Secret RecipesRecipes developed & tested by Gloria Pitzer, the Recipe Detective™
AUNT JENNY’S 8-INCH FUDGECAKE By Gloria Pitzer As seen in… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes (Secret Recipes, St. Clair, MI; June 1997, p. 4) CAKE INGREDIENTS: 1 cup sugar 1 cup flour ½ cup water ½ cup Spry [or Crisco] (or 1 stick margarine) 2 TB dry, unsweetened cocoa 3 TB buttermilk (or sour […]
BASKET & RIBBONS – STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM By Gloria Pitzer As seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 252). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition).] INGREDIENTS: 3 egg yolks 14-ounce can, sweetened, condensed […]
FRIED CHICKEN, LIKE FRANKENMUTH BY GLORIA PITZER As seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 94)… [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition).]* The German community of Frankenmuth, Michigan, which for decades has celebrated […]
GRIDDLECAKES AND SYRUP, LIKE PANCAKE HOUSE – BY GLORIA PITZER As seen in… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes (Secret Recipes, St. Clair, MI; June 1977, p. 32). INGREDIENTS: 2 eggs 2½ cups buttermilk 3 TB oil ½ tsp salt ½ tsp vanilla ½ tsp baking soda 3 TB pancake syrup (*see homemade version below) […]
TEXAS FRUITCAKE BY GLORIA PITZER As seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 279)… [A rewrite of her famous, self-published cookbook, Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition).]* Legend has it that Puddin’ Hill has the best-darn fruitcake […]
SATURDAY BREAD DOUGH & WEST VIRGINIA BREAD Both, by Gloria Pitzer [*As seen in… Eating Out At Home Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Sep. 1981, 12th Printing, p. 24).] Grandma and the five girls were up at 4 AM to begin the baking each Saturday. Here is her bread recipe in her own words […]
MY MOTHER’S PERFECT PIE CRUST By Gloria Pitzer *As seen in her self-published book… The Copycat Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1996, 12th printing; p. 73) INGREDIENTS: 2 cups flour 2 tsp sugar ½ tsp salt ¼-lb chilled butter, broken into bits 5 TB Crisco About 5 TB cold tap water (added as […]
STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM By Gloria Pitzer Please, don’t ask me to use pectin if I don’t have to! Give me the simple life – even in the kitchen. I found that there is enough natural pectin in rhubarb that you really don’t have to use the powdered or liquid pectin to equal a very dignified […]
STRAWBERRY PIE, LIKE BIG BOY’S By Gloria Pitzer INGREDIENTS: 1 small box strawberry Jell-O [mix] 1 cup boiling water ½ cup strawberry jam ½ cup cold water 4 TB cornstarch 1-qt whole strawberries 9-inch baked pie shell [Whipped cream and additional whole strawberries for garnish] INSTRUCTIONS: Dissolve Jell-O powder in the boiling water. Over low […]
KENTUCKY BISCUITS By Gloria Pitzer […as she prepared on ABC’s “Home” show – February 1988] INGREDIENTS: 1 – 1½ cup(s) Bisquick 1 rounded tablespoon sour cream ¼ cup club soda ½ tsp sugar INSTRUCTIONS: Mix [everything] together, until a smooth dough forms. Dip your hand into just enough more Bisquick, so you can knead the […]