Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Eating Snickerdoodles While Reading The Persian Pickle Club


Feel free to join our on-line Quilters' Book Club as we read and discuss The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas.  It should be available in most local libraries.  Enjoy some of Queenie's Snickerdoodles as you read!  Eat the cookies with buttermilk - if it doesn't make you puke like it does Sonny!  And wear a little bit of vanilla behind your ears like Queenie, if you want!

     "'You want some buttermilk?' I asked after I set the butter dish in the refrigerator.  I wiped my hands on a tea towel and threw it over my shoulder.
     "Sonny made a face.  'Buttermilk makes me puke.  Cookies don't.'  I knew that, but I always asked because his answer tickled me so. 
     "I put half a dozen snickerdoodles on a plate and set them in front of Sonny..."
                                                     from page 157, The Persian Pickle Club

Queenie Bean's Snickerdoodles
1 cup shortening (part butter)
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2-3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2.  Mix shortening, 1-1/2 cups sugar, and eggs thoroughly. 
3.  Blend flour, cream of tartar, soda, and salt.  Stir into shortening mixture.
4.  Shape dough in 1" balls.  Roll in mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon.
5.  Place 2" apart on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes.  These cookies puff up at first, then flatten out.  Makes 6 dozen cookies.

This recipe came from Betty Crocker's Cooky Book, published 1963.  My sisters and I looked through this book so much growing up that we probably know every cookie in it! 

You might enjoy reading my previous Quilters' Book Club blog post:

19 comments:

  1. My Betty Crocker's book is so used, I could probably boil a page a day and live off the spills.

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  2. Can I copy your idea of the red and white quilt, Susan? I have also loved red and white quilts, but have never made one. Your idea of an on-line book club sounds fun and since I live SOOOO far from you (haha) I can actually be apart of your group!

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    1. Of course you can! I'm so excited that you're going to be part of our Quilters' Book Club!

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  3. I really like how you put a link to your blog on Stashbusters! I'm a follower but I always visit you via my digest when I see your posts! Adore snickerdoodles...now I need to make some!

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    1. I love Snickerdoodles! When I was little, I even had a pet turtle named Snickerdoodle. I'm glad you found our Quilters' Book Club. We'd love to have you be a part of it!

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  4. I am a nomadic quilter - I live in a RV when not traveling internationally and I love to read. My quilting support groups are all online and I don't know what I would do without them. Someday I will have a landed quilting group but for now ... There is a lot to be said for the camaraderie of a group as is represented in The Persian Pickle Club. I am just getting started in it and I see this as a means of character studies and analysis. Each person is so different and the story will mesh with how each person handles these personality differences along with the secondary characters, such as Queenie's husband. I am liking this book even though I am just getting into it. A snicker doodle and coffee sounds quite good about now. Wish I had a roaring fire place to counter the cold weather's need to snuggle. Now to define the comfort colors to put into my quilt.

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    1. Shirley, what an interesting life you lead! We'd love to have you join our Quilters' Book Club! I agree with you that The Persian Pickle Club makes for some very interesting character studies. Each Pickle is so different, and I really like Grover, too. He's a good husband to Queenie, I think. I could not e-mail you because I don't have your e-mail address.

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    2. My email is sherrod.sjs@mail.com
      I thought that I had joined the club but I guess I only joined the site. So what do I have to do to join?
      I am way behind and haven't started my blocks yet as I am currently in Mexico visiting a very good friend from Peace Corps, without any sewing. My husband is planning on hiking the Appalachian Trail this spring and summer and I and my sewing machine and computer will be supporting him in the car.
      My color choices are going to be in the teals/greens and creams for my quilt.
      For the "friendship" block I have chosen the "FriendlyHand" block as it reminds me of a circle of hands which is a prominent feature in peace and friendship, which is what I feel I am about in my retirement.
      Thanks for a wonderful opportunity here.

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    3. Shirley, I just tried e-mailing you and had it returned for failure to deliver. I don't think your address is exactly right.

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    4. Shirley, please don't feel you have to make several blocks to go with The Persian Pickle Club. I'm giving everyone several options, but I think most people are just choosing to make only one block per book. I love your color choices of teals/greens and creams for your quilt. You sound like you're having a very interesting retirement!

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  5. Susan-Thanks for stirring my memory! A friend in my quilt group shared this book with me a few weeks ago, and I'm ashamed to say that I put it aside, and forgot it. A quilter's book club is a great idea, and I'd love to be included.

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    1. Carole May, we'd love to have you join us! I think you will really enjoy The Persian Pickle Club. Sandra Dallas is a very good writer, in my opinion. Take some time to tell us a bit about yourself under the Quilters' Book Club Introduction blog post.

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  6. My mother in law had a cooking pamphlet from Spry. Aunt Jennie's Favorite Recipes. She got it from I don't know where but she married my father in law in 1942. My guess is that she got this as a gift from her mother or one of her 6 sisters. It was severely worn and fragil when I was given the opportunity to see it . The pamphlet came from the '30s. I was able to photocopy it. I looked at my copy after you posted the recipe for snickerdoodles. Not there but hermits were!

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    1. How wonderful, Sandra! If there are recipes for Tapioca Pudding, Raisin Scones, Divinity, Perfection Salad (with celery and carrots), Icebox Pudding, or Rhubarb Pie (all mentioned in the book), I'd love for you to e-mail them to me. And I'd love the recipe for Hermits. I'll include them in a future blog post. Thank you!

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    2. What a wonderful idea - the recipes for the foods served by the club.

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    3. If anyone has recipes for the foods served by the Pickles, e-mail me the recipe and I'll be sure to include them in a post.

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  7. Hi, me again. I just finished the first chapter & am loving the introduction of the ladies, especially the infamous--Agnes T. Ritter!

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    1. Aren't the ladies of the Persian Pickle Club interesting? And, of course, it's never just Agnes. It has to be Agnes T. Ritter!

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