Low-Salt and Delicious -- Sweet and Spicy Crackers Abraham Lincoln Might Have Enjoyed

Part of what we do here at Potluck Paradise is to research and write about old recipes.  I've written six books that are a fusion of history and food. Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen is my newest. This recipe is from that book and is one of the absolute favorites in our kitchen and wherever we have served these unusual treats.

These are kind of like cookies. They are sort of like crackers. They are absolutely delicious and ridiculously easy to make. And, once made, they keep for days, even weeks, if you can stop eating them.

They are called APees.  Pronounced "A Peas" not aps.  And they date way, way back. I've made them for years, first finding the recipe in a Civil War-era cookbook. I was thrilled to find a recipe for them in the newspaper Abraham Lincoln would have been reading in New Salem, Illinois, in November of 1833.

I don't think store-keeper Lincoln would have made these himself. He was sleeping on the counter of his store and taking his meals with families in town or at the Rutledge Tavern. Ann, the daughter of tavern keeper and New Salem founder James Rutledge, was said to have been Abraham Lincoln's first true love. They were, at the very least, good friends and mutually devoted to learning. Neighbors recounted seeing them together, often with their heads bent over books.

Lincoln was elected to his first term in the Illinois Legislature in 1834 and the Rutledge family sold the tavern and moved to a nearby farm. Ann made plans to enroll at Illinois College in the town of Jacksonville the following year. However in August 1835 Ann became ill, probably with typhoid fever. Lincoln rode to visit her for what the family feared would be one last time. The two spent an hour alone together as the grieving Abraham sat by her bedside. She died two days later. She was just 22 years old.

Lincoln was said to have become deeply saddened and seen to be wrapped in profound thought as he walked around town and in the surrounding woods. Years later, as Lincoln was leaving Springfield for the White House an old New Salem friend asked Lincoln about Ann. Lincoln is said to have replied, "I did honestly & truly love the girl."

These delightful treats are memorable, too.

 APees   -- adapted from an 1833 recipe

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon mace
1 1/2 tablespoons caraway seeds
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, salted, or unsalted, butter
1/3 cup white wine

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the flour, sugar, spices and the 1 1/2 tablespoons of caraway seeds in a mixing bowl, or in your food processor. Slice the butter into small chunks and cut into the flour mixture with a pasty cutter, two knives, or using the food processor, until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Mix in the wine with a fork or the processor and knead until you have a smooth dough. Roll out on a lightly floured surface about 1/8-inch thick. Prick all over with a fork and cut into squares with a rotary jagging iron or just a knife. Place on lightly greased sheets and bake until light brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. The Apees shrink as they bake.  Makes about 7 dozen small cookies.

Note: these are great to eat all by themselves, but are particularly tasty -- and unusual -- as a base for cheese, spreads--ham would be great, or a bit of cream cheese and homemade apple preserves--see our recipe for February 2!

Copyright 2015 Rae Katherine Eighmey. All rights reserved.

Ice Box Cookies for Young and Old

While I was baking ice box cookies to take along on next week's Great Potluck Paradise Book Tour of Southwest Minnesota, it occurred to me that this was the perfect recipe to touch the hearts and fill the appetites of both young and old. It certainly was the single most recipe that our taste-testers reacted to with exclamations of: "Oh! I remember these. They were really good!" They still are. What really struck me when I was making them Thursday morning, is what a perfect recipe this is to introduce youngsters to the fun of baking.

I've baked with grandsons Justin and Jack. As anyone who bakes with kids under 10 knows, they can start the project with great interest and enthusiasm, but somehow after 10 or 15 minutes their interest can wander. Kids are kids -- full of energy and needing to go a zillion different places. The two-step process necessary for Ice Box Cookies fits perfectly with their attention span, can easily involve the child in the whole cooking process (including cleaning up!), and teaches a bit of patience, too.

The dough stirs up easily with just a spoon and a little hands-on kneading. Forming the dough into rolls for chilling is right up any kid's level of expertise. The next steps -- a break to wash up the mixing bowl and then wait while the dough chills. Later, maybe even the next day, slice off the cookies and bake. No need to make the whole batch. Bake up one or two sheets (perfect for portion control) and you can put the rest of the dough in the freezer, ready and waiting for the next time you are together. Or you could send the remaining dough logs home for child and parent to make.

As to the eating. They are lovely just as they are, but some experienced (dare I say "older") taste-testers suggest these are prefect "dipped in a container of ready-made frosting or ice cream."

Classic 1950s Ice Box Cookies
(makes 8 dozen cookies -- but not all at the same time!)

2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup melted butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Stir the sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla together until completely blended. Add the dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly then stir in the nuts. Knead the dough with hands if necessary to get a smooth dough. Divide the dough into quarters. Form each roll into a log about one inch high and one inch wide. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours in refrigerator. (You can firm dough more quickly in the freezer for about 20 minutes.)

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease baking sheets. Slice dough about one-eighth inch thick with a sharp knife. Place sliced on baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Copyright 2010 Rae Katherine Eighmey. All rights reserved