What would you think if I presented you with one of my recipes but gave you very little instruction on how to actually make it? Say I just gave you the ingredient list and told you to put it together and stick it in the oven? Or if I wasn’t even particularly clear about the ingredients list, if I mentioned using separated eggs, but I really only meant that you should use just the egg whites? What if I didn’t even tell you an oven temperature at which to bake the item? I am going to take a wild stab here and say you wouldn’t think much of me as a recipe writer. In fact, you’d probably never visit my blog again. I know that I sometimes make a typo or forget to list a step in the instructions. But on the whole, I try to write my recipes the way I would want to read them: clearly, concisely and carefully.
So imagine my confusion, not to mention my frustration, when trying to recreate recipes from a cookbook that made all of the aforementioned transgressions. Let me give you a little background here. My friend, Jessica Apple, editor of A Sweet Life Diabetes Magazine, came across an old cookbook for diabetics and thought it might make good story material. And by old cookbook, I mean really old. As in written almost 100 years ago. “Diabetic Cookery”, by Rebecca W. Oppenheimer, was published in 1917, at a time when such cookbooks didn’t really exist for diabetics in need of carbohydrate restriction. In fact the preface begins like this, “The author would feel diffidence in publishing a cook book when so many other excellent ones already exist, if it were not that she is treating a special field.”
This may sound as if I think Oppenheimer’s recipes are no good, but this isn’t necessarily the case. What I really think is that, back in Rebecca W. Oppenheimer’s day, women were such regular cooks and bakers, they didn’t need the sort of explicit instructions we need today. They grew up around their mothers and aunts and sisters baking and cooking on a daily basis, without relying on recipes or cookbooks at all. They would know that referring to separated eggs in the ingredients list didn’t necessarily mean you used both parts of the egg in the actual recipe. They could gauge oven temperatures simply by sticking a hand inside, no need to rely on fancy thermostats with exact temperature readings. In fact, it’s likely that their ovens didn’t even have temperature gauges at all. It’s only in our modern day, where we tend to be more disassociated from our food preparation, where we rely on all sorts of fancy technology to help us cook and bake, that we need things spelled out for us so clearly.
For the recipe, please see this article posted at A Sweet Life Diabetes Magazine.
Maureen says
Low carb and gluten free? My head wants to say, "nah, can't be." My heart wants to say, "can I have one?"
They look wonderful.
Renee says
Looks like a great recipe. I can't find it on the magazine website though 🙁
Bake Your Day says
These sound so good, I love ginger cookies. They are beautiful, Carolyn!
[email protected] says
Wish a had a little stack of these right now!
Heather says
Love the photos for these cookies – great shots!
Jess says
Here's the link to the recipe if you're having trouble: http://asweetlife.org/a-sweet-life-staff/featured…
healthyfoodie says
Oh yum! I love ginger cookies, but filled with chocolate? Heaven 🙂
Alison Lewis says
these look so good! Great photos
steph says
Ooh! These cookies are calling (no screaming) my name!!
Philis says
Carolyn, are these cookies crisp or soft?
If crisp would it still be crisp using splenda instead of erythitol?
Thank you.
Philis
Lynn says
I picked up a pamphlet of old pie recipes from a thrift store not too long ago and found the same thing, the recipes were so unclear I didn't know what to do with them. I never tried to make any of them. I'm sorry the older recipes didn't work for you, but the recipe you did come up with sounds great!
Kristen says
What lovely little cookies! Love the combo of chocolate and ginger.
Gerry Speirs says
Interesting story! You certainly pulled off a winner with these cookies 🙂
Take care..
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
Looks like you came up with the winning formula after all, those look fantastic.
Jeanette says
I give you a lot of credit trying to decipher this recipe – looks like you got it completely figured out.
food_dreamer says
They were more on the crisp side. I honestly don't know how splenda would behave, but it's worth a try!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Terra says
Looks like you recreated a delicious treat from that difficult recipe! They look fantastic! Hugs, Terra
stephday says
Seems like you nailed it! These look scrumptious!
Diane says
ooooh ginger and chocolate sounds like a WONDERFUL combo!
Russell says
Ooh. These cookies look scrumptious! And I love that you're always providing us with awesome healthy and GF versions.
Eleni says
These look great and I really want to give them a try. I can’t get to the recipe though. The direct link is no longer valid and the site doesn’t seem to want to come up at all. Any chance you can post it directly on your blog?
Carolyn says
Oh dear, sorry about that! I think A Sweet Life updated their site a while back. I need to dig up the recipe, and will do so as soon as I can!
Sarah-Helena says
For all those in search of the recipe: http://asweetlife.org/recipes/chocolate-filled-ginger-low-carb-cookies/
the original link doesn’t seem to work anymore 🙂 I think I’m going to try these today!
Carolyn says
Changing the link now! Thanks…
Michele says
That observation about antique cookbooks is spot-on. I myself have encountered old recipes with the same so-called limitations. You also have to admire how our great-great-grandmothers would have had to use ovens where they themselves ignited and regulated the heat source. The only contradiction to this assumption I’ve ever encountered was a printed pie recipe with the instructions “do not over-bake”. One would assume that even for today’s technology-dependent cooks, that that would be intuitive. 🙂
Michele says
Also, thanks for posting this recipe! It looks a lot like a (non-low-carb) Christmas cookie that my s/o requests every year, so I look forward to trying this!