Lila’s Pie Crust
A handwritten 1969 recipe for Lila’s Pie Crust—with an unusual chilled flour-and-water mixture that makes this simple crust worth a closer look.
Category Desserts
Dessert recipes from Aunt Bertha’s Recipe Box, including cakes, cookies, pies, puddings, candies, and other homemade sweets collected over the years.
Peppernuts
A typed Peppernuts recipe from Christmas 1925—tiny spiced cookies and a century-old glimpse into holiday baking from the recipe box.
Laurene’s Oatmeal Crispies
A typed recipe for Laurene’s Oatmeal Crispies—chill the dough overnight, then slice and bake for crisp oatmeal cookies filled with chopped walnuts.
Myrtle’s Ice Cream
A typed recipe for Myrtle’s Ice Cream—with melted marshmallows standing in for the usual custard, this is homemade ice cream with a sweet little trick up its sleeve.
Lemon Filling
A typed recipe for Lemon Filling—fresh lemon, a double boiler, and everything you need to give a lemon meringue pie its sunny center.
Hershey Bar Cornflakes Cookies
A typed recipe for Hershey Bar Cornflakes Cookies—melt a candy bar, add cornflakes, dates, and nuts, and suddenly not turning on the oven sounds delicious.
Susie’s Chocolate Oatmeal Cake
A handwritten recipe for Susie’s Chocolate Oatmeal Cake brings cocoa, oats, and coconut frosting together in one pan—proof that oatmeal knows how to have a good time.
Miriam’s Cherry Pie
A handwritten cherry pie recipe with a surprising layer of grated American cheese tucked beneath the fruit filling.
Apple Pudding
A handwritten recipe for Apple Pudding—shredded apples, warm spices, and the very good suggestion to serve it hot with ice cream.
Patience or Burned Sugar Candy
A handwritten recipe for Patience or Burned Sugar Candy—caramelized sugar, butter, vanilla, nuts, and a name that doubles as very good advice.
Chocolate Indians With Frosting
A handwritten recipe for Chocolate Indians With Frosting—24 cocoa-and-nut squares, warm frosting, and one important instruction: “Eat same day!”
Billie’s Angel Food System
Handwritten angel food cake baking notes with mixing and baking instructions for a tall, light cake that “never fails.”
Cressa’s Spice Cookies
A handwritten 1970 recipe for Cressa’s Spice Cookies—with molasses, warm spices, Cressa’s own shortcut, and one rule: “Do not over bake.”
Fudge Cookie Recipe
A typed 1954 recipe for Fudge Cookies—chocolate, marshmallows, graham cracker crumbs, and nuts come together without ever turning on the oven.
Ginger Snaps
A handwritten recipe for Ginger Snaps—molasses, warm spices, a roll through sugar, and five dozen very good reasons to fill the cookie jar.
Health Cookies
A handwritten recipe for Health Cookies—oats, whole wheat, walnuts, and the sweet little promise that they’re “delicious and healthy for children’s lunches.”
Cinnamon Supper Cake
A handwritten recipe for Cinnamon Supper Cake—warm cake, melted butter, and a snowy cinnamon-sugar topping make a pretty convincing case for dessert tonight.