Professor Butter Beard and “Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book”
“No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, and the wisdom of cookbook writers.” – Laurie Colwin
I read cookbooks like novels. On hot and humid Saturday afternoons, you will find me and Nellie navigating space on the sofa, lulled by the hum of the air conditioner and an Italian opera on NPR, me with iced ginger tea and her with the remaining shreds of her latest stuffed toy wrestling match snuggled like a make-shift pillow tucked under her ever-so-cute snoring nose.
Most often, there will be a stack of three cookbooks in the queue - the first being one from a dream vacation culture such as Thailand, or the southern coast of France, or the highlands of Scotland. The second will be the most current baking book reviewed in “Saveur” or “Bake from Scratch.” And the third will always be one of my “antiques” passed down from family such as the collection of my grandmother Zelma’s recipes, or a random ladies church group edition discovered that morning at a local flea market (another addiction).
But, today I am in the mood for cookies.
Now, I have many options with regards to cookie mentors – Dorie Greenspan, the evil witch Martha, Judy Rosenburg, Brian Hart Hoffman, Maida Heatter, and the “Silver Palette” goddesses. They all speak to me (usually all at once), but when I close my eyes to still their voices and travel through flavors, I most often land on the heavily stained and lovingly worn scarlet red cover of my sixty-year-old copy of the “Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book.”
First published in 1963, it is still my go-to for the starting point of every version of my peanut butter or jam thumbprint cookies, and, for the holidays, the “Russian Teacakes” my mom baked once a year while my brother and I de-tangled the Christmas tree lights with dad. But even then, I must admit, I was rather consumed with the mystery of “who in the heck is Betty Crocker?” and does she have a magical factory and a baking army of Oompa Loompas like Willy Wonka?
Over the years, I have done my research and can provide the following facts. And, spoiler alert, Miss Betty’s not a real person. The character was developed in 1921 following a unique Gold Medal Flour promotion featured in the Saturday Evening Post. The ad asked consumers to complete a jigsaw puzzle and mail it to the then Washburn-Crosby Company, later General Mills, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In return, they would receive a pincushion shaped like a bag of flour. Along with 30,000 completed puzzles came several hundred letters with cooking-related questions.
Rationalizing that inquisitive housewives would want advice from a fellow woman, the company’s advertising department convinced its board of directors to create a personality that the women answering the letters could all use in their replies. The name Betty was selected because it was viewed as a cheery, all-American name. It was paired with the last name Crocker, in honor of William Crocker, a Washburn Crosby Company director.
In 1924, Betty acquired a voice with the debut of “The Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air” on one station in Minneapolis. It was the country's first radio cooking program. Blanche Ingersoll was the first to be selected to portray the “every-woman” Betty Crocker. The show proved extremely popular and eventually was broadcast nationally on NBC Radio, with Agnes White Tizard taking her turn as Betty. Over the next three decades, dozens of women would anonymously portray Betty on the air and at cooking schools throughout the country.
Humanizing the brand was a brilliant move. According to General Mills, longtime consumers have stories about how Betty Crocker helped them through difficult times with her personalized responses to their letters; or how Betty’s tips and recipes created family traditions that have endured throughout generations. In her book, “Finding Betty Crocker: The Secret Life of America’s First Lady of Food,” author Susan Marks remarks on the strong feelings of hope and nostalgia that Betty evoked, noting “The sheer magnitude —and longevity— of her popularity speaks volumes of the need she has fulfilled in countless lives.” In 1945, Betty Crocker was even named the second most popular American woman, topped only by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Since 1955, Betty’s image has evolved many times to reflect the culture. In 1972, the updated Betty portrait featured a more business-like professional image to reflect the increasing role of women in the workplace. Her 1996 portrait was digitally composited from 75 diverse women nationwide, resulting in a more ethnically ambiguous Betty. To date, there have been eight versions of the Betty Crocker portrait through the years; each, according to General Mills, remaining true to her essence, a caring motherly figure ready to dole out helpful advice.
Now we can’t end this discussion without acknowledging the debate over the proper spelling of this deliciously baked smile of butter and sugar. While both spellings (cooky and cookie) are technically correct, the preferred spelling in American English is “cookie.” According to culinary historians, “cooky,” as published within the title of Betty’s first edition, is a less common variant spelling of the word. It is still used in some parts of the world, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland. However, in American English, “cooky” is generally considered to be an outdated or nonstandard spelling of the word. I find this rather unfortunate and have taken it upon myself to dignify Betty’s first spelling, at least for a week or two.
So, today, when I went visiting within my baker soul’s mental archive searching to create a new almond cookie to offer my farmers at the market, I opened Betty’s magical red book and reviewed her initial offerings. I examined her ratios of almonds to flour, her debate concerning shortening vs. butter, and the enhancing addition of almond extract. Then, of course, I added my own twists and turns, including toasting the almond slices with sea salt and adding zingy lemon zest and the surprise of freeze-dried strawberries for a summer kick.
Thank you Betty. For as Ms. Colwin stated, “No one who cooks, cooks alone.”
Professor Butter Beard’s Strawberry Almond Cookies
Six Dozen Cookies
1 3/4 cups almond slices, toasted and cooled (1 ½ cups for dough, ¼ cup for topping)
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
Zest of 2 lemons
16 Tbsp unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 ½ cup freeze-dried strawberries
Cookie Topping:
¼ cup of the toasted almond slices
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup turbinado sugar
1) Toast the almond slices until golden and aromatic and then set aside to cool (I use my cast-iron skillet and toss the still warm slices with ½ tsp fine sea salt). When the slices are cool, put them into a plastic bag and crush them with your hands.
2) In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, stir together the confectioner’s sugar and the lemon zest until combined. Add the room-temperature butter and cream until smooth (3-4 minutes).
3) In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla paste and almond extract.
4) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, salt and freeze-dried strawberries.
5) When the sugar/butter is creamed, add in the egg mixture and mix to fully combine. Add 1 ½ cups of the crushed almonds and the dry mixture. Mix until just combined. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured countertop and divide into four equal portions. Roll each portion into a 1½” log, wrap in parchment paper and chill the logs overnight.
6) When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
7) In a medium bowl, stir together the remaining ¼ cup almonds and both sugars. Slice the logs into ¼” rounds and dip one side into the almond/sugar mix. Place 16 slices on a baking sheet and bake for 11 minutes (rotating the pan after 7 minutes). Cool the cookies on the pan for 5 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
