Hundred-Year-Old Tip for Making Flaky Pie Crusts

Woman making pie — Source: Snowdrift Shortening advertisement, Good Housekeeping (October, 1925)

Sometimes information in a hundred-year-old magazine or cookbook helps me improve my cooking technique. Making a flaky pie crust is a recurring challenge for me, and I often end up with hard, dry crusts. I tried many recipes that call for using shortening, lard, or butter – but I have not found the perfect recipe.

Our sour cherry tree produced lots of cherries last summer, and I froze 24 pints. A few days ago, I decided to use some of the cherries to make a cherry pie. I wasn’t thinking about hundred-year-old recipes, or this blog – but I was thinking about how hard it is to was to make good pie crusts. Suddenly I remembered seeing a hundred-year-old advertisement for an old-time cottonseed oil shortening called Snowdrift – and how it contained a recipe with a tip for flaky pie crusts. Next thing I knew I was digging through old magazines looking for recipe in the ad:

Recipe for pie pastry — Source: Snowdrift Shortening advertisement, Good Housekeeping, October, 1925

Even if I could find a cottonseed shortening similar to Snowdrift, I had no interest in making a pie pastry using it. What intrigued me were the directions for making flaky pastry – reserve a little of the shortening when making the pie pastry, then spread some of the reserved shortening on the rolled out dough, fold dough, re-roll, repeat. Were they adaptable for use with other recipes?

The answer is a resounding “yes.” I made the crust for the cherry pie using a modern pastry recipe – but with the added steps described in the old recipe. This resulted in a noticeably flakier pie crust. I definitely plan to regularly use this technique in the future.

Here are the additional steps for a flaky pie crust.

Step 1

Reserve a little of the shortening or other fat when making the pastry. Use any pastry recipe that calls for shortening, lard, or butter; but, use a little less shortening or other fat than called for in the recipe.

Step 2

Roll out the pastry, and spread with some of the reserved shortening or other fat. pie pastry with shortening spread on top

Step 3

Fold the pastry dough twice (so that it is four layers thick).
folded pie pastry

Step 4

Roll dough out.
rolled out pie pastry

Step 5

Repeat Steps 2 – 4 (roll out dough and spread with shortening or other fat, fold dough, roll dough) two additional times. cherry pie

Old-Fashioned Pineapple and Lamb Chops

Hundred-year-old cookbooks and magazines often include lamb recipes. Since lamb is so expensive, I seldom choose to make one of those recipes, but last week lamb shoulder chops were on sale at the store where I shop. The price was almost reasonable. I just couldn’t resist and bought some.

Next, I started to look for lamb chops recipes. The one I selected was for Pineapple and Lamb Chops. The recipe was embedded in a 1925 advertisement by the Hawaiian Pineapple Growers Association. Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Pineapple and Lamb Chops — Source: Ladies Home Journal (December, 1925)

I loved how the recipe author claimed that Pineapple and Lamb Chops were served in famous restaurants and hotels throughout Europe and the United States – and I also loved the simplicity of the recipe. It called for broiling the lamb chops and serving with fried pineapple.

The Pineapple and Lamb Chops were delightful and very tasty. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the grocery store has another sale on lamb chops very soon.

A hundred-years-ago, lamb was more popular meat in the U.S. than it is now (probably because it wasn’t as expensive back then). In the 1920’s, per capita consumption of lamb was about 5.5 pounds per person; in 2025, it is about 1 pound person. The data for the 1920’s was from a 1948 article in the Southern Economic Journal called Trends in the Per Capita Consumption of Foods in the United States Since 1920. The recent data was from The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Sheep, Lamb, and Mutton – Sector at a Glance.

A 1925 home economics textbook for high school students included extensive information about lamb, and even contained a picture showing various types of lamb chops:

Various types of lamb chops — Source: School and Home Cooking (1925) by Carlotta C. Greer

Here’s the Pineapple and Lamb Chops recipe updated for modern cooks:

Pineapple and Lamb Chops

Servings: 1 (2 lamb chops)
Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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For each serving (2 lamb chops), the following are needed:

2 lamb chops (loin, rib, shoulder) (I used shoulder lamb chops.)

salt and pepper

2 slices of canned pineapple

butter

Broil or grill lamb chops to desired doneness. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In the meantime, melt butter in a skillet. Add pineapple; cook until lightly browned, then flip and lightly brown the other side.

To serve – Arrange the lamb chops and fried pineapple slices on serving plate. The pineapple slices look lovely on top of large lamb chops. For smaller chops, put the pineapple slices beside or under the chops.

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Old-Fashioned Molasses Orange Cake

Molasses is an underutilized sweetener. According to Spruce Eats:

It was a very popular sweetener in the United States during the early 20th century, though it’s used less often today.

That’s a pity. Molasses can provide a delightful rich, earthy, sweetness, with hints of caramel, which enhance many foods.

When browsing through hundred-year-old cookbooks and magazines, I often see recipes that call for molasses. I recently came across a recipe for Molasses Orange Cake embedded in a Brer Rabbit Molasses ad in the November, 1925 issue of Ladies Home Journal, and decided to give it a try.

I served this cake to a group of friends. I’m originally from Pennsylvania, and one person said, “Is this one of your Pennsylvania Dutch recipes?”

It’s not, but the cake has the delightful, satisfying, hearty, richness typical of Pennsylvania Dutch desserts.

The cake was moist and flavorful with a hint of orange and nuanced spicy undertones of allspice and ginger. The recipe calls for grated orange peel, which provides bold bursts of citrus. The cake is topped with a light dusting of sugar and cinnamon. This recipe makes an 8-inch square cake. Since the cake is rich, I cut the cake into fairly small pieces and it can easily provide 8 to 10 servings.

Here is the original recipe:

Recipe for Molasses Orange Cake — Source: Ladies Home Journal (November, 1925)

I used butter rather than shortening when making this recipe. I also did not dissolve the baking soda prior to adding it batter. And, I saw no need to strain the juice from the juiced orange, since it only had a small amount of pulp, and the grated orange peel already provided some texture, so a bit more was not an issue.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Molasses Orange Cake

Servings: 8 - 10
Time: 55 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1 orange

1 cup molasses

1/2 cup butter melted

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Topping

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grate the peel of the orange using a light touch to minimize the amount of white pith. (I used a box grater.) Set the grated peel aside. Then, cut the orange in half and juice.

Put the orange juice, molasses, melted butter, eggs, milk, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, allspice, and ginger in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Stir in the grated orange peel.

Put the batter in a prepared 8-inch square pan, and put in oven to bake.

While the cake is baking, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

Bake cake for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mixture over the top of the cake. Return cake to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Cake can be served warm or cold.

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Harlequin Mason Jar Salad – Reimagining a Classic Salad

A hundred years ago, the jazz age was in full swing with flappers dancing the night away and over-the-top parties. F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby listed the many foods on the buffet table at an elegant party. The list included “salads of harlequin designs.” I did a post on Harlequin Salad in August. This red and green cabbage salad with beets, carrots, peas, and onions in a vinaigrette dressing is delicious and makes a stunning presentation. Since the salad turned out so well, it is currently featured on A Hundred Years Ago’s header.

A friend recently looked at A Hundred Years Ago’s homepage with its Harlequin Salad header, and said, “That picture looks nice, but I’d never make that salad. Now, if you’d made it as a mason jar salad, I might give it a try.”

After mulling over her comment, I was intrigued and decided to try making Harlequin Salad as a mason jar salad.

To be totally transparent, I’m into hundred-year-old recipes, not the latest meal prep trends. That said, I’m glad I pushed myself to rethink Harlequin Salad to a much greater extent than I typically do when updating hundred-year-old recipes. Mason Jar Harlequin Salad was easy to make, attractive, and tasty.

Mason jar salads are very popular. The salad is made in layers with the dressing put in the jar first, then the firmest ingredients, with the most fragile ingredients added last. This prevents the salad from getting soggy. They generally stay fresh for 4 – 6 days. People often make several jars of salad at the same time. Mason jar salads are typically dumped into a bowl or plate to eat.

Mason jar salads are a game changer for many. They allow weekly meal prep, are cost effective, and provide portion control for those concerned about how much they eat. And, they are good for the environment because the mason jar can be reused.

I made two jars of my rendition of Harlequin Mason Jar Salad, and ate one of the salads two days later, and the other four days after I made it. The salad looked lovely when I dumped it into a bowl and stirred it a little to get everything coated with the dressing.

Harlequin Mason Jar Salad

Servings: 2
Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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Note: This recipe makes enough salad to fill two 16 oz. mason jars.

STEP 1. MAKE THE VINAIGRETTE DRESSING

Dressing Ingredients

1/3 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar

Put the salt, pepper, paprika, and mustard in a small bowl; stir to combine. Add the olive oil and stir until mixed. Slowly add the vinegar, a little at a time, while stirring continuously with a fork.

Step 2. LAYER THE SALAD IN THE MASON JARS

Salad Ingredients

Dressing (see above)

1/2 cup cooked carrots, coarsely chopped (cool before layering in jar)

1/2 cup cooked beets, coarsely chopped (cool before layering in jar)

1/2 cup cooked green peas (I used frozen peas that had been thawed.)

1/2 cup onions, chopped

1 cup red cabbage, finely shredded

1 cup green cabbage, finely shredded

Layer the ingredients in the following order in two 16-ounce mason jars: dressing, carrots, beets, peas, onions, red cabbage, green cabbage. Put half of each ingredient in each jar.

Notes: Be sure the chopped beets are well drained before layering. The red color from the beets will run a little, but it can be minimized by carefully draining them.

This salad is very flexible. Feel free to adjust the amounts of the various ingredients based on personal preference.

Step 3. EAT THE SALAD

When ready to eat, the preferred way is to dump the salad into a bowl to mix the ingredients, though the jar with the salad can be shaken and the salad eaten directly from the jar.

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Old-Fashioned Apple Griddle Cakes

Fall is in the air. The trees are turning color, and the nights are getting nippier – and it’s apple season. Apples are so versatile. Biting into a fresh juicy apple is a treat, and they can be used to make tasty salads, side dishes, and desserts. When browsing through a hundred-year-old magazine I came across a recipe for Apple Griddle Cakes and decided to give it a try.

My sense is that griddle cakes and pancakes are interchangeable terms. There may be regional variation regarding which is used.

The Apple Griddle Cakes were delectable. They were light and almost airy with sweet and chewy bits of apple. I started to write that the griddle cakes were light and fluffy, but then I realized that many recipes state that the recipe makes “light and fluffy” griddle cakes. This recipe is different from most because it calls for separating the eggs, beating the egg whites, and then folding them into the griddle cake batter. Most modern recipes just call for adding the entire egg with all the other ingredients.

Most apple recipes today call for cinnamon; however, the old recipe did not call for using any. This allowed the natural sweet and tangy flavor of the apples to be more prominent in the griddle cakes.

Another difference between this recipe and other griddle cake recipes is that it calls for small pieces of torn bread (bread crumbs) that have been soaked in milk. A hundred years ago, cooks didn’t want to waste food, and this recipe was a way to use stale bread (or bread crusts).

Here is the original recipe:

apple griddles cakes on plate — Source: Ladies Home Journal (November, 1925)

recipe for Apple Griddle Cakes — Source: Ladies Home Journal (November, 1925)

This recipe was included in an advertisement for Crisco. (Yes, Crisco has been around for more than a hundred years, though the ingredients have been tweaked several times over the years.). When I updated the recipe, I used melted butter instead of the Crisco.

A hundred years ago, this recipe probably was a good way to use stale bread that was very dry and firm, so the bread crumbs may have needed to soak overnight to soften. However, I decided to use some whole wheat bread that I recently purchased. I just tore up several slices of the bread and soaked it in the milk. It did not take more than a few minutes for the bread to become mushy. I did not heat the milk. After the bread softened, I just used electric beaters to turn it into a paste.

One large apple made approximately one cup of chopped apples.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Apple Griddle Cakes

Servings: 4 - 5
Time: 25 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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2 cups bread, torn into small pieces

2 cups milk

2 eggs, separated

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup flour

1 cup chopped apples (1 large apple)

Put the bread crumbs into a bowl and pour the milk over them. Let the bread soak until it is soft and mushy. This will only take a few minutes in many cases; it may take up to several hours if the bread is extremely stale and dry.)

In the meantime, put the egg whites in a bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Once the bread crumbs have softened, beat the bread and milk mixture with electric beaters to make a paste. Add the egg yolks, butter, sugar, salt, and flour; beat until thoroughly mixed. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites; then, using a fork, stir in the chopped apples.

Heat a lightly greased griddle or skillet to a medium temperature, then pour or scoop the batter onto the hot surface to make individual pancakes. Cook until the top surface is hot and bubbly, and then flip and cook other side.

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Old-Fashioned Mock Nut Bread (Grape Nuts Bread)

A 1925 recipe supplement in a Sioux Falls, South Dakota newspaper contained a recipe for Mock Nut Bread. Intrigued, I decided to give it a try. The “mock nuts” were Grape Nut cereal nuggets.

Grape Nuts is fiber rich, has a crunchy texture, and contains whole wheat and malted barley flour. It has been around for more than 125 years. Originally developed as a health food, Grape Nuts has a long-fascinating history. In 1933, Grape Nuts sponsored Admiral Byrd’s expedition to Antarctica. During World War II, the rations of some troops included Grape Nuts. And, the first individuals to reach the summit of Mount Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, brought Grape Nuts with them when they climbed the mountain.

This recipe made a lovely, hearty quick bread. I especially enjoyed eating warm Mock Nut Bread when topped with some of the Pear Honey I recently made.

I liked Mock Nut Bread, but was disappointed that it did not have a nut bread texture or taste. The Grape Nut nuggets soften during baking, and the bread is not crunchy. I also was a little disappointed that the bread was not especially attractive. The Grape Nut nuggets make the top of the bread loaves look lumpy, but maybe that is part of its rustic appeal.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Mock Nut Bread — Source – Home Economics and Cook Book: The Daily Argus-Leader (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), Supplement – March 13, 1925

The recipe says to mold into loaves. This recipe did not make a dough thick enough to mold; instead it makes a thick batter that can be poured into the pans.

The original recipe called for adding the flour and baking powder prior to adding the Grape Nuts. I reversed the order when I updated the recipe. It is difficult to fully incorporate the flour and baking powder into the batter after the Grape Nut cereal has been added.

The recipe also says to bake the bread in two “small” bread pans. This does not refer to the small personal-sized bread pans that are available today, but rather to what I call “regular-sized” bread pans (8 1/2 ” X 4 1/2″ X 2 1/2 inches).

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Mock Nut Bread (Grape Nuts Bread)

Servings: 10 - 12
Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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Slice of Mock Nut Bread

1 egg

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

4 teaspoons baking powder

4 cups flour

1 cup Grape Nuts cereal

Preheat oven to 350° F. Put the egg, brown sugar, salt, and milk in a mixing bowl; beat until combined. Add baking powder and flour; beat until thoroughly mixed. (The batter will be very thick.) Add the Grape Nuts; stir until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter. Pour into 2 prepared regular (not large) bread pans (8 1/2″ X 4 1/2″ X 2 1/2″). Bake for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Partially cool, then remove from pans.

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Hundred-Year-Old Tips for Serving and Eating Small Cucumber Pickles (Gherkins)

My sense is that small cucumber pickles, which are often called gherkins, were more popular years ago than they are now. I can’t remember the last time I saw them at a potluck dinner or family gathering, but when I was a child, they were served in lovely relish dishes at every holiday meal. Until I saw a short piece in the 1925 issue of a cooking magazine about how to serve and eat small cucumber pickles, I never thought about whether gherkins were popular a hundred years ago, or if they became popular later in the 20th century.

The magazine provides detailed, but, in my opinion, very confusing information about how to serve gherkins. I think (but am not positive) that the article provides tips for serving them when hosting a dinner at home, as well as how a waitress should serve them at a restaurant or event.

How to Serve and Eat Small Cucumber Pickles

Small pickled cucumbers may be served with meat or fish at a dinner or luncheon, either by placing a portion on the dinner plate, or by having the waitress offer them. Very wee gherkins may be served like olives, for hors d’oeuvres. If the waitress serves them, it should be with a fork or spoon, and if offered as an accompaniment, we think the guest should help themself by means of a fork or spoon, placed in the dish. But if the gherkins are a substitute for olives, and served in the little hors d’oeuvres dishes, they may then be offered to one another by the guests between the courses, and eaten as finger foods, like olives. At a large and formal dinner, the hors d’oeuvres are often offered by the waitress, and a spoon or fork may then be placed in the dish.

American Cookery (February, 1925)

Did you follow all that? It’s hard to believe that serving gherkins was so complicated. Apparently, gherkins were considered a gourmet food a hundred years ago, and many readers were somewhat unfamiliar with them.