I spent the afternoon baking cookies yesterday. I realize most people
do their cookie baking on a different schedule, but that's what I felt
like doing yesterday. I use my mother's old Betty Crocker Cookie Cookbook.
It is BEAT UP and RAGGED. Its spine has been taped over but of course
that's long since become ineffective. There are stains and marks
everywhere in in. I don't remember how it happened that that cookbook
found its way to my kitchen, but I take great comfort in it. It sits
right next to the Betty Crocker cookbook Mom gave me for Christmas in
1980.
In the back of the book, there are a series of "best cookies" from
particular time periods and this is the one from the time period of
Mom's birth in 1933. I thought it was kind of interesting to note the special
notice about molasses and that "Betty Crocker service responds to the
needs of depression-hit homemakers with balanced low cost recipes and
menus." I've always been quite certain that the effects of the
Depression era mightily impacted Mom's cooking and baking habits. You
can see how these pages are well worn even though they are way in the
back and likely rarely consulted.
In the front of the book, Mom has noted her name with 11/64 indicating a
date. She has also taped a universal recipe to the front here--I've
never tried this one but I have made many others in the book. Yesterday
it was chocolate crinkles. To prepare to bake, I removed several
sticks of margarine from the freezer so they could come to room
temperature before I got ready to bake. This chocolate crinkly cookie
recipe didn't even call for margarine! It uses vegetable oil instead.
Makes me wonder how these recipes have evolved over the years to
accommodate current health concerns and economy. I didn't do that
research so you are spared that much in this post.
Since she got the book in November of 1964, I figure she must have
gotten it into her head that she was going to bake Christmas cookies
that year. What was she thinking? 5 small children at her feet every
minute and she wanted to bake cookies? Who knows, but this is a little
view of how things looked on Dennison Road Silver Creek NY in 1964:
I have made those sugar cookies many times! They are one of my boys favorites. I loved that particular cookbook of Mom's. There are great pictures in it.
ReplyDeleteI have never thought about how the depression era affected Mom's cooking. Of course, NOW I will! I love thinking about Mom baking with all of us around. Funny, I don't have particular memories of Mom baking. I think we used to amuse each other (or fight, whatever) and that made it a little easier on Mom. I think parenting has changed since 1964 in that parents now think there has to be someone watching every minute, every moove. My recolection is that we would play, or read, or be outside without a parent always there. I'm not saying they didn't know where we were, just that they weren't in the same room or even outside when we were. Maybe that is a false memory.
Happy baking! I'm making frosted sugar cookies before Chrstmas for my boys! Ho! Ho! Ho!