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Category: Recipes

Black, white and grayscale illustration of three women standing and two children sitting preparing food. The woman on the left side is mixing batter in a bowl. The woman in the middle is taking a steaming pie out of the oven. The woman on the right side has her back turned and is preparing food at a counter. The text on the bottom of the image says preparedness for the coming feast days.

Historic Holiday Desserts from Around the World

Posted by: Malea Walker

From the feared fruitcake to the mysterious figgy pudding, the winter holidays are a wonderful time to get creative in the kitchen. It may surprise you to learn that many familiar holiday recipes have traveled several centuries and continents from their origins to end up on our tables. Please enjoy these festive recipes from the past and find more to savor in historic newspapers on Chronicling America.

Illustration of men and women at a party drinking cocktails.

11 Historic Newspaper Cocktails

Posted by: Thomas Beheler

Cheers! Here are some vintage cocktail recipes, all of them brought to you by our historic newspaper archive, Chronicling America.  1. The Insidious Punch of Washington This drink is one of the oldest ones on the list at more than 135 years old! You can see the recipe here, but generally,  you’ll mix one part …

A child carrying a bundle of newspapers in one hand, the other arm held high with a copy of the Anchorage Daily Times, the headline reading

Cooking Up History: Holiday Baking with a Retro Twist

Posted by: Amber Paranick

This post was written by Rachel Gordon, Visitor Services Specialist in the Library’s Center for Learning, Literacy, and Engagement. It was originally published on Minerva’s Kaleidoscope: Resources for Kids & Families Blog and is the latest in her series “Cooking Up History,” which explore historic recipes in the Library’s collections. “It just wouldn’t be the …

A child carrying a bundle of newspapers in one hand, the other arm held high with a copy of the Anchorage Daily Times, the headline reading

Cooking Up History: Homemade Halloween

Posted by: Amber Paranick

This post was written by Rachel Gordon, Visitor Services Specialist in the Library’s Center for Learning, Literacy and Engagement. It was originally published on Minerva’s Kaleidoscope: Resources for Kids & Families Blog. For Halloween 2020, we’re all going to be staying much closer to home than is the norm. That made me wonder what we …

A child carrying a bundle of newspapers in one hand, the other arm held high with a copy of the Anchorage Daily Times, the headline reading

10 Thanksgiving Recipes You May Not Have Tried

Posted by: Malea Walker

Newspapers frequently publish recipes, including old favorites, winners of competitions, or new twists on classic meals. In Chronicling America you can find plenty of traditional, or not so traditional, recipes for this coming holiday. Take a look at some of these old recipes from our online newspapers. Are you brave enough to try them this …