It’s a snowy Saturday here in Virginia and it’s the perfect day to bake comfort food – chocolate chip cookies 🍪

I had a few bags of different types of chocolate morsels and didn’t want to make the traditional one type chocolate chip cookie so I combined all that I had – bittersweet, white and dark chocolate morsels + of course, walnuts for the ultimate cookie crunch.

Now I can’t stop eating them!

Here is my own personal recipe. Enjoy ❤️

The Historical Homemaker’s Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 Cup (1 Stick Unsalted Butter)

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

1 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour

1 large egg

Dash of Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Cup of chocolate morsels (bittersweet, white and dark chocolate)

1/2 Cup Walnuts (or pecans)

Directions

In a large bowl, mix the softened butter, vanilla, egg, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined.

Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix thoroughly until a soft dough is formed.

Add the chocolate chips and nuts (I used walnuts). Stir really well until everything is combined.

Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Cool on a baking rack for a few minutes and then enjoy!

Buttermilk Pie is believed to have first originated in England and the recipe was brought to the United States by Southern settlers.

The pie was predominately made in Texas where they were very resourceful with buttermilk because it was in large abundance and also inexpensive.

Buttermilk Pie is very similar to Chess Pie and the only real difference is that Chess Pie uses cornmeal as a main ingredient while Buttermilk Pie does not.

Southern Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients

1 ½ cups sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup butter, melted

1 tablespoon loosely packed lemon zest

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Store bought refrigerated Pie Crust (or you can make your own homemade pie crust…I used the store bought refrigerated pie crust)

Garnishes: fresh berries, whipped cream, fresh mint

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together first 2 ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk eggs and next 5 ingredients into flour mixture.

Pour into the pie crust.

Bake at 350°F for 35 to 45 minutes or until almost set, shielding edges with aluminum foil after 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and cool 1 hour.

I used the recipe from Southern Living.

Today in American history…George Washington was born on a plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia on February 22, 1732. We all know the stories of him being a hero of the French and Indian War…the Revolutionary War…and the very first President of the United States and is often referred to as “our founding father.”

But did you know that he was just a regular guy who loved to eat breakfast at his beloved home Mount Vernon?

In honor of George Washington’s Birthday today we made his favorite breakfast: Hoe Cakes. President Washington loved to have his favorite breakfast topped with a lot of butter and honey along with a cup of hot tea.

Washington Irving once wrote that our founding father’s favorite meal often included “two small cups of tea and three or four cakes of Indian meal (called hoe cakes).”

Here’s the recipe from Southern Eats & Goodies. It’s very simple to make that you can make them in your own kitchen and eat like George Washington!

Cheesecake was very popular in the new colonies. By the 1730’s the city of Philadelphia even had a tavern called the “Cheesecake House!” How cool is that? I wonder if it was like our beloved Cheesecake Factory – but colonial style 😉

Cheesecake was also listed in the book A Booke of Cookery and Book of Sweet Meats which was given to Martha Washington upon her first marriage to Daniel Custis in 1749. In the book, Cheesecake is also listed as a Curd Pudding. These were all flavored with rose water, spices and currants.

The basis of the American Cheesecake changed dramatically in the 1930’s from a cheese curd type to a much creamier and richer flavor – as well as texture – due the use of cream cheese in the filling.

Our friend, Tara, asked that I make a Red Velvet Oreo Cheesecake for her husband’s birthday this weekend. Luckily I had enough Oreo’s to make the crust thanks to my Oreo loving Mr. Dixon 🤣

Happy Birthday to Kevin! Enjoy your special day…and your cheesecake!

Red Velvet Oreo Cheesecake

Ingredients

Directions for the Oreo Crust

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9” springform pan with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a food processor, pulse the Oreo Cookies until you get 2 cups of crumbs. Add in the salt and butter and pulse until thoroughly combined.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Directions for the Cheesecake Filling

Mix in the vanilla, heavy cream, buttermilk, and vinegar and mix until combined.

Bake on 350 degrees for 15 minutes then, without opening the oven door (I know you want to peek. I’m a peeker too!) reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees and bake for an additional 50 minutes.

Once the 50 minutes is up, turn the heat off and slightly crack the oven door for about 20-30 minutes to allow the cheesecake to slowly cool. (NOTE: this step is not necessary, however it is so incredibly helpful because it helps reduce cracking – and we don’t want a “Humpty Dumpty” cracked head lookin’ cheesecake!)

Chocolate Ganache Topping

With the whipped cream topping, it’s important that you serve immediately. If you aren’t serving immediately, refrigerate the cake until you are ready to serve – then top with the whipped cream (and chocolate shavings is beautiful on the top too!)

I used the recipe from My Heavenly Recipes. Make sure to look on their site for additional delicious recipes too!

The Hummingbird Cake is a Southern favorite. The tantalizing 3-layered cake with bananas and crushed pineapple is just as what my husband likes to say…”it’s lip smacking’ Betty Cracking” (that’s my Mr. Dixon for ya! 🤣)

The recipe for Hummingbird Cake was first submitted to Southern Living magazine in 1978 by Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina and would become the magazine’s best selling cake. Ever. After making this delicious cake for years, I can understand why. Especially layered and topped with homemade cream-cheese icing? It doesn’t get much better than this.

This coming Monday (February 20th) is my friend Becca’s birthday. Hey, it’s also President’s Day FYI. But anyway…back to Becca. She is a friend. Also the dog walker aka “dog whisperer” to my two rambunctious 70 pound Australian Shepards, Waylon and Willie. She also loves Hummingbird Cake. So to show my appreciation of her – especially for dealing with my boys on a daily basis – I made her favorite cake…which just so happens to be a vintage one too!

Now onto everything for Hummingbird Cake…

Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely, about 1 hour.

Time to make the Cream Cheese Icing😋

Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Increase speed to medium-high, and beat until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

Top with second layer, and spread with 1 cup frosting. Top with third layer, and spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Arrange pecan halves on top of cake in a circular pattern.

Today in American history…Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville, Kentucky.

In honor of President Lincoln’s birthday, we made one of his favorite desserts: Mary Todd Lincoln’s White Cake. Read here to learn more about the history behind the cake and about family life in Springfield, Illinois.

Mary Todd Lincoln’s White Cake

Ingredients

1 cup blanched almonds, chopped in a food processor until they resemble a coarse flour
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
6 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
confectionary sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a Bundt cake pan.

Cream butter and sugar. Sift flour and baking powder 3 times. Add to creamed butter and sugar, alternating with milk. Stir in almonds and beat well.

Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into the batter. Stir in vanilla extract.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Turn out on a wire rack and cool. When cool, sift confectionary sugar over top

A basic white frosting sprinkled with almonds was also popular.

This morning as I was just researching historical recipes and looking for ingredients that I had readily available – I came across one that sounded delicious.

And easy.

Honey Cake. I love honey. I love cake. Yummy yummy!

Honey Cake was published in The Book of Household Management by Isabella Beeton in 1861.

Original Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 breakfast-cupful of sugar

1 breakfast-cupful of rich sour cream

2 breakfast-cupfuls of flour

1/2 teaspoonful of carbonate of soda

honey to taste

Directions

Mix the sugar and cream together.

Dredge in the flour, with as much honey as will flavour the mixture nicely. Stir it well, that all the ingredients may be thoroughly mixed.

Add the carbonate of soda.

Beat the cake well for another 5 minutes.

Put it into a buttered tin.

Bake it from 1/2 to 3/4 hour, and let it be eaten warm.

Modern Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 Cup of Sugar

1 Cup of Sour Cream

2 Cups of Flour

1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon of Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon of Salt

1 Cup of Honey

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease (or use butter or cooking spray) a loaf pan.

In a medium sized bowl, mix the sugar and sour cream together.

Add the flour and honey. Stir thoroughly.

Add the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix thoroughly. Beat well for about 5 minutes.

Pour into greased pan.

Bake for 30-45 minutes. Keep checking until a toothpick comes out clean.

Today in American history…our 40th U.S. President, Ronald Wilson Reagan, was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois.

To honor President Reagan on his birthday we made some of his favorite foods in the kitchen tonight. One of them was Macaroni and Cheese (be still my heart!). While doing research for recipes, I was fortunate to come across Nancy Reagan’s personal recipe.

President Reagan also loved baked apples. Great comfort food! So we made baked apples tonight as well 🍎😋 We used the recipe from Baked with Love right here

And we couldn’t end the night without indulging in his ultimate favorite: jellybeans. President Reagan once said, “You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jellybeans.”

What was President Franklin Roosevelt’s favorite food? According to Henrietta Nesbitt, the White House housekeeper during his administration, President Roosevelt had a very simple taste in foods. He liked food “he could dig into.” Among his favorite dishes were scrambled eggs, fish chowder, grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, and fruitcake.

Instead of the traditional grilled cheese, we did it with a “twist” with bourbon caramelized onions and ALOT of cheese (of course!)

Grilled Cheese with Bourbon Melted Onions

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large red onion, halved, thinly sliced lengthwise

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp bourbon

1 1/2 tsp + 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

12 ounces (3 cups) of your favorite grated cheeses (we used cheddar blend and mozzarella

8 slices of crusty bread (we used Sara Lee’s Artesano Bakery Bread – because it’s my favorite!)

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until caramelized and very tender. Stir in sugar, salt, and pepper. Add bourbon, scraping up all brown bits in bottom of skillet. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoon butter until melted; keep warm. (Makes about 1 cup.)

In a medium bowl, toss cheeses until well combined. Divide evenly into 4 portions; press each into a disk-like patty to fit the size of the bread slices.

Spread 1/4 cup of the onion mixture on each of 4 slices of bread. Top each with a cheese patty and another slice of bread. Spread 1 1/2 teaspoon of the butter on 1 side of each sandwich.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Place 2 sandwiches, butter side down, in skillet. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, until golden brown. While first side is cooking, spread 1 1/2 teaspoon of the butter on other side of each sandwich. Turn sandwiches and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until second side is crispy and golden brown and cheese has melted. Repeat with remaining 2 sandwiches.

Today in American History…Nancy Hanks Lincoln was born on February 5, 1784 in Hampshire County, Virginia (present day Mineral County, West Virginia).

Not much is known of Nancy Hanks Lincoln except for the most important aspect: she was Abraham Lincoln’s mother. There aren’t any pictures of her – only a depiction (made into a painting by Lloyd Ostendorf, February 12, 1963. We do know that she was a warm, caring mother and that her son, Abraham Lincoln, loved her very much. He was only nine years old when his mother died of milk sickness on October 5, 1818.

Throughout his life, he recalled the love of his mother and once said, “I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.”

William Herndon, law partner and a close confidante of Abraham Lincoln, later wrote a book, Life of Lincoln, and described Nancy Hanks Lincoln most likely from Lincoln’s memories of his mother and those who knew her:

“…She was above the ordinary height in stature, weighed about 130 pounds, was slenderly built, and had much the appearance of one inclined to consumption. Her skin was dark; hair dark brown; eyes gray and small; forehead prominent; face sharp and angular, with a marked expression for melancholy which fixed itself in the memory of all who ever saw or knew her. Though her life was clouded by a spirit of sadness, she was in disposition amiable and generally cheerful…”