Mud Hens

Yes, Mud Hens. Don't ask me why; a quick Google search yielded no satisfactory answers (other than a similar recipe), and the cookbook I found them in offers no insight, either. It's one of my grandmother's old church cookbooks - from the church I grew up in, but published long before I was ever a twinkle in my mother's eye. I love these cookbooks - I have almost all of them, save the most recent. They're impossible to find anymore! But I have my scouts on the lookout at area garage sales and flea markets. This particular cookbook was obviously well-loved; it has the stains, notes and taped spine to prove it. I love finding Maw Maw's handwriting in unexpected places - it's like a treasure hunt, really.



I was repeatedly asked at work, "What are these?" One coworker helped me with that answer: "I'll tell you what they are," he said, "they're your ticket outta here." If only it were that easy! But I appreciated the compliment, nonetheless.



It's a really interesting recipe - so few ingredients but loads of taste. The dough, if that's what you want to call it, is very thin, and I had doubts of whether it would grow to be anything. But I'm happy to say my doubts were unfounded, because the thin batter became a crisp, candy-like bed for some amazing but simple topping. I mean really, does it get much better than pecans and brown sugar? I think not.



We're off this week to the sun and sand of sparkling Carolina beaches! I plan to cook a lot, read a lot, play with Cash a lot and forget that I ever have to come home. I'll also be somewhat glumly be entering a new decade (30), so if you're so inclined feel free to pray that my spirits are lifted on Friday! It goes without saying that posting and visiting will be light around here the next week or so, but I promise to return and read all about your goodies soon enough!

Mud Hens
Maw Maw's Old Church Cookbook
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1/2 Cup butter
1 Cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 and a 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder

1 Cup chopped nuts
1 Cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350*.
2. Sift dry ingredients.
3. Beat together 1 whole egg plus the yolk of the other. (Save your egg white! You'll use it later.)
4. Cream butter and sugar together, add egg mixture. Blend in sifted dry ingredients and vanilla.
5. Spread the thick mixture about 1/3 in. thick in greased shallow baking pan such as a jelly roll pan.
6. Mix unbeaten egg white with brown sugar and nuts and spread as evenly as possible over the mixture.
7. Bake in 350* oven about 20 minutes or until done. Cut into squares while still warm.