The Secret Lives of Baked Goods

by Jessie Oleson Moore

  YOU KNOW THESE COOKIES WELL: those fat peanut buttery rounds, flattened and tattooed with the signature crosshatch marks from the tines of a fork. But while they’re about as classic and recognizable as a cookie can possibly get, the all-American peanut butter cookie is actually a relatively recent baked innovation.

  By the early 1930s, peanut butter cookies were streaming forth from the ovens of America’s home bakers, and in 1932 the iconic waffle-like fork marks were officially added.

  This cookie wouldn’t be much more than a plain old sugar cookie if it weren’t for its key ingredient: peanut butter. Grinding peanuts to form a foodstuff had been practiced in health sanitariums in the late 1800s, and was part of the new foods unveiled at the St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904. It had even been promoted as a healthful substitute for butter or shortening in various recipes.

  But the man who is credited with really bringing peanut butter to the public eye is George Washington Carver. This Renaissance man was not only an instructor at the first African American college, the Tuskegee Institute, he was also a botanist and scientist; perhaps his most lasting legacy, though, is as a peanut pioneer. It was he who promoted the peanut as a viable crop in the American South, not only educating people on how to cultivate it, but also by offering hundreds of uses for the legume. While peanut butter had not been invented at the time of his 1916 volume, How to Grow the Peanut and 105 Ways of Preparing it for Human Consumption, Carver clearly understood that peanuts and desserts made a pleasurable combination, based on the fact that among the volume’s recipes (more than half of which are sweets) are those for peanut layer cake, peanut doughnuts, peanut pudding, peanut nougat, peanut taffy, and peanut roll cake with jelly.

  The process of grinding peanuts was refined by a gentleman named Joseph Rosefield, who churned the peanuts like butter, which resulted in a very creamy product. He held the first patent for shelf-stable peanut butter.

  By the early 1930s, peanut butter cookies were streaming forth from the ovens of America’s home bakers, and in 1932 the iconic waffle-like fork marks were officially added. The practice of using the tines of a fork to flatten a cookie had been practiced for decades, but it was the Schenectady Gazette that published a recipe adding the fork marks specifically to peanut butter cookies. Not long after, Pillsbury made the practice commonplace by including the fork-press in the directions. Today, it’s hardly a peanut butter cookie if you don’t do this, and plus, how else can you tell them apart from all the others in the cookie jar?

  Interestingly, Pillsbury is also connected to the success of the Peanut Butter Blossom, a famous variation of the peanut butter cookie where, instead of being pressed with a fork, the cookie is flattened by pressing a Hershey’s Kiss in the center. This cookie was entered in the Pillsbury Bake-Off of 1957. It didn’t win a prize, but it certainly captured the public’s attention; now it’s a cookie that you’ll see at almost every cookie swap and bake sale.

  Oh, and don’t forget to file away in your memory that June 12 is National Peanut Butter Cookie Day.

  Peanut Butter Cookies

  THESE COOKIES TASTE EVEN BETTER the day after baking, as the peanut buttery flavor really takes over. To enhance these old-fashioned favorites in a very stylish, up-to-date way, try sprinkling just a few grains of coarse sea salt on each cookie before baking. That little hit of crunchy salt takes those familiar flavors that we love to another level entirely.

  Makes about 2 dozen cookies

  2½ cups all-purpose flour

  ½ teaspoon baking soda

  ⅛ teaspoon salt

  1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

  1¼ cups creamy peanut butter (hydrogenated or “no-stir”)

  1 cup granulated sugar

  1 cup packed light brown sugar

  2 large eggs

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

  2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set to the side.

  3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and peanut butter at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the sugars; beat well, until smooth and creamy. Add in the eggs, one by one, mixing well after each addition.

  4. Mix in the dry ingredients in 2 to 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed to ensure the batter is well combined. Roll the dough into small (1-inch) balls; place on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten with a fork dipped in sugar (to keep it from sticking), aligning the tines first in one direction and then the other to form a crosshatch pattern.

  5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges. Let the cookies cool on the pans for several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

  JUST ABOUT EVERY AMERICAN CITIZEN has enjoyed a bar cookie of some sort made with cereal, and it all started with the Rice Krispie Treat. Technically, the Rice Krispie Treat is not a baked good: it’s made on top of your stove or in the microwave. But honorary baked good–status is warranted for these no-bake squares of cereal puffs bound together with a gooey marshmallow and butter mixture, since they so comfortably share real estate with other American icons such as brownies and chocolate chip cookies at most bakeries and bake sales, and because there’s a truly sweet story behind how they became such a beloved member of the baked good in-crowd.

  Marshmallow treats were popular with both children, who loved to eat them, and with mothers, who liked how cheap and easy they were to make.

  These treats certainly wouldn’t have been so popular without Rice Krispies, the cereal that is their main ingredient. The cereal debuted in 1928 and was marketed as a health cereal. “Snap, crackle, and pop” treats took a while to catch on, but the idea of cereal squares wasn’t new: both in 1916 and 1938, dessert books featuring cereal treats were published—the latter book included a recipe for something called Puffed Wheat Squares, which included dry cereal, butter, sugar, molasses, and vinegar.

  But then it all came together, thanks to two ladies from Michigan named Mildred Day and Malitta Jensen. Although you might not be familiar with their names, if you’ve ever enjoyed a Rice Krispie Treat, you should pause and take a moment to say “thank you.” Day was a Kellogg’s employee. Faced with organizing a fundraiser for a Campfire Girls troop, she and Jensen cleverly adapted the older cereal-based recipes for her target audience. Why use marshmallows? Proximity was key: during that era, a popular fundraiser was selling Campfire Marshmallows in a box, similar to the Girl Scout cookie drives of today. Day wisely decided to remove the molasses and vinegar from the recipe and add marshmallows to the mix; instead of a generic puffed-grain cereal, she used Rice Krispies.

  All of this happened during the summer of 1939, in a small town in Michigan. And Michigan was a very receptive audience: The Kellogg’s company was much loved in the area; they’d proven to be strong supporters of their employees and the community during the Great Depression and World War II. So Day’s clever product adaptation appealed to the community on several important levels, and the treats quickly went from regional specialty to national superstar.

  Marshmallow treats were popular both with children, who loved to eat them, and with mothers, who liked how cheap and easy they were to make. It didn’t take long for Kellogg’s to take notice and add the recipe to the back of the Rice Krispies cereal box. And so the legacy of Mildred Day lives on. When she died in 1996, she was given full credit as the inventor of the treats.

  Puffed Rice Treats

  I DARE YOU TO MESS UP THIS INCREDIBLY EASY, NO-BAKE RECIPE. The resulting treats will undoubtedly bring on a wave of fond memories. Feel free to make them fancier: use different cereals, brown your butter and add a sprinkling of sea salt, or add a few drops of food coloring for special holidays. But here’s your foundation.

  Makes 12 large squares

  ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

  ¼ teaspoon salt

/>   1 bag (about 10.5 ounces) miniature marshmallows

  7 cups puffed rice cereal

  1. Generously grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Set aside.

  2. In a very large saucepan, melt the butter and salt over low heat. Once melted, add the marshmallows. Stir the marshmallows as they melt to prevent them from scorching and turning brown. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the cereal; using a wooden spoon, stir until evenly coated.

  3. Turn the mixture out into the baking pan. Using a buttered spatula (or your hand, with a sheet of wax paper), press the mixture into the pan, patting it down to ensure that it is nicely packed and fairly even and flat on top. Let cool completely and cut into squares.

  4. Store in an airtight container in a single layer or with layers divided by wax or parchment paper for up to 5 days.

  PIE? MY EYE. THIS IS ACTUALLY A COOKIE: a particularly cakey sort, sandwiched with a rich, sweet filling. It’s sometimes called a Gob—and there’s even a small contingent that refers to the treat as the BFO (Big Fat Oreo). Sadly, my own name for them, Sweetburgers (referring to the fact that, at least in shape, the sandwich cookies resemble a hamburger on a bun), has yet to take off.

  While the classic version will always feature chocolate cookies, there’s some argument as to what should go in the middle. Marshmallow fluff is favored in New England, whereas a sweet “creme,” often made with shortening, is more popular elsewhere. But the whoopie pie is constantly evolving, and now bakeries are commonly offering all sorts of varieties, from pumpkin to red velvet to banana or gingerbread.

  But even more interesting than its construction is the fact that this seemingly innocent cookie-cake has caused a sort of sugary civil war between Maine and Pennsylvania, who both argue that the other state stole the treat in a case of “confectionery larceny.”

  Pennsylvanians claim that the treat is an Amish invention. It evolved, they say, as a way to use cake batter leftovers; when these cake-wiches were discovered in a lunch pail, they’d cause the jubilant cry of “Whoopie!” The “pie” part would have been derived from hand pie, referring to the treats as being handheld. A tradition that’s orally handed down through the generations, this story is hard to document with a paper trail.

  Maine can actually cite specific dates. Labadie’s Bakery, located in the same spot since 1925, claims to be the oldest spot in the United States selling whoopie pies continuously. Mainers also put their love on paper: in 2011, the whoopie pie was sworn in as the official state treat. Don’t confuse it with the official state dessert, however—that honor goes to Maine blueberry pie.

  Whoopie Pies

  REGARDLESS OF ITS HAZY ORIGINS, the final verdict is that this scrumptious sandwich cookie is loved by all. Here’s a recipe for the classic version of this treat: pillowy chocolate cookies encasing a sweet dream of creamy marshmallow filling.

  Makes twelve 2½-inch sandwiches

  CHOCOLATE COOKIES:

  2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon

  ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  1 teaspoon salt

  1 cup sugar

  ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

  2 large eggs

  2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  ¾ cup whole or 2% milk

  CREAM FILLING:

  ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

  1½ cups marshmallow fluff

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1½ cups confectioners’ sugar

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

  2. To make the cookies, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-size bowl. Set aside.

  3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients bit by bit, alternating with the milk, and scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed, until the batter is smooth.

  4. Using either a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop or by heaping tablespoons, drop 12 rounds of cookie dough on each baking sheet, leaving about 1½ inches of space around each mound of dough.

  5. Bake until the cookies have a dull finish and spring back when touched lightly, 8 to 10 minutes.

  6. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes, then use a metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

  7. To make the cream filling, combine the butter, marshmallow fluff, and vanilla in a medium bowl; beat with an electric mixer on high speed until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add the sugar gradually. Increase the speed to high, and beat until very fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

  8. Spread a generous amount of filling on a cooled cookie and top with another cookie.

  9. Wrap individually in plastic wrap, or store in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

  TRADITIONAL PIES

  I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT STRESS CANNOT EXIST in the presence of a pie. It’s a humble representation of hearth and home, a cozy, comforting food that cannot be rushed in preparation; once ready, it beckons you to sit down and stay a while. And it’s often paired with ice cream, which is never a bad thing! These pies range from simple to extravagantly rich, but a bite of any of them is an invitation to slow down and taste a simpler time, if just for a moment.

  APPLE PIE IS CONSIDERED THE QUINTESSENTIAL American dessert. But truthfully, it’s about as American as Winston Churchill.

  American pies are a fairly direct descendant of the ones made in medieval Europe, sweetly referred to as “coffins” because the crust was considered a final resting place for the delicious contents.

  Pies have been around for a very, very long time. American pies are a fairly direct descendant of the ones made in medieval Europe, sweetly referred to as “coffins” because the crust was considered a final resting place for the delicious contents. While most pies of that era were savory, apples were one of the few exceptions: recipes for apples baked in a pastry crust date as far back as the 1300s. The earliest apple pies didn’t have added sugar, but they did contain spices. While perhaps not served as a dessert per se, they would have been naturally sweeter than a savory meat pie.

  When the Dutch got their hands on apples and pastry, they made wonderful things happen. A recipe surprising similar to our modern apple pie was commonplace in the culture by the 1600s—you can see it for yourself in still-life paintings of the era.

  This is all to say that clearly, apples have been widely embraced as a pie filling since well before Europeans began settling in the New World. Those early settlers tried their hand at apple pie using crabapples, the only apple native to North America (results, I hear, were iffy). Additional varieties of apples were planted by the colonists fairly early on, though, and by the time they were in regular crop rotation, the idea of sweet pies had already developed widely in the area. By the 1700s, apple pie was a common food on the East Coast; what’s interesting, though, is that it wasn’t traditionally eaten for dessert. Early on, it was a popular dinner for children, and a common breakfast or breakfast accompaniment for farmers.

  So referring to something as being “as American as apple pie” isn’t quite a lie. Because like the settlers, apple pie was a foreigner reborn in the new land, or, as it is aptly put by the American Pie Council, pie was “transformed into a distinctly American experience.”

  Another aspect that has contributed to the popularity of this pie is the fact that fresh apples are nearly always available in markets, and when they’re not, dried apples will work, too. Even without apples, you can make something called mock apple pie. Perhaps you remember this one from chemistry class (that’s where I first made it) or have come upon it as a curiosity: it’s a pie made with crackers, usually Ritz, combined with syrup and spices to taste like apple pie. It’s oddly effective. While one might believe that it’s an invention of cracker companies, the recipe dates back to the nineteenth century, when American pioneers, short o
n fresh apples, came up with this innovative way to make the pie without fruit. Their secret? Soda crackers. In 1935, just one year after Ritz Crackers were introduced to the public, the recipe enjoyed a resurgence and became associated with the brand. This recipe has become a classic in its own right—though perhaps more as a novelty than as a serious rival for fresh apple pie.

  One last idea for you, if you prefer your pie spicy-sweet: a popular way to give it a little kick is by adding about one-third cup of cinnamon candies in place of the ground cinnamon. Not only is the flavor compelling, but they impart the prettiest pink color to the pie.

  Apple Pie

  THIS DOUBLE-CRUSTED WONDER is filled with tart apples baked in their own juices, with a kiss of sugar. Serve with a wedge of sharp Vermont cheddar, a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream, or just straight up, with a milk “back.”

  Makes one 9-inch double-crust pie (8 servings)

  Dough for one 9-inch double-crust piecrust, rolled and cut, homemade or store-bought

  6 to 7 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into 16 pieces each

  ¾ cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling

  1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

  Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

  2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

  ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

  ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

  2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces

  1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-inch pie pan with one of the pastry circles, pressing it into the bottom and sides of the pan.