Vintage Recipes

Handwritten recipe cards are one of my favorite things. I believe heirloom family recipes should be preserved in this increasingly digital world. I’m adding my own handwritten and vintage recipes to the site, with an online collection of nearly 100.

This handwritten recipe collection includes souffles, salads, cakes, pies, cookies, puddings, and more! Some of the vintage recipes aren’t recipe cards but instead written on the backs of envelopes or receipts. Full of food history, I hope you’ll cherish these recipes too.

Kris Kringle Christmas Cookie Vintage Recipe

by Allen Williams on October 13, 2011

Today’s handwritten recipe card is another pulled from my vintage recipe box. While I haven’t made these myself, these holiday cookies sound like a variation on a sweet, coconut macaroon. The addition of corn flakes likely adds an extra bit of texture and crunch to the Christmas cookie.
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Breads and Biscuits

Vienna ‘Holiday Whirl’ Cinnamon Yeast Bread Recipe

Thumbnail image for Vienna ‘Holiday Whirl’ Cinnamon Yeast Bread Recipe

I’m a sucker for a fresh from the oven yeast bread and reminds me of the gooey cinnamon rolls my mom would make for Christmas morning. This ‘Holiday Whirl’ vintage recipe uses a light yeast bread which is filled with a cinnamon raisin filling, then topped with a cinnamon topping. Coiled into round shape, the [...]

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Cookies and Bars

Finnska Kakor, Finnish Cookies or Little Cakes Recipe

Thumbnail image for Finnska Kakor, Finnish Cookies or Little Cakes Recipe

I’m always trying to find a new or different recipe to try during the holidays, especially when it comes to Christmas cookies. I came across this and few other interesting Christmas recipes in one of my old vintage recipe boxes. Called Finnska Kakor, the name translates into Finnish cookies or ‘little cakes’. With butter, sugar, [...]

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Pies

Apple Impromptu Vintage Recipe

Thumbnail image for Apple Impromptu Vintage Recipe

I’ll be visiting Massachusetts and Rhode Island at the end of this week so it’s timely to publish this Apple Impromptu vintage recipe as printed in The Rhode Islander. Although I’m uncertain of the exact publish date, I would assume from the pearls that this apple recipe is from around the 1950s.

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Vintage & Handwritten Recipe Resources



  • Canada's Food Guide: 1942 – 1992
     Canada’s first food guide, the Official Food Rules, was introduced to the public in July 1942. This guide acknowledged wartime food rationing, while endeavoring to prevent nutritional deficiencies and to improve the health of Canadians.
  • Cookery by Amy G. Richards: Cookbook from 1895
     Online book ‘Cookery’ by Amy G. Richards published 1895. Over 400 pages of historic recipes.
  • Feeding America: Antique and Vintage Kitchen Tools
     The Michigan State University Museum utilized its extensive collection of cooking utensils and kitchenware to illustrate the MSU Library’s valuable historical publications on food. Historic kitchen utensils and equipment are popular collectibles and a num
  • Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project
     The Michigan State University Library and the MSU Museum have partnered to create an online collection of some of the most influential and important American cookbooks from the late 18th to early 20th century.
  • Not by Bread Alone: America's Culinary Heritage
     “Not by Bread Alone” explores the influences and inventions that have shaped American food habits over the past two hundred years.
  • Recipe Card Templates for Download
     Download decorative recipe card templates from Microsoft for use with Microsoft Office software.
  • The Food Timeline: Food History & Vintage Recipes
     A timeline depicting the history of food since 17,000 BC. Such an interesting way to learn about food and handwritten recipes from past to present.