Old-fashioned Oat Macaroons

oat macaroons on baking sheet

I’m always looking for cookie recipes that are both easy to make and tasty, so when I saw a recipe for Oat Macaroons in a hundred-year-old cookbook, I decided to give it a try.

The Oat Macaroons contain oatmeal and coconut. They are light and tasty with just the right amount of sweetness. An added bonus is that they are gluten free. This recipe is a winner and I plan to make it again. The would be a wonderful addition to a holiday cookie tray.

I used butter instead of melted shortening when I made this recipe, and I used quick minute (oatmeal) for the rolled oats. I also did not mix in order given. I thought that it would be difficult to get the salt, vanilla, cornstarch, and baking powder evenly distributed in the cookie dough if added at the end, so I stirred those ingredients in prior to adding the oatmeal and coconut.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Oat Macaroons

Servings: about 30 cookies
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon butter, melted

2 cups quick (1 minute) oatmeal

1 cup flake coconut

Preheat oven to 350° F. Put the eggs, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and vanilla in a mixing bowl; stir. Add melted butter and stir until smooth. Add oatmeal and coconut; stir until combined. Drop heaping teaspoons of the dough on greased baking sheet. As needed, gently press the dough together to create a firm dropped cookie. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven, wait minute and then remove from baking sheet to wire rack for further cooling.

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Old-fashioned Orange Cookies

Orange Cookies

A cookie (or two) makes a nice snack, so I decided to make a hundred-year-old recipe for Orange Cookies. The cookies had a nuanced, but zesty citrus flavor, and were lovely on a hot summer day. They would also work well in the winter on a holiday cookie tray.

Here’s the original recipe:

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Orange Cookies

Servings: 50 approximately cookies
Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

grated rind of one 1 orange

1/4 cup orange juice

1 egg

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups flours (a little more may be needed)

additional sugar (granulated)

Preheat oven to 400° F. Put butter and sugar in mixing bowl; cream together. Add grated orange rind, orange juice, egg, and baking powder; mix together. Then add 2 cups flour, stir to combine. If the dough is too sticky to roll, add additional flour. Roll to 1/4 inch thickness (or thinner if a crispy cookie is desired). Cut into circles or shapes using a cookie cutter. (I cut them into 2-inch circles). Put on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle sugar on the tops of the cookies. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes, or until the cookies are set and lightly browned on the bottom. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

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Old-fashioned Trilbies (Date-Filled Cookies)

Trilbies (Date-filled Cookies) on baking sheet

My holiday cookie baking has begun. Today I made a hundred-year-old recipe for Trilbies. They are a lovely date-filled cookie that brings back warm memories of day gone by.

Here’s the original recipe:

recipe of Trilbies Cookies — Source: Ladies’ Union Cook Book compiled by the Ladies of the West Concord Union Church, Concord Junction, Massachusetts (1921}

A hundred years ago recipes sometimes called for sour milk. Back then much milk was not pasteurized and it soured after a few days. This sour milk was sometimes used in recipes. Today milk can be soured by adding a little vinegar to it.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Trilbies (Data-Filled Cookies)

Servings: Approximately 40 Cookies
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: moderate
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1/2 cup sour milk (Make milk sour by adding 1 1/2 teaspoons of vinegar to the milk)

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups flour

2 cups rolled oats (old-fashioned oatmeal)

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 400° F. Put the milk in a cup or small bowl. Stir in the vinegar to sour the milk. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Stir in the sour milk, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla. Then add the flour and rolled oats; stir until combined. On well-floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into circles using a cookie cutter or small glass. (The cookie cutter I used was 2 inches in diameter.) Place half the circles on greased baking sheets. Place a heaping teaspoon of date filling (see recipe below) on each circle and spread to the edges of the cookies; put a second cookie on top of each date-filling topped cookie. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Date-Filling

1 pound chopped dates

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup water

Put the chopped dates, sugar, and water into a saucepan and stir to mix; put on medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently until the dates are soft and the filling a nice consistency for the cookie filling (5-10 minutes). Cool slightly before using as a filling.

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Cornflake Fancies

Even though I don’t often think about it, a wide range of commercially-produced foods were available a hundred years ago. Cornflakes was one of those products. According to Wikipedia, William Kellogg invented cornflakes in 1894 to serve to patients at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan. They were first mass-marketed in 1906. And, soon thereafter, people began, not only eating them for breakfast, but also using them in recipes.

I came across a recipe for Cornflake Fancies in a 1921 church cookbook. The recipe is made by folding cornflakes and coconut flakes into beaten egg whites that have been sweetened with sugar, and then placing heaping teaspoonfuls of the mixture on a baking sheet. They are then baked until lightly browned The Cornflake Fancies were light and airy, and reminded me a little of Coconut Macaroons, but with a slight crunch from the cereal.

Here’s the original recipe:

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Cornflake Fancies

Servings: about 2 1/2 dozen
Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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2 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 teaspoon salt

2 cups cornflakes

1/2 cup flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350° F. Put egg whites in bowl and beat until stiff. Gradually add the sugar and salt, while continuing to beat. Fold in the cornflakes and coconut. Drop heaping teaspoons of the mixture about 1-inch apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake until set and lightly browned (about 10 – 12 minutes). Remove from oven, and let sit for about two minutes, then remove from the baking sheet with a spatula. Let cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Old-fashioned Nut Squares

Nut Squares on Plate

Warm weather is finally here, and I’m ready to sit on the porch with tea and a snack. So when I saw a hundred-year-old recipe for Nut Squares that said, “Very nice for afternoon tea,” I knew that I needed to try the recipe.

The Nut Squares were tasty and chock-full of nuts with a crispy crust and a chewy middle. The one downside is that the crust had a tendency to crack and break when I cut the cookies into bars.

Here’s the original recipe:

Nut Squares on plate — Source: Ladies’ Union Cook Book (Concord Junction, MA, 1921)

I was surprised that the recipe did not call for any butter or shortening – though the cookies still had a nice texture. Perhaps the top crust may have had less tendency to break and crumble off the bars if the recipe had inclued butter or shortening.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Nut Squares

Servings: about 24 bars
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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3 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups chopped nuts (I used chopped walnuts.)

Preheat oven to 375° F. Put eggs in mixing bowl and beat. Add sugar, flour, and baking powder; beat until smooth. Pour mixture into a greased 9 X 13 inch baking pan. Bake until set and the top is light brown (about 25 – 30 minutes). Remove from oven. When partially cool cut into squares or 1 X 2 inch bars.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Traditional Gingerbread Men Cookies

Gingerbread men on baking sheet

Making cut-out cookies is one of my favorite holiday traditions, so I was thrilled to see a recipe in a hundred-year-old home economics textbook for Gingerbread Men.

These delightful molasses and spice cookies are decorated with raisins or currants, and are a little thicker and chewier than some gingerbread cookies. They’d be lovely on a holiday cookie tray.

Here is the original recipe:

Recipe for Gingerbread Men — Source: Household Arts for Home and School (Vol. II) by Anna M. Cooley and Wilhelmina H. Spohr (1920)

The caption under the illustration in the old textbook says, “Some suggestions to please the children.” Today Gingerbread Men often are topped with lots of colorful icing, and very sweet. Would children in 2020 be pleased by Gingerbread Men decorated with only raisins or currants? My gut feeling is that many today wouldn’t fully appreciate this old-time flavorful, healthier option – and would miss the icing. Which is a pity. The Gingerbread Men were wonderful.

Here is the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Gingerbread Men Cookies

Servings: approximately 18 cookies
Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1/3 cup shortening

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup molasses

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups flour

raisins or currants

Preheat oven to 375° F. Put shortening, brown sugar, egg, and molasses in mixing bowl; mix together. Add baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and flour; stir to combine. Roll to 1/4 inch thickness. (If too sticky to roll, add more flour.) Cut into shapes using a Gingerbread Man cookie cutter. Put on prepared baking sheet. Raisins or currants may be used for eyes, mouth, and buttons. (Cut raisins into several pieces if they are too large.) Bake for 8 – 10 minutes, or until the cookies are set. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

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Old-fashioned Cocoa Cookies (Chocolate Cut-out Cookies)

I recently came across a hundred-year-old recipe for Cocoa Cookies that I just had to try. This recipe was actually a cut-out cookie recipe. The cookies had a crispy exterior with a softer, cake-like interior, and just the right amount of sweetness. They are lovely with coffee (or milk).

Here is the original recipe:

When, I followed the recipe, the cookie dough was extremely dry and crumbly, so I added a second egg to make the dough a better consistency that could be rolled.

And, here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Cocoa Cookies (Chocolate Cut-out Cookies

Servings: approx. 40
Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1/4 cup butter or shortening (I used butter.)

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup milk

2 large eggs

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cocoa

2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 400° F. Cream butter (or shortening) and sugar; then stir in milk and eggs. Add the baking powder, salt, and cocoa; stir until combined. Add the flour and stir until well mixed. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick; then cut into shapes. Place on greased baking sheets. Bake 9-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com