One of the things I love about looking through my recipe box is the validation that I come from a long line of cooks. And how do I know this? Well, for one thing, the recipes are from my Mom, my Grandmother, my Great Aunts (her sisters) and Great Great Aunts (way far back, late 1800′s).
The other way I know? The brevity of some recipes. The two below definitely fall into that camp, with just ingredients listed and no instructions. Or instructions that are incomplete. There is a basic assumption that the reader knows how to cook, and that what is written down is just a reminder. If I had a scanner, I could show you exactly what I mean, but for now, here are my two vintage family cookie recipes that I would like to share today:
Spice Cookies
from Millicent (a Great Aunt)
- 1 cup fat
- 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 1/2 cup flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tsp soda dissolved
- 1/2 TBS boiling water
- 1 package dates
- 1 cup walnuts
Makes 75
Bake 375F
That would be the brief one; here is the incomplete one.
Boston Cookies
from Aunt Ida (Great Great Aunt)
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2+ cup butter
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sour milk
- 1 tsp soda
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup nut meats
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- Spices of all kinds
- Pinch salt
Bake in dripping pan by spreading dough 1/2″ thick.
Spices of all kinds, eh? Cinnamon and nutmeg were probably what they had in mind, but how about Chinese Five Spice or Cayenne? Pepper? Dripping Pan? Isn’t that what goes under a roast? And what temperature oven and for how long? Might be fun to experiment.
Do you have an old family favorite that puzzles you?
Meyer Lemon and Cranberry Buckle (recipe)
Family Dinner Plan: Still with the freezer
In the Kitchen with Chez Pim: Marmalade
4 Comments
Those recipes have me smiling. They are great. But really, when we already know how to bake cookies, all we need are the ingredient lists.
The one that has me really puzzled is the baking “soda dissolved.” Is that to be dissolved in the boiling water? And usually as soon as the baking soda is dissolved it loses its powers requiring fast work!
It would be fun to experiment with the spices in those Boston Cookies. I’ll bet your great-great-aunt Ida did often.
Twitter: kitchengirl
I have seen that dissolving baking soda thing before, and it also puzzles me. Baking soda needs an acid to react, which is not in this recipe, so maybe the water acts to release the gas. On the other hand, that is for sodium bicarbonate. Did they used to use ammonium bicarbonate in the olden days? Very puzzling!
Well, it can get very scientific. You probably already know this … baking soda and powder are BOTH sodium bicarbonate. Soda is pure. Powder has cream of tartar (acid) and a starch added (drying agent). They both lose their power fast when a liquid is added and if not baked quickly the baked goods stay flat because the gases were released too soon by the liquid. The carbon dioxide bubbles expand with high temperatures, so the boiling water is puzzling. You wouldn’t want to expand bubbles before you even reach the oven. The lack of a common acid (that I can see,) is puzzling too for baking soda (base). Yes, ammonium bicarbonate can be substituted for baking soda. It’s more powerful, so use 3/4 tsp to 1 tsp of baking soda.
Love your vintage cookie recipes. Definitely written by experienced cookie bakers for experienced cookie bakers. Do you have any memories of ever eating these cookies?
Just a little more information regarding baking soda. I read recently in Shirley Corriher’s book, BakeWise that the presence of baking soda in cookie recipes is often used more for its ability to help with browning than with leavening which would make sense in this recipe. I think dissolving it in water was just to help disperse it through the dough more easily.