Vintage Eats Recipe: 1924 Butterscotch Squares

I love finding gems in my vintage cookbooks – especially those that are more than 100 years old!

Butterscotch Squares should be renamed ‘Pecan Butterscotch Squares’ because the pecans add so much flavor.

The recipe is in a hardback 350-page volume called ‘Modern Priscilla Cook Book.’

The cover also states that it includes “One thousand Home Tested Recipes, Special Subscription Edition.”

On the title page it adds, “Copyright 1924 by The Priscilla Publishing Co., Boston… Copyright in Great Britain and the colonies. Published by The Priscilla Publishing Company, 470 Atlantic Ave., Boston.”

I have no idea what the phrase about ‘Great Britain and the colonies’ means, but it is interesting.

The book is in good condition and not heavily marked. I always wonder if that means it was rarely used. I’ll be checking it out more, due to the gold mine of this recipe that almost wasn’t.

All of the ingredients were on my shelves so I mixed them together and put it in the oven. The recipe called for 300 degrees for 30 minutes.

I set the timer on my phone and left the room. I prefer using the timer on my phone so that if I leave the kitchen, I can still hear the timer.

Except this time I didn’t.

After 25 minutes, I answered a phone call and sat down to chat with my caller. Thirty minutes later, we hung up.

That’s when I realized the timer had gone off on my phone, but because I was in deep conversation, I had turned off the timer and forgot about the oven.

Oh no!

I raced to the oven, convinced I’d see a charred mess.

When I pulled out the pan, everything looked normal. Unconvinced, I lifted the dish using parchment paper (I always use it!) and let the baked item cool.

Then I cut it, hoping it would still taste good. But why would it when it had overcooked by 30 minutes?

My knife refused to go through gently. Instead I had to put the mound on a cutting board and force my serrated knife through it. There was a loud crack as the knife hit the cutting board. Crumbs went flying, but otherwise all looked well.

I tasted it and found my teeth couldn’t bite down. But there was no burnt taste. My heart soared.

I had made biscotti!   

I had loved biscotti but never made it. Now, by pure accident, I had made it and it was lovely!

The extra time in the oven at a somewhat low temperature had dried out the baked good without burning. Now I had the perfect dunking cookie for milk or coffee.

Recently, I made this recipe again, this time observing the 30-minute time limit. It was not as hard and still tasty and possibly still a dunking cookie but not quite.

Either way, this recipe was a success. I hope you’ll try it—and don’t forget your timer!

**

Pecan Butterscotch Squares

¼ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

¾ cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon vanilla

¼ cup pecan pieces

In large saucepan cook butter and sugar until smooth and well blended. Cool to lukewarm.

Add egg unbeaten and beat well.

Add flour sifted with baking powder, then vanilla and nuts.

Sprinkle in pan lined with paraffin paper (Cover the dish with parchment paper for easy removal and clean-up). Bake in moderate oven. Turn out of pan and cut in squares.

Time in oven, 30 minutes. Temperature, 300 degrees.

Yield: 16 servings