Happy Thanksgiving EVE!
I have a feeling there is cooking going on, already!
I had to share, once again, my favorite Thanksgiving picture, circa 2018! Aren’t those turkeys cute? (and the bird doesn’t look bad, either! lol!)
In the spirit of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, author Lynne Tagawa has graciously agreed to not only share a recipe from the era in which she writes, but also a GIVEAWAY!!
To one commentator, drawn at random, will go EITHER a Kindle or paperback version of Lynne’s latest novel, The Heart of Courage!
Recipe for an 18th century Christmas Cookie by Lynne Tagawa
Howdy! I’m the author of The Shenandoah Road and The Heart of Courage, the first two installments of an 18th-century trilogy. While writing these stories, I’ve had to do research on what they ate. Some of it sounds delicious! (Some, not as much.)
I’ve also learned much about traditions. Did you know that the Presbyterian Scots-Irish of the Shenandoah Valley would not have celebrated Christmas? They associated it with the Catholic Mass. East of the Blue Ridge, the Anglican Tidewater went full steam ahead. They celebrated the “twelve days” of Christmas, ending with Epiphany in early January.
My characters in the Shenandoah Valley do a bit of rogue celebrating in The Heart of Courage:
Susanna lugged Hannah to her chest. “You can sit with me.” Without supervision, the toddler would have pie and currant cake all over her face, hands, and clothing.
The dinner dishes soaked as they all sat for coffee, sweets, and gifts. Auntie Agnes circled the table, pulling out items from a canvas bag. Christmas was her domain, and each man received a scarf.
What puzzled her was Jamie’s presence. Surely no student of Mr. Craig would countenance anything to do with the Romish Christ Mass. Come to think of it, her father was normally strict about such things. But then, there was no popery here, only a roast goose and gifts.
“How did ye manage that?” Arch May held up a length of red plaid above the table.
“My secret.” His wife bubbled her pleasure. “Well, I canna keep it now. Mr. Russell fashioned me a table loom.”
Her true secret was the cochineal, Susanna knew. She looked more closely at the scarves. They were woven, not knitted. “What else can you make?”
“I dinna ken, maybe sew several together for a shawl or blanket.”
Even Jamie received a pair of wrist mittens. She studied him surreptitiously as he tried them on. None of the lasses she knew ever mentioned his name, but then, his family worshipped at the stone kirk ten miles away. Maybe one of the lasses there had set her cap for him.
Recently I tested an 18th-century recipe. In those days, the closest thing to a “cookie” was a sweetened biscuit or a “scone.” But in some areas, the Dutch treat called a koekje, or little cake became popular. In American Cookery by Amelia Simmons, published in 1796, we finally see a recipe for a “Christmas cookie.”
It calls for three pounds of flour, a teacup of ground coriander seed, one pound butter, one and a half pounds sugar, and three teaspoons of “pearl ash” dissolved in a teacup of milk.
I modernized these measurements and cut them down by a factor of four. I substituted baking powder for the pearl ash, an early form of chemical leavening.
Christmas Cookie
3 cups flour (I used whole wheat Einkorn, a nonhybridized wheat that was probably similar to what they used.) This seemed like too much. You might try a little less.
10 t. coriander
1 T. baking powder (a lot, but my biscuit recipe calls for that much)
½ t. salt (no salt in the original but their butter may have been salted)
¾ c. sugar
1 stick (1/4 pound) unsalted butter
10 t. milk (I used half and half) You will probably need more than this.
I tried to follow Miss Simmons’s directions, mixing the dry ingredients first, “rubbing in” the fat, and then adding the milk.
I discovered that three cups of flour may have been too much. I added more half and half and saved the day. The author of Cookery told me to “knead” and roll out. I didn’t knead it exactly, just mixed and folded the biscuit-like dough. I sliced into small pieces. Mine came out about 1 ½ inch square.
The baking instructions were vague: “bake slowly fifteen or twenty minutes.” I remembered that biscuits need heat. I set my oven to 350, knowing it was at least 360 (my oven is a hot one) not willing to overdo it. It took a while, perhaps twenty minutes, but then, I had pressed the dough rather thick, about ¾ inch. The resulting “cookies” were over an inch high.
Amazingly, this strange confection tasted good! The consistency is nice, too: sturdy but springy. And who would have guessed that coriander seed is a nice flavor for cookies!
These sound great, Lynne! Thanks for sharing!
Now, here’s a little bit about The Heart of Courage.
It’s 1753, and troubling news comes to Russell’s Ridge . . .
Susanna Russell longs to escape her valley home. When war breaks out, she gets her wish to study in fabulous Williamsburg. But she realizes she’s lost something important along the way. Something—and someone.
James Paxton is studying for the ministry. But when violence threatens the valley, his path becomes clouded. What is God’s will for his life? The answer is alarming—and impossible.
Red Hawk spies white surveyors near his home, a harbinger of trouble to come. Shawnee chiefs go to Philadelphia to treat for peace, but the unthinkable happens, and Red Hawk loses all he once held dear. Then he has a strange dream. What can it mean?
You can buy a copy of The Heart of Courage HERE!
About Lynne
Lynne Tagawa is married with four grown sons and four marvelous grandbabies. A biology teacher by trade, she teaches part-time, writes, and edits. She loves to write historical fiction suffused with gospel truth. Sign up for her newsletter at www.lynnetagawa.com. She’d love to hear from you!
Thanks for joining us, Lynne, and thank YOU, readers, for reading! Be sure to leave a comment – tell us something you’re thankful for – to be entered into the drawing for a copy of The Heart of Courage!
Happy Thanksgiving!
P.S. Looking for some great deals? Check these out!! Black Friday online!
Very cute picture 🙂
Thankful for my faith, family, friends, and wonderful authors!