A hundred years ago (and throughout much of the 20th century) promotional cookbooks distributed by food companies were very popular. Pre-internet and social media, companies frequently used them to publicize their products.
In 1926, the Corn Products Refining Company published a cookbook by Ida Bailey Allen called The Modern Method of Preparing Delightful Foods. The cookbook contained recipes that used Karo Corn Syrup, Mazola Corn Oil, Argo Cornstarch and other products made by the company. At the time, Mrs. Allen was a popular cookbook author. She later became a radio cooking celebrity, as well as an editor of Good Housekeeping magazine.
I wanted to make some bar cookies for a pot luck picnic, so decided to try a recipe in the book for Butterscotch Squares.
I have mixed opinions about this recipe. If I set aside my preconceived notions about what these squares would be like (dense bars with a rich butterscotch flavor), and just enjoyed the squares I ended up with, I’d say that the Butterscotch Squares were tasty.
However, I couldn’t detect any hint of butterscotch when I nibbled on the squares, so I feel like I need to lower my rating of them. Also, the base of the Butterscotch Squares had a cake-like texture, rather than the typical more substantive, dense, moist texture of bar cookies. This base was topped with a thin layer of corn syrup and chopped nuts. (I used pecans.) The only sweetener that the recipe called for was the corn syrup in the topping, which resulted in the squares not being very sweet.
Here is the original recipe:
The recipe says that the dough should be put in a “medium-sized dripping pan.” I’m not sure what that is or how large it is, so I used a 9″ X 13″ rectangular baking pan. I didn’t measure the thickness of the dough, and it may have been slightly thicker than 1/2 inch. If I had used a pan which was a little larger, the texture may have been a little less cake-like.
The recipe calls for 4 teaspoons baking powder. This seems like a lot of baking powder, so I used 2 teaspoons baking powder.
I used olive oil instead of the Mazola Corn Oil, but any vegetable oil would work in this recipe.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Butterscotch Squares
2 cups bread flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup olive oil or other vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup dark or light corn syrup (Karo, etc.) (I used dark corn syrup.)
1/3 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans.)
Step 1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
Step 2. Sift together flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder.
Step 3. Add olive/vegetable oil and milk; stir until combined.
Step 4. Grease a rectangular 9″ X 13″ baking pan, and put the mixture in the pan. (A pan that is a little larger could be substituted for the baking pan, if a less fluffy bar is desired.)
Step 5. Place in oven and bake.
Step 6. In the meantime, put the corn syrup in a sauce pan, and bring to a boil using medium heat. Reduce heat and cook until the syrup reaches the thread stage (230 – 235° F).
Step 7. When the bars are lightly browned, remove from oven and spread hot syrup on top, then sprinkle with the chopped nuts Press lightly to help ensure that the nuts stick to the top of the bars. (Depending upon the size of the pan, there may be a little more syrup than needed. It should be thinly spread and not gloppy.)
Step 8. Return to pan to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool, then cut into squares approximately 1 1/4″ X 1 1/4.”
I don’t think corn syrup is available here (it generally gets a bad press) but I imagine golden syrup would do the same job?
This sounds like a super sweet dessert! I love anything butterscotch!