Recipes from Old Cookbooks: Mealtime Magic

Mealtime Magic was produced by French's (the mustard and, at the time, the bird seed people) sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s. There are 22 pages of recipes for a wide variety of things. There is even a little "story" at the beginning. The recipe I am posting at the end of this post is for something called Delaware Crybabies. I have no idea what they are but the name intrigued me.

Add The Gourmet's Touch
by Demetria M. Taylor

"The true gourmet cooks with his heart and not with his pocketbook" a famous food authority once said to me. This struck me, then and now, as an epigram worth remembering and putting in to practice.
In the light of this saying saying it is clear that European peasants, with almost no money, and few supplies, have been gourmets for centuries - witness the sauces of France and the ever-present pot au feu - the national stews and goulashes of other nations - wonderful dishes that made the most of a morsel of meat - all savory and full of heart-warming flavor through perfect seasoning. This is "cooking with the heart."

And in America, too, the best recipes are those in which just the right amounts of seasonings blend deliciously in the fine flavor of the finished dish.
I feel sure that many of the carefully selected recipes in this little book will find all-time flavor in hundreds of homes. Each illustrates in its own way, certain flavor secrets. A few drops of Worcestershire sauce - a tablespoon or so of prepared mustard - a soupcon of dry mustard - a rich but subtle blend of spices - lend their gourmet's touch to food in a never-to-be forgotten way, all through the pages.
Do get acquainted with these recipes right away. Enjoy their beauty and their fine flavor at your own table. And, if you can find a moment, in these busy days, write us a line or two and tell us which one you like best.
THE R.T. FRENCH COMPANY
MUSTARD STREET
ROCHESTER 9, NEW YORK

Delaware Crybabies

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening, melted
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg, well beaten
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 teaspoon French's Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon French's nutmeg

Combine sugar and shortening. Stir in molasses. Add egg. Sift flour with salt. Dissolve baking soda in water; add alternately to first mixture with flour. Add spices. Grease cookie sheets; drop batter by teaspoonfuls on sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake in moderately hot oven (375° F.) 8 minutes.