Today in American History…former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884 in New York City.

Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady during the era of The Great Depression. She was very mindful of this and The White House meals were often very frugal and she tried to implement a low-cost menu whenever possible.

Ernest Hemingway once dined with the Roosevelt’s at The White House and found the food to be not very spectacular. In a letter to his mother-in-law, Ernest Hemingway wrote of his dinner experience at The White House:

“…We had rainwater soup followed by rubber squab, a nice wilted salad and a cake some admirer had sent in by an enthusiastic but unskilled admirer.”

Eleanor Roosevelt did, however, indulge in her favorite dessert during these years – which was also a favorite of her Uncle Theodore Roosevelt’s as well.

Her favorite dessert was quite simple and was a delicious and simple Hasty Pudding.

Hasty Pudding was once referred to as Indian Pudding. The dessert most likely originated in Britain and the recipe brought over by the colonists. While the British recipe consisted of flour, the American colonists used cornmeal because of the abundance of corn in the colonies. As the recipe evolved, it incorporated the use of sugar or molasses, eggs and spices to the ingredients.

Hasty pudding is not a very elegant dessert and is often referred to as mush because well…it’s kind of mushy.

This didn’t stop Eleanor Roosevelt from serving it at The White House for dessert at a Thanksgiving Dinner meal one year. Instead of the traditional pumpkin pie, she served Hasty Pudding.

She also made sure to top it with vanilla ice cream.

Here’s a wonderful recipe for Hasty Pud-ding. It’s very easy to make and how wonderful it is to be able to taste and enjoy something Eleanor (and Teddy!) Roosevelt enjoyed so very much during their lifetime.

Hasty Pudding

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup molasses

¼ cup brown sugar

1/3 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

Optional: Vanilla Ice Cream or Whipped Cream for a topping

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, heavy cream, molasses and brown sugar almost to a simmer over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, ginger, cinnamon and salt.

Add the cornmeal mixture to the milk mixture and whisk together. Bring to a simmer and keep whisking.

Pour the mixture into an 8-by-8-inch baking dish. The batter will be thin.

Bake the pudding in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir well and then return the pudding to the oven and continue cooking for another 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven.

The pudding will still be quite wobbly but will set as it cools. Let it cool for 20 minutes and serve warm.

For extra deliciousness, serve the pudding topped with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

In honor of former President Jimmy Carter’s birthday today (his 100th!) I made Peanut Butter Cookies and used his grandmother’s recipe.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup peanut butter

1 egg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all ingredients. Form into walnut sized balls.

Put on ungreased cookie sheet, then mash down slightly with a fork in a criss-cross pattern.

Bake for 8 – 10 minutes until golden brown.

Today in American history…our 39th U.S. President, Jimmy Carter, was born on October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia. (Interesting fact: He was the first President to be born in a hospital)

Some of his lifetime accomplishments were:

🇺🇸 Served in the U.S. Navy from 1946-1953 (and then in the U.S. Naval Reserves on inactive duty from 1953-1961)
🇺🇸 Member of the Georgia Senate (14th District) from 1963-1967
🇺🇸 Governor of Georgia from 1971-1975
🇺🇸President of the United States from 1977-1981
🇺🇸Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for co-founding The Carter Center

“Earlier in my life I thought the things that mattered were the things that you could see, like your car, your house, your wealth, your property, your office. But as I’ve grown older I’ve become convinced that the things that matter most are the things that you can’t see — the love you share with others, your inner purpose, your comfort with who you are.” Jimmy Carter

Fall is probably my most favorite time of the year for baking because I love all things with pumpkin and apple in the ingredients.

In the kitchen today I made delicious pumpkin apple muffins – so needless to say…I’m a happy girl today. It’s a perfect Fall day to enjoy a pumpkin apple muffin and enjoy a cup of coffee because after all…it’s National Coffee Day!

I hope you all are enjoying the cooler temps and have a wonderful Sunday.

Pumpkin Apple Muffins

Muffin Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoons ground nutmeg

2 eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup grated apple (about 2 medium sized apples)

Crumb Topping Ingredients

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons melted butter

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda and salt together and whisk the ingredients together. Set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, add the eggs, pumpkin and vegetable oil and mix well.

Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture.

Add the grated apples and gently fold into the batter until combined.

Scoop the mixture into well greased muffin tins – you can also line with paper or silicone liners too.

Time to make the crumb topping!

In a small bowl, add the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and melted butter together and mix until all of the flour is incorporated.

Sprinkle the crumb topping directly on top of the muffin batter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until completely done (do the “toothpick check” to make sure!)

Remove from the oven. Allow the muffins to cool slightly before removing from pan.

Enjoy! 🎃 🍎

Buttermilk Pie is one of my favorite desserts of all time. I love custard pies so much and this is truly mouth-watering delicious.

Southern Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients

1½ cups sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 large eggs, whisked

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 degrees.

Whisk together the flour and sugar in a large bowl.

Add in the whisked eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla.

Pour into the prepared pie crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until almost set, shielding edges with aluminum foil after 15 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 1 hour before serving.

I piped homemade whipped cream along the edges just for some extra deliciousness 😋

We’re coming upon the time of year again to where we’ll be making a lot of delicious soup and chili. What goes best with soup and chili? Cornmeal Muffins of course 😋

Cornmeal Muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

2 TBSP granulated sugar

1 TBSP baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

6 TBSP salted butter, melted

2 TBSP honey

2 large eggs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line the cups with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, add the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt and whisk together until combined.

In a separate medium bowl, add the buttermilk, butter, honey, and eggs and whisk until well combined.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the cornmeal mixture and mix all of the ingredients together.

Fill each muffin cup until nearly full.

Bake for 17 to 22 minutes until the tops are a golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Cool the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes before you remove the muffins to a wire cooling rack.

Serve with lots of butter 😋

Lady Bird Johnson’s Lemon Cake recipe is from the book A White House Diary by Lady Bird Johnson which was published in 1970.

The cake was served at The White House for the wedding reception in honor of their daughter Lucy and Patrick Nugent on August 6, 1966.

Lady Bird Johnson’s Lemon Cake

Ingredients for the Cake

3/4 cup salted butter (at room temperature)

1 1/4 cups sugar

8 large egg yolks (yolks only!) ***

2 1/2 cups cake flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup 2% milk ***

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

***I used the entire egg

***I used whole milk

Ingredients for the Lemon Glaze Icing

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup salted butter (at room temperature)

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon

heavy cream (only if needed)

Directions for the Cake

Preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit. Grease a
10″ bundt cake pan with shortening, then dust with flour. Or you can use our magic cake release recipe.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, whisk the & egg yolks together to break up the yolks until they light and lemon-colored. Mix the yolks into the butter/sugar mixture.

Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the sifted ingredients in thirds, alternating with the milk. (½ of the flour, half the milk, ⅓ of the flour, half the milk, ⅓ of the flour) Beat the batter thoroughly after each addition, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest. Beat for 2 minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan** and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

*** grease the pan with softened butter and dust with flour or spray with cooking spray.

Directions for the Lemon Glaze Icing

Combine the powdered sugar, butter, lemon zest and lemon juice. Use a hand mixer to mix until well combined.

If the glaze isn’t thin enough, add a touch of heavy cream to thin it out to drizzling consistency.

Once the cake is cooled, drizzle the glaze over the cake.

Garnish the cake with more lemon zest if desired.

There is nothing like a tall glass of fresh lemonade with freshly squeezed lemons. It’s also so perfect and refreshing on such a hot and humid day.

It’s incredibly easy to make and so much better than the powdered store bought stuff – just my personal opinion 😉

I also just love the smell of fresh cut lemons. Lemons are refreshing, revitalizing and good for you too – they are a great source of Vitamin C 👍

Homemade Fresh Lemonade

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

1 cup water

9 medium lemons (or more, if desired!)

7 cups of ice-cold water

As much ice as needed

Directions

Cut the lemons in half crosswise and squeeze the juice into a measuring cup until you have about 1 1/2 cups of juice.

Some prefer the pulp in their lemonade. If you want the pulp, remove the pulp and place in a small bowl to use for later use.

Make sure to discard the seeds!

Combine the granulated sugar and one cup of water (this is also commonly referred to as “simple syrup”) into a small saucepan. Stir to dissolve sugar while the mixture comes to a boil.

Set aside to cool slightly.

Pour 7 cups of ice-cold water into a pitcher. Stir in the lemon juice and pulp (if using the pulp).

Add the simple syrup to taste and a lot of ice.

Enjoy your fresh cold lemonade! 🍋

I have an abundance of yellow squash and what to do? Make biscuits of course!

These biscuits remind me of a popular restaurant chains garlic-cheddar biscuits and are so delicious! Except of course…I’ve added yellow squash to the mix which makes them even more fantastic 😋

Yellow Squash-Cheddar Biscuits

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cubed

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup diced yellow squash

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, onion powder and sugar until combined.

Add the cubed butter into the flour mixture.

Use a pastry cutter, a fork or you can also use your fingers to cut the butter into the flour mixture until lentil-size pieces form.

Stir in the cheddar cheese and squash.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the buttermilk. Use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture until the dough comes together.

Place the dough on a flour dusted surface and pat gently into three circles and 3/4 – inch thickness.

Dust a 3-inch biscuit cutter with flour and cut 8 biscuits from the dough.

Place the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Remove from the refrigerator and place the biscuits in a preheated oven of 425 degrees. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with tons of butter (ok that’s my personal preference! 😋)

Today in American history…former First Lady Lucy Webb Hayes was born on August 28, 1831 in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Married to former President Rutherford B. Hayes, she was our Nation’s First Lady from 1877-1881.

Lucy Hayes was a well educated woman for her time and was the very first First Lady to have a college degree – graduating from Cincinnati Wesleyan Female College in 1850.

One of former First Lady Lucy Hayes favorite desserts was a traditional white cake. Here is her own personal recipe (among others!) at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museum:

“There is not to be found a better receipt for white cake than the following. The cake is mixed contrary to the usual rules of making cake, but it is the best mode of making it fine-grained and delicate.”

Ingredients: Whites of six eggs, scant three-quarters of a cupful of butter, one and one-quarter cupfuls of pulverized sug-ar, two cupfuls of flour, juice of half a lemon, one-quarter of a tea-spoonful of soda.

If soda is used, mix it well with the flour, and pass it through the sieve several times to distribute it equally. Beat the butter to a light cream, and add the flour to it, stirring it in gradually with the ends of the fingers until it is a smooth paste.

Beat the whites of six eggs to a stiff froth, and mix in them the pulverized sugar; now stir the eggs and sugar gradually into the flour and butter, adding also the lemon-juice, and mix it smoothly together with the egg whisk. As soon as it is perfectly smooth, put it into the oven, the heat of which should be rather moderate at first. When done and still hot, spread over it a frosting made with the white of one egg, pulverized sugar and a flavoring of lemon.

The frosting is a decided improvement, and, according to the receipt, only requires a few minutes to prepare.

I made a traditional white cake today using my favorite recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction – it’s the only one that I ever use when making a white cake – it’s truly the best! (And I’ve eaten a lot of cake in my life 🤣)

For the cream cheese frosting – I always use the recipe from my personal favorite Sugar Spun Run