Cobbler, Mr. President?
The Lincoln’s enjoyed a good dinner party. One of the popular desserts of the time was gooseberry cobbler. Try making one at home and invite some friends. In Chicago, you’ll have to wait until June for fresh gooseberries. Thanks to Emily Johns for this recipe.
Gooseberry Cobbler
Elderberries, gooseberries–all the old-time berries and fruits found favor with President Lincoln. Such berries often grew wild in his home state of Illinois. The original recipe for this old-fashioned cobbler called for a dripping pan or 9-by-18-inch pudding dish. This recipe serves 12.
Ingredients:
Flour
Lard
Salt
Baking powder
Milk or water
Sugar
Gooseberries
Method:
Combine 4 cups flour with 4 tablespoons melted lard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 4 teaspoons baking powder. Mix as you would a biscuit dough, stirring in little by little about 1 cup milk or water. (Add only enough liquid to make a dough that can be rolled quite thin.) Roll the dough and line a pudding dish with it (or a 9-by-18-inch pan). Mix 2 tablespoons sugar with 3 tablespoons flour and sprinkle it over the crust. Then spread 6 cups washed gooseberries in the dish. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup sugar (more if berries are too sour). We the edges of the crust with a little flour and water mixed. Place an upper crust on top, pressing the edges together. Make 2 openings by means of 2 inch-long incisions at right angles. Bake in a hot (425 degrees F.) Oven about 30 minutes. To serve: cut into squares and serve wither warm or cold with rich milk or cream or whipped cream, vanilla sauce, foamy sauce, or vanilla ice cream.”
—From The Presidents’ Cookbook, Poppy Cannon and Patricia Brooks [Funk & Wagnalls:New York] 1968(p. 250)