Many people resolve to cut back on sugar each and every year.
It can be difficult for those with a sweet tooth that they can't seem to satiate. Of course, if they were alive during World War II, they had no choice in the matter when rationing forced families to get creative with their sweet treats.
Like many of our allies, every U.S. citizen living in the early 1940s had to sacrifice their sugary delights for the greater good. However, the WWII ration recipes below prove they still had plenty of yummy options.
Rather than make their families moan at the thought of no more desserts or birthday cakes, various cookbooks from the era offered helpful ways to put a sweet smile on everyone's face! Most examples use zero sugar, substituting with a syrup or honey instead, and those that do use it keep sugar to a minimum.
Take a look and let us know if we missed your favorite treat from back in the day! And don't forget to SHARE with your friends.
[H/T: Illinois Digital Archive]
Thumbnail Sources: Wikimedia Commons / Unknown / Bill Faulk
1. Fruit Mousse
This could go on top of any of the other desserts listed, or enjoyed all on its own!
Ingredients:
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup fruit pulp
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 egg whites
1/8 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. lemon juice
Instructions:
Whip the cream in one bowl, then combine the fruit pulp and syrup in another until fully blended together. Fold that mixture into the cream. Beat the egg whites with the salt and then fold that into the cream as well. Freeze until solid.
2. Fruit Turnover
This thrifty treat relied on whatever fresh fruit they might have growing in their victory garden for its sweetness.
Ingredients:
2 cups sifted flour
3 tsps. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. fat
3/4 cup of milk, or enough to make the dough soft
Instructions:
Sift together the dry ingredients and then mix the fat in thoroughly. Add milk and stir until a dough forms, then roll out onto a floured surface. Cut the dough into circles, place fresh fruit on one side of the circle and fold over the other. Crimp the edges and bake until golden brown.
3. Baked Custard
Who needs sugar when you have sweet maple syrup, right?
Ingredients:
4 to 6 eggs
1 qt. milk
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
Nutmeg to taste
Instructions:
Combine the milk, syrup or honey, and salt in a saucepan and heat. While it cooks, lightly beat the eggs, then mix in the hot milk and vanilla. Pour into custard cups, place in a pan filled with water, and bake at about 350 degrees until the custard is set. Test it with a knife to see if the blade comes out clean and serve hot or cold.
4. Apple Pandowdy
This used less sugar thanks to the tartness from the apples providing a nice bite all on their own.
Ingredients:
Dough
2 cups sifted flour
3 tsps. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. fat
3/4 cup of milk, or enough to make the dough soft
Filling
4 to 6 eggs
1 qt. milk
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
Nutmeg to taste
Instructions:
For the dough, sift together the dry ingredients, then mix the fat in thoroughly. Add milk and stir until a dough forms. Roll out onto a floured surface. For the filling, combine all of the ingredients minus the last tablespoon of sugar and pour into a baking dish. Cook the apples at 400 °F for about 20 minutes. Add strips of dough on top of the apples, sprinkle on the remaining sugar, and bake until the sugar begins to melt and the pastry is golden brown.
5. Quick Coffee Cake
This uses just a smidgen of sugar, so it was OK to bust out on a regular basis for an easy breakfast.
Ingredients:
2 cups sifted flour
2 tsps. baking powder
2 Tbsps. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 Tbsps. butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped raisins
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions:
Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt, saving 2 Tbsps. of the flour to mix with the fruit later. Mix in the butter, milk, and floured raisins. Grease a baking pan and smooth the dough into a thin layer. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes at about 350 °F. Remove and cover with butter, cinnamon, and a pinch of sugar. Place back in the oven until the sugar begins to melt.
6. Orange Drop Cookies
The "fat" listed could be shortening, lard, butter, or oil — whatever they might have had on hand at the time.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsps. grated orange rind
1/2 cup fat
1 cup maple syrup
2 beaten eggs
2 cups sifted flour
3 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Instructions:
Mix together the orange rind, fat, and maple syrup. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt, then add to the syrup mixture and fold in beaten eggs. Drop the batter in teaspoonfuls and bake at 375 to 400 °F for about 10 minutes.
7. Soft Molasses Cookies
Cookbooks listed this as a popular treat to be whipped up in the "war kitchens" of the 1940s. The amount of sugar probably made it something that was saved for super special occasions.
Ingredients:
3 cups sifted cake powder
1 1/2 tsps. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ginger
1 1/2 tsps. cinnamon
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 beaten egg
1/2 molasses
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Instructions:
Sift flour on its own, then sift together with baking soda, salt, and spices three times. Gradually add sugar to the shortening until creamy. Add eggs to the cream, beat thoroughly, then mix in the syrup. Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk, stirring well after each addition. Add vanilla and place the dough in the fridge to chill for about two hours.
Drop teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheet and bake at 400 °F for about 13 to 15 minutes.
8. Honey Ice Cream
This is definitely one of the easiest, cheapest, and most delicious options folks came up with back in the day.
Ingredients:
1 qt. thin cream
3/4 cups honey
Instructions:
Simply mix the two ingredients together and freeze until solid.
9. Sugarless Cake
Yep, even if the home was completely out of sugar, there were still options for a celebratory confection!
Ingredients:
3 cups sifted cake flour
4 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups corn syrup
3 egg yolks
2 tsps. grated orange rind
1 cup milk
3 egg whites
Instructions:
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Stir shortening until creamy and add one cup of the corn syrup slowly until it becomes fluffy. Add egg yolks and beat well. Take turns alternating adding the dry ingredients and milk, stirring between each addition, then add the orange rind.
Beat the egg whites until stiff and add to the rest of the corn syrup gradually, beating until there are stiff peaks. Fold the batter until completely mixed. Bake in a greased cake pan at about 375 °F for 25 to 30 minutes.
10. Peanut Drop Cookies
I can almost taste the scrumptious maple syrup and peanut combination just reading about this one.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup fat
1 cup maple syrup
2 beaten eggs
2 cups sifted flour
3 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped roasted peanuts
Instructions:
Mix together fat and maple syrup, then add beaten eggs. Sift together the dry ingredients, pour in chopped peanuts, and combine with the wet mixture. Stir until completely combined, then drop teaspoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at about 350 °F.
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