Old-Fashioned Lemon Snowballs with Lemon Sauce

Lemon Snowballs with Lemon Sauce

Lemon Snowballs were popular both a hundred years ago and now. They are a lemony dessert that is rolled in powdered sugar. Most modern Lemon Snowballs are a type of cookie that are made by making a dough and then rolling (or scooping) it into balls that are put on a baking sheet. Based on the information in a 1925 cookbook, a hundred years ago Lemon Snowballs were made using a different process. The old recipe called for making a batter, then folding in beaten eggs whites. The mixture is then put into mini-muffin cups that are set in a pan of hot water for baking (similarly to how custards are baked). The old-time Lemon Snowballs are served with a Lemon Sauce.

I decided to give the hundred-year-old recipe a try. The old-time Lemon Snowballs with Lemon Sauce were a delightful very light, lemony, cake-like dessert and the zesty Lemon Sauce was a lovely, flavorful addition.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Lemon Snowballs — Source: Rumford Complete Cookbook (1925)

I bought the cookbook that contained this recipe off eBay. The Lemon Snowballs recipe appears to be recommended by a previous owner of the cookbook. There is a checkmark made with a pencil on the righthand side of this recipe.

This recipe makes about 48 small Snowballs. I didn’t have enough mini-muffin tins to make that many, so I put some of the batter in regular muffin tins – which worked fine, though those Snowballs were much larger.

Even though the recipe calls for serving with a Lemon Sauce, there was no Lemon Sauce recipe in the Rumford Cookbook. Maybe the Rumford Cookbook author assumed that the recipe for Lemon Sauce was so basic that there was no need to include it in the book. I found a Lemon Sauce recipe in an old home economics textbook:

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Lemon Snowballs with Lemon Sauce

Servings: approximately 48
Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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3 eggs, separated

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

grated rind of 1 lemon

1 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350° F. Put egg whites in a mixing bowl and beat until firm peaks form. Set aside.

Put egg yolks and sugar in another mixing bowl; beat until thoroughly mixed. Add water, lemon juice, and grated lemon rind; beat to combine. Add flour and baking powder and continue beating until thoroughly mixed, then gently fold in the beaten egg whites.

Grease mini-muffin cups, then put a heaping tablespoon of batter in each. Place the muffin tin in a pan that contains hot water that is about 1-inch deep. Place the pan (with the muffin tins) in the oven. Bake about 30 minutes or until a pick inserted in center of the Snowballs comes out clean. Remove the muffin tin from pan with the water and let cool slightly for a few minutes, then remove the Snowballs from the muffin cups. Roll the warm Snowballs in powdered sugar. If desired, serve with Lemon Sauce (see recipe below). May be served warm or cold.

Lemon Sauce

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups boiling water

1 lemon (juice and grated rind)

1 tablespoon butter

In a saucepan, mix the sugar and flour thoroughly, then slowly add the boiling water while stirring constantly. Bring to a boil using medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, grated lemon rind, and butter; continue stirring until the butter is melted.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Old-Fashioned Lemon Crumb Pie

Slice of Lemon Crumb Pie When browsing through a hundred-year-old cookbook, I came across a recipe for Lemon Crumb Pie.

I was intrigued by the statement that the recipe author has used this recipe for 38 years. Even though all recipes I make for this blog are old, this one seemed particularly old-fashioned and called for using bread soaked in water to help thicken the pie filling.

The pie turned out well, and is very similar to Lemon Meringue Pie. I never would have guessed that there was bread in the baked pie. There’s something to be said for recipes that have been made (and maybe refined) over the course of 38 years .

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Lemon Crumb Pie

Servings: 4 - 6
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1 slice bread torn into small pieces (about 1 cup)

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Juice from 1 lemon

Grated rind of 1 lemon

2 egg yolks

dash salt

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 8-inch (small) pie shell

Meringue

2 egg whites

2 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 425° F. Put bread pieces and water in a mixing bowl and let soak for 20 minutes. Then add sugar, lemon juice, grated lemon rind, egg yolks, salt, and melted butter; beat until combined. Pour mixture into pie shell and bake until the mixture is hot and bubbly and thickened (about 30 – 35 minutes). Watch pie closely because the filling will easily boil over.

To prepare the meringue, put the egg whites into a mixing bowl. Beat until stiff peaks form, then beat in the sugar. Spoon the meringue onto the top of the baked pie, and then swirl. Bake in the oven for approximately 8-10 minutes or until the meringue is a light brown.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Lemon Snow with Custard Sauce

During the summer heat, cool desserts are the best. So when I saw a hundred-year-old recipe for Lemon Snow, I decided to give it a try. The Lemon Snow is served with Custard Sauce, and, if desired, could also be topped with Whipped Cream. I skipped the whipped cream.

The Lemon Snow was light and had a sunny, lemony flavor. The creamy Custard Sauce paired nicely with the Lemon Snow.

Here are the original recipes:

Recipe for Lemon Snow — Source: The Science of Food and Cookery (1921)

recipe for custard sauce — Source: The Science of Food and Cookery (1921)

I put the Lemon Snow in custard cups. It may be possible to remove the chilled Lemon Snow from the cups (molds) for serving, but I served the chilled dessert in the cups. When I made this recipe, I served the Lemon Snow with Custard Sauce, but I skipped the whipped cream.

Since hot liquid is stirred into the beaten egg whites, the egg whites may be largely cooked, but I used a pasteurized egg for extra safety.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Lemon Snow with Custard Sauce

Servings: 2 - 3
Time: 20 minutes active prep time
Difficulty: moderate
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Lemon Snow

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 egg white

dash of salt

3/4 cup water

3 tablespoons lemon juice

grated rind of 1/2 lemon

Custard Sauce, if desired

whipped cream, if desired

Put the sugar and cornstarch in a bowl; stir to combine. Set aside.

Put the egg white and the dash of salt in a bowl; beat until stiff. Set aside.

Put the water, lemon juice, and lemon rind in a sauce pan. Using medium heat, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and strain the hot liquid.

Slowly pour the strained liquid over the sugar and cornstarch mixture. Stir until smooth. Return this mixture to the saucepan, and bring to a boil using medium heat while stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat and slowly pour over the beaten eggs whites while using a whisk to combine.

Rinse 2 or 3 custard cups with water. Pour the Lemon Snow mixture into the wet cups. Put in the refrigerator to chill (at least 2 hours).

If desired, serve with Custard Sauce or Whipped Cream.

Custard Sauce

2/3 cup milk

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon sugar

3-4 drops (a dash) of vanilla

Put the egg yolk and sugar into a small bowl; beat until smooth. Set aside.

Put milk in a saucepan. Using medium heat, heat until hot and steamy while stirring constantly. Put a small amount of the lot liquid in the bowl with the egg yolk mixture while rapidly stirring. Then slowly add the egg mixture into the hot milk while stirring constantly. Continue cooking, while stirring, until the hot mixture thickens slightly and coats a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Strain and then put into a bowl; chill in the refrigerator.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Old-fashioned Lemon Apple Pie

Slice of Lemon Apple Pie I love apple pies, but sometimes I get bored by the typical cinnamon-flavored pie, so when I saw a recipe for Lemon Apple Pie in a hundred-year-old cookbook, I decided to give it a try.

The pie was delightful – and nothing like any apple pie I’ve ever had before. Chopped apples are smothered in a tart lemony sauce.

Here’s the original recipe:

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Lemon Apple Pie

Servings: 6 - 8
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: moderate
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2 cups chopped apples

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 egg beaten

juice and grated rind of 1 lemon

1/2 cup saltine crackers (about 12 crackers), rolled fine (I put the crackers in a plastic bag and crushed with a rolling pin.)

milk, sugar

pastry for a 2-crust, 9-inch pie

Heat oven to 425° F. Put the sugar, water, egg, lemon juice, and lemon rind in a bowl; stir to combine. Add the crushed saltine crackers and chopped apples, stir. Turn into pastry-lined pie pan. Cover with top crust and flute edges. Brush crust with a small amount of milk; sprinkle with sugar. Bake in oven for 10 minutes; then reduce heat to 350° F. Bake an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and juice just begins to bubble.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Hundred-year-old Lemon Cream (Lemon Meringue) Pie Recipe

There’s nothing quite as delicious as some of the classic pies. I found a hundred-year old recipe for Lemon Creme Pie – more commonly known as Lemon Meringue Pie – in a small promotional cookbook published by the Calumet Baking Powder Company. The accompanying picture brought back memories of delectable pies made by my grandmother and great aunts at family gatherings – and I immediately knew that I needed to try it.

Source: Reliable Recipes, Published by Calumet Baking Powder Co. (1912) — Source: Reliable Recipes (1912)

The lemon juice and grated lemon peel combine beautifully with the other ingredients to create a refreshingly tart pie covered with billows of light, slightly sweet meringue. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Lemon Cream Pie (Lemon Meringue Pie)

Servings: 6 - 8
Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: medium
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1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

4 eggs, separated

approximately 1/2 cup lemon juice + 1 tablespoon lemon juice (juice from 2-3 lemons, depending upon size)

grated lemon peel from 2 lemons

1 1/2 cups hot water

1 9-inch baked pie shell

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine sugar and flour in a mixing bowl, then stir in egg yolks. Add 1/2 cup lemon juice, grated lemon, and water; beat until smooth. Put mixture into a saucepan; bring to a boil using medium heat while stirring constantly. When the mixture begins to boil, reduce heat and continue cooking for 1 minute or until it thickens. Put filling into the pie shell.

To prepare the meringue, put the egg whites into a mixing bowl. Beat until stiff peaks form, then beat in the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Spoon the meringue onto the top of the pie, and then swirl. Bake in the oven for approximately 10 minutes or until the meringue is a light brown.

Here’s the original recipe:

lemon cream pie recipe — Source: Reliable Recipes, published by Calumet Baking Powder Co. (1912)