Baking Snickerdoodle Cookies | Originally Schneckennudeln from 1891

This was the first cookie recipe that my mother trusted me to bake on my own when I was a child. It was one of my favorites to make every holiday season!

      Ingredients:
1 cup shortening (or margarine)
1 1/2 cup sugar (1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar)
2 eggs
2 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
cinnamon & sugar mixture

 

    Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 375°F if using a light cookie sheet (or 350°F if using a dark sheet). Spray cooking spray on the cookie sheet and set aside.

In a large pot, melt 1 cup butter (1 cup = 2 sticks) with stove at 3 or 4.

Remove pot from heat.

Stir in sugar. I usually measure the brown sugar (1 cup) in a tall measuring cup, using a spoon to push down the brown sugar. Then add the white sugar on top, which should be ½ cup so that the total amount of sugar is at the 1 ½ cup line.

Add in baking soda, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and eggs. Stir.

Finally stir in flour. 

Using a small spoon, pick up cookie dough and roll around in your hands into a ball. Put the dough on the cookie sheet and then slightly press down to flatten it somewhat. 

Bake in oven for 3-4 minutes. Open up the oven, pull out the cookie sheet, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture on top of the cookies. Put cookie sheet back in oven and continue baking for 2-3 more minutes. Should bake for a total of 8 minutes. (Bake for approximately 6-7 minutes if it's on a dark cookie sheet.) Remove the cookies from the oven when the edges turn a golden brown.

Pull out cookie sheet and let cookies set on pot holders for a minute or two. Then remove the cookies with a spatula on to the foil, to finish cooling.

Now add more cookie dough on to the cookie sheet and do the same thing as before. 

Eat and enjoy! 

How to Mill Wheat Berries into Flour with the KitchenAid Grain Mill

 Milling wheat for flour only became common in the 12th century. However, by the turn of the 19th century, wheat was the UK’s most significant crop grown for human consumption. Did you know that wheat was first planted in the United States in 1777 as a hobby crop? 

In the year 1850, U.S. per capita wheat flour consumption reached 205 pounds, up from 170 pounds in 1830.

 

Wheats for Flour in Medieval Europe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELEWgJZBlvg

            Suggested Items for Purchase: 

- KitchenAid Mixer: https://amzn.to/3TLyCqH 

- KitchenAid Metal Grain Mill Attachment: https://amzn.to/4kee0lK 

- Soft White Wheat Berries: https://amzn.to/4l521Z3 

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- Einkorn Berries: https://amzn.to/445xpRe 

- Emmer Berries: https://amzn.to/4npNzMT 

- Yellow Dent Corn Kernels: https://amzn.to/3Ge4Xn8

 

 

 

Working in the Lunch Tavern for a SCA Event

On Saturday, I helped out in the kitchen for most of the day with making breakfast and lunch. The event was small enough that a feast was not offered for dinner. Since the event was intimate in size, it was a rather relaxing and fun, stress-free day. 

 

For breakfast, I cooked the goetta for staff and others who were there to help set-up the event. 

For lunch, I taught the lunch staff how to make Dragon Tails, as well as baking cookies (snickerdoodle and gluten-free chocolate chip). In addition, we also had a gluten-free Dragon Tail option as well as a vegetarian Dragon Tail option. Fruit, drinks, and chips were also included with the purchase of a lunch.

Overall, it was a fun day! I really enjoyed my time in the kitchen!

Homemade Honey Butter

Making honey butter in 5 minutes!

In my opinion, honey butter is delicious on top of freshly baked bread and cornbread muffins! 

 

** If you like to add a little bit of extra flavoring to your honey butter, you can vanilla extract or salt to your mixture. 

 

      Recipe: 

- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter 

- 3 Tbsp honey

- Optional additions: 1/8 tsp vanilla extract or 1/8 tsp finely ground sea salt 

 

 * For the above video, I divided the portions by 1/4 (so 2 Tbsp unsalted butter and 2 1/4 tsp honey .... to help with your math when dividing ingredients in a recipe, 1 Tbsp = 3 tsp) 

 

 

Note: Store in an airtight container. Honey butter will keep for up to 5 days at room temperature or up to a month in the refrigerator. 

 

 

Suggested Items for Purchase: 

- Honey: https://amzn.to/3Zkakp4 

- Unsalted Butter: https://amzn.to/3ZDI3JL 

- Vanilla Extract: https://amzn.to/3JbpYNJ 

- Sea Salt: https://amzn.to/3IO2cpQ

Testing Out my New Bread Machine!

Would you believe that until last week I had never used a bread machine before!?

Here is my step by step demonstration of how to use the Hamilton Beach Artisan Breadmaker. Enjoy!

Before:

I had wanted to take video of slicing into the bread. The loaf looked great both inside and out! 😄

 

The only problem is that I had left the kitchen while the loaf was cooling down... and one of my little boys decided to help himself to a bite of the bread. LOL 😂

After:

5th Year Anniversary as an Active YouTube Channel

My YouTube Channel is up to 2.4K subscribers and this week will be celebrating 5 years as an active channel!!

 

Thank you to all of my subscribers for helping this channel grow!

 

 

Have ideas for future videos? Please post you suggestions below!

 

 

16th Century Baking Schedule in Tudor Elizabethan England

Meals in 16th century England were determined by what was in season, as well as their religious calendar.

During the Middle Ages, workers only had Sundays and Holy Days (which later became known as ‘holidays’ off from work).

By the Elizabethan period, enjoying specialty foods and drinks, rather than what one normally consumed, became associated with the celebration of the Holy Days.

Secular traditions began to be associated with certain holidays. For example, it was customary to give gifts on New Year’s Day (in March). 

 

 

 

 

 

Elizabethan England's Recognized Holy Days

 

New Year's Day (1 Jan) - the Circumcision of Jesus Christ

Twelfth Day (6 Jan) - the Epiphany when the Magi visited Jesus

Candlemas (2 Feb) - Feast of the Purification of Mary

Shrovetide/Shrove Tuesday (between 3 Feb & 9 Mar) - the last day before the fasting of Lent

 

Ash Wednesday (between 4 Feb & 10 Mar) - First day of Lent, the 40-day fast that leads up to Easter

Lady Day (25 Mar) - Annunciation of Mary

Easter (between 22 Mar & 25 Apr) - the Resurrection of Christ and including nine days of celebration

May Day (1 May) - commemorating St. Philip and Jacob, but also considered the first day of summer

Ascension Day (between 30 Apr & 3 Jun) - Ascension of Christ and a major summer festival

Whitsunday (between 10 May & 13 Jun) - Pentecost when Christ visited the apostles

Trinity Sunday (between 17 May & 20 Jun) - Feast day of the Trinity

Midsummer Day (24 Jun) - commemorates John the Baptist

Michaelmas (29 Sep) - marks the end of the harvest season and commemorates the Archangel Michael

All Hallows/Hallowtide (1 Nov) - the feast of All Saints (Hallows)

Accession Day (17 Nov) - commemorates Elizabeth I of England's accession

Saint Andrew's Day (30 Nov) - commemorates St. Andrew

     

Christmas (25 Dec) - the birth of Jesus Christ

 

 

 

 

A Small Bit of Trivia

 

 In the 16th century, the beginning of the calendar year, when the year number changed (for example from 1548 to 1549), began on March 25th on the Annunciation of Mary holy day.

March 25th continued to be New Year’s Day in England until 1752, when the Parliament of England passed an act to make January 1st the beginning of the calendar year (like most of Western Europe had already done previously).

 

 

 

 

 

In the beginning of The good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin from 1594, the book provides meat suggestions based on Holy Days:

 

 

 

 

 Interpretation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flesh days versus Fish Days:

Fish days were observed throughout the year on Fridays and Saturdays, and sometimes on Wednesdays.

Flesh days were for any day not already observed as a fish day.

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

 

Bilyeau, Nancy. “When January 1st Wasn’t the First Day of the Year.” https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/when-january-1st-wasnt-the-first-day-of-the-year-8cfc63d3929a.

Cartwright, Mark. “Holidays in the Elizabethan Era.” https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1581/holidays-in-the-elizabethan-era/.

Dawson, Thomas. The good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin. 1594. http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/book1594huswife.htm.

“Embroidered Book with Translation from the Glasse of the Synneful Soul.” https://tudorblackwork.blogspot.com/2020/04/embroidered-book-with-translation-from.html.

“Food and Your Lifestyle.” Life in Elizabethan England. http://elizabethan.org/compendium/46.html.

How, William. A proper new Booke of Cookery. 1575. https://www.medievalcookery.com/notes/pnboc1575.txt.

Hughes, Olga. “A Tudor Fish Day Menu.” https://nerdalicious.com.au/history/a-tudor-fish-day-menu/.