Ingredients
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine -- not diet
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 1/2 cup rolled oats --
1 quick-cooking
1/2 cup dried apricots -- minced
1 cup dried coconut -- shredded
1/2 cup nuts -- chopped
Directions
Combine the sugar, margarine, milk and cocoa powder in a saucepan.
Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Boil 30 seconds;
remove from heat. Blend in remaining ingredients, using a wooden
spoon to mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper; cool
completely. Store with sheets of waxed paper between layers in an
airtight container.
Yield: 40-50 "haystacks".
Recipe By : Jo Anne Merrill
Servings: 44 servings
Coconut-Apricot Haystacks Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Fruit
The History of Recipes
Written recipes as an idea can be tracked far back into distant history, at least as far as the Egyptians, and maybe even further. Interesting though that is, mostly, these ancient recipes were just basic hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing meals.
In an interesting twist, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to experts in ancient history is a collection of tablets in Sumerian which recount the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made drinkers feel `blissful`. Continuing our culinary historical journey, we find a couple of interesting books from the 1300s ; a book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary titled `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are somewhat misleading tho`, they are nothing to do with the spicy food that is served today, but rather accounts of the types of food on the menues of the rich and wealthy people of those days. Later on, in the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought back many foods, spices and herbs from middle-east cuisine, including spices such as rosemary and coriander. These new foods and tastes was responsible for an outbreak in manuscripts on cookery, the majority of which still exist in private cookery archives. Over the succeeding few hundred years, the powerful and rich competed with each other to serve up the best banquets, and because of this chefs and their recipe collections could command a high salary. However, it was during the 1800s the formal cooking and cookery books really came of age. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, devoted their lives to assembling, testing, and publishing recipes to help cooks of their time. The TV revolution gave us cooking programs and the spin-off recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the internet revolution, permitting everybody to access thousands of recipes just like those on this site. |
We hope you enjoy this Coconut Apricot Haystacks recipe.
