What do you think?

by Mrs Marvel

I love the new look of the site! To celebrate, I’ll be bringing you a really exciting discovery – a handwritten girl’s trade school cookbook from the 1920s or 30s. It’s in terrible condition but I just couldn’t let it wind up in the trash heap. The book contains written instructions on everything from planning a menu, keeping an orderly refrigerator and how to keep food hygienic to tons of both handwritten and clipped recipes. I’m working on scanning it right now and hope to have something for you next week.

As always, thanks for your support of heirloom and handwritten vintage recipes!

Neiman Marcus Cake

by Mrs Marvel

Nov 23

 

There was a time when all my friends were trading around recipes for Neiman Marcus Cake, Mrs Field’s Cookies, Nordstrom’s cake, etc. Of course these all come with the basic story that someone went to the restaurant, liked the dish, asked for the recipe and was sent the recipe with the bill for some outrageous amount of money, and in revenge the person decided to share it with all her friends. My family has that in a very old recipe, called Oscar’s $100 Cake. These types of recipes are often folklore, but are sometimes true.

Neiman Marcus Cake

1 yellow cake mix (pudding type)

2 eggs beaten

1 Tablespoon H2O

The above mixture will be gummy

Mix & pack into 9×13 pan. Do not grease the pan

Mix:

8 oz cream cheese

1 stick oleo

2 eggs beaten

1 box powdered sugar

Pour over cake mixture

Bake at 325 for 50-60 minutes

Nut rolls, revisited

by Mrs Marvel

Nov 20

Just sorting through recipe cards, I came across another card for Nut Rolls. The various cards all appear to be in the same handwriting, so perhaps the lady liked them, lost the recipe/wrote it out again, found it, on and on.

6-8 Nut rolls

8 cups flour

1 1/2 cups or 2 sugar

1 lb oleo

salt

9 eggs

2 cans milk

1 large yeast

1/2 cup sugar to 1 lb nuts

350 35-40 min

Sturbridge Village Teacakes

by Mrs Marvel

Nov 25

 

Sturbridge Village, or Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) is a place that makes me wish I lived in the East. The Village is a living history site, stopped in the years between 1790-1840. They have historians dressed in period attire, historic homes, crafts and activities, a working farm, heirloom animals, etc etc etc. The romance of times gone by, all to be found just an hour west of Boston. The clothes! The etiquette! Back to the clothes! And the cooking, ahhhh!

These teacakes are what Americans would call a cookie, and those in British lands would call a biscuit. They are not quite a shortbread, not quite an oatmeal cookie. Somewhere betwixt and between, we find the teacake. I haven’t made these yet, but I expect they would be delicious and popular in my home.

Sturbridge Village Teacakes

2 c br sugar

2 c shortening

2 eggs beaten

2 c flour

3 c quick oats

1 1/2 t soda

1 t salt

2 t vanilla

Form into small balls, roll in sugar. Place 3″ apart. 375 12-15 min. 4 doz

Mary’s Nut Rolls

by Mrs Marvel

Nov 18 Nov 21

 

A slip of paper about the size of a bookmarker serves as the medium for this recipe for nut rolls. I am guessing that once you make the dough, you roll it in some way, maybe like a cinnamon roll? The “can” of milk here refers to condensed milk. I also notice there aren’t any actual nuts specified in the recipe. I have another card that says “for nut rolls” at the end of this post. Check it out, it appears to be for the same rolls, just with more ingredients.

Mary’s Nut Rolls

8 heaping cups flour

1 lb oleo

2 cups sugar

8 eggs

1/2 teas vanilla

2 cans milk

2 cakes yeast – big one

Make egg wash for top of rolls, 2 eggs and 1/2 can milk

350

45 minutes to 50 minutes

20 min top

20 min bottom

Mary Levikis [??]

Check after 20 minutes to transfer and put egg wash on again to transfer bottom

Nov 19