Hot Cross Buns

April 15, 2022April 14, 2022 Little DorritLeave a comment

The English custom of eating spiced buns on Good Friday dates back to at least Tudor times, when a London law forbade the sale of spiced buns except on Good Friday, Christmas, and at burials. The first known mention of the name “hot cross buns” comes from a rhyme in the 1733 book Poor Robin’s Almanack: “Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs, with one or two a penny hot cross buns.” Although on modern hot cross buns the cross is usually piped on with pastry, in most recipes before the 20th century the cross is cut or stamped into the buns. This 1896 recipe from Fannie Merritt Farmer is an exception to both traditions; in her version, the cross is piped on with icing.

Brownies

January 17, 2021January 17, 2021 Little Dorrit2 Comments

The earliest brownies, like this recipe from Fannie Merritt Farmer’s 1896 The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, contained no chocolate whatsoever.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

October 25, 2020October 25, 2020 Little Dorrit1 Comment

Fannie Merritt Farmer’s The Boston Cooking School Cook-Book was an instant best seller when it was first published in 1896, and remains in print to this day. Called “The Mother of Level Measurements,” Farmer was known for her insistence on accurate measurements, unusual in a time when many recipes used vague quantities such as a “heaping spoonful” or a “handful.”

Berry Muffins

June 21, 2020June 21, 2020 Little Dorrit2 Comments

Finding historic muffin recipes is always a bit confusing, as no one seemed to be able to agree on the term “muffin” throughout history.

History in the Making

recreating historic foods and crafts

Tag: Fannie Merritt Farmer

Hot Cross Buns

Brownies

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Berry Muffins