January 22, 2006

My mother's brownies and other delicious homey food from the 1918 Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

This is a classic of North American cooking - every house in my family tries to have one. I've recently been converted to Delia Smith's Complete Cooking Course for many basics, but my nostalgia recipes are all in here. The brownies are amazing. At one point, my mother could whip up a pan in about 5-10 minutes, as she did it about every other day. I usually make them with cocoa (3 tablespoons) to save money, but recently added 1oz dark chocolate to my 3 TB of cocoa, and they were so much better. Also, you will want to make a double recipe to fill the pan. Sadly, this version doesn't include "Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies". I shall have to find my mom's 1971 version for that. Sorry about the pop-ups. I checked Project Gutenberg, but no luck. PS - A "Hot Oven" is about 220C or 425-450F, according to more recent books.

posted by jb 18 years ago
  • Nice link, jb...thanks... I think you meant that last link to go to the Table of Contents perhaps. and...firefox=no popups :-)
  • Oh, bookmarked, jb, thanks. I'm all about old cookbooks -- my mom got us the old-edition Betty Crocker a couple of years ago, and we love it.
  • Wasn't there a really useful link posted here a little while back that contained some great recipes?
  • *pokes bernockle* New Zealand's equivalent of Fannie Farmer's cookbook is the Edmonds Cookery Book, produced by the Edmonds company which makes baking powder and various other baking ingredients. The link goes to their pavlova recipe -- something every kiwi housewife pretty much had to know how to make. I can't make it; my eggs are never fluffy enough.
  • Oh, goodness. My mom had this book, and an ancient Joy of Cooking. I grew up on foods from these books, and learned to cook from them. Awesome!
  • I've sworn by the various incarnations of Fannie Farmer all my life. My Mom had some of the older ones. Once you've made Fannie Farmer's pie crust, you'll never go back.
  • HB - thanks, I must have mixed the two links up. Would it be possible to correct it, tracicle? (Only if it's not too much trouble).
  • I find FPPs with multiple links to different topics are impossible to recall, unless you happen, as I did a couple of weeks back, to stumble over it.
  • I use both a recent Joy of Cooking and an older version. 1973, I believe. If one does not have a satisfactory recepie, then use the other. However, the new Joy falls apart! The foolish publishers have built my modern cookbook with modern slap-dash workmanship. Or, perhaps this is a clever attempt to get us to buy a new book every few years. I love older cookbooks, too. All that lard, bacon fat, and parboiling. How to get a good chicken from your local butcher. How to cook bear.
  • Is that the right link, jb?
  • Thank you so much for this link. Fannie Farmer, along with Joy of Cooking, are the twin bibles of our family kitchens.
  • Farmer Fannie. Balmer Fannie. You can even Charmer Fannie. But please, don't Harmer Fannie. Peace out, "bros".
  • No more "brownies" for quid.
  • The Joy of Cooking I have tells you how to skin a squirrel. I never have, but at least I've got the instructions handy.
  • Thank you very much!
  • Just don't mix it up with Joy of Sex, or you'll end up with sticky pots and pans.
  • Dark Chocolate Improves Blood Vessel Function Rationalization? Check. Let's move.