Old-Fashioned Chocolate-Covered Coconut Egg Recipe

18-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Saturday, March 22, 1913: Didn’t do so very much today.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

In 1913 Easter was on March 23, so this was the day before Easter. Did the Muffly’s make Chocolate-Covered Coconut Eggs?

It was an Easter tradition when I was a child to make Chocolate-Covered Coconut Eggs. We’d start with a coconut and first tap holes with a nail and drain the coconut milk—and then break the coconut apart and get the meat out. We used an old metal grinder to grate the coconut.

The freshly grated coconut and coconut milk gives the candy a wonderfully fresh taste.

Chocolate-Covered Coconut Eggs

3 pounds confectioners’ sugar

1/2 pound grated fresh coconut

1/4 pound butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

coconut milk

melted confectioners’ chocolate*

Combine all ingredients except chocolate. Add just enough coconut milk to make a soft dough; shape into small eggs and place on cookie sheets or plates that have been covered with waxed paper. Let dry overnight. Coat with melted chocolate. Store in refrigerator.

*Coating can be made by melting and stirring together 1/4 pound paraffin and 1 pound sweet chocolate

Makes approximately 50 pieces of candy.

Old Honey Candy Recipe

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Friday, March 7, 1913: Ruth and I went to a candy box social up at Smith’s School House tonight. We walked up but rode home with her cavalier.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Whew, it must have been a 2 or 3 mile walk to Smith School. I think that the school was located out in the country near the intersection of Vincent Road and 8^th Street Drive.

This was the third time that a box social has been mentioned in 1913. They must have been really popular back then. It sounds like the box social went well for Grandma’s sister Ruth. I wonder who got Grandma’s box of candy.

What kinds of candy did the Grandma and Ruth make? Here’s an old recipe for Honey Candy that I found in the December, 1912 issue of Ladies Home Journal.

Honey Candy

One quart of honey, three heaping teaspoonfuls of butter, two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, half a teaspoonful of baking soda, and two teaspoonfuls of lemon extract. Put the honey, butter, and vinegar into a saucepan, and boil until the mixture will harden when dropped into cold water; then stir in the baking soda and the lemon extract. Pour into a buttered tin to cool. When half cold mark into squares and when cold break apart.

The candy turned out well, but has a different taste from the typical corn syrup-based hard candy of today. It is a rich buttery hard candy with concentrated honey undertones. It’s the perfect candy to satisfy my sweet tooth–without making me want to eat a second piece.

This mixture boils at a low temperature. Most of the time, I had it on the low setting on my stove to keep it from boiling over.

It takes a long time to get the boiling mixture to the hard crack stage (300 degrees). I boiled it for about 1 1/2 hours.

You may also enjoy these previous posts with old candy recipes:

Old-fashioned Sugar Taffy Recipe

Old Cocoa Fudge Recipe

1911 Chocolate Fudge Recipes

Old-fashioned Butterscotch Recipe

Old-fashioned Coffee Candy Recipe

Sour Cream Fudge

Old Scalloped Celery and Eggs Recipe

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Tuesday, February 18, 1913: Please excuse me for today. I haven’t much material to write about.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Since Grandma didn’t write much a hundred years ago today, I’ll share a hundred-year-old recipe for Scalloped Celery and Eggs.

Scalloped Celery and Eggs

2 cups diced celery

1/4 cup diced onion

4 hard-cooked eggs

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon of pepper

1/2 cup celery stock

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Dice celery and onion, then simmer until tender in water to cover. Reserve one-half cup of the liquid (celery stock). Melt butter in a frying pan, stir in flour and seasonings. Gradually stir in reserved celery stock and milk to make a sauce. Bring to a boil. Add the cooked celery and onions, and put a layer in a buttered baking-dish (I used a 1 1/2 quart dish–it might have fit into a 1 quart dish, but I was worried that it would boil over.); chop the eggs, sprinkle on a light layer, add more celery, continuing until the dish is filled. Cover with the buttered crumbs, and bake in a moderate oven (375°) until browned.

Makes 4-5 servings

Adapted from recipe in the November, 1913 issue of Ladies Home Journal

I’ve enjoying rediscovering celery this winter. Celery was a popular winter vegetable a hundred years ago. It was easy to transport and store.

I’ve also discovered that celery and egg combinations were very popular years ago. You might enjoy this previous post:

Old-Fashioned Celery Chowder Recipe

Hundred-Year-Old Recipe for Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Monday, February 3, 1913: It was simply enchanting this morning. The snow came down in fluffy flakes. It was an unusual sight. Had a pain this morning. Guess four dishes of ice cream was most too much for my capacity.

van.ice.cream — Caption: Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce Plate XX. For Receipt see pages 247 and 299. Source: Lowney’s Cook Book (1912)

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

The previous day the Muffly’s made ice cream. It must have tasted really, really good if Grandma ate four dishes (even if she’s paying for her indulgence). Maybe she ate it with warm chocolate sauce.

Here is a hundred-year-old recipe for vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce:

Vanilla Ice Cream

4 cups milk

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/3 teaspoon salt

This is the simplest and cheapest ice cream made. One pint of cream added is an improvement.

Scald the milk in double boiler. Mix eggs, sugar and salt; added scalded milk to them; return to double boiler and cook until mixture thickens and is of a smooth and creamy consistency.

Strain into a cold dish. Add vanilla and cool before putting mixture in ice cream freezer.

Chocolate Sauce

2 ounces Lowney’s Premium Chocolate

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cook all the ingredients except vanilla twelve minutes; add vanilla, and serve hot. This sauce is especially good served with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Lowney’s Cook Book (1912)

Lowney’s Cook Book was published by a company that made baking chocolate. I assume that any brand of unsweetened chocolate could be substituted for the Lowney’s Premium Chocolate in the chocolate sauce recipe.

For more old ice cream recipes and related information see:

Old-time Vanilla Ice Cream Recipes (These recipes are different than the one above. It’s interesting to see the variation in the old recipes.)

Hundred-year-old Chocolate and Fruit Ice Cream Recipes

Old Lemon Water Ice Recipe

Old Ice Cream Freezer Advertisement

Old-fashioned Celery Chowder Recipe

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Wednesday, January 29, 1913: <<no entry>>

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

This is one of the few days between January, 1911 and December, 1914 when Grandma wrote nothing. The previous day she wrote that a friend, Margaret G., was visiting and planned to stay overnight. Maybe the girls stayed up all night talking and Grandma was too tired to write anything.

Since there’s no diary entry to guide the direction this post takes, I’ll share a recipe for an old-time winter food—Celery Chowder.

It’s an excellent celery soup and I make it one or twice each winter.

Old-fashioned Celery Chowder

1 tablespoon butter

1 large onion, chopped

3 cups celery, chopped

2 medium potatoes, diced

water

4 cups milk

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Melt butter in large saucepan; add onion and cook until tender. Add chopped celery and potatoes; just barely cover with water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat; then simmer (15-20 minutes) until vegetables are soft. Add milk and chopped eggs; season with salt and pepper. Reheat until hot; serve.

Old-fashioned Apple Fritter Recipe

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Monday, January 13, 1913: Nothing much for today.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Something must have happened a hundred years ago today. I wonder what the Muffly’s ate on that mid-January day.

The dishes they ate probably were made with local ingredients that were available in January. I’ve been enjoying trying old fritter recipes, and have warm, fuzzy, memories of eating apple fritters on cold winter days.

Old-fashioned Apple Fritters

1 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

2 medium apples chopped

approximately 1/3 cup shortening or lard

powdered sugar

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, egg, and milk. Beat until smooth. Stir in apples.

Heat shortening until hot in large frying pan. Drop spoonfuls of batter into hot shortening. Flip fritters and fry until golden brown on all sides. The fritters may need to be flipped several times to completely cook due to the thickness of the batter.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Makes 12-16 fritters.

Scalloped Turkey Recipe

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Thursday, December 26, 1912: Took a rest today. Expected to have a sad night of it last night, but contrary to my expectations I didn’t. We’re trying to get away with yesterday’s left-overs.

Both a hundred years ago and now December 26 is a good day to put your feet up and relax. — Both a hundred years ago and now, December 26 is a good day to put your feet up and relax.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Some things haven’t changed much across the years. December 26 is a relaxing day (if you don’t do the Christmas sales and return things).

Sounds like Christmas left-overs weren’t Grandma’s favorite food. Scalloped Turkey is an old way of using some of the left-overs.

Scalloped Turkey

Stuffing and Turkey Mixture

Approximately 6 cups stuffing

Approximately 4 cups turkey, coarsely chopped

Use approximately 3 1/2 cups Gravy or make Turkey White Sauce

2 heaping tablespoons flour

1 stick butter

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups milk

1 cup turkey meat stock

Use left-over stuffing or make more stuffing as you would to fill a fowl, and put alternate layers of coarsely chopped turkey and stuffing in a large baking dish.

Use left-over gravy or make some using these directions. To make white sauce, melt butter in skillet. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Gradually add milk and meat stock while stirring constantly. Heat until sauce thickens.

Pour gravy/white sauce over each layer of turkey and top with a final layer of stuffing. Bake 1/2 hour at 350 degrees.

Yield: 6 – 8 servings

I apologize for not having a photo of the Scalloped Turkey. I’ve made this recipe many times and it always turns out fine, but in the hustle and bustle of my own life, I didn’t get it made in time to get a photo for this post.

I’m doing no work today, and am putting my feet up and relaxing. Hope you can do the same.