Family Planning

Home cooking may not be what it was in grandma’s day, but it’s still alive and well. And changed--along with our food tastes: Today we prefer simpler meals, fresh vegetables, more salads and less elaborate desserts.

In this day of two-career households, we may not spend as many hours in the kitchen as our mothers and grandmothers did. But despite all statistics to the contrary, my mail tells me that many of us are continuing the tradition of cooking meals for our families. There are still those of us who believe that sitting down together for a home-cooked meal is the civilized punctuation in the day’s routine.

The following recipes are from three home cooks: The baked apple dumplings and shortbread cookies are actually old family recipes, handed down from grandmother to mother to daughter. The beef-and-cabbage-soup recipe with caraway seeds is a hearty, thick soup, a popular meal that a working mother makes for her sons, hoping to stem the tide of convenience foods so prevalent among their peers.

I hope that this column will prompt those of you with popular family recipes to send them in to me at Box 127, Winnetka, Ill. 60093. Sharing recipes is one of the great joys of cooking.

Joan Bilderback of Woodstock, Ill., writes: “When I was growing up there was an apple tree in our back yard. This was before the days of home freezers, so apple season was eagerly anticipated. My mother and grandmother, both wonderful cooks, prepared apples in many delicious ways. Here is their recipe for apple dumplings. I think this had to be my favorite of all those apple dishes.”

What makes this apple recipe so appealing is its versatility; consider it a brunch side dish with ham or Canadian bacon and eggs, or as a supper accompaniment to fried chicken. Add a scoop of ice cream, and it turns into dessert. Whatever role you give it, be sure to serve it warm.

BAKED APPLE

DUMPLINGS

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

5 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine

Ground cinnamon

4 small tart apples, about 1 pound total, peeled, halved and cored

1 1/2 cups chopped peeled tart apple

Whipping cream, optional

Place rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine water, sugar and lemon juice in small saucepan. Bring to boil. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Set syrup aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in food processor fitted with metal blade. Add 2 1/2 tablespoons butter and process (or cut with pastry blender) until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1/2 cup water. Mix until dough just begins to clump together. Transfer dough to floured board.

Compact dough with hands. Cut in half, then cut each half into quarters to make 8 equal-size pieces. Gently pat each piece into 3-inch round. (Flour hands for easier handling if dough is sticky.) Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Place each piece apple, rounded side down, on center of dough. Wrap dough around apple, gently easing dough to cover fruit completely. Repeat with remaining dough, cinnamon and apples.

Arrange apples, cut side down, in 2-quart round or square baking dish, spacing evenly. Fill spaces with chopped apples. Pour syrup over dumplings. Sprinkle with cinnamon and dot with 1 1/2 tablespoons butter. Place dish on baking sheet (to catch any spills).

Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned, about 1 hour, 10 minutes. Brush dumplings with remaining 1 tablespoon butter, melted. Cool on rack at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm with whipping cream, if desired. Makes 8 servings.

Note: If apples are large, use 2, cutting them into quarters. Dumplings can be made several hours ahead and kept at room temperature. Reheat in 350-degree oven until warmed through, about 20 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Peggy Gross of Hampshire, Ill., writes that her mother was born in Scotland, worked in Chicago as a registered nurse, married a farmer in 1926 and lived a busy, scheduled life. “She was a very organized lady with little time for extras. So when she made her shortbread . . . it was a real treat. She always served them with pride, broadening our isolated Midwestern lives with stories of family and of the times these foods had been served at her mother’s table.”

SHORTBREAD COOKIES

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup light-brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Dash salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Place rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut butter into 4 pieces and place in food processor bowl fitted with metal blade. Add brown sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt and vanilla. Process until mixture is crumbly. (Or combine ingredients in bowl and rub with fingers until crumbly.)

For thin shortbread cookies, divide dough in 5 parts. (Dough is crumbly, requiring some patience.) Place each piece on floured board. Cover with wax paper, then compress dough lightly with hands. Roll firmly to 1/8-inch thick. Cut into 3-inch rounds using cookie cutter or mouth of glass. Reroll leftover dough. Repeat with remaining dough, remembering to flour board after each batch. Place on baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Let cookies rest 5 minutes on sheet, then remove to cool on rack.

For shortbread bar cookies, pat dough evenly in bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan. Working through wax paper, compress dough with hands into smooth surface, including edges and corners. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Cut into 2 1/4-x2 1/6-inch squares while still warm. When cool, use spatula to transfer squares from pan.

Makes 15 (3-inch) thin cookies or 24 bar cookies.

Note: Cookies can be stored in airtight container for few days at room temperature or frozen up to 3 months.