Food History

Today’s emergency post from a still-unwell-Gillian comes from a volume that’s really a correspondence course. It’s by Alice Bradley, was published in 1922 by the American School of Home Economics and is called Cooking For Profit. It’s a very handy resource on a large number of things and I might have to introduce it to you properly one day.

Cookies

Work until creamy
1 cup butter substitute, and add
2 cups sugar gradually. 4 eggs well beaten
3 cups flour, sifted with
4 teaspoons baking powder
I teaspoon salt and
1 teaspoon nutmeg if desired. Add
4 tablespoons milk and
3 cups flour and flavoring.

Put in ice box or in a cool place until thoroughly chilled, when mixture should be quite stiff. Take out a small portion at a time, on a floured cloth, roll until thin as paper, shape as desired. Place on greased tin and bake 8 minutes in a moderate oven.

Fancy Cookies

1. Sprinkle mixture generously with cocoanut when partially rolled out, finish rolling.
2. Sprinkle mixture with cinnamon and sugar before cutting out.
3. To the mixture add 1 cup chopped nut meats, roll thin, shape, sprinkle with chopped nuts and bake.
4. Put a few currants in the center of each cookie before baking.
5. Put 1 teaspoon caraway seed in the mixture before chilling.
6. To mixture add squares [sorry, number of squares is not clear on the electronic version of the book I'm consulting - also, some of those 1s mught be 1/2s - I need a hard copy of this book!!] melted chocolate before chilling.
7. Use maple sugar instead of plain sugar and sprinkle cookies with maple sugar and chopped pecan nut meats.
8. Flavor cookies with grated orange rind.
9. To mixture add 1 cup chopped candied ginger.
10. Shape cookie mixture with heart, diamond, club and spade cutters. When baked spread hearts and diamonds with frosting colored red, and clubs and spades with melted sweet chocolate.

Baking Powder Biscuits are quickly made if you keep on hand flour ready mixed with baking powder and salt. Each day the shortening may be mixed with the amount of flour you are likely to use. As orders come in milk may be added and biscuits should be ready to serve in 20 minutes. Serve with butter and
Honey or
Maple syrup or
Marmalade or
Jam, preserve or conserve

Baking Powder Biscuits may have one of the following mixtures spread on the dough and then be rolled up, cut off and baked:
Butter and brown sugar
Butter, sugar and cinnamon
Butter and marmalade
Butter, sugar, raisins and spice
Butter, maple sugar and nuts
Butter, sugar and orange juice and rind.