"Mark Zanger" wrote in
news:f2nLb.1809$5V2.1953@attbi_s53:

In writing my American History Cookbook, I especially enjoyed the
early American cakes with lots of cream and butter. Eliza Leslie's
1827 Lafayette Gingerbread is delicious, and so is her pound cake from
the same book, which I used to explicate a manuscript recipe for
"Preble Cake" of 1832.

The spiced ketchups in Andy Smith's Pure Ketchup are very tasty.

I also made the 18th century chicken fricassee in "Martha Washington's
Book of Cookery," which Martha probably never made, and it is
delicious, but so rich you can only eat a little as a side dish to
plainer fare, which is how it was originally eaten.

I have made this several times. It really is delicious but, as you said,
so rich that one cannot make a meal on it.

The first historical recipe I ever made was Lydia Maria Child's recipe
for baked beans (no molasses or sugar) and I often come back to that
one.

Curious, how does one make baked beans with neither molasses nor sugar?
Sounds interesting.


The 1877 hermit cookies in my book are very good, also. They are white
spice cookies with chopped raisins.

Yield: About 100 cookies.1 cup salted butter, and some to grease
baking sheets2 cups sugar1 cup raisins3 medium eggs (or two jumbo
eggs)1/2 teaspoon baking soda3 tablespoons whole milk1 rounded
teaspoon nutmeg1 rounded teaspoon cloves1 rounded teaspoon cinnamon6
cups flourEquipment: rolling pin and board, round cookie cutter or
glass tumbler, food processor, two or more baking sheets, standing
mixer or pastry blender.1. Remove butter from refrigerator an hour
before starting.2. Chop raisins in a food processor by pulsing
briefly. Do not grind to a paste.3. Cream together butter and sugar
in food processor, or with a standing mixer, or with a pastry blender
or a large fork.4. Mix flour with spices. Grease baking sheets and
dust with flour.5. Dissolve baking soda in milk.6. Beat eggs until
creamy and light.7. Work eggs into butter-sugar mixture, than add
flour, raisins, and milk mixture in turns.8. Work into a stiff dough
but do not knead. You may need a little more milk.9. When dough
sticks together well enough to roll, flour the board and rolling
pin.10. "Roll about one-quarter of an inch thick and
cut with a round cake cutter." Arrange cookies on baking sheets.11.
Gather scraps and roll out with the next portion of dough
until all the dough is used up. (You can also refrigerate or freeze
dough and bake the rest another day.)12. Bake about 12
minutes at 375 degrees.


I must try these. They are rather similar to a recipe I got from the
mother of a girl I dated in highschool, although those Hermits also
contained nuts and were baked as a drop cookie. The remaining ingredient
list is almost identical.

Cheers,
Wayne