Online Cookbooks-Miss Parloa's Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes

Chocolate is not only a pleasant of taste, but it is also a veritable balm of the mouth, for the maintaining of all glands and humours in a good state of health. Thus it is, that all who drink it, possess a sweet breath. ~ Italian physician Stephani Blancardi (1650-1702).

Back browsing through Michigan State University's online cookbook library, dipping into a little cookbook of chocolate and candy recipes produced 1909 by the manufacturer's of Baker's chocolate. For this, they enlisted the assistance of Miss Maria Parloa, a popular New England cooking instructor and lecturer. The second half of the book contains candy recipes from Janet McKenzie Hill, at that time editor of the Boston Cooking School's magazine. And though she isn't listed on the cover, several of the chocolate recipes are credited to Miss Elizabeth Kevill Burr.

Chocolate Gingerbread

Mix in a large bowl one cupful of molasses, half a cupful of sour milk or cream, one teaspoonful of ginger, one of cinnamon, half a teaspoonful of salt. Dissolve one teaspoonful of soda in a teaspoonful of cold water; add this and two tablespoonfuls of melted butter to the mixture. Now stir in two cupfuls of sifted flour, and finally add two ounces of Walter Baker & Co.’s Chocolate and one tablespoonful of butter, melted together. Pour the mixture into three well-buttered, deep tin plates, and bake in a moderately hot oven for about twenty minutes.

Cream Chocolate Caramels

Mix together in a granite-ware saucepan half a pint of sugar, half a pint of molasses, half a pint of thick cream, one generous tablespoonful of butter, and four ounces of Walter Baker & Co.’s Premium No. 1 Chocolate. Place on the fire and stir until the mixture boils. Cook until a few drops of it will harden if dropped into ice-water; then pour into well-buttered pans, having the mixture about three-fourths of an inch deep. When nearly cold, mark into squares. It will take almost an hour to boil this in a granite-ware pan, but not half so long if cooked in an iron frying-pan. Stir frequently while boiling. The caramels must be put in a very cold place to harden.

Chocolate Almonds
Blanch the almonds by pouring boiling water on them, and let them stand two or three minutes. Roast them in oven. Dip them in the following recipe for chocolate coating, and drop on paraffine paper.

½ pound cake of Walter Baker’s Vanilla Sweet Chocolate
2 level tablespoonfuls of butter
2 tablespoonfuls of boiling water

Put chocolate in small saucepan over boiling water and when melted stir in butter and water. Mix well. If found to be too thick, add more water; if too thin, more chocolate.