Marshmallow Fluff Dessert with a S’more Version -- Josephine Eivins

A dessert that my Grandma Josephine made quite often was a fluff made of 5 simple ingredients, which I am sure Grandma knew by heart. Fortunately, my mom wrote down the recipe! The recipe differs a little bit from how I remember it but the taste was the same.

The ingredients:

  • 1/2 to 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs

  • 1 cup milk

  • 25 marshmallows (I used a full bag of miniature marshmallows since that was what I had on hand)

  • 1-2 ripe bananas pr 1 cup crushed pineapple

  • 1 cup whipped cream

 
 

Directions:

Dissolve marshmallows in hot milk. Cool. Add either the banana(s) or pineapple. Then stir in whipped cream.

Put graham cracker crumbs in a buttered 9 x 12 baking dish. Add the filling on top of the crumbs, then add a little more graham cracker crumbs on top. Chill.

The final product was a little banana forward so I would suggest using 1 banana and regular size marshmallows. Rather than using a 9 x 12 dish, I recall that Grandma used a decorative bowl, layering the dessert: layer in the graham cracker crumbs, then the filling, followed by more graham cracker crumbs, and the rest of the filling. Top with a some more graham cracker crumbs.

S’More Dessert version

While putting together Grandma’s version of the marshmallow fluff dessert, it occurred to me that two of the three ingredients of s’mores was used, which made me wonder how it would be to incorporate chocolate into the dessert. So I modified the recipe by omitting the fruit and melting in 1 cup of chocolate chips. I also used 30 regular sized marshmallows. The result was the perfect taste of s’mores!

Bread and Butter Pickles — Josephine Eivins

Grandma Eivins always had her root cellar full of foods from her garden that she canned every summer. There were potatoes on the floor of the cellar and the walls were lined with shelves holding strawberry jam, pears, peaches, apples, creamed corn, green beans, peas, etc. But the food I remember the most was the bread and butter pickles, which she would serve on the side at family gatherings. They were delicious!

As written by Josephine Eivins

I did not follow the recipe exactly, having left out the peppers, used 1 onion, and halved the amount of all the other ingredients; the version I used:

Combine and let sit for 3 hours and then drain:

10 medium cucumbers, sliced 

1 large onion, sliced

1/4 cup salt

After the cucumbers have been drained, bring the following ingredients to a boil in a sauce pan:

2 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

2 1/2 cups sugar (granulated)

1 tablespoon mustard seed

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Once the vinegar and spices come to a boil, add the cucumber and onion mixture and heat through but do not boil.  Place the vegetables in a sterile jar and pour the vinegar/spices over the pickles until the jar is full.  Refrigerate.  The pickles should be eaten within a month.  

Leave me a comment below if you try this recipe and let me know what you think!

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake -- Cleona Lamb

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake with Vanilla Glaze

My grandmother, Cleona Lamb, was known to make this cake frequently. It is super moist and chocolatey.

Recipe:
3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 cup water
1 T. vanilla
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 1/2 t. soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 t. salt
Sift dry ingredients. Add mayonnaise, water, and vanilla. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

The glaze: 1 cup confectioners sugar, 2 T. milk, 1 t. vanilla.

I used a bundt cake pan, greased and floured. The baking time was 40 minutes or until a toothpick insert in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

This is the only recipe I have from Grandma Cleona. If anyone in the family has some of her recipes or any family recipes you are willing to share, please contact me.