This classic Scottish shortbread recipe comes from the handwritten recipe book of Mary Malcolm Palmer-Douglas in the National Library of Scotland’s collection.
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A Pippin Tart
Pippins are a variety of apple mainly grown for use in hard cider today. Historically, however, they were often used in puddings and baked desserts such as this 1623 recipe from Gervase Markham for A Pippin Tart.
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American Temperance Beverage
This recipe comes from Martin Luther Holbrook’s 1888 book Eating for Strength, a book designed to promote what the author considered healthy eating and drinking habits. A physician and health reformer, Holbrook believed that avoiding meat and stimulants such as alcohol and tobacco was essential to good health. His book provides a variety of vegetarian and alcohol-free recipes such as this one, alongside the latest “scientific” nutrition advice of the day.
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Plum Cream Ice
This Victorian ice cream recipe comes from Agnes Marshall, sometimes known as the “Queen of Cream” for her contributions to ice cream. In addition to publishing books of recipes, Agnes Marshall ran a cooking school, edited a weekly magazine, marketed and sold foodstuffs and kitchenware, and even designed some of her own equipment such as ice cream freezers.
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War-time Cake
This recipe is one of many variations on “Eggless Butterless Milkless Cake,” an unusual recipe that became a staple during the food shortages of both World War One and World War Two. I’ve found similar recipes across dozens of cookbooks from the 1910s to the 1940s. Interestingly, while wartime cookbooks usually referred to this type of cake with names like “Eggless Butterless Milkless Cake” or “War Cake,” cookbooks published during the Great Depression often call it names such as “Depression Cake,” “Economy Cake,” or “Poor Man’s Cake.”
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Avocado and Bacon Sandwich
I had to make this recipe from a 1933 cookbook just to show that avocado toast has been around for longer than you might think. Avocados were first cultivated in the United States starting in the early 1900s, and became very popular by the 1920s. They were used in all sorts of recipes, including open-faced sandwiches like this one – or, as we would call it today, avocado toast.
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Eve’s Pudding
This recipe comes from Catherine Dickens, the wife of Charles Dickens. While her husband is better known for his writing career, Catherine Dickens made her own foray into authorship with the cookbook What Shall We Have for Dinner?. The book was first published sometime before 1851 (the date of the first edition is unknown), and was reissued in several revised editions over the next few years. Catherine published her book under what is probably the best pseudonym ever – Lady Maria Clutterbuck – the name of the character she had portrayed in an amateur theatrical production of the play Used Up.
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Chocolate Chip Honey Cookies
Last year, I made Ruth Wakefield’s original recipe for Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookies. Invented in the 1930s, these cookies became so popular that by 1939 Nestlé developed chocolate chips specifically for use in the cookies. Nestlé continued to promote chocolate chips and chocolate chip cookies during World War II, such as in this poster suggesting that a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies would be the perfect gift to send a soldier.
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To make Pease Soop in Lent
Unlike many 18th-century soups, this soup is (mostly) vegetarian so that it can be eaten during the fasting period of Lent. Instead of using meat, the soup is flavored with anchovies, since fish was often considered acceptable to eat during Lent.
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Another Irish Country Dish (Colcannon)
Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish made with cabbage or kale and potatoes. The name comes from the Gaelic phrase “cal ceannan,” which means “white-headed cabbage”.
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History in the Making 