When my mother died, I asked for her button box and her recipe box. That wasn’t all, but those were the things I held dear.

The button box, a round metal tin, was a treasure trove of buttons purchased at J.J. Newberry’s and Woolworth’s, plus closures cut from numerous worn-out garments. “You’ll never know when you’ll need them,” she said.

If we were home sick from school she would have us string sets of buttons so they would be ready to go on a project.

My mom sewed most of my clothes and my doll clothes in those days. I still have fond memories of the black velvet ballgown with hand-sewn sequins for my Barbie doll.

The box also contains game pieces from Parcheesi and the colored gingerbread men used to travel to Peppermint Forest and Gumdrop Pass in Candy Land. If a piece was lost she would be able to quickly get us back in the game.

That was a glimpse into who my mom was and I treasured it.

I don’t go to the button box or the recipe box nearly as often these days. If I want to make something, I just Google it.

On Monday, when I started baking cookies I went to those treasured recipes. I have my own recipe box, but my mother’s box has all the memories - some on cards, others on folded slips of paper and yet others on yellowed paper cut from newspapers.

She had the recipe for my Grandmother Edward’s Red Velvet Cake. You thought it just came in a box? On the back of an envelope I saw the recipe for the cooked icing that went along with the cake that was served on very special occasions. It was simply titled, “Laura’s icing.”

Paging through the box, I came across another card titled Scotch Shortbreads (Laura). I don’t remember these cookies, but apparently my mother was impressed enough to ask her mother-in-law for the recipe. I pulled it out, knowing it will be worth trying.

A small yellow card has a recipe called Ice Box Cookies. I don’t recognize the handwriting but I am intrigued by the recipe.

And there’s the recipe for fudge I’ve been trying to find for years. The handwriting is my mother’s, but my Mem was the one who made the no-cook combination of butter, powdered sugar, peanut butter, cocoa and vanilla. I can still see her mixing it with her hands. Mem mixed most things with her hands because “It was the only way.”

She taught me how to make potato candy. There was not a recipe written down for that. You just take a leftover potato and keep adding powered sugar until it turns into dough. Spread peanut butter on the dough, roll it up, refrigerate and slice. I remember have to run down to the corner store in Slatington because I started with a potato that was too big and we needed more powered sugar.

My grandmother cackled over that one.

I also came across her famed kiffle dough with a pound of butter and a dozen eggs. She worked for days rolling out the dough in circles, using powered sugar for the base. The nut filling’s secret ingredient was whiskey or wine, take your pick. When the filling got too thick to spread, she’d pour more booze in it. In the later years, we helped her roll out the dough and she watched the oven. Those times were precious for us.

Do I want to tackle rollouts this year? They are so much work. My mother and I used to get together and make them and it went so much faster.

She had several recipes. One was from our neighbor Pet Serfass. I recall those were crispy. My mom’s recipe has sour cream. They were both written on colorful recipe cards by me. My mom used to have me practice my cursive writing by copying recipes onto cards.

I scrolled through more cards and found Mem’s recipe for pumpkin custard. That’s the one that spoiled me for all pumpkin pie. The crust was made with lard and the filling, made with fresh pumpkin, had 6 to 8 eggs. I was never really sure how to tell if I needed 6 or 8 eggs. It’s a consistency thing, she told me. You just know.

Consistency is something you’ll never learn on Google.

Google did tell me how many graham crackers have to be ground to make a cup of crumbs (The answer is seven and I found them in three open packets in my pantry.)

Google can tell me what shortening is best in cookies.

But only The Recipe Box can evoke the memories.

I found one more typed on a recipe card with an old Smith Corona. That was when my mom wanted me to practice typing. Maybe even then she had given up on my handwriting. Here it is:

Caramel Frosting

Combine:

3 cups light brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

1 small can condensed milk

1 Tablespoon butter

Cook slowly to a soft-ball stage. Cool and beat until consistency needed to spread.

I haven’t had that icing in over 50 years, but in my mind I can still taste it.

Thanks, Mom.