The Spirit of Seventy-Six!

In honor of the 250th birthday of the Declaration of Independence, all recipes through July 4, 2026 will be from Centennial and Bicentennial cookbooks and the 1796 first American cookbook. Enjoy this look at the (gastronomic) spirit of ’76 as we head into the sestercentennial!

I’ve also published a Sestercentennial Cookery with recipes and photos.

Oatmeal Krispie Cookies: Jan Pintcke’s Rice Krispie Cookies—Baked, from the 1976 Benton Harbor-St. Joseph Bicentennial Cookbook.; seventies; 1970s; cookies; oatmeal; coconut; recipe; America’s Bicentennial; Benton Harbor, Michigan; crispy rice cereal; Rice Krispies; brown sugar

I’ve come to enjoy adding crunchy bits to my cookies. Potato chips, caramelized sugar, and, of course, breakfast cereal! These are from Jan Pintcke, of Harbert, Michigan, and they make a great bar cookie as well.

The original recipe simply called for a cup of shortening, but I’ve also come to enjoy a half-and-half mix of butter and shortening; the butter adds flavor and the lard lighter texture.

Drop in again soon for another vintage recipe! I’ll have a different recipe every Sunday afternoon throughout the year. Keep an eye on this page or subscribe to the RSS feed for further details. You can also browse past featured Club recipes as well as some of the vintage promotional cookbooks I’ve used as sources. And I collect many of these recipes in A Traveling Man’s Cookery Book.

Recipe blogging:

Originals:

Inspirations:

Archives:

You have to share some of the preparation in the kitchen with friends. — Jacques Pépin (Essential Pépin)