Treats From The Past

[plumtreeblossom]

I'm trying to come up with a 1930s or 40s sweet treat to make for the concession stand at Tomes Of Terror III. I'd like it to be something one might have found at a 1930s or 40s Halloween party. Last year Wabbit helped me make old-fashioned popcorn balls and they were great, but they were incredibly labor-intensive and we burned our hands, so something else is in order this year.

This food timeline was fascinating and I spent entirely too much time there, even though it didn't have many autumn-specific foods. Still, there were some interesting finds. With some of them, I have no idea what they are, and those are marked with a (?). Maybe some of you can tell me.

1930s offered these, among others:

hermits
fruit betty (apple, rhubarb, peach, etc)
spice cake
prune pudding (?)
petit fours
maple meringue cookies
preserved kumquats
butterscotch toast (?)
daisy cream candy (?)
junket custard
chocolate rice (?)

1940s pickin's were slim for desserts, due to war time sugar rationing. Fruit eaten whole seemed to be the most common dessert and sweet snack, but I did find these:

hot water gingerbread (?)
mince turnovers
apple-cheese crisp
jellied coffee souffle
pineapple and apple salad
gelatin fruit dessert (J-E-L-L-O!)
frozen chocolate russe (?)
bran butterscotch refrigerator cookies
orange sticks (?)
War Cake (eggless, butterless, milkless, sometimes sugarless)



Damn, I'm hungry.

Comments

[smacaski.livejournal.com]

Mmm, my grandmother used to make the best hermits.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Are hermits still popular? I've only had one in my life, which came in a tin of Christmas cookies I received. I remember it tasted like allspice and clove.

[smacaski.livejournal.com]

I don't know how "popular" they are, but I know several people who have heard of them, and I personally loved them as a kid. I think they're a good old-timey treat--it's a comforting, warm, spiced kind of treat, like hot apple cider with a cinnamon stick. Mmm...

[rozasharn.livejournal.com]

You can get hermits in the bakery section of Stop & Shop or Foodmaster. They tend to have less chemical content than other ready-to-eat cookies.