By: Lauren Gray, Head of Reference
Share the gift of history this holiday season.
Day 12: Recipe Books
(Part of the 12 Days of Archives DIY Series)
As we conclude our 12 Days of Archives series, the staff at the State Archives would like to thank our patrons and visitors for weathering this pandemic with us. It’s been a year of ups and downs, but we’ve supported each other through it. We’ve had thousands of visitors pass through our virtual doors since March. Your support has enabled us to continue providing digital access to the wonderful collections we hold at the Kansas Historical Society, and for putting on series like the 12 Days of Archives blog posts.
What we’re trying to say is…
Thank you for giving us the best gift of all: your dedication to preserving and promoting Kansas history.
Now, let us give you a little something in return.
On the 12th Day of Archives, my archivist gave to me…
Recipes, from our family to yours.
Our DIY holiday spread would be incomplete without a sweet treat at the end.
Kansas is home to many communities and people who hail from different parts of the U.S. and from abroad. Whether just passing through or settling for life, each community has left the imprint of their unique traditions on Kansas culture, and that is especially true of cuisine.
We’ve compiled some of our favorite recipes from our collections for you to bake and gift to your loved ones. (Or, maybe just for you. You’ve earned it.) To make it even more personal, we suggest writing the recipes by hand into a special notebook or on cards to give away, or to pass down to the next generation.
We’ve also asked our staff to contribute favorite holiday recipes from their families. Some recipes were born in Kansas, others moved away and came back, and a few came from very far away and have made their homes here.
We’d like to give you the gift of our history.
Early American Indian tribes used a variety of techniques and tools to cook and preserve their food, including smoking, salting, and fermenting. Jerky was made by thinly slicing bison or venison meat and leaving it to dry in smoke and sun. Maize (corn) was cultivated and traded by many tribes on the Eastern Plains and was cooked with meat and beans in stews similar to what we enjoy today. Alternatively, it could be parched and dried and then ground into corn meal.
Beans were also popular with cowboys as they drove cattle across the range. Though John Wayne is the stereotypical Hollywood cowboy, in real life many cowboys were African American or Mexican, who introduced their own cultural heritage to the chuck wagon. A batch of beans and salt pork could include chiles or other seasonings.
Abbie Bright traveled to Kansas in 1870 from Iowa and kept a diary of her journey and early days in Kansas. She was an avid baker and enclosed several recipes she collected from friends in her community.
Now, the staff at the Kansas Historical Society and State Archives would like to share some of our treasured holiday recipes with you.
Katie's Pfeffernusse
(Peppernut Cookies)
Katie inherited this recipe from her mother-in-law, who is a member of the Mennonite Community in Manhattan, KS, where Peppernut cookies are popular holiday treats. Mennonites emigrated from Switzerland and the Netherlands during the 19th century and many made their way to Kansas after 1870, drawn to the lush pastureland and rich soil. Mennonites brought some of the earliest wheat to Kansas, which thrived, and quickly replaced corn as the dominant crop.
Katie Keckeisen, our Collections Archivist, and her mother-in-law bake these cookies every Christmas, and the story goes that they disappear as fast as a Kansas thunderstorm.
To read more about Mennonites in Kansas: https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/mennonites-in-kansas/19174
Ethan’s Seven Layer Bars
Ethan Anderson, our Government Records Archivist, brought his mother’s recipe with him to Kansas when he moved from South Dakota in 1883 (actually, it was 2018, but who’s counting). His mother bakes these bars every holiday, and we’ll happily tuck these into our collection of “Best Sweet Treats to Eat while Quarantining” any year. Ethan’s family recipe originally comes from Wisconsin, so it is truly a Midwestern staple.
Seven Layer Bars are also known as “Hello Dolly Bars” due to their rise in popularity during the hit Broadway show “Hello Dolly,” which premiered on stage in 1964. We found the published recipe in The Hutchinson News from July 1965, though we believe the original recipe pre-dates the Broadway show.
Megan’s Schwartzberren Kuchen
Megan Rohleder, our Senior Archivist for Public Services, can trace her heritage back to the Volga River area of Russia, where her German ancestors settled in the late 1760s to help colonize that region. By the mid-1870s, Volga Germans started immigrating to North America. Megan’s family moved to Victoria and Hays, KS where they became farmers.
As with most cultures and their food, these recipes were born out of necessity. Volga Germans came from harsh climates and many of them were poor farmers when they came to the States. Because of this, there are many carbohydrate and cream/sour cream-heavy dishes, which were things they had in abundance. These recipes would feed lots of mouths for little cost.
Learn more about Volga Germans in Kansas here: https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/germans-from-russia-in-kansas/12231
Lauren’s Lussekatter
(Saffron Buns)
Lussekatter are buns traditionally baked in Sweden on December 13 for St. Lucia Day. The holiday celebrates the return of the light during the long winter darkness. Many Swedes immigrated to Kansas during the mid-19th century when Sweden suffered a series of famines. Many immigrants settled in the area around McPherson and Lindsborg, where robust Swedish communities thrive today.
Lauren Gray’s husband brought his family’s saffron bun recipe with him when he emigrated from Sweden.
To read more about Swedes in Kansas: https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/swedes-in-kansas/16722
Recipes:
Katie’s Pfeffernusse
(Peppernut cookies)
¾ c. shortening
1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
½ tsp oil of anise
1 c. molasses
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp. allspice
½ c. milk
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp cardamom
Approx. 6 c. flour
Mix in the usual order—cream butter and shortening, add sugar, anise oil and molasses and cream again. Mix dry ingredients (mix spices and baking soda in about 2-3 cups flour at first) and stir in enough flour to form a soft dough. Freeze overnight or longer. Roll out into long ropes about ¾ inch in diameter and wrap in waxed paper and freeze again. When ready to bake, slice thin and put-on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350F for about 9 minutes. Let sit about a minute before removing from pan.
Note: Using anise oil instead of ground or extract makes a big difference. You can find it in or near the pharmacy department. If you can't find it, use a generous teaspoon of anise extract, available in the baking aisle.
Ethan’s Seven Layer Bars
½ c. butter or margarine
1 c. graham cracker crumbs
1 c. coconut flakes
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. butterscotch chips
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Pour melted butter in 9x13 inch pan. Layer ingredients in order given. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
Megan’s Schwartzberren Kuchen
1 c. heavy cream
½ c. milk
1 ½ c. sugar (separated)
1 egg
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 quart schwartzberren (see note)
Mix cream, sugar, egg, and milk together. Add salt, baking powder, and enough flour to make a batter that’s a little heavier than an ordinary cake batter. Put in a greased 10x13 inch pan. Pat dough down with your hand until about ½ inch tall. Put Schwartzberren over this batter and sprinkle an additional ½ cup sugar over this. Mix 1 cup flour, another ½ cup sugar with enough butter or shortening to make crumbs. Put these crumbs on top of berries and bake in moderate oven (350F) for about 35 minutes.
NOTE: German blackberries are different than regular blackberries. They are smaller, sweeter, and look a bit like blueberries. If none are available, blueberries are a fine substitute.
Lauren’s Lussekatter
(Saffron Buns)
½ c. butter
1 c. milk
1 packet (about 2 ¼ tsp.) active-dry yeast
½ tsp. salt
½ c. sugar
1 tsp. saffron (if threads, chop finely and soak in a few drops of water)
3 c. flour (or more)
2 egg yolks
2/3 c. raisins
Melt the butter in a saucepan with the milk and saffron over low heat (do not boil). Let it cool to lukewarm and then add the yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
Combine the yeast mixture with the sugar, then add the flour and salt. Combine until it has come together. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes until it is smooth and happy, then fold in the raisins (spread the dough in a rough rectangle, add 1/3 of the raisins, fold the dough over itself, and add more raisins periodically until all of them are incorporated, saving some out for decoration).
Let the dough rest in a greased bowl, covered, for an hour in a warm spot. (It won’t rise very much.)
Divide the dough into 16 pieces. There are many traditional shapes, but the easiest to make is the fancy backward “S.” Start by rolling out a piece of the dough into a six-inch log. Starting at each end, roll the ends toward each other on opposite sides until they meet in the middle in an “S” shape. You can also roll the dough into a traditional American cinnamon roll spiral.
Let the shaped dough rise, covered, for another hour. Preheat your oven to 400F.
Whisk the egg yolks with 1 tbsp water and brush the egg mixture onto the buns. Stick a raisin into each curled nook for decoration.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Abbie Bright’s Marble Cake
(1870)
The whites of four eggs, cup and a half white sugar, Half cup butter, half cup sweet milk, half teaspoon full of soda the same of cream of tartar, mixed with two and a half cups of flower(sic).
The yolks four eggs, cup of brown sugar, half cup of molasses, the same of butter, and buttermilk, Teaspoon of allspice, same of Cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Half teaspoon of soda, and a whole one of cream of tartar, two & a half cups of flower(sic).
[Though Abbie does not include the baking instructions, we assume you are to swirl the batters together and bake in a moderate oven until done...we think.]
A note on old recipes:
Historic recipes can be difficult to work with. Ingredients and measurements have changed over time, so you may need to interpret the instructions. Some cooks assumed everyone knew how to make the recipe itself, so they just provided the ingredients. (Just pretend you’re on GBBS and “BAKE!”)
Again, let us say, thank you for your support, and we wish a very happy and safe holiday season. We’ll see you next year!
On the twelfth Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Recipes
On the eleventh Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Decorative Collages
On the tenth Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Playing Cards
On the ninth Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Calendars
On the eighth Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Wall Clocks
On the seventh Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Stationery
On the sixth Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Bookmarks
On the fifth Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Coasters
On the fourth Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: The Memory Game
On the third Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Greeting Cards
On the second Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Magnets
On the first Day of Archives, my archivists gave to me: Puzzles