World War II Ration Era Recipe: Peanut Butter Popcorn Balls

This week, we are combining two of my favorite things into one blog post: Popcorn and Christmas.

Popcorn was popular in World War II at Christmas. Not only was it used as garland on Christmas trees, but it was used to make tasty treats at the holidays. Peanut Butter Popcorn Balls provide a source of protein and satisfy the holiday sweet tooth without forsaking the war effort.

Recipe from “Grandma’s Wartime Kitchen: World War II and the Way We Cooked” by Joanne Lamb Hayes

Ingredients:

·         1 cup light molasses

·         2/3  cup of light corn syrup

·         1 tablespoon of vinegar

·         1 teaspoon of salt

·         1/2 cup of peanut butter

·         1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

·         3 quarts of popped corn

Instructions:

·         Combine molasses, corn syrup, vinegar, and salt in a heavy 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently until mixture reaches 250^oF or until a little syrup dropped into cold water forms a hard ball. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla.

·         While syrup is cooking, spread out popcorn in a deep roasting pan. When peanut butter mixture has been combined, pour immediately over popcorn and stir until popcorn is evenly coated.

·         Lightly oil hands and shape mixture into 12 balls. Set aside to cool completely.

I will be honest, this recipe sounded much more promising than what it turned out to be. It was more difficult and messy than I anticipated in regards to mixing the molasses-peanut butter combination with the popcorn. I’ve also never really liked molasses, and the popcorn balls tasted more like molasses than peanut butter. They also did not stick together well at all, even after putting them in the refrigerator.

Perhaps, the reason why I did not do too well with this recipe is because I made it. I hope that you take time to try it out and I hope that you have better results than I did, especially if you like molasses J

Until next time,

Maggie

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cinnamon Cookies

Hello All,

Winter Storm Remus

Hope you are all enjoying the reprieve from snow we are experiencing. Steady temperatures in the 50s next week? I was almost convinced it might never come again.  But alas, we have made it through to March and spring is on the horizon.

Unfortunately, due to Winter Storm Remus this past Wednesday evening, the second installment of our Lecture Series was canceled. However, we will be rescheduling the lecture for March 19th at the Welcome Center.

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Today I thought I would share a 1940s cookie recipe I came across a few weeks ago…

A Brief History on the Oatmeal Cookie:

Rationing Cookbook

The oatmeal cookie is actually a derivative of an oatcake, made by the Scots and British as early as 1,000 B.C. when oat harvesting first took over as a main source of food for the area. It is unknown when raisins or nuts were added to this particular treat, but it is known that raisins and nuts were used in many recipes during the Middle Ages. The first ‘traditional’ Oatmeal Raisin recipe first appeared in the 1896 publication of Fannie Merritt Farmer’s cookbook. She considered the cookie a health food and within ten years, the recipe could be seen on every container of Quaker Oats.

Sisters baking, 1940s, Life Magazine

By the 1940s, Oatmeal Raisin cookies were a household name. On the home front, rationing made cookie baking, and life in general, difficult, but mothers, wives, and sisters knew their loved ones abroad needed some indulgence from home, so whenever possible, care-packages with these cookies, and other treats were sent overseas for a little taste of home for the soldiers and sailors.

Today there are probably a hundred, if not more, versions of this one famous cookie. However you, or your family, makes Oatmeal cookies I am sure the smell and tastes can always bring you back home.

Old Fashioned Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

Old Fashioned Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1-cup sugar

½-cup butter

1/3-cup molasses

2 eggs

2 cups oats

1 2/3 -ups flour

1-teaspoon baking soda

1-teaspoon cinnamon

¼-teaspoon salt

1-cup raisins

 

Preparation:

Cookie Dough

Cookies almost always turn out better when the ingredients are at room temperature. (Do not ask me why, I was a history major, not a culinary student.) However, I have tested this theory many times and it has always proven worthy. So with that being said, it is best to let the butter and eggs become room temperature before diving in. Also, many times raisins are extremely dehydrated by the time you are prepared to cook/bake with them, which makes the cookies dry. Soaking the raisins in hot water for at least 30 minutes rehydrates them enough, which puts moisture into the cookie and the cookie stays fresher longer. It is also better to mix your dry ingredients together so you do not experience dry pockets in the dough. So you would blend the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together and set aside.

The next step is to pre-heat the oven. This particular recipe calls for the oven to be set at 375°F; however, if you have a gas convection oven, I recommend turning the temperature down to 350°F.

Fresh cookies, straight from the oven!

Next, cream the sugar, butter, and molasses together. Once creamed, add the eggs one at a time.  Then add the dry ingredients.

Once everything is well blended, mix in the raisins.

Place a rounded teaspoon-sized cookie, two inches apart, on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 9 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

This recipe yields about 4-dozen cookies. 

This recipe proved to be a winner and has been added to our own family recipes book. I would highly recommend this version, or anything similar, of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. The molasses makes the cookies deliciously chewy and moist, while the plump raisins add a delectable quality and richness.

Hope you all take the time to enjoy some homemade cookies!

Take Care,

Elizabeth

Recipe: Amish Cinnamon Bread

Hello All!

I hope everyone is staying warm during this Arctic Blast! Here is a wonderful treat you could make while cooped up inside!

As we know, desserts during wartime were almost a luxury item, since many of the ingredients used were heavily rationed. But occasionally people were able to enjoy sweet treats and feel some sense of normalcy in their lives. Amish Cinnamon Bread, also known as Amish Friendship Bread, is a delicious baked good that can be enjoyed during any season but is particularly desirable during the fall and winter months. It is relatively easy to make because it does not require many ingredients and there is no kneading needed! Also, if your ingredients are in short supply, the recipe is easily cut in half to make one loaf instead of two. While it is not known whether or not this particular dish was popular in the 1940s, it is known that the recipe has been around for decades.

Amish Cinnamon Bread

(makes 2 loaves)

 

Batter:

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk or 2 cups milk plus 2 tablespoons vinegar

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

Cinnamon/Sugar mix:

2/3 cups sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

This time I decided to make only one loaf and used apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar to make the buttermilk. I felt it would give the bread more flavor and I have to say I believe it gave it the right touch!

To start, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and have a greased loaf pan ready to go. Next, cream the butter and sugar together and then add the eggs one at a time. Then add the buttermilk, flour and baking soda to the mix.  In a separate bowl, mix the cinnamon and sugar together.

Pour half of the batter into the loaf pan and then sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar mix on top. Using the rest of the batter, add to pan and sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar to the top. Using a butter knife, swirl the cinnamon sugar mix throughout. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes and check with a toothpick. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes and then remove.

I hope you enjoy!

Elizabeth

Ration-Era Recipes: Spicy Apple Coffee Cake

To celebrate the New Year, I thought it would be the perfect time to go back to one of our ration-era recipes.  I had just returned to work from holiday with my family, my youngest sister was with me and I had a bag of apples that I needed to use quickly.  Plus, who doesn’t love a good coffee cake.  With dessert on the brain, I turned to my trusty Victory Cookbook, published in 1943, and glanced through the dessert pages.  

Eventually my sister and I landed on the spicy apple coffee cake.  Remember, desserts would have been a treat as ingredients such as sugar is still heavily rationed.  This recipe has been modified and only has 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.  That is it!  Plus, you probably already have all the ingredients in your kitchen. 

We had a great time with the recipe.  It is really simple and fun to make!  The most time consuming part of the entire recipe was peeling and slicing the apples.  It is a quick clean-up and does not leave a lot of mess.  You only need a small area with flour on which to knead the dough. 

Once again, my wonderful co-workers served as guinea pigs and this recipe received thumbs up all around.  The sweetness comes from the apples, cinnamon, and brown sugar.  I did not have it with coffee, but I see how this would be the perfect dessert to serve during a dinner party.

I hope you enjoy!  Happy New Year! 

Until next time,

Felicia 

Spicy Apple Coffee Cake

2 cups sifted flour
2/3 to 3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

2 or 3 apples

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons shortening 

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup grated nippy cheese (Omit cheese if preferred - I did not use any cheese)

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.  Cut in shortening and cheese.  Add milk to make a soft dough.  Turn out on lightly floured board and knead 1/2 minute.  Part out dough in ungreased 9-inch layer-cake pan.  Pare apples, core and slice thin.  Arrange apples in petal design over top.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon and dot with butter.  Bake in hot oven (425ºF) 25 minutes.  Makes 1 (9-inch) coffee cake. 

You could also use an oblong pan and arrange apples in rows on top of dough. 

Ration-Era Recipes: Cinnamon Bread

I know I've been absent from blogging lately, so please forgive me as I know you've been eagerly awaiting my latest post.  Well, the wait is over!  Once again I've returned to the trusty Victory Cookbook for some good ole fashioned carb therapy.  The variety found in the Victory Cookbook is quite incredible, and I would expect nothing less from a volume totaling a mere 860 pages.  While you'll probably never see me fixing recipes like "Peanut Butter and Pickle Sandwiches" (p. 137) or "Tounge Braised with Aspic Jelly" (p. 349), I'm always willing to try a variety of "safe", typically carb-y, recipes regardless of the labor required.

My very messy, sticky, flour-y counter

And let me tell you, this week's recipe was a labor of love - the process was laborious; the result was lovely.  

The "Rolled Cinnamon Bread"  took about 3 1/2 hours from the start of the recipe until the bread was ready to be sliced.  (Also, I cheated a little by using quick-rising yeast to speed up the process.)  Furthermore, it created quite a mess -as you can see.  Thankfully I'm lucky enough to have a gracious husband who scrubbed the counter-top afterward.

Freshly sliced Rolled Cinnamon Bread

But all of the effort was well worth it.  The smell of cinnamon and fresh bread filled our house, which only made the entire process seem so much longer as we waited to sink our teeth into the warm deliciousness.  After much standing and sniffing and peaking into the oven, the bread was finally done.  We let it cool slightly then dug in, and we were not disappointed.  The bread tasted just as good as it smelled!  My husband even emarked that this was possibly the best ration-era recipe I've tested so far.   Hooray!  

Fittingly, the Victory Cookbook recommends that mothers serve this bread as a treat for children, and I can see why.  The cinnamon-swirled bread has just the right amount of sweetness, yet it remains very ration-point friendly.  It requires very little sugar and oil which were heavily rationed during WWII.  I can easily imagine little mouths in a 1940s kitchen waiting anxiously for a taste of this sweet bread as it baked.   

Enjoy!

Megan 

Here's the recipe: 

Standard Recipe for White Bread

1 cake yeast                                             2 Tbsp. shortening

¼ c. lukewarm water                                  2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. sugar                                              2 c. milk, scalded

1 ½ tsp. salt                                             6 cups sifted flour, about

Add yeast to lukewarm water and 1 tsp. sugar.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Add salt, shortening, and remaining sugar to milk and cool to lukewarm.  Add softened yeast and 3 cups flour.  Beat well.

Add enough more flour to make a soft dough.  Place remaining flour on board, turn out dough on floured board and knead until smooth and elastic.  Place in greased bowl, turn over, so that greased side is on top, cover with cloth and let rise until doubled in bulk.  Punch down and let rise a second time if desired.

Rolled Cinnamon Bread

1 recipe Standard White Bread dough (p. 103)    6 Tbsp. brown sugar        

1 tsp. cinnamon

When dough is light, divide into halves and roll each half into a sheet 9” square.  Sprinkle with a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon.  Roll up like jelly roll and place, seam side down, in greased bread pans.  Let rise until light.  Bake in hot over (435 degrees)  15 minutes, then reduce temperature to moderate (375 degrees) and bake 25 minutes longer.  Remove from pans and cool.  Makes 2 loaves.

Ration-Era Recipes: Potato Pancakes

Snowday Fun

Yesterday morning my family was delighted to wake up to about 4 inches of snow on the ground.  We quickly bundled up and trekked outside to enjoy (hopefully) our last snowfall of the season.  I love contrasting playtime in cold, wintery weather with a warm, comforting meal.  So after we played awhile in the snow, we trudged back into the house to warm up.  I'll admit, the snow provided me with the perfect excuse to catch up on blogging while experimenting with my favorite comfort food: the potato.  

I returned again to the Victory Cookbook and found a recipe for potato pancakes that sounded promising.  Be advised:  If you lack patience, this is not the recipe for you since the peeled potatoes must sit, submerged in cold water, for 12 hours.  But I wasn't about to let time prevent me from testing this recipe, so I got up early (pre-snow adventure) to pare and soak the potatoes so we could enjoy potato pancakes by dinner time.  This recipe is clearly ration-point friendly as all of the ingredients used would have been abundantly available during wartime and none of the ingredients required ration points.  Hooray! 

So, here's the process:

After letting the potatoes soak, I grated them with a standard box grater.  Because I am terrified of any encounters between my fingers and the grater, I made sure to leave a substantial potato barrier - as you can see from the photo.  Grating the potatoes took nearly an eternity.  And after said potatoes were grated, I squeezed out as much liquid as possible from the potato shavings.  That part was a little gross but painless.

 You can see the freshly squeezed potato pulp in the photo above.  Next, I added eggs to the potatoes.  (Caveat: I cheated and used egg substitute, but they didn't seem to harm the pancakes in the least.  I'm sure regular eggs, beaten into a frenzy would work just as well.)

 Then, very gingerly I mixed the eggs into the potatoes.  Finally flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper were added and mixed thoroughly with the potatoes.

For the final step, I lightly sprayed a non-stick skillet with a non-stick spray and dropped the potato mixture by spoon into the pan.  Once the pancakes had browned on one side, I flipped them so they could brown on the other. You'll know the pancakes are browned on a side when they no longer stick to the pan.  The finished product was hashbrown-y and delicious.  My two-year-old especially couldn't get enough of the stuff.

The cookbook recommended that the pancakes be served with a side of applesauce, but personally, I think I'd prefer it served with sour cream or ketchup.  For those of you that are interested in testing the recipe for yourselves, here it is!

Enjoy!
Megan

Nothing Says "I'm Sorry" like a Coffee Cake

Okay.  So I know I disappeared from the blogosphere for a few months, and I am truly sorry for absence.  I took a few months away from the museum world to student teach, and silly me, I thought student teaching while maintaining a blog would be a breeze.  It was not.  So sadly, the blog was neglected... but now I'm [hypothetically] more educated and have returned with great enthusiasm!  

I'm thrilled to be back at the National D-Day Memorial, and the Memorial has a lot of great opportunities planned this year for you and others to really experience World War II history in meaningful ways.  We have new educational initiatives in place, fresh events, and revamped "oldies but goodies", and I can't wait to share them with you.  But for my first post back I thought I would say "I'm sorry!  Please forgive me!" with a tasty ration-era recipe.

In my absence from the Memorial proper, a great artifact was donated to the Foundation - a cookbook, circa 1943 titled the Victory Cookbook: Wartime Edition.  It is a large volume full or interesting and resourceful recipes.  I'll be turning to this resource often on the blog, but for this week's offering I thought I'd start with something sweet and simple: a "Quick Coffee Cake".  After all, nothing says "I'm Sorry" like a nice, warm, deliciously simple coffee cake. Right?

The recipe, as it promised was easy and quick to pull together and within 40 minutes from start to finish (including baking time) my family was enjoying a thick, moist, and, most importantly, delicious coffee cake.  I have to admit that I was very skeptical of the crumb topping.  I've never made one from actual stale bread crumbs before, but the topping turned out to be delightful.  It was as sweet, buttery, and crumbly as one could hope for on a coffee cake.   This could easily become a "go-to" recipe and was approved by both my husband and finicky toddler.  

So enjoy your coffee cake, and welcome back!  I hope you will continue to enjoy our "Sentimental Journey".

-Megan

Warm coffee cake just out of the oven.  Yum!

Ration-Era Recipes: "Sugarless" Ice Cream

Ahhh. Ice Cream - one of my favorite things about summer, and in the midst of this heat wave in Central Virginia, I thought it was appropriate to test out a great ration-era ice cream recipe.  (The recipe was taken from Grandma's Wartime Kitchen by Joanne Lamb Hayes which is an incredible compilation of family wartime recipes accompanied by fun facts about cooking with ration restrictions.)  

Last week we hosted our annual WWII day camp for 4th-6th grade students.  This is part of the reason for my lengthy blog silence as I've been working like a mad women to make sure everything was just right for our campers.  But I digress.... One of my favorite aspects of camp is that we serve ration-era snacks to our campers.  Some snacks are a huge hit (think butterscotch cupcakes) and others receive a less than enthusiastic response (oat sticks for instance).  This go round we served Sugarless Berry Ice Cream, and overall, it was well-liked by our young food critics.  The recipe is incredibly simple - although a little labor intensive - but the results were well worth the work.

Basically you take one can of sweetened condensed milk and mix it with a 1/4 cup lemon juice and a pinch of salt.  Next you puree and strain roughly pint of any type of berry (I used strawberries).  Then you fold in the puree into the milk mixture.  Then, whip 1 cup of heavy cream until stiff and fold that into the existing mixture.  Finally, pour the mixture into a freezer-safe container and pop it into the freezer for a couple hours.

The result comes out looking like this:

Yum!

I would recommend allowing the ice cream to thaw for a few minutes before scooping or you just might bend your ice cream scoop.  But this recipe is so simple that you could whip it up in a few minutes, set it aside, and enjoy a delicious frozen treat in the sweltering July heat.

Enjoy!

Megan   

References:

Hayes, J. L. (2000). Grandma's wartime kitchen: World War II and the way we cooked.  St. Martin's Press: New York, NY.

Ration Era Recipe: Faux Whipped Cream

So our busy season has officially started at the National D-Day Memorial, and we've been running around like crazy people these past few weeks making sure that everything is in ship-shape for our visitors!  So the poor blog has felt a little left-out and perhaps even a tad neglected, so I decided to make things right by featuring a ration-era recipe this week.

I chose a very simple recipe from the ABCs of Wartime Canning that took very little time to whip up.  (Remember, I said its our busy season.)  I also thought this recipe would provide a perfect compliment to all of the refreshing springtime desserts that seem to crop up this time of year.  The recipe is for faux whipped cream. 

The prep time for the recipe was minimal, but it did need to sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour to set up, so if you're brave enough to test it out, you may want to keep that time frame in mind.  What made this recipe so phenomenal is that it transforms average table cream into a light, fluffy dessert topping. So here's what you need for the faux whipped cream: table cream (I used a pint of light cream), plain gelatin, water, and vanilla (if necessary).

Here's what you do:

1. In a small cup, place 2 tsp. plain gelatin into 4 Tbsp. cold water

2. Set the cup with the gelatin mixture into a shallow bowl of hot water.

3. Stir the gelatin and cold water until it dissovles

4. Pour one cup of cream into a medium-large bowl

5. Slowly pour the gelatin mixture into the cream

6. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream on high until it thickens a little

7. Add vanilla and/or sugar if desired

8. Place mixture into the refrigerator and let set for at least an hour

9. Serve!

I took a big risk and prepared the whipped cream on a night that company was coming over.  My unsuspecting company never knew I used a ration-era whipped cream recipe for their crepe topping.  In fact a few people even commented on how delicious the "homemade" whipped cream was.  So, I guess we can consider this recipe a success!

Enjoy!

Megan