Pennsylvania German Recipes: Cookies
Traditional Pennsylvania German cookie recipes including Sugar Cookies and Ginger Snaps
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From The Pennsylvania German Cook Book by J.A. Keller, 1902.
Crisp Cookies
One cup butter, two cups sugar, three eggs well beaten, one teaspoon soda, two teaspoons cream tartar, one tablespoon milk, one teaspoon nutmeg, one teaspoon cinnamon, flour enough to make soft dough, hrush the top of cookies with a little milk and sprinkle with sugar, bake quickly.
Mrs. Ream.
Cookies
Three eggs, two cups soft white sugar, seven tablespoons milk, one cup butter, one small teaspoon soda, two teaspoons cream of tartar, flour enough to press out with the hands, cut and bake.
Mrs. Clara Norton.
Annie’s Cookies
Two cups soft white sugar, one cup butter, three eggs, one teaspoon soda dissolved in a little hot water, mix all together very stiff, roll out thin.
Sugar Cookies
Two cups sugar, four eggs, one cup butter or lard, or one-half of each, one-half cup sweet milk, one teaspoon soda, juice and rind of one lemon, flour enough to roll.
Miss Lydia Schiller
Cleveland, O.
Cookies
Five cups flour, one and one-half cups sugar, one cup butter, one teaspoon soda, rub together as pie crust, moisten with two well beaten eggs and five tablespoons sweet milk, bake quickly.
Miss Lottie Schmeidel,
Akron, O.
Mrs. Dr. Ricksecker’s Cookies
No Eggs
One cup granulated sugar, a large half cup butter, one cup sour cream, one teaspoon soda, flour to roll light.
Mrs. J. Wagner’s Cookies.
One cup lard and butter, one cup sour cream, two cups sugar, two eggs, one teaspoon soda, two teaspoons baking powder, make into a soft dough and bake in a quick oven.
Hartville, O.
Baker’s Cookies
A. large cup sugar, one-half cup lard, one egg, one cup milk, two teaspoons carbonate ammonia dissolved in the milk, two teaspoons lemon essence, mix as bread dough, cut in squares, and bake quickly. (Roll thin.)
Mrs. H. Machamer,
Canton, O.
Sand Tarts
One cup butter, one and a half cups sugar, three egps, the whites and yolks beaten separately, one tablespoon water, one-half teaspoon baking powder, mix in enough flour until stiff enough to roll, roll thin and cut in squares, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, bake quickly.
M. M.
Hermits
Two cups sugar, one cup butter, two eggs, one teacup chopped raisins, one cup thick milk, one teaspoon soda, one teaspoon cloves, four teapoons cinnamon, one nutmeg, enough flour to roll soft, roll thin and sprinkle sugar over them.
Lydia Schiller
Christmas Cookies
Excellent
One pound flour, one pound sugar, two teaspoons baking iH)wder, four eggs, beat one hour, make and cut out night before baking, flavor part of them with anise seed if desired. The older they become the better they are.
Mrs. Dr. Bauer.
Lake, O.
Anise Cakes or Christmas Cookies
One and one-fourth pounds pulverized sugar, four eggs beaten to a stiff froth, then stiffen with flour, flavor with anise oil or seed, rollout and mould, then let lay one day and two nights, then dry in an oven. These can be kept one year.
Mrs. Mary Ream.
Christmas Cookies No. 3.
One and one-half cups sugar, one-half cup lard, two eggs, one teaspoon soda,
two teaspoons cream of tartar, five tablespoons boiling water, flavor to taste.
Mrs. J. Smith,
Hartville.
Hanover Christmas Cookies
One pound sugar, one-fourth pound butter, yolks of five eggs, one teaspoon soda put in dry, two tablespoons thick milk, when rolled out wash them with the yolks of eggs, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, bake.
Miss Margaret M. Miller.
Cookies Without Eggs
Two cups soft white sugar, one cup lard, one cup sour milk, two even teaspoons soda, flour to make a soft dough.
Mrs. F. Schumacher,
Hartville, O.
Mrs. Roger’s Cookies
One-half cup butter, one egg well beaten, one-half cup milk, one and a half cups sugar, two teaspoons baking powder, nutmeg and flour.
Cookies Without Eggs
One cup butter, one and one-half cups sugar, a small cup of sweet milk, large teaspoon baking powder sifted with flour or (sour milk with half teaspoon soda) roll out, sprinkle with coarse sugar and hickorynut meats. Cut into forms and bake in a quick oven. Hanover.
Chocolate Cookies
One-half cup butter, two cups sugar and three eggs, three cups of flour, three teaspoons baking powder, one-half cup Baker’s chocolate, flavor with vanilla, put sugar, flour, chocolate and baking powder together, and stir thoroughly, then put butter, eggs and vanilla in some other dish and whip well, then add a little at a time the dry part and stir all the time.
C. B.
Ginger Cookies No. 1.
Two cups sugar, one cup molasses, one cup lard, two egg.s, one-half cup cold water, one teaspoon ginger, three teaspoons soda, one teaspoon each of cloves and cinnamon.
Mrs. Dr. Bauer.
Ginger Cookies No. 2.
One pint molasses, one enp sugar, one cup lard, one cup sour milk, four teaspoons soda, ginger to taste, heat molasses, lard and sugar, then put in milk when partly cool, stir in flour, let stand over night, roll out next morning and bake.
Mrs H. Geotz,
Hartville.
Ginger Snaps
One pint N. O. molasses, let come to a boil, then add one-half pint sugar, one-half pint lard and butter mixed, one teaspoon ginger, cloves and cinnamon, one teaspoon soda dissolved in a large spoonful boiling water, add a little sprinkle of salt and pepper, flour to make a stiff dough, roll thin.
Mrs. F. Strassner,
Canton, O.
Drop Cakes
Three eggs, one cup lard, one cup molasses, one cup brown sugar, one tablespoon ginger, one tablespoon soda, one teacup boiling water, dissolve soda in the water, five cups unsifted flour, mix well, drop in spoonfuls into a slightly greased pan, about three inches apart.
Mrs. M. Keam.
Keller, J.A. The Pennsylvania German Cook Book. Scranton Printing Company, 1902.
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