The Collection

At Aunt Bertha’s Recipe Box, you’ll find handwritten recipes, typed pages, clippings and back-of-the-box finds saved through the years. Shared as originally written, they reflect the ingredients and methods of their time. Enjoy them with a smile and a sense of nostalgia.

Boiled Dressing

Handwritten Boiled Dressing recipe on aged paper with ingredients and directions for a cooked vinegar, mustard and egg dressing.

A handwritten recipe for a sweet and tangy boiled dressing made with vinegar, sugar, mustard, butter and egg, with cream or vinegar added to thin it.

Eagle Brand Recipe Fragment

Small handwritten Eagle Brand recipe fragment taped to paper, listing ingredients but missing most of the directions.

A mysterious handwritten Eagle Brand recipe fragment with crackers, chocolate chips and nuts—and only part of the original directions still intact.

How To Unmold Gelatine

A Knox Gelatine insert explaining the proper way to unmold molded gelatine, along with a bit of company history.

Apple Butter Made Vermont Way

An old newspaper clipping shares a Vermont-style apple butter recipe made with fresh apples, cider, dark brown sugar, and warm spices. Slowly cooked until thick and rich, it's a traditional preserve made for filling jars.

For Prettier Flowers

A newspaper clipping offers practical household tips for reviving wilted cut flowers and helping fresh arrangements stay beautiful longer.

Baked Pinto Beans

Classic baked pinto beans with molasses, brown sugar, mustard and bacon or salt pork, carefully saved from the original package.

Lincoln’s Birthday Cake

A 1969 newspaper recipe for a gingerbread cake roll filled with pineapple whipped cream and made in honor of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.

Caution: Flowers Can Kill

A saved newspaper clipping warning about poisonous plants and identifying the parts considered dangerous.

Kitchen Faucet Assembly

Handwritten instructions for reassembling a kitchen faucet, saved right alongside the recipes.

Olave Pickles

A sweet green tomato and onion pickle seasoned with mustard, pepper, allspice and cloves.

Rhubarb Cake

Rhubarb Cake recipe from an old newspaper or magazine clipping, made with brown sugar and rhubarb, topped with cinnamon sugar, and served with whipped cream or ice cream.

Krumkager (Krumkaker)

A handwritten recipe for traditional Krumkager flavored with cardamom and baked in a stovetop iron, complete with a practical note about the butter.

Elise’s Molasses Cookies

A typed molasses cookie recipe made with coffee and spices, shaped into balls and pressed with sugar before baking.

Cressa’s Cherry Winks

Cornflake-coated cookies filled with pecans, dates and maraschino cherries from a handwritten 1970 recipe.

Walnuts Treats

A typed recipe for an old-fashioned layered bar with a brown sugar crust and a chewy walnut-coconut topping.

Cranberry Fruit Nut Bread

A classic cranberry quick bread with chopped nuts and bright orange flavor, baked until golden brown.

Cherry Crunch

An easy cherry dessert topped with a buttery cake mix crumble and baked until golden brown.

Aunt Olga’s Fruit Cake

A substantial fruitcake packed with raisins, dates, figs, citron and nuts, with an intriguing old-fashioned addition of a “small glass of jelly.”

Sot Suppe (Norwegian Fruit Soup)

A cold Norwegian fruit soup filled with apricots, raisins, prunes, and tapioca, preserved here as the closest version I’ve found to the Sot Suppe my grandfather made.

Casserole of Ham

A classic ham and pea casserole with cheese, bread crumbs, pimentos, and a mushroom soup topping.

Butter Milk Soup & Lemon Soup

A typewritten page preserves two separate sweet soup recipes. Buttermilk Soup combines oatmeal, raisins, and lemon peel in a creamy, tangy base, while Lemon Soup features tapioca, raisins, and fresh lemon. Both are enriched with egg yolks and sugar, creating comforting dishes that could be enjoyed as light meals or desserts.