Sugar

( Originally Published 1918 )

Food value and cooking. The use of peanuts in candy. Peanut cookies, or peanut, molasses, or fudge candies, to be made for a special entertainment.

SUBJECT-MATTER

Sugar is valuable to the body as a source of heat and energy. While it is easy of digestion, it is very irritating to the body if taken in large quantities and, on this account, it should be taken in small quantities and preferably at meal time or with other food. Two or three pieces of candy taken at the end of the meal will not be hurtful, but. when eaten habitually between meals, it is sure to produce harmful effects.

Sugar is present in many fruits and in most. vegetables. Milk contains a large percentage of sugar. In preparing foods to which the addition of sugar seems desirable, care should be taken not to add it in large quantities.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

As it is desirable to have a discussion regarding sugar and its value to the body, the preparation of cookies or candy for some school function or Christmas party may be undertaken in conjunction with this lesson, which should be given at a time when it will mean most to the pupils. The work should be so planned that they will learn some-thing of the principles of sugar cookery, as well as the specific recipes they are using.

RECIPES

Cookies

1 c. fat 3 c. flour

1 c. sugar 3 tsp. baking-powder

2 eggs 1 tbsp. cinnamon

1/4 c. milk 1/2 c. sugar

Cream the Lutter and add the sugar and well-beaten eggs. Then add the milk alternately with the sifted dry flour (sifted with baking-powder). Mix to the consistency of a soft dough, adding more milk if necessary. Roll lightly, cut in shapes, and dip in the one-half cup of sugar and cinnamon that have been sifted together. Place on buttered sheets and hake in a hot oven for about 10 minutes. Slip from the pan and lay on the cake cooler. To make a softer cookie, use only one-half cup of butter. (Three to four dozen)

Peanut Cookies

2 tbsp. butter 1/2 c. flour

la c. sugar 2 tsp. milk

1 egg 1/2 c. finely chopped peanuts

1 tsp. baking-powder 1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1/8 tsp. salt 2 doz. whole peanuts shelled

Cream the butter and add the sugar and the egg well beaten.

Add the milk and sifted dry ingredients, alternately, to the first mixture, then the peanuts and lemon juice. Drop from a teaspoon on a baking sheet an inch apart and place 1/2 peanut on top of each. Bake from 12 to 15 minutes in a moderate oven. (Two and a half to three dozen)

Peanut Brittle

1 c. sugar 1 c. peanuts in the shell

Stir the sugar over the heat, constantly, until it becomes a clear liquid. Take at once from the heat, add the prepared peanuts, and pour on a warm, buttered tin. Mark in squares and cool. Serves ten.

Molasses Candy

2 c. molasses 1 tbsp. vinegar

2/3 e. sugar 1/4 tsp. soda 2 tbsp. butter

Put the molasses, sugar, and butter into a. thick sauce-pan or kettle and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Boil until tho mixture becomes brittle Ashen tried in cold water. Stir constantly at the last to prevent burning. Add vinegar and soda just before removing from the fire. Pour into a well-greased pan and Iet it stand until cool enough to handle. Then pull until light and porous and cut in small pieces with scissors, arranging on buttered plates. Serves sixteen to twenty.

Fudge

2 c. sugar 1 tbsp. butter

1c. milk 1c. nuts, broken up

Put the sugar and the milk in a sauce-pan and stir over the heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the butter and find to the " soft ball" stage. Take from the heat and heat until creamy. Add the nuts and pour on buttered pans. When cool, cut in squares. Serves sixteen to eighteen.

METHOD OF WORK