Honey Ginger Cookies (1943)

A modest cookie for patriotic families.

Cookies are a treat. They’re a little something sweet after a meal, or as a pick-me-up. When you’re without resources or ingredients, cookies are likely the part of the eating day that will go. Even so, during World Wars I and II, when many necessary ingredients were rationed by the government, enterprising home cooks did their best to make sure there was still a little treat from time to time.

This recipe comes from a cookbook written especially for home bakers dealing with rationing during World War II, and its subtitle gives away its purpose: “Food Is Still Fun.” Butter and other fats were often unavailable and eggs scarce, so when your family is doing its best to conserve ‘for the boys,’ the occasional sweet bite means a lot.

In addition, the recipe appears to have been designed to create cookies that could be sent in a care package to a beloved soldier overseas. How nice it must have been to receive a taste of home!

Honey Ginger Cookies

From Cooking on a Ration: Food Is Still Fun by Marjorie Mills (1943)

Ingredients:

5/8 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 or 2 eggs

½ cup honey

½ cup molasses

4 cups flour

1 teaspoon soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ginger

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Cream shortening; add sugar and beat until creamy. Add eggs and beat again. Add honey and molasses. Sift and thoroughly mix flour with soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Stir into first mixture.

Set in refrigerator to chill (overnight if you wish).

Roll out to ¼ inch thickness. Cut into squares or rounds with cooky cutter and bake on greased cooky sheet in moderate oven (375 degrees) for about 8 minutes. Makes 60 cookies.

NOTE: Add 1 teaspoon more ginger for very spicy cooky.

NOTE: Add ¾ cup chopped nut meats.

Challenges and Changes

Truly, the recipe is fairly clear and easy. I did not try the two suggested notes, so these cookies were the basic version. Where it said ‘1 or 2 eggs,’ since I’m not rationing, I used two eggs. The 5/8 cup of shortening was interesting to figure out, though. I did use an electric mixer; they did exist in 1943, and I'm glad they did - that dough was thick. I must admit that when it came time to chill the dough, I just put the covered bowl outside on my deck. It was colder than my refrigerator and I didn't have to rearrange anything for the big bowl. The oven temperature and time given produced crisp cookies.

I do not have a lot of cookie cutters. I usually use glasses to make rounds and I have a few holiday cutters. I ultimately went with the stars (sometimes for Christmas) because they seemed perfect for a patriotic cookie.

I must admit, though, I was dubious about the ingredients. Wouldn’t molasses, ginger and cinnamon overpower the honey? Wouldn’t these just be something like plain gingersnaps?

The Ratings

Cookie Appearance: 8

Cookie Texture: 7

Cookie Mouthfeel: 6

Cookie Flavor: 7

Overall Cookie Rating: 7

I had expected the cookies to receive fair-to-middling scores. They’re fairly plain and there’s no big burst of flavor. According to this week’s raters, though, they were delicious and a couple of raters gave raves.

The biggest negative comment: too hard. They are a firm cookie and it’s apparent that the small amount of shortening (5/8 of a cup in a recipe with 4 cups of flour) is the culprit. For rationing home bakers, the crunch was worth the payoff in flavor. And in fact, I can imagine these cookies would travel well in care packages to soldier relatives.

The most surprising positive thing: the honey flavor is true. The molasses, ginger, and cinnamon don’t diminish it at all. In fact, those ingredients seem to warm it up. I’ve tried treats before that were supposedly honey-flavored, and unless there was a pronounced artificial taste it never came through. In these cookies, though, it’s all about the honey, and it's authentic.

According to one rater, “I’m not big on extra sugar or icing or decorations, I just like a simple cookie that tastes good, and this one is perfect at that.”

Next week’s recipe: Pecan or Angel Slices (1964)