Napoleon squares (untested)

This recipe is written in ballpoint pen in my Grammy's handwriting.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup sifted flour
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 1 package (3.25 ounce) vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
• 1 teaspoon shortening
• 1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions for pastry dough:

1. Cut butter into flour with pastry blender
2. Stir in sour cream with a fork
3. Divide dough into 4 equal portions
4. Wrap each portion
5. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight
6. Roll out one portion of dough on well-floured board into a 12-inch by 6-inch rectangle
7. Place on ungreased cookie sheet
8. Repeat with other 3 portions of dough
9. Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden brown
10. Transfer carefully to wire racks
11. Cool completely
12. Trim sides carefully with a sharp knife so all layers are the same size
13. Place one layer, puffed side up, on a separate wire rack set on a piece of wax paper to be decorated for the top of the Napoleon

Instructions for fillings, frostings, and assembly:

1. In a saucepan, combine milk, pudding (or pie filling mix) and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2. Cook mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil
3. Cool
4. Chill mixture well
5. In a double boiler set-up, combine chocolate pieces and shortening and heat over hot water until chocolate melts
6. Stir to blend
7. In a saucepan, combine confectioners' sugar, syrup, water and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
8. Cook mixture over low heat until frosting is smooth and shiny and coats a wooden spoon. Don't overcook or frosting will be too hard
9. Remove from heat, pour over top layer immediately and spread evenly
10. Pour chocolate mixture into pastry bag or tube with small writing tip
11. Pipe lengthwise strips 1-inch apart over frosting
12. With a toothpick make chevron marks 1-inch apart pulling the toothpick left to right, then right to left
13. Set top aside to assemble
14. Place an undecorated layer, puffy side up, on serving platter
15. Spread layer with 1/3 of chilled vanilla filled
16. Top with frosted pastry layer
17. Chill at least 1 hour before serving

Makes 6 servings

Glazes for tarts or fruit (untested)

This recipe is written in ballpoint pen in Grammy's handwriting. It is dated 1971 and attributed to "Norfolk".

This is one of the treasure trove recipe cards. It contains three glaze recipes. The recipes included are:

• Apricot or red-jelly glaze [a great way to use preserves that you may have in your pantry] 
• Fruit juice glaze
• Syrup glaze

Although the title says the glazes are for tarts, the text indicates that they can also be used for glazing fruit. I'm certain they are versatile in their uses and could probably be applied to other foods as well.

Ingredients for apricot or red-jelly glaze:

• 1 cup strained apricot jam, strawberry jam or raspberry jelly
• 2 -4 tablespoons of fruit juice OR water

Instructions for apricot or red-jelly glaze:

1. Melt jam or jelly with fruit juice or water
2. Cook, stirring, 2-3 minutes
3. Paint on top of fruit [or pastry] while hot

Ingredients for fruit juice glaze:

• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 3/4 cup fruit juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions for fruit juice glaze:

1. In a small saucepan, blend corn starch and fruit juice
2. Cook, stirring, until smooth and thickened
3. Add lemon juice

Ingredients for syrup glaze:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• unsweetened cream

Instructions for syrup glaze:

1. In a small saucepan, boil sugar and water together until it reaches 232°F
2. Pour hot over berries or fruit [or tart]
3. Serve at once with unsweetened cream

Sea foam frosting (untested)

This recipe is written in pencil on a folded piece of paper with two other unrelated recipes. The handwriting may belong to Grammy's daughter Ann.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla

No mixing instructions are provided

Merry-Go-Round Cake

This recipe appears to have been carefully cut out of a magazine because it has graphics on the backside. However, it is on thick paper similar to what would be used for product packaging. Since this recipe calls for a specific brand name of baking powder, it was probably on the package of baking powder. There are a few hints that indicate this recipe is probably pre-1940s: 1) the paper is aged; 2) it calls for butter (most post-WWII recipes I've found used margarine instead of butter); and 3) the described baking pan is a "tin" or "iron spider" which seem like older terms. I looked up what an "iron spider" is and found that it is a cast iron skillet (I saw some with raised legs).

[To read more about iron spiders click here]

Ingredients for cake:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar 
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 cups pastry flour
• 2 teaspoons Royal Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for frosting:

• 2 cups confectioner's sugar [powdered sugar]
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 tablespoons hot milk or cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Additional decorations:

• animal crackers
• food coloring
• pink candles

Instructions for cake:

1. Cream butter
2. Add sugar slowly and beaten egg
3. Beat batter until very light and fluffy
4. Sift flour and baking powder together and add a little at a time alternately with the milk
5. Add flavor [vanilla extract]
6. Put in small round greased tin or iron spider
7. Bake in moderate oven at 350°F for about 45 minutes
8. Turn out of pan and cool

Instructions for frosting and decorating:

1. Add butter to hot milk (or cream) 
2. Add slowly to sugar until the right consistency to spread
3. Ice top and side of cake
4. While icing is still soft, stand animal crackers, which have been decorated with daintily color icing, and pink candles alternately around the edge of cake

Makes a loaf about 8-inch in diameter

Lazy Daisy Cake (untested)

This recipe is written in a handwriting I don't recognize on a piece of folded paper. Interestingly, a recipe for meat loaf is on the second side with the frosting recipe (I've posted the meat loaf recipe separately here). This was probably something one of Grammy's friends jotted down for her.

Ingredients for cake:

• 1 1/4 cups boiling water
• 1 cup oats (uncooked)
• 1/2 cup soft butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Ingredients for frosting:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons Half & Half or milk
• 1/3 cup chopped nuts
• 3/4 cup coconut

Instructions:

1. Pour boiling water over oats, cover, and let stand for 20 minutes
2. Cream butter and eggs, beating until fluffy
3. Blend in vanilla and eggs
4. Add oats mixture and mix well
5. Sift flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg
6. Add to creamed mixture
7. Mix well
8. Bake in a 9-inch pan at 350°F for 50 to 55 minutes
9. Spread frosting evenly
10. Broil until bubbly

It is interesting to note that both this cake recipe and the meatloaf recipe call for oats. I wonder if Grammy and a friend were chatting and a friend recommended these two recipes as creatives ways to use oats. 

Hot Milk Cake (untested)

This undated recipe is written in Grammy's handwriting and attributed to Mrs. Shattuck.

Ingredients for cake:

• 2 eggs beaten 
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup sifted Swan's Down flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup boiling milk

Ingredients for icing:

• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons butter

Instructions:

1. Beat eggs in a bowl until lemon colored
2. Add sugar gradually
3. Add remainder of ingredients and stir well
4. Bake in square tin for 35 minutes (no oven temperature is noted)

Instructions for icing are limited. It simply says "Cook" next to the ingredient list.

Butter Frosting (untested)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons soft butter
• 3 tablespoons cream

Instructions:

1. Put all ingredients into a bowl
2. Beat until smooth