• CynthiasCooking on October 30, 2018

  This is the book I learned to cook from when I was growing up. In addition to all the details motioned on robm's comment, many of the recipes have nice variations. This book is my go-to when I need to know how to do something basic like make biscuits or roast a ham.

• chawkins on June 13, 2013

  Notable recipes per 101 Classic Cookbooks: apple pie, berries and cream pie, black devil's food cake, blueberry pie, butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, maraschino cherry cake/poppy seed cake, peach cobbler, pie crust recipe, pigs in blanket, snickerdoodles, spaghetti with meatballs, spritz cookies, sugar jumbles, sweet dough yeast breads for delectable rolls and coffee cakes, upside down cake.

• robm on August 20, 2011

  This book is a complete "blast from the past." If you're nostalgic for the cooking of the Ozzie and Harriet era, this is your book! As Jen points out, it's a compendium of American home-style baking at its post-war peak, so the recipes are still invaluable. It's also a general-purpose cookbook, so there are recipes for appetizers, meats, soups, etc. as well -- if you want to prepare a really retro dinner, you've found the book for that! But at least half of the book is devoted to baking. The book is also a cultural artifact: You'll love the illustrations of 1950s kitchens, dining rooms, place settings and food presentation! The book's design and layout are a bit dizzying, but the recipes are definitely worthwhile. There are also many illustrations of techniques. They may be a bit old-fashioned-looking, but they're still useful for the modern cook!

• CookWorm on November 16, 2010

  If I could have only one cookbook, this would be it. Timeless, and enjoyable to cook from. Enjoy both the bound and 3 ring binder edition.

• jen kalb on July 12, 2010

  This 1950 book documents American cake making at its best before the arrival of mixes - very good recipes

Notes about Recipes in this book

• French toast

  • Dannausc on July 02, 2018

    Good and easy

• Banana loaf

  • Dannausc on July 02, 2018

    Good but kind of dry.

• Peanut butter cake

  • marisamuller_eplk81 on April 11, 2026

    I was scrolling through the cake section and the peanut butter cake sounded good. Made them gluten free and I didn’t have any shortening, so I used butter. Creamy in place of chunky because I didn’t have no chunky. Tossed in some chocolate chips. Came out delicious!!! It is very sweet. You definitely want to spoon in the sugar into the measuring cup instead of scooping it in. Even with spoon in method, it is still sweet. You don’t really need frosting

• Delicious white cake

  • ashallen on October 30, 2019

    This was a fine, basic white cake with a moderately fluffy but sturdy texture that works well with frosting or other add-ons - it'd be quite plain on its own. I made a 9x13-inch sheet cake but can see how the structure would do well in a layer cake. I took it from the oven at 200-205F in the center. Pulling it at 195-200F might have been better for getting it a bit moister but still cooked through (though it's not really a "moist" style of cake). I made it with half shortening and half butter as specified in the recipe - it'd be nice to try all butter. I frosted it with a chocolate frosting that sets up a bit firm and it wanted to peel away in a sheet from the cake during cutting - wetter/stickier frostings will probably adhere better. It used 4 egg whites which is great for working down my frozen egg white supply!

• Silver white cake

  • ashallen on April 17, 2020

    A classic white cake that brings back memories of many, many birthday parties from the past! Fluffy, tender, and moist. I accidentally used too much flour (converted volume to weight assuming unsifted all purpose flour vs. sifted cake flour) but it still came out great. Looking forward to making it again with the correct amount. Used King Arthur's unbleached cake flour vs bleached cake flour and all butter for the shortening - worked well and great flavor. Very easy mixing method in which you simply beat the liquids into the dry ingredients+fat. This is a nice way to use up some extra egg whites, too. Update (2020.04.24): Made again and used the correct weight for sifted cake flour. Yielded a sweeter, richer, shorter cake with a finer, more compact crumb and a more melt-in-your-mouth texture. Also, cake took 5 fewer minutes to bake. We really enjoyed both versions. Preference will depend on the cake style one's going for.

• Mammy's puff cake

  • ashallen on June 11, 2022

    This cake looks and tastes like a cross between an angel food cake and a white butter cake. The recipe starts with creaming sugar into butter to create a batter into which a lot of whipped egg whites (8!) are folded, so the technique is a cross between the two, as well. The batter did puff up a lot - each layer was about 1.5 inches high so 2-inch deep pans worked well (recipe doesn't mention how deep a pan to use). Cake layers were very flat on top so stacking was easy. They also handled being brushed with raspberry syrup very well and didn't get soggy. Flavored with vanilla and almond extract instead of lemon juice.

• Angel food cake

  • ashallen on November 12, 2021

    I made the "Deluxe" version which substitutes powdered sugar for some of the granulated sugar in the base recipe. Very good recipe that yielded a high-rising cake with a melt-in-your mouth texture. I used unbleached cake flour and it was still very tender. Mixing instructions are simpler than those in some other recipes but still produced a good result. Angel food cake is always pretty sweet, but this recipe uses even more sugar than other recipes I've liked (Carole Walter, Cook's Illustrated). I prefer their lower sweetness so I'll continue to use those recipes versus switching to this one.

• Cherry angel food cake

  • ashallen on November 12, 2021

    This recipe has a variation in which you substitute pineapple for maraschino cherries - that's the version I made using canned pineapple. The fruit definitely made for a moister cake so this is a nice technique if you think your angel food cakes are too dry. Cake fluffiness was maybe a bit less because of the extra moisture (or maybe I didn't invert my cake to cool long enough!), but still very good. Pineapple flavor wasn't super-strong. Pineapple bits migrated somewhat toward cake bottom during baking, so I'd chop them finer than 1/4-inch next time - canned crushed pineapple might be a better alternative. I find Betty Crocker's basic angel food cake to be quite sweet, so I'll try this technique of folding pineapple bits into the batter with a different base recipe in the future.

• Gingies

  • FromScratch on November 13, 2025

    These have been my favorite ginger/spice/molasses cookies for the last 60 years. Soft, chewy, intense, wonderful. Never even realized they were naturally vegan until recently!

• Spritz

  • ashallen on September 14, 2019

    This is the first spritz cookie I ever tasted and I think I imprinted on it - it's still my favorite out of the various recipes I've tried! Melt-in-your-mouth tender, buttery, and beautiful when made with a cookie press.

• Southern peach skillet pie

  • hjm on January 28, 2012

    This is one of my favorite recipes. I replace the milk with cream, which makes the dough a little drier and easier to handle (and yummier).

  • candacey on August 26, 2017

    Everyone loved it. Great way to use up peaches.

• Cabin casserole

  • Dannausc on August 24, 2019

    Super easy. Pretty decent.

• Fluffy meat loaf

  • h_lxg7mo on January 27, 2026

    Page 275

• Savory stew

  • Dannausc on February 22, 2026

    Super easy and quite good.

• Pumpkin pie

  • Dannausc on November 27, 2021

    I made it with Pennsylvania Dutch crookneck pumpkin from my garden. It was quite easy and really good. The recipe made extra filling so I baked the extra in ramekins.

• Lemon meringue pie

  • MichiganCooking on April 06, 2021

    Easter dessert, 2021. Delicious, day-of and for 2 days after! even if a little on the sugary side for me. I followed the directions exactly, for 9" pie (corningware pieplate), using Crisco and butter for the "pastry crust". Brilliant result for a first-ever attempt. Maybe next time beat meringue a little longer (I did not get it quite to "stiff peaks") because it got sort of flat after sitting out for several hours. Mom said it tasted just like home. Even the crust passed muster. I also love that this uses exactly three whole eggs and exactly one (large-ish) lemon, no waste. I was inspired to try it out because I read, here on this website, about the great cake and pie recipes in this book -- now I'm a believer.

• Texas hash

  • Dannausc on August 24, 2019

    Super easy and tasty.