Maine Bicentennial, A Cookbook, and Me

When a recipe dates to the turn of the century (1906) and there is no electric oven temperature, and you have measurements like this "flour enough to stir stiff enough to drop from a spoon"...it is time to do recipe research. I found an "Old Fashioned Hermit Cookies" recipe at www.thespruceeats.com. I compared it to the recipe in the MBCC, and it has nine ingredients that match the 1903 recipe, so I combined the best of each recipe to make these cookies happen. One of the quirks in the modern recipe that I like is a call for brewed coffee. Not much, but it does add a nice flavor twist. The original recipe calls for plain water. The other twist suggests adding chopped dates. But I opted for the original recipe option of raisins.  I remember making hermits when my kids were little. They gobbled up these spicy treats as fast as I could bake them. It is not such a popular cookie, these days, but I do recall my grandmother including hermits in her annual holiday baking, ...

 These brownies are for all the Chocolate Lovers of the World. While I still very much love the Bangor Brownies (circa 1910, by the Ladies Aid of the M.E. Church in Naples), reviewed on July 9th...the Bixby chocolate in these brownies is, well, perfect. I've never encountered baking brownies with parchment paper. That was a first for me. I guess it's not bad insurance, since it does lend an even baking to the batter and not a single edge of the brownies have burned or even overcooked. I loved the pop in my mouth when my tongue met the sea salt. I adored watching the beautiful extra-large chocolate baking chips melt gently into the butter. There are lots of eggs, lots of vanilla and yummy dark brown sugar in this heavenly mix. And sprinkled into the batter and on top? Bixby Bean to Bar Cocoa Nibs. Especially for those seeking Cocoa Nirvana. The one ingredient I wish we had on hand to make the experience even better? Yup, vanilla ice cream. A warm brownie topped by vanilla ice cr...

 Lemons. I remember when my son was a toddler, he adored lemons, of all things, and would make this cute little puckered-up-yet-happy face when he ate them. I like lemonade. I like lemon slices in a glass of ice water. I love those tall glasses of lemonade and strawberries that became popular about a decade ago in restaurants...great thirst-quencher.  But lemon bars and I have never really become acquainted until now. And I'm not sure this is my favorite experience with lemons. No offense, President Bush. Maybe it's the powdered sugar in the crust. The overall amount of sugar in this recipe sort of overpowers the lemon. And I was more expecting a happy lemon moment in my mouth. But the sugar won out. If I try this recipe again, I'll cut back on the sugar.

 Another first for me, cooking with dried apricots. The recipe does not indicate how long to cook the apricots after "plumping" them with hot water.  And, the suggestion is a low heat, but I cooked them at a medium heat, having chopped them up first, and just watched them closely. This recipe was a hit with the Resident Archaeologist. We both ate it warm from the oven, me, wishing for a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top-but the store was closed by the time it came out of the oven. He decided to pour light cream over his serving, which was a very good decision. I cut the recipe in half, so it fit in an 8x8 pan. I only had one package of dried apricots, which happened to be about 4 ounces shy of what a 1/2 recipe called for. I was a little worried that there would be insufficient apricots! No need to worry, however. The apricots spread over the oatmeal-based dough and covered the surface well. You get delicious apricots in every bite of every square. This is a delicious dessert...

This recipe comes with a full page of memories about Grammy Minnie Trueworthy, born in 1888, who lived in Porter, Maine. I was delighted to be able to bake-off her recipe along with the other two molasses cookie recipes in this cookbook, in order to compare and enjoy. (See Nana Louise's Molasses Cookies and Grammy Shreder's Molasses Cookies blogs) This is one of those molasses cookies that must be washed down with a glass of cold milk for the perfect combo. I was surprised to find that Grammy used just a small amount of brown sugar. The other two recipes use plenty of white sugar. When you use such a small amount of sugar, the taste of the molasses comes through full force (which is why my husband was NOT a taste-tester for this molasses cookie bake-off, because he does not appreciate the wonderful flavor that is molasses).  This dough requires chilling. And it also requires a rolling pin. Hence the flour you see on the cookies (it's a rather sticky dough, in spite of chill...

 I think the story behind these cookies are just as sweet as the cookies themselves. Not to give too much away (what, you haven't purchased this cookbook yet?!), but the family gave a handwritten copy of this recipe to all attendees at her funeral, with a picture of Grandma Shreder at age 18. I've already shared in "Nana Louise's Molasses Cookies" how I have made all three molasses cookie recipes in this cookbook, to compare them, so you can go read that blog. This cookie requires chilling the dough, preferably overnight. I didn't have overnight, so I chilled it for an hour (Grandma's handwritten instructions say that an hour will do). It comes out of the oven a little puffy and very cake-like. I guess I was hoping for the crinkly-topped soft, moist flat cookie that Nana Louise makes. But the combination of a great deal of flour and shortening and molasses makes it a much heavier and drier cookie. Which a lot of people like, and given a busy day, I can see...

There are three molasses cookie recipes in the Bicentennial cookbook. I compared all three to see what the differences were. Nana Louise is the only recipe using vanilla extract. She also uses a very small amount of molasses, more baking soda, less flour, and smaller amounts of spices than the other two recipes. If you are completely curious, go and buy a cookbook. Spoiler alert, this recipe is my favorite of the three. I baked all three recipes and taste tested them on the same day, in order to compare flavors, textures, and the amount of Nana/Grandma/Grammy-love imbued in each recipe. Why is this recipe my favorite? Who doesn't love the cookies that remind one of one's Grandma? My father's mother loved to bake cookies for her grandchildren. And we obliged by eating every single one, happily. My Grandma Bailey made a molasses cookie very much like this one, with a soft, moist interior and a little sugar on top. The picture shows my Grandma Bailey's cookie jar, which wa...

For such a delicate little cookie, you might want to refer to them by their French name: Langues de Chat. Sounds a little more elegant than cat tongues! This recipe is submitted by Phyllis Siebert, a former Blaine House chef. She says they were a favorite at Blaine House receptions. I wonder if that is because they are so small and light that you could probably picture them as completely calorie-free! Per usual for cookie recipes, I made a half-batch. If you make a half batch, you must still go with the full 2 large egg whites to get the right consistency of batter for your pastry bag. While we are talking large eggs, have you noticed that hens are laying smaller eggs? I always buy large eggs, and like every other product on the shelf, it seems they are shrinking. Maybe just my imagination? The recipe calls for a pastry bag, but being as how I don't own one, a ziplock baggie with a corner snipped off works perfectly. You don't want to re-use a hot cookie pan for laying out new ...

I think it was the vanilla that fooled me. If I had seen almond extract in the recipe, I would have recognized this old friend. But it had been years since we had seen one another, and I didn't know her. Of course, this round little cookie rolled in powdered sugar could be none other! Except that years ago, she wore a delicious almond perfume that made her the alluring cookie I've had the pleasure of knowing all these years. The only dish suitable for display of such an elegant cookie (even sans almond extract) had to be the Penelope Noritake tea set that my dad brought home from Japan. And you can be sure that we'll meet again, perhaps at the Christmas holidays, and she'll be wearing that almond perfume! All kidding aside, this is a beautiful cookie that melts in your mouth, literally. I made a half batch and wish I had made more. (This recipe is submitted by one of Patrick Dempsey's sisters, Mary. Their mother used to make these tea cakes every December. And yes, ...

 I was quite sure I had almond extract in the cupboard, as I like to keep it on hand for making almond biscotti.  But when I went to the cupboard, I found every extract I could ever want (peppermint, maple, vanilla), and hiding way in the back was a sizeable jar (4 oz) of almond extract. But when I pulled it into the light of the kitchen, it revealed there was but a drop left inside. So, I had to substitute vanilla. Not as good, but you certainly wouldn't want peppermint or maple fighting with the raspberries!  The only thing I might change in this recipe is to add more of the raspberry filling. You get plenty of butter/oats/flour base/topping in your mouth, but the raspberry was spread a little too thin (and I had added two generous spoonfuls more than called for, just to make sure it spread completely over the bar mixture). Discovered a bonus at the grocery store...I don't like to toast my own almonds, because invariably some get toasted more, some less, you know, it ju...

 Do these cookies even need a review? I mean, have you ever met a "bad" cookie? Never have I ever! I have maintained a close friendship with cookies ever since that first chocolate chip cookie introduced itself to my mouth as a very young child. I owe my lasting relationship with cookies to my mother and my father's mother. Mom was known for her chocolate chip cookies, and Grama always baked tins and tins and tins of cookies for us to tide us through the holidays. This recipe reminds me of my Aunt Linda's "Kitchen Sink Cookies." She put lots of "healthy" ingredients in that recipe, and confessed to me that it was her go-to sneaky method of feeding her kids something they thought was "junk food" but was actually packed full of good things. I like the chocolate chips in this batch, but I do wonder if butterscotch chips might taste just as wonderful (or maybe mint chocolate chip?!). I made a half-recipe, since it is just myself and the Resid...

 We have family visiting from out of state (COVID-tested and cleared) and so we decided to visit a local state park for a picnic and walk with them. I made these date nut bars to contribute to the luncheon. Oddly, there are no nuts in the recipe whatsoever, altho I suppose you could always add some. It has a shortbread-type base and a meringue topping (altho we packed the bars before they cooled properly, which ruined the pretty meringue, but it was still tasty).  My husband loves dates, so I wanted to make a pre-birthday snack for us all to enjoy on the picnic.  The recipe calls for chopped dates. I think that if I use the recipe again, I'll opt for a date spread instead, to make sure you get dates in every bite. Either that or put in more chopped dates! Also, I did not find the meringue directions especially helpful. If you have your own tried-and-true method for stiff peaks, I say stick with what you know. That being said, the outcome was that the date-lover among us e...

I remember my Grammie Bessie making these, among the many kinds of cookies she baked for her grandchildren.  She didn't use molasses, though, in her jam cookies.  I like these, but I suppose, due to eating jam jams without molasses as a child, I lean towards the non-molasses version. I chose to put strawberry jam in these cookies, because it is a fav jam and because all we had on hand were strawberry or apple. I'm intrigued that the recipe contributor mentions liking lemon frosting in between the cookies. I'm sure frosting on any cookie makes it that much more wonderful! The directions do not call for a hole in the top cookie of the cookie sandwich, but I remember that's how Grammie Bessie made them, so that's how I made them! Rolling the dough as thin as you can is important, mostly because with the sandwiching, you'd have a wide mouthful if you rolled the cookies thick.  Some fancier jam jams, I found online, use decorative cookie cutters such as stars and hea...

I started to lay out the ingredients for this recipe a couple of days ago, and realized suddenly that I had no idea how chocolate for cooking was sectioned into bars years ago. This 1910 recipe refers to the amount of baking chocolate as "one square" or "two squares." Not ounces. And the 21st century baking chocolate may not use the same "square" as 1910. So I consulted a local historian who also happens to be fluent in baking old recipes, (thanks, Wanda!) and she advised that one square refers to one ounce of chocolate, per Fanny Farmer cookbook.  I'm quite sure that I'm converted now. I'll never go back. No way. My days of baking brownies from a box are over! It was so simple to bake these brownies. And they turned out beautifully. So much so that I was mighty thankful we had some vanilla ice cream in the freezer to pair with a brownie when it came out of the oven. I decided to cut the recipe in half, and use my mini pie tins for the batter. ...