanting. My stepdaughter has even started to come up with recipes of her own that she would like to share.

I did this for my sister, as a wedding gift. We have a very large extended family, and we always get together for holidays. Certain dishes have become traditional, since each family brings one thing (usually the same thing every year). My sister was moving to Chicago, and I thought she’d like to be able to make some family favorites when she couldn’t visit for the holidays.

I got a nice, spiral-bound journal, and (secretly) passed it around to each family-member, with instructions to write out 2-3 favorite recipes (and I also requested specific recipes from certain people, like my Aunt Claire’s gingerbread men). It took a couple of months, but I ended up with a really nice, personalized, cookbook.

I have to admit, I copied all the recipes out for myself before I gave the book to my sister!

I’ve got lots of family recipes from my family and my husband’s family and I just want to put together a cookbook for myself, my daughter and my stepdaughter.

I’ve worked on this goal in different ways, even created a blogg. I’ve tried scrapbooking this idea but never saw it to completion. So here it is on the screen, a tangible thing to do.