Of Kelvinators and Chocolate Cookies

Michael and I found ourselves having to get a new fridge. As we were doing our research, I remembered an old Kelvinator cookbook that was given to me an elderly neighbor when I was about fifteen.This book was published in 1930 and I have always loved the artwork in this book and decided it was time to share it. 

I had my heart set on a French door fridge. I was struck by the fact that the early Kelvinators were three door. Look at the thickness of those doors. This fridge had to weigh up there!

I don't quite look like this when I cook! You also get an idea of how much shorter the original fridge's were. My cats would love that!

This is the one recipe that I have made. I have no idea what the white things are in these cookies. It's not mentioned in the recipe although I think the artist must have thought there were nuts in the recipe. I did add nuts and will talk about my adjustments farther down. 

I though this one was funny and had to show it to Michael. It's actually opposite in this house. It seems that I am usually saying, "stay out of the food until everyone gets here".

And now to the chocolate refrigerator cookies. I wanted to try at least one recipe and see how it would hold up after 85 years. Having chocolate bakers squares sitting idly in the fridge, I decided that the chocolate cookies would be a good one to start with.

As mentioned, I did make some changes. The first change was adding about 1/2 cup of slivered almonds. The artwork depicts what looks to be to be some kind of nut and I love almonds and chocolate together so that was the first change. 

Next, I just added 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. I took it easy on the vanilla because I wasn't sure how it would taste. The verdict was,"it tastes great", so I will probably add 1 tsp next time. Or I might change it to almond flavoring, who knows?

These cookies are a big hit. They are small and crunchy. They make great dippers for coffee or milk. I don't see why the dough couldn't be frozen and baked whenever you needed it. For 85 years, this recipe holds up. And I think they would still be good without the almonds and vanilla. That was just my preference.

Time for tea and cookies? I am serving them with Russel Wright's American Modern. American Modern didn't come out until 1939 but at least that is still in the same decade (o.k., just barely). I mix green and pink. The tablecloth is something I got from my Mom and have no idea of the date, I like the look with the American Modern dishes.

It's Springtime in Missouri so I decided to add some Irises and Dames Rockets to the table. 

That's it for this round. I hope you enjoyed this post. I certainly had fun putting this one together. It was about time, the poor Journal hasn't been updated since June. Have a wonderful day and let me know if you try out the cookies.