Tollhouse Cookies - 1930s

So we made some Tollhouse Cookies from this recipe which is pretty well documented in nearly every single recipe book you could care to read that includes recipes for biscuits/cookies.  This recipe is pretty generic and very easy.

Here is an interesting thought.  Chocolate Chip Cookies come under the 1930s category because they were first developed at that point, only becoming popular during the war.  Well that is what the wikipedia article says.

180g/6.5 oz unsalted butter, cubed and softened
140g/5 oz soft brown sugar
110g 3.75 oz granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
280g/10oz plain all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
350g/12 oz dark chocolate bits
100g/3.5 oz pecans (or flaked almonds) roughly chopped

1. Preheat oven to 190C/375F and line two large baking trays with baking paper/greaseproof paper.
2. Cream the butter and sugars with electric beaters until light and fluffy.
3. Gradually add the egg, beating well after each addition.
4. Stir in the vanilla extract, then the sifted flour and bicarbonate until just combined.
5. Mix in the chocolate bits and pecans/almonds.
6. Drop table spoons of mixture onto the trays; leave room for spreading.
7. Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on the trays before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  When completely cold, store in airtight container.

Vinegar Cake (pre 1950s)

So it has been a few months since I've posted a recipe, so I thought I would kick off with something really appetising.

For Vinegar Cake you'll need...

1lb Flour
1/2 pound Sugar
1/2 pound butter and dripping
1/2 pound of currants
1/4 pound of stoned raisins
3 tablespoons of vinegar
1 teaspoonful of Bicarbonate of Soda
1/4 pint of milk

1. Rub fat well into the flour add fruit and sugar.
2. Put the milk into a large jug and add the vinegar.
3. Mix the bicarbonate of soda with a little milk and pour it into the milk and vinegar quickly taking care to hold the jug over the cake mixture as it will froth up.
4. Stir into the flour, fruit etc and put in to a well greased tin and bake in a hot oven for the first half hour, then a cooler one until cooked.

Treacle Scones - 1930's

This comes from Farmhouse Fare, a book first published in 1935 and revised over the years.  I have the 1971 edition which contains lots of great recipes from over the years.  Some of these are older than the thirties, but for the sake of cataloging I am sticking to the date of first publication.
The ease of this dish would make a great little starter for beginners, or something quick to whip up at the last minute.  Again, with many of these recipes, timings are not exact and one has to use ones own instinct when it comes to how quickly they will take to cook.  This recipe also calls for a vintage ingredient, Cream of Tartar.  It is still available from supermarkets or online.  If you don't have it to hand, then white vinegar will be a good substitute.

8 oz Flour
1 oz sugar
1 oz treacle
1 oz margarine
1 teaspoonful of cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda
Buttermilk or ordinary milk

1. Rub the margarine into the flour, add the sugar, cream of tartar and soda and mix to a rather soft dough with the treacle which has been been dissolved in half a cupful of buttermilk.

2. Turn out on to a lightly floured board, stamp quickly into rounds and bake in a fairly hot oven.