Civil War Desserts

Confederate Apple Pie Without The Apples

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups of water
2 cups of sugar
2 tablespoons cream of tarter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Grated zest of one lemon
Pie pastry x 2
1 ¾ cups crumbled soda crackers
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, finely diced
Directions:
Combine water, sugar, and cream of tarter and bring to boil.
Simmer for 15 minutes.
Add lemon juice and lemon zest.
Allow the mixture to cool.
Line a 9-inch pie pan with pastry.
Place crumbled soda crackers in atop the pastry.
Pour the cooled liquid over the crackers.
Dust cinnamon and diced butter over the top.
Place a top crust over the pie, crimping the edges and making several holes in it with a fork.
Bake at 425 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Lincoln Cake
Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
½ cup softened butter
1 cup milk
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon cream of tarter
½ teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon lemon extract
Directions:
Beat the 2 eggs.
Add sugar, softened butter, and milk.
Gradually add the flour, cream of tartar, soda, and lemon extract.
Stir until the batter is creamy.
Pour into a greased cake pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until done.

Kentucky Sweet Cookies
Ingredients:
1 pound cubed butter
3 pounds flour
1 pound powdered sugar
1 teaspoon powdered nutmeg
1/3 cup wine
¼ cup brandy
1 teaspoon baking powder
A few spoonfuls of boiling water
Buttermilk
Directions:
Rub butter into flour.
Dust in powdered sugar and nutmeg.
Stir in wine and brandy.
Dissolved baking powder into a few spoonfuls of baking powder. Add to mixture.
Add as much buttermilk as will make the dough firm.
Knead well.
Roll out dough until it ½ inch thick.
Cut into small cookie size disks.
Place on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until well browned.

Source: William C. Davis, A Taste for War: The Culinary History of the Blue and the Gray (Stackpole Books, 2003).

Image Credit: Harper’s Weekly, November 2, 1861

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