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WW2 Recipe: Baby Ruth Cookies

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Flipping through the June 1942 issue of The American Home is like walking into a World War Two time capsule. Featuring the “On Guard the Home Front: Cooperating for Victory” label, it offered suggestions for how to use rationed items frugally, how to save items that would otherwise go to waste, and how to save money on family vacations by camping and other home-made fun (see the PDF link at the end to explore the pages of this issue).  

Sugar was rationed early on in America and chocolate was prioritized for use for military rations, so it was difficult to find. As a result, recipes like the one on page 26 of the June issue, featured a colorfully advertised Baby Ruth candy bar as the main ingredient in a cookie. Eating a Baby Ruth bar on its own wouldn’t take long. However, chop it into pieces and incorporate it into a cookie recipe (think chocolate chip cookies), and you have a treat that will go much further and be enjoyed by the maximum number of people.

Otherwise, the recipe is a basic, tasty cookie that goes well with a tea or coffee break. Pair a couple of cookies with a cheese stick or beef stick if you want to avoid a woozy-doozy blood sugar spike. The cookie itself uses a bit less sugar than modern cookie recipes, and this you can adjust even more to reduce the sugar profile. Most of the sweetness comes from the Baby Ruth bar. You could experiment with other candy bar flavors in the same manner, a Snickers cookie, a Skor bar cookie (toffee and chocolate), etc. Some candy bars may work better than others, I’m thinking Three Musketeers would melt in a messy fashion.

There is a small drawback to using a candy bar as your “chocolate chip” substitute since Baby Ruth features a milk chocolate exterior, peanuts, caramel, and a nougat filling. The caramel is the challenge; it really melts and will ooze in strange and wonderful ways as the cookies bake. It’s relatively easy to fix, just smoosh the goo back into the cookie while the cookie is still warm. Possibly the 1942 version of the Baby Ruth bar was made from a different recipe and didn’t have this problem (I’m not brave enough to see if a 1942 bar has survived that I can try), but nonetheless, in our modern-day version you have to mind your caramel.

Dubiously, the Baby Ruth bar from the magazine is featured thus: “As nutritious as it is delicious, Baby Ruth Candy is a first line food for defense against fatigue.” Hmm, if you’re a hungry soldier fresh from basic training then I can buy that (and they were back during 1942), but for our sedentary world today, probably going easy on the candy bars is a better bet.

I won’t keep you in too much suspense, here’s the recipe. I’ve adapted it to my taste, but you can follow the original in the images above.

Baby Ruth Cookies

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Adapted by Amanda Stiver from the June 1942 issue of The American Home magazine.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 small eggs
  • 8 mini-Baby Ruth bars, cut in small pieces
  • 1 1/3 cups flour (I used Wheat Montana: Prairie Gold)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

  1. Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs.
  2. Stir in other ingredients (chopped Baby Ruth bars, flour, baking soda, salt and vanilla).
  3. Chill for easy handling. Gently form half teaspoonful balls, roll them slightly, and place on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Avoid over-handling or the dough can become tough. The cookies spread out, space them well apart.
  4. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes. Let sit for one minute, if caramel has bubbled and spread, gently smoosh it back into the cookie. Place on cooling rock. Makes about 60 small cookies.

Sources:

Recipes

Ahoy there! — Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Gluten-free has become a health-protocol for a lot of people. Some because they have serious digestive issues and/or celiac, and others because they want to take a break from the onslaught of gluten in their diet to see if various health issues will improve along with immune system function. This cookie would qualify as gluten-free, but not dairy or egg free.

However, I think (and this is coming from someone who must exclude a lot of things from her diet due to a histamine malfunction called Mast Cell Activation Syndrome—so I know whereof I speak) we can focus on what is not included in a recipe or dish, rather than what is included. And what is there is much more fun than what isn’t there. Abundance mentality vs. deprivation mentality.

This recipe, which I will link here < Almond Flour Chocolate Chip COOKIE RECIPE > and below, is on the All Recipes website, which is where I found it seven years ago. At our house, we affectionately call it the ‘Chips Ahoy!’ cookie because it has a similar texture and flavor to that well-known cookie product.

Almond flour works well in certain recipes and not so in others. This can be said of most non-gluten flours. They all have their best uses. It’s worth a little investigation and typing up a little cheat-sheet to remind you which ones are best for what purpose.

Almond flour, in this recipe, is a good substitute and produces a nice sturdy, chewy texture that sets off the flavor of the chocolate delightfully.

Now, I’m an inveterate recipe tweaker, so I never could leave this one alone and I’ve tried this and that, as you can see in the photo of my much-marked up copy of the recipe. However, using the directions straight from the original produces a fantastic cookie, so start there and then tweak as you like.

If you want to tweak right away, I’d suggest using (in place of the chocolate chips) 4 oz. of good quality bittersweet chocolate bar that you chop up with a sharp chef’s knife into little pieces. That way you get bits of chocolate spread out into more of the cookie dough.

Reminder: when you begin to scoop the dough onto a cookie sheet, gently flatten the cookies, as it says in the recipe, otherwise you get almond flour haystacks and the final product won’t have as even a texture.

Even if you don’t need to avoid gluten, this makes a fun cookie to rotate with wheat-flour variations. Almond flour has a long history as a confection and ingredient in candies, cookies and cakes, so as you enjoy each bite, take a moment to imagine all the other historical cookie snackers over time who have indulged in the delights of almond flour! And smile at your budget as it thanks you for making a recipe from scratch that can taste just as good as the store-bought, commercially processed varieties!

Sources: Gluten-Free Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies, at AllRecipes.com by King Arthur Flour, Jan. 20, 2022. Gluten-Free Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (allrecipes.com)

Recipes

Abelskivers : Travel by Recipe

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(I am an Amazon Associate and as such I earn a small commission from any qualifying purchases that are linked below.)

Sometimes we underestimate the value of a stovetop. Did you know that it can substitute for a jet aircraft?

Abelskivers ready to eat!
Photo: Amanda Stiver

No, this isn’t some crazy do-it-yourself-transformation project a la Red Green, with the help of a little duct-tape. But, in fact, you can travel by stove-top, or more accurately travel by recipe.

Exploring the history and cultures of the world is high on the “bucket” list for many people, but low (or no) budget travelers have to fulfill the ambitions and imaginations of our hearts by re-thinking global exploration.

Oftentimes, on a trip to a new culture or location one of the resounding experiences that fills our memory is the unique, flavorful and unfamiliar foods that we encounter. The scents and textures, flavors and colors of that culture come to us through the sips and bites we take while visiting.

Would Paris be as romantic if they served Kellogg’s Cornflakes and instant coffee instead of freshly pressed café au lait and croissant? Certainly, it would diminish the romance.

Would a visit to Israel be as redolent of its biblical heritage if you substituted steak and potatoes (though delicious in their own right) for the multitudinous fresh vegetables, salads, and meat dishes spiced with the historical herbs and spices of the Mediterranean world that have come to be so closely associated with that place? I dare say not.

Finish with a dusting of powdered sugar.
Photo: Amanda Stiver

Yet, the recipes of both places can be replicated in your own kitchen…

My chosen destination turned out to be Denmark via a dish also shared with Scandinavia and North Germany. And my vehicle? Abelskivers! A puffy, round sweet pastry that tastes much like a pancake. Some recipes use yeast and others using baking powder as the leavening agent. They may or may not be filled with jam (we tried both raspberry and orange marmalade) or Nutella, and the final product is served lightly dusted with powdered sugar.

Each hole is filled half-way with batter, then as they cook, you turn them by quarter-turns till fully cooked.
Photo: Amanda Stiver

I’ve made them twice so far. Once as a dessert. And the other as a brunch pastry. Both were tasty and there is a peculiar urge to gobble every one in sight, partly because they are so cute.

To tackle this recipe you will need a specialized pan, there is no way around that. It’s a circular pan with round half-circles molded in (these you fill with batter). I chose a non-stick variety so as to avoid hassling with clean-up.

Photo: Amanda Stiver

My pick was the Norpro brand that I found on Amazon. It is sturdy cast aluminum, and I’ve used it for two batches thus far and it works very well and is quite substantial. Some other brands are more hefty and a bit pricier, but this one is solid and easy to clean. If you are looking for your own pan, here it is: https://amzn.to/3XKG1Gv  (This is a paid link – I’m an amazon affiliate and get a small commission if anyone makes a purchase through this link.)

It does take some technique and a long wooden skewer is essential for carefully turning the batter as it cooks, quarter-turns create a nice round ball. If you make mistakes, remember, they are still edible! Just eat the evidence!

My cooking station in action. Ingredients read to go, including wooden skewers for turning.
Photo: Amanda Stiver

I’ve included a couple of recipe variations below. I have tried the first one, and found I liked it best, it uses baking powder as a leavening agent. I have not tried the second, but it is similar to one I did try and it uses yeast and is quite rich, best for when you have lots of people to share it with, just in case you’re tempted to eat too many.

Recipes:

“Ebelskivers (Danish Pancakes) With Lingonberry Jam Recipe” by Carrie Vasios Mullins, June 2, 2020. https://www.seriouseats.com/ebelskivers-danish-pancakes-lingonberry-jam-recipe

“North German Pancake Balls” by germanfoods. https://germanfoods.org/recipes/north-german-pancake-balls/

Recipes

Meatloaf: Versatile Kitchen Standby

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I once read that ten basic recipes are the foundation of a cook’s repertoire. With variations, these recipes are the dependable standbys of a weekly menu plan. They take away the repetitious and sometimes draining question: “What should I prepare today?”

Photo: Amanda Stiver

Just like a good restaurant with an enjoyable, but predictable menu, you know what to expect. Novel culinary adventures are fun, but there is also something to be said for the pleasant contentment of predictability, knowing what’s coming and looking forward with anticipation to a familiar and delightful dish.

One dish that fits the bill for the 10-recipe repertoire is meatloaf. It is a jack-of-all-trades recipe that has enough built in flexibility to allow variation without sacrificing form, ie. mushy meatloaf.

Let’s touch on versatility. Prudence in the kitchen expects a recipe to have easy variations. Meatloaf can facilitate this requirement with a variety of spices, or added vegetables, or sauce on top, maybe even cheese as a component. The possibilities are many.

It’s also a multi-purpose dish, and can have a place at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. If ground beef is low, meatloaf can take the form of any ground meat, poultry, or canned fish. Salmon loaf, well executed, is a delicious dinner option.

Meatloaf is also a budget friendly dish. It can be made economical, meat being the most costly ingredient, by cutting down on that component and increasing the oats, crackers, breadcrumbs/cubes, or other starchy carbohydrate component. Also, vegetables can be increased to a degree to make up for a decrease in meat. Beans would be especially effective in this way because they preserve some of the protein content.

Meatloaf in various forms is found in a many cultures. The Scottish have Haggis (using offal-organ meats from sheep, minced, mixed with vegetables and oats and cooked in a sheep’s stomach), in France and England there are dishes like terrine, which may include whole eggs, and whole vegetables layered in the meat, and sometimes the carbohydrate component is included or left out. There are meatballs from the Scandinavian cuisines, and kefta from the Persian/Middle Eastern historical cuisine. The list could go on. Many interesting flavors to explore.

Meatloaf even has cousins, shepherd’s pie, stuffed peppers (or other vegetables), or ground beef pie. Wherever inspiration strikes.

As a recent article I read (see below) made note of, meatloaf became an American culinary staple during the Great Depression of the 1930’s, for many of the reasons listed above. Versatility, economy and stretching a dwindling meat supply due to high prices.  

When you look through your repertoire of recipes, as a prudent consumer, keep an eye out for recipes like meatloaf, that offer ample variety and can save a penny here or there. Cultivating these sometimes humble and predictable recipes gives you economical allies when times are tight!

Please share your meatloaf variations and memories in the comments below or below the Facebook post of this article!

Keep a shiny penny and a positive thought!

Sources: “A History of Meatloaf, Long May It Reign,” by Frank Bruni and Jennifer Steinhauer, March 6, 2017. https://www.bonappetit.com/story/history-of-meatloaf