Cooking from antique cookbooks can seem daunting at first. Writing styles, means of measuring, names of dishes, and cooking methods have changed, sometimes dramatically, over time.
It also tempting, when using an older source, to second guess the recipe. If an ingredient you expect to find is missing from the text, consider cooking it as written before making changes. This recipe for Chocolate Pecan Wafers is a case in point.
From the 1924 Modern Priscilla Cook Book this cookie recipe does not include leavening (baking powder or baking soda) and also doesn’t include any butter, another common cookie ingredient. The book was published by the editors of Modern Priscilla, a popular women’s magazine that ran from 1887 to 1930. I have used other recipes from this book with good success and found them to be reliable.
CHOCOLATE PECAN WAFERS
2 eggs 6 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa Pecan meats
Beat eggs well, then beat in sugar and cocoa mixed. Fold in flour and salt sifted, a tablespoon at a time. Drop by teaspoonfuls on a greased tin, place a half pecan on each and bake in moderate oven. Remove from tin immediately after taking from oven.
Time in oven, 15 minutes. Temperature, 350. Servings 60.
I did make one alteration. Instead of using pecan halves, I sprinkled the top with chopped pecans, all I had on hand at the time. Using a spoon to drop these on parchment paper, I found it difficult to make them as small enough to get sixty cookies. My yield was half that. You might want to pipe them onto the paper into small circles. Smaller cookies would probably not need the full fifteen minutes, I would check them at ten to make sure they don’t over bake.
Remove the parchment paper from the cookie sheets and let them cool on a rack. Wait until they are cool to remove them from the paper.
It also tempting, when using an older source, to second guess the recipe. If an ingredient you expect to find is missing from the text, consider cooking it as written before making changes. This recipe for Chocolate Pecan Wafers is a case in point.
From the 1924 Modern Priscilla Cook Book this cookie recipe does not include leavening (baking powder or baking soda) and also doesn’t include any butter, another common cookie ingredient. The book was published by the editors of Modern Priscilla, a popular women’s magazine that ran from 1887 to 1930. I have used other recipes from this book with good success and found them to be reliable.
CHOCOLATE PECAN WAFERS
2 eggs 6 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa Pecan meats
Beat eggs well, then beat in sugar and cocoa mixed. Fold in flour and salt sifted, a tablespoon at a time. Drop by teaspoonfuls on a greased tin, place a half pecan on each and bake in moderate oven. Remove from tin immediately after taking from oven.
Time in oven, 15 minutes. Temperature, 350. Servings 60.
I did make one alteration. Instead of using pecan halves, I sprinkled the top with chopped pecans, all I had on hand at the time. Using a spoon to drop these on parchment paper, I found it difficult to make them as small enough to get sixty cookies. My yield was half that. You might want to pipe them onto the paper into small circles. Smaller cookies would probably not need the full fifteen minutes, I would check them at ten to make sure they don’t over bake.
Remove the parchment paper from the cookie sheets and let them cool on a rack. Wait until they are cool to remove them from the paper.
Comments
Post a Comment