Baking Yesteryear

During the pandemic, college student B. Dylan Hollis took a break from his studies toward a musical career and he began to bake.

He had no baking training.

He had no baking experience.

He had no baking equipment.

He just had an idea to try to re-create recipes from the past, from the 1900s through the 1980s.

So he did. And he began to post these recipes on TikTok.

And thus his book, Baking Yesteryear, was formed.

I spent a day going through the book. I saw lots of recipes I remember from those times. Ambrosia. Divinity. Haystacks. I saw lots of recipes that were new-to-me, that I wanted to try, and I wrote these down in my recipe book. Magic Peanut Butter Cookies (only three ingredients). Melting Moments (I think I saw these on an episode of Great British Baking Show). Ricciarelli (Italian cookies). Sequilhos or Meltaway Cookies (from Brazil).

I also saw lots of recipes I would never, ever try:

Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake




Tomato Soup Cake




Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake




Candle Salad




Velveeta Fudge




Pickle Cheesecake




And, the ultimate, I'd-Never-Bake-That-Horror: Spaghetti-O's Jell-O Ring (with Vienna sausages in the center)




What do you think? Do any of these appeal to you? Have you eaten any of these abominations? Do you dare to try?