To Be "Talked About" Use Cookie 'n' Cracker Cookin' — Inside the Classic

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In Category - Home Economics

Authors: Elliott, Jeanette Hindman, Festen, Alfred Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2021 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Cooking; Cookies; Crackers Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 11,046

Reading time 49 min

Text sections 2

The source record for To Be "Talked About" Use Cookie 'n' Cracker Cookin' — Inside the Classic measures this digital text at 11,046 words, 49 min estimated reading time, and 2 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 16.2 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Cooking,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #64687

A 1959 promotional cookbook from United Biscuit Company, featuring recipes that use cookies and crackers as key ingredients, from appetizers to desserts, with a focus on convenience and presentation.

Editorial Edition Score 4.5/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

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Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg64687

Read the Text

TO BE “TALKED ABOUT” USE

_Cookie ’n’ Cracker Cookin’_

TYPE OF RECIPES PAGES AFTER SCHOOL SNACKS 40 APPETIZERS 2-4 CAKE FROSTINGS 33-35 CAKES 32-35 DESSERTS 36-39 ENTREES 9-14 PIE CRUSTS 27-32 PIES 27-31 SALAD DRESSINGS 23-26 SALADS 23-26 SNACK TREATS 5-8, 23-26 SOUPS 5-8 VEGETABLES 15-18 MISCELLANEOUS ART OF ENTERTAINING 41 PRODUCT STORIES 19-22 LIST OF PRODUCTS 41 PREFACE 1 FOODS PICTURED ON COVER Mystery Cheese Ball 4 Vichyssoise 7 Steaks Continental 11 Oven Fried Chicken 13 Peas & Mushrooms Supreme 16 Caruso Salad 24 Pecan Pie 29 Raspberry Parfait Pie 30 Chocolate Christmas Cake 35 Pecan Puffs 39

COOKIE ’N’ CRACKER COOKIN’ contains recipes that will make you the “talked about” hostess. Not because the recipes are difficult or expensive to prepare, they are gourmet masterpieces; but because they are made of just the right ingredients in exactly the proper amounts for both eye and appetite appeal. The skillful addition of a dash of spice—pinch of herbs—artistic garnish—reveals the touch of genius! Be “talked about”! Use COOKIE ’N’ CRACKER COOKIN’! You don’t have to be an expert—just follow each recipe carefully!

THE BOWMAN BISCUIT COMPANY, division of United Biscuit Company of America, under the brand name of _Supreme Bakers_, has served generations of Westerners. Starting in 1906, with five types of Cookies ’n’ Crackers, the firm has grown to a huge industry, with well over one thousand persons on its current payroll. This fact is certain proof of _Supreme Bakers’_ ability to please Western tastes ... and your assurance of top quality and flavor in the Cookies ’n’ Crackers bearing the famous four leaf clover label. Enjoy _Supreme_ Cookies ’n’ Crackers as they come from the box, and use them as ingredients in many recipes ... for good eating, every day!

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE—that’s why _Supreme Bakers_ produce such a wide assortment of products. That’s why they offer such a variety of recipes in this booklet. And everyone—you, your family and your friends—will enjoy them!

_Tempting Appetizers_

LONG ISLAND CLAM SPREAD (_Yield: 12 Party Servings_)

½ cup canned clams, minced ¼ cup clam juice 2 3-oz. packages cream cheese 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce ⅛ teaspoon Tabasco sauce 1 teaspoon grated onion 1 teaspoon paprika 2 tablespoons minced parsley

Beat together cream cheese and clam juice until smooth. Add all other ingredients and blend well. Chill and serve in a dip bowl placed on a snack tray. Arrange TOWN HOUSE CRACKERS around the bowl. It’s a pleasing surprise to find the crackers served hot—butter, place on cookie sheet and bake for 7 minutes at 350° F.

GUACAMOLE DUNK (_Yield: 12 Party Servings_)

1 ripe avocado ½ cup chopped cucumber ¼ cup chopped onion 1 3-oz. package cream cheese 2 tablespoons lemon juice ½ teaspoon salt Dash of Tabasco sauce 1 teaspoon paprika

Mash avocado meat and blend in finely chopped cucumber and onion. Add cheese and seasoning; beat until smooth and fluffy. This can be piled into cucumber boats for attractive serving. Bank boats with SALTINE CRACKERS, TOWN HOUSE CRACKERS and CLUB CRACKERS. To make cucumber boats, cut in half lengthwise; scoop out meat; chop and use in this recipe.

SHRIMP CANAPES (_Yield: 12 Party Servings_)

1 pound cooked shrimp ¼ cup minced scallions or onions 4 tablespoons mayonnaise 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper ½ teaspoon paprika ½ cup Parmesan cheese

Chop or grind shrimp and blend in scallions, mayonnaise, eggs and seasoning. Heap on TOWN HOUSE CRACKERS and sprinkle with cheese. Broil 5 minutes at 350° F. or until delicately browned.

CHEESE AND ANCHOVY RAREBIT (_Yield: 18 Party Servings_)

3 cups grated sharp Cheddar or Swiss cheese 2 tablespoons melted butter 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons dry mustard 1 teaspoon paprika 2 cups medium white sauce or 1 cup dry white wine or 1 cup beer ½ cup chopped anchovy filets

Put cheese and seasoning in top of double boiler or chafing dish; add butter. Stir constantly until melted, then blend in slowly one of the three liquids suggested. When mixture is smooth (about 10 minutes) fold in anchovy filets. Sprinkle top with chopped chives. Keep hot during serving in chafing dish or over candle warmer. Have plenty of SALTINE CRACKERS, TOWN HOUSE CRACKERS and CLUB CRACKERS nearby for dunking in this tasty rarebit.

SERVING APPETITE TEASERS in the living room before dinner is becoming increasingly popular. Variety in CRACKERS, and their crispness and freshness, add so much to the tastiness of spreads. Today delicious prepared spreads are available at food stores. Wise homemakers keep an assortment on the pantry shelf.

MYSTERY CHEESE BALL (_Yield: 50 Party Servings_)

5 5-oz. jars Blue cheese 1 5-oz. jar sharp Cheddar cheese 1 tablespoon grated onion 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1 cup finely chopped nuts

Continue Reading →

This 1959 promotional booklet from the United Biscuit Company of America positions itself as a tool for becoming a “talked about” hostess, emphasizing that its recipes are neither difficult nor expensive but achieve gourmet results through careful ingredient selection and garnish. The preface explicitly ties the brand’s history—starting in 1906 with five types of cookies and crackers—to its current scale of over one thousand employees, framing product quality as proven by regional popularity. The recipes themselves, however, reveal a more specific strategy: cookies and crackers are not just snacks but structural ingredients, forming pie crusts, thickening soups, and standing in for fruit in a “make believe” apple pie.

Crackers as Culinary Chameleons

The catalog subject “Crackers” might suggest a simple snack, but the excerpts show crackers performing unexpected roles. Town House crackers appear in a Long Island Clam Spread as a dipper, yet the recipe also suggests buttering and baking them for seven minutes at 350°F to serve hot—a transformation from crisp to warm and savory. More strikingly, the “N’S Apple Pie” uses 24 whole Town House crackers boiled with sugar, water, lemon juice, and cream of tartar to create a filling that mimics apples without any fruit. The instructions warn not to stir during cooking, and the result is described as a “make believe” apple pie, delicious with cheese or ice cream. This recipe alone redefines crackers as a base for illusion, not just a side.

Cookie Crumb Architecture

Cookies in this booklet are not merely eaten out of hand; they are pulverized into architectural components. The Cocoanut Chocolate Crust uses two cups of Cocoanut Chocolate Drop Cookie crumbs mixed with butter, pressed into a pie plate, and baked for five minutes. Similarly, the Caramel Cracker Crust combines Saltine cracker crumbs with brown sugar and ground pecans. These crusts are explicitly recommended for cream fillings, such as lemon meringue in a Ginger Walnut Crust or chocolate chiffon in the Cocoanut Chocolate version. The Black Bottom Mint Pie layers a chocolate mixture, vanilla pudding, and green-tinted whipped cream over a Cocoanut Chocolate Crust, topped with more cookie crumbs. The text treats crumbs as a versatile building material, with specific instructions for pressing and rimming.

The Promise of Effortless Expertise

The preface assures readers that no expertise is needed—just careful adherence to each recipe. Yet the recipes themselves demand techniques like scalding milk, whipping cream to stiff peaks, and cooking custard until thickened (about 20 minutes). The Never-Fail Pie Crust, for instance, requires scalding milk and whipping it with shortening before working in dry ingredients, then chilling. This tension between marketing convenience and actual kitchen labor is characteristic of mid-century promotional cookbooks. The booklet also includes a section on “Art of Entertaining” and a list of products, reinforcing its dual purpose: selling Supreme Bakers’ cookies and crackers while positioning the user as a capable, creative hostess. The recipes are the proof of the promise.

The excerpts offer a narrow but revealing window into a genre where commerce and cooking intersect. Readers should note that the complete booklet likely contains additional recipe categories—such as entrees, vegetables, and soups—that may further expand the use of cookies and crackers beyond desserts and appetizers. The promotional framing invites skepticism: are these recipes genuinely innovative or merely vehicles for product placement? The evidence suggests both, making this a curious artifact of American food marketing.

There’s something touching about cookbooks that assume you’ll feed people with what’s already in the cupboard, like that old United Biscuit booklet’s cheerful faith in crushed cookies doing the work of cream. It reminds me of the quieter, graver patience in Miss Parloa's Young Housekeeper Designed Especially to Aid Beginners; Economical Receipts for Those Who Are Cooking for Two or Three — A Reader’s Guide, where economy isn’t a gimmick, just the shape of a life. Both feel like handwritten notes from kitchens I’ll never visit.