“Food for the Gods” (Date Crumbles) Recipe

Date Crumbles with whipped cream topping I recently came across an intriguing recipe in a 1925 issue of Farm Journal. The recipe was labeled “food for the gods or date crumbles.” What a bold assertion! Could this recipe possibly be that good? I had to find out, so next thing I knew I was making the recipe.

Date Crumbles had a crispy crust, with lot of nuts in the middle. The dates cooked down to create a lovely, sweet date filling on the bottom. I scooped the Date Crumbles out of the pan, and put it in serving glasses (dishes would also work just fine). I served it with whipped cream. I thoroughly enjoyed this dessert.

Here is the original recipe:

recipe for "food for the gods" — Source: Farm Journal (April, 1925)

It’s fascinating that the old recipe directs cooks to serve it in “tall glasses.” I took this to mean stemware. I envision Farm Journal readers, living in remote rural locations, feeling like they were serving a very elegant dessert when they put the Date Crumbles in stemmed glasses and topped it with whipped cream. After all, they were serving “food for the gods.”

I did not want 16 servings, so I made half of the recipe. That said, I don’t think that half of this recipe would be enough for 8 people, so when I updated the recipe, I indicated that it would make 5 – 7 servings.

I assumed that a “slow oven” meant setting the temperature at 300° F.

As I prepared to bake the date mixture, I considered putting it in a baking dish instead of a pie pan as indicated in the old recipe; but, in the end just used an old 9-inch metal pie pan that I had and that worked well. A baking dish would also work. Date Crumbles in pan

I would not store Date Crumbles in a tin box. When I made this recipe, I ate some of it right away, and covered the remainder in the pan that it was baked in. It also could be stored in a food storage container.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Food for the Gods (Date Crumbles)

Servings: 5 - 7
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: easy
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1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 cup nuts, chopped (I used pecans.)

1/2 cup dates, chopped

whipped cream

Step 1. Preheat oven to 300° F.

Step 2. Put egg, sugar, and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine.

Step 3. Stir in the chopped nuts and dates.

Step 4. Put the mixture in a greased pie pan or other baking dish (an 8″ X 8″ dish would work well), and spread it out.

Step 5. Put in oven and bake for 45 minutes.

Step 6. Use a spoon to “crumble” the baked dessert; put into dessert dishes or glasses to serve. May be served hot or cold. Top with whipped cream.

Note: The Date Crumbles can be covered and stored in the pan that it was baked in or it can be “crumbled” and stored in a tightly covered container.

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Old-Fashioned Chocolate Meringue Pudding

Chocolate pudding is a favorite around my house, so when I saw a hundred-year-old recipe for it (with the twist of topping the pudding with meringue), I just had to give it a try.

The Chocolate Meringue Pudding was rich and creamy, and had just the right amount of sweetness. The delicate and airy meringue with its distinctive crispy exterior almost melted in my mouth and worked well with the chocolatey pudding.

Except for the ubiquitous Lemon Meringue Pie, I seldom see desserts today with meringue toppings. It seems strange to me that meringue seems to be somewhat out of style when it is such a delightful dessert topping.

Meringue looks like it would be hard to make, but it actually is very easy. It only takes a few minutes to beat the egg whites into stiff peaks with an electric mixer, and it is easy to pile the meringue on top of a dessert – and it always looks awesome after the meringue has been lightly browned in the oven. Cooks a hundred years ago would have typically beaten the egg whites by hand or used a hand mixer. It would have taken much longer to beat the egg whites back then – but meringue was more popular back then. Go figure.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Chocolate Meringue Pudding — Source: The Daily Argus-Leader Home Economics and Cook Book (Newspaper Supplement), Sioux Falls, South Dakota (1925)

This recipe makes a relatively small amount of pudding, and was the perfect amount for my husband and me.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Chocolate Meringue Pudding

Servings: 2-3
Time: 55 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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2 cups milk

3 tablespoons corn starch

1 ounce unsweetened baking chocolate (2 1/2-ounce squares)

2 eggs, separated

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350° F. Put 1/2 cup milk and the cornstarch in a small bowl; stir until combined and smooth. Put the remaining 2 1/2 cups of milk and the baking chocolate in a saucepan. Using medium heat scald the milk while stirring constantly. Gradually add the cornstarch mixture while continuing to stir. Reduce heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes while stirring constantly. (It is important to stir to the bottom of the pan and to keep the temperature low to avoid scorching the pudding at the bottom of the pan.) Remove from heat.

Put egg yolks in a small bowl and beat with a whisk or fork until smooth. Place a small amount (approximately 1 – 2 tablespoons) of the hot mixture into dish with the beaten egg; stir quickly, then gradually add the egg combination to the hot mixture while stirring rapidly. (The egg yolks are first combined with a little of the hot mixture to prevent them from turning into scrambled eggs when introduced into the hot combination.) Reserve 2 tablespoons of the powdered sugar, then add the remaining sugar and salt into the hot mixture; stir to combine. Put the mixture in a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, make the meringue. Place egg whites in a bowl, and beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Gradually add the 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and vanilla while continuing to beat.

Remove pudding from oven and spoon the meringue on top and swirl decoratively. Return to oven and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes or until the meringue is lightly browned. Can be served hot or cold.

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Old-Fashioned Lemon Snowballs with Lemon Sauce

Lemon Snowballs with Lemon Sauce

Lemon Snowballs were popular both a hundred years ago and now. They are a lemony dessert that is rolled in powdered sugar. Most modern Lemon Snowballs are a type of cookie that are made by making a dough and then rolling (or scooping) it into balls that are put on a baking sheet. Based on the information in a 1925 cookbook, a hundred years ago Lemon Snowballs were made using a different process. The old recipe called for making a batter, then folding in beaten eggs whites. The mixture is then put into mini-muffin cups that are set in a pan of hot water for baking (similarly to how custards are baked). The old-time Lemon Snowballs are served with a Lemon Sauce.

I decided to give the hundred-year-old recipe a try. The old-time Lemon Snowballs with Lemon Sauce were a delightful very light, lemony, cake-like dessert and the zesty Lemon Sauce was a lovely, flavorful addition.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Lemon Snowballs — Source: Rumford Complete Cookbook (1925)

I bought the cookbook that contained this recipe off eBay. The Lemon Snowballs recipe appears to be recommended by a previous owner of the cookbook. There is a checkmark made with a pencil on the righthand side of this recipe.

This recipe makes about 48 small Snowballs. I didn’t have enough mini-muffin tins to make that many, so I put some of the batter in regular muffin tins – which worked fine, though those Snowballs were much larger.

Even though the recipe calls for serving with a Lemon Sauce, there was no Lemon Sauce recipe in the Rumford Cookbook. Maybe the Rumford Cookbook author assumed that the recipe for Lemon Sauce was so basic that there was no need to include it in the book. I found a Lemon Sauce recipe in an old home economics textbook:

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Lemon Snowballs with Lemon Sauce

Servings: approximately 48
Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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3 eggs, separated

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

grated rind of 1 lemon

1 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350° F. Put egg whites in a mixing bowl and beat until firm peaks form. Set aside.

Put egg yolks and sugar in another mixing bowl; beat until thoroughly mixed. Add water, lemon juice, and grated lemon rind; beat to combine. Add flour and baking powder and continue beating until thoroughly mixed, then gently fold in the beaten egg whites.

Grease mini-muffin cups, then put a heaping tablespoon of batter in each. Place the muffin tin in a pan that contains hot water that is about 1-inch deep. Place the pan (with the muffin tins) in the oven. Bake about 30 minutes or until a pick inserted in center of the Snowballs comes out clean. Remove the muffin tin from pan with the water and let cool slightly for a few minutes, then remove the Snowballs from the muffin cups. Roll the warm Snowballs in powdered sugar. If desired, serve with Lemon Sauce (see recipe below). May be served warm or cold.

Lemon Sauce

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups boiling water

1 lemon (juice and grated rind)

1 tablespoon butter

In a saucepan, mix the sugar and flour thoroughly, then slowly add the boiling water while stirring constantly. Bring to a boil using medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, grated lemon rind, and butter; continue stirring until the butter is melted.

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Old-Fashioned Canned Peach Pudding

Canned Peach Pudding

I was recently browsing through a hundred-year-old magazine, and came across a recipe for Canned Peach Pudding. Back then fresh fruit was scarce during the winter and early spring, so canned fruit was very popular. At the time, canned fruit (either home or commercially canned) was considered a modern option.

The Canned Peach Pudding was delightful. The pudding batter included pureed peaches, and whole peach halves (filled with a red jelly or strawberry jam) are placed in the batter and then additional batter is poured on top.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Canned Peach Pudding — Source: American Cookery (April, 1924)

When I put the baked pudding with the sugar on top under the broiler, the sugar did not brown, but the top of the pudding did begin to brown.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Canned Peach Pudding

Servings: 6
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: moderate
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12 canned peach halves (approximately 1 29 oz. can + 1 15 oz. can or 1 quart home canned peaches)

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons butter, melted

6 teaspoons red jelly or strawberry jam (I used current jelly.)

granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350° F. Puree 6 of the peach halves. In a mixing bowl combine the peach puree, milk, sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and melted butter. Put half of the batter into an 8″ X 8″ baking dish. Arrange 6 peach halves, hollow side up, on top of the batter. Fill the center of each peach half with 1 teaspoon of red jelly or strawberry jam. Pour the remaining better on top. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and lightly sprinkle with granulated sugar. Put under the broiler until the top of the baked pudding is lightly browned. Remove from oven.

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Old-fashioned Blackberry Pudding

Old-fashioned Blackberry Pudding is a delightful summer dessert. The recipe I made was from a hundred-year cookbook, and it turned out well. The cake-like topping is flavored with cinnamon, and is very light and fluffy because it contains beaten egg whites. This recipe is a keeper, and I anticipate making again this summer.

Blackberry Pudding

Here’s the original recipe:

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Blackberry Pudding

Servings: 4 - 5
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: moderate
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2 pints (4 cups) blackberries

1/2 cup sugar + 1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 lemon (juice and grated rind)

3 eggs, separated

Put blackberries, 1/2 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan; bring to a boil using medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer until the berries soften (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat; set aside.

Put the egg whites in a bowl. Beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

In the meantime, in another pan, melt the butter; stir in the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and cinnamon. Slowly add milk while stirring. Using medium heat, heat to boiling using medium heat while stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the batter thickens, about another minute. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice, and grated lemon rind.

Let cool slightly, then place a small amount (approximately 1 – 2 tablespoons) of hot batter mixture into dish with beaten egg yolk, stir quickly. Repeat with a more of the hot mixture. Then add the egg mixture to the batter; Stir. Fold in the beaten egg whites.

Put the stewed blackberries in a 2-quart baking dish. Spoon the batter over the blackberries. Put in oven and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the topping is lightly browned. May be served either hot or cold.

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Old-fashioned Date Pudding

Date Pudding

I recently came across a cookbook published in 1923 called The Calorie Cook Book. In the Introduction it says:

This book has been made for the use of those people who wish to eat properly and really don’t know how. . .

We Americans have bolted and stuffed rich food for so long that it is amazing how very few of us know how to stop or what to do, when the family physician, treacherously upheld by our own inner selves, demands a change in the catch-as-catch-can style of eating we have so long enjoyed.

Based on the title and the book’s introduction, I assumed that the recipes would be for healthy low-calorie foods. But the first page I flipped to proved that my assumption was wrong:

Date Pudding Recipe — Source: The Calorie Book (1923) by Mary Dickerson Donahey

The recipe for Date Pudding said it was delicious, but that reducers should be beware. The recipe was not for them. I was intrigued. The author must think that a recipe is really good when deciding to put a high-calorie recipe in a low-calorie cookbook. So, before I knew it, I decided to ignore the warning and make Date Pudding.

The Date Pudding was delightful. Beaten egg whites gave the pudding a nice texture, and the dates and walnuts blended nicely for just the right balance of sweetness and crunchiness. I served the Date Pudding with whipped cream, which made it even more delicious and decadent.

This recipe called for “English walnuts” to distinguish them from “black walnuts.” Today, English walnuts are generally just called walnuts.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Date Pudding

Servings: 6 - 8
Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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2 eggs, separated

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1 cup dates, chopped

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups milk

whipped cream, optional

Preheat oven to 350° F. Put egg whites in a mixing bowl; beat until soft peaks form. Set aside.

Put sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla, egg yolks, and milk in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Fold in the beaten egg whites, and then gently stir in the chopped dates and walnuts. Put the mixture in an 8″ X 8″ square baking dish. Put in oven and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean (approximately 50 minutes – 1 hour). Remove from oven. May be served warm or cold. If desired serve with whipped cream.

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Old-fashioned Hawaiian Delight

Hawaiian Delight on plate I remember enjoying cakes with pineapple when I was young, so was intrigued by a hundred-year-old recipe for Hawaiian Delight. Hawaiian Delight is a cake that includes a cinnamon and sugar topping – which is then served with crushed pineapple spooned on top of cake pieces.

The recipe was easy to make. The Hawaiian Delight is an old-fashioned classic type of dessert and was quite tasty.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Hawaiian Delight — Source: Good Housekeeping’s Book of Menus, Recipes, and Household Discoveries (1922)

The list of ingredients for this recipe includes shortening, but the directions refer to butter, so when I updated the recipe, I listed butter rather than shortening. I think that grated canned pineapple is just an older name for crushed pineapple, so I used a can of crushed pineapple. The recipe called for pastry flour, which is difficult to find where I live, so I used all-purpose flour, and it worked fine.

The old recipe said that Hawaiian Delight should be served hot – though I enjoyed it both hot and cold.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Hawaiian Delight

Servings: 8 - 10
Time: 35 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar + 1 tablespoon sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 can crushed pineapple, 20 oz.

Preheat oven to 400° F. Put flour, baking powder, salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, egg, milk, and butter in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Put in a greased and floured 8-inch square cake pan.

Put cinnamon and 1 tablespoon sugar in a small bowl. Stir together, then sprinkle the top of the cake batter with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

To serve, cut into squares, and spoon crushed pineapple on top. May be served hot or cold.

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