Vintage Cookbook Recipe Test: Scotch Cupcakes from 1927!

[@TheFlyingGerbil]

“A little bit of joy when you find a raisin” sounds pretty Scottish too

[@arcuda2001]

lololol

[@nancylindsay4255]

LOL That's all the joy that's allowed for Scots.

[@juliamuth8288]

😂

[@det999666]

But they should have been soaked in proper dark rum for a while. More fun to find em.

[@brenthooton3412]

I like that Glen and Julie will admit when a recipe isn't a winner.

[@JerryB507]

It's part of the charm. We all make mistakes. Glen shows the mistakes, deals with it and doesn't throw things around the kitchen.

[@susanelainesanner]

@@JerryB507 The recipe was "not a winner". Glen followed the recipe, Jules joined him for a taste of the finished product. Not tasty. This recipe was not a recipe, it was advertising initiated by the corporation. The corporation made mistakes, as they always will; yet the upper crust of that entity made obscene profits. So, what did they care? As Glen stated, once the corporation received feedback from the public - who tasted Scotch Cupcakes from their own family kitchens and were not impressed - changes were made. Glen and Jules have very different interests. They're not solely profit-driven. The corporation is, was, and will always be looking for money. And money is not an ingredient in any recipe I've seen.

[@julieb7785]

So true. Late 1970s Boston. My mother sent idle 17 y.o. me to a summer term "women's study" class. Taught by a radical nun. Once on a tangent, she segued into the Nestle Corp. I can't speak for the other girls, but she opened my eyes early in life to industrialized food and all that a company will do to promote and sell... basically, they'll walk on dead bodies to turn a profit. She instilled a sense of skepticism for which I'm ever grateful.@@susanelainesanner

[@enigma776]

Well this answers my question from 3 weeks ago "Have you ever come across one of these corporate cook books that compromises a recipe just to sell a product?" I think the answer here is a big yes :)

[@vickiephelps5169]

OLD RECIPE! I was at an antique mall and picked up a small cookbook that was very well worn. I glanced through and couldn't find a publication date but I did find this recipe and immediately thought of you, Glen!! Peanut Cookies Preheat oven to 350° Cream together... 1/4 cup butter 1 cup sugar 2 Tablespoons milk 1/4 teaspoons salt(omit if you are using salted nuts) 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla Add... 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 cup finely chopped peanuts Mix well and form a roll wrapped in plastic or aluminum foil and refrigerate. May also be frozen for later baking. Slice and bake at 350° for 8 to 14 minutes until set and light brown around the edges. Cool on a rack. I have never seen a cookie recipe like this before, but my family really enjoyed this milder version of a classic cookie.

[@1corinthians-138]

It sounds like icebox cookies. We make many variations ahead of time, freeze, and bake when we want them.

[@christopherschwab6525]

I've always loved that you have the latitude on your own channel without sponsorships to say: "This is not something I would make and eat again."

[@debbybrady1246]

Very interesting. My mother used it, my grandmother did, and I always have a bottle in the pantry.

[@lesliemoiseauthor]

"Not great." I'm always sad when we don't get the Glen happy dance.

[@daveb-d4t]

my nursing home friends would love those

[@lisaboban]

"There's not enough liquid in this recipe for that quantity of oats" was my first thought.

[@kathrynronnenberg1688]

Now I want to make oatmeal muffins. Not with this recipe, though! Julie gave me an idea, and I might try soaking the raisins in spiced rum or brandy before I mix them in.

[@MichaelReidOttawa]

I honestly don’t like raisins (not that I should influence you) but I’ve been thinking that chopped dates would be awesome. Your thoughts?

[@normneeb9809]

I always appreciate your honesty. I don't waste either but my neighborhood birds and squirrels enjoy it more than I would

[@petervanderwaart1138]

I was taught by my mother that if you run out of batter before all the muffin cups are full, you put water in the empty cups, otherwise the unused part of the pan would get too hot.

[@GlenAndFriendsCooking]

Fairly common to do that, my Grandmother told me that too.

[@TamarLitvot]

I would guess that would add steam to the oven which might be really good for the actual muffins!

[@jcboom6894]

I like that Glen and Julie are honest when a recipe is bad or does bot work.

[@robertastewart2083]

After reading the recipe I could not imagine that the end product would be palatable! I love your videos! Thank you .

[@lindabarling7719]

I totally understand the waste thing. I'll still be making them 😂 it may work out here. I live in swamplands, now. None of my regular recipes have turned out. I've been told it's due to the high humidity.😢 I was ready to just give up, and just buy the baked goods. But, not now. Watching you try different recipes gives me hope. Thank you for doing what you do❤😊❤

[@Jeffffrey0902]

The disappointment when Julie hears that there isn't scotch in the cakes🤣

[@cathys949]

Maybe that would improve them!

[@DaRazorback]

My thoughts on why corn flour didn't stick in North America like it did in other parts of the world is because we had a strong Latin American influence for the foods that we ate and they for a long time before the Europeans arrived had already been using corn in a nixtamalized and ground state that was like flour so we grew with that being called cour flour as it was and is ground like wheat flour and decided to call this new thing corn starch so as to not make the two things be confused with one another.

[@truepeacenik]

Inclined to agree. Corn meal was common before the starch was isolated.

[@anna9072]

@@truepeacenikit may be just me, but I think of corn meal as more granular, corn flour as fine ground whole corn, and corn starch as the purified starch.

[@JerryB507]

This makes sense. Growing up, we referred to Masa Harina as corn flour.

[@transcendentape]

There’s a significant difference between corn masa, cornmeal, and corn starch. That difference is noted in the southwest of the US and the rest of N America, so I’m not sure I understand your point.

[@jadsel]

Don't even have to go as far as Latin America, for that matter. People in corn-growing cultures further north were also making flours from it.

[@laceygirl706]

I’d like to challenge you to make something good out of that recipe. It seemed like it was off to a good start with the rolled oats and all, but what would you add to make it better? I like the idea of a breakfast muffin.

[@elund408]

.I would make bread pudding out of them,

[@na195097]

It might be salvageable by simply skipping the corn starch, and doubling the egg, spices, and mix-in (raisins and nuts). It's already a thick batter, so the oil might need increased, but I'm not a good enough basket to guess that in advance.

[@virginiaf.5764]

Melted butter instead of the oil. Buttermilk and an extra egg.

[@TamarLitvot]

@@virginiaf.5764 can't go wrong with buttermilk and egg!

[@MichaelReidOttawa]

I just posted my idea. Increase milk and Oil by about 2T each. Substitute the Corn Starch for flour and add 1/2C of Vanilla Yogurt. I also would allow the mixture to rest about 20-30 minutes, to allow the moisture to be soaked into the Oats! Only one way to find out. We need one of you brave viewers to try the “New and Improved version”. 😊

[@--Zenwebgoddess--]

Thanks for taking one for the team!

[@kbjerke]

I guess I won't try that one, LOL Glen - have you, or will you share some recipes from the Fannie Farmer book? Thanks for the video, and Happy Halloween!

[@willy480able]

That viscous corn syrup slipped right out of that oiled measuring beaker. 😉

[@johnmckenzie4639]

I was hoping someone else would notice that. I'm surprised Glen didn't remark on it himself.

[@foos.998]

I really like how honest you two are.

[@kparks8183]

So appreciate all you do. Memories are made when we prepare food for family. Thanks Glen.

[@gypsyjustgypsy]

Big Food, even doing our ancestors dirty. Thanks for exposing another dud! I think we need a church dessert for a palate cleanser, lol.

[@tristanrl1940]

Candour and honesty (yours) is much appreciated! I make banana bread and add toasted oats to the recipe so as to soak some of the gummy texture often occurring in banana bread bakes (note: the oats are ground thereafter and a small amount of plain flour is also added for structure). Corn products do have a place in the modern kitchen albeit sparingly 😊

[@kathyreston9933]

I noticed you used old fashion oats and wonder if quick oats soaked in the liquid (additional liquid added as others have commented) might make these a bit more palatable. I also would have called them muffins as Julie did.

[@1One2Three5Eight13]

What confuses me about the cornstarch in this recipe is that if they'd actually made cupcakes (i.e. a lighter baked good, that would normally have cake flour) then the cornstarch is really helpful. I grew up using all purpose flour for pretty much everything (yes, I'm Canadian, and I do know that our AP flour is practically bread flour), and a lot of my mom's recipes have cornstarch substituted for some of the flour to compensate for this.

[@susanelainesanner]

A corporation pledged to profit will "shoehorn" their product into kitty litter if it sells.

[@symetryrtemys2101]

This did make me chuckle. Thank you!

[@Beachdudeca]

October 29th is National Oat Day , so a Great recipe for putting out today

[@TheWarrrenator]

Watching your disappointment unfold is incredibly entertaining. lol All the best to you! Thanks!

[@MrRedstreak]

My mouth felt kinda dry just thinking about eating these. lol. The flavors all sound on point for me though. always worth watching just for the history lesson.

[@asdisskagen6487]

I sure do like how well your mixer's paddle attachment actually scrapes the side of the bowl Any chance you could tell us where you go it?

[@GlenAndFriendsCooking]

The beater: www.beaterblade.com/

[@Jai-i3v]

I hope you never stop making videos. I learned a lot from watching you.

[@Brantfordgirl]

See my reply to my comment last week. I was really disappointed. If there is a go around for this problem , I would really like to know@@GlenAndFriendsCooking

[@GlenAndFriendsCooking]

Email them directly- they will ship to Canada, they just can’t do it through their online order system

[@Brantfordgirl]

Thank you Glen @@GlenAndFriendsCooking

[@glass1258]

Glen can we get a tour of your vintage cookbook collection ?

[@lisamoore6804]

Can you tweak it to make it better? You're right about recipe changes over the years, I remember things tasting way better as a kid than they do now.

[@windlessoriginals1150]

Thank you

[@zworm2]

Flour is the ground up whole kernels of wheat, beans, almonds etc. Starch is a seep which come out when items are soaked and settled. You see it when rinsing shredded potato and rice. Has interesting characteristics to play with😁. As a Scot I appreciated what Jules? brought up. Scotch being a drink and Scottish being the people who make Usquaebach! Always enjoy the show!

[@GlenAndFriendsCooking]

The Scotch / Scotts / Scottish wording is always hotly argued, and has shifted over time. But; in pre-WW2 Scottish cookbooks if the recipe came from Scotland they called it 'Scotch', and they called the other thing Scottish Whisky. The language flip has been fairly recent. So this 1927 recipe follows the naming pattern of the day. In the end this recipe has absolutely nothing to do with Scotland, and was just named using the arbitrary naming convention of American recipe writers of the early 1900s. Books are filled with recipes that use 'Scotch', 'German', 'Dutch' as a descriptor, even though they were dreamed up in a New York test kitchen.

[@zworm2]

@@GlenAndFriendsCooking probably better if you added some Scotch.

[@susanboon4605]

This might be the perfect chance to showcase a recipe on how to use up dry or less flavourful muffins as the base for a totally different dessert!

[@sherryhalcrow8905]

Bread pudding perhaps

[@virginiaf.5764]

​@@sherryhalcrow8905That's what I'd do with them.

[@richardheilmann4007]

For a flavor boost, try substituting candied fruit peel for the raisins. More joy!

[@TwilightStorm]

I was looking at the recipes you showed in the books. That's quite a bit of corn syrup! Wonder when companies started reaching out to consumers for recipes using their products?

[@joebykaeby]

I live in the US and I get Wesson Oil. Their packaging is emblematic of corn or canola oil in our house.

[@scottmasson3336]

In the UK it was a flour company BERO who produced the ubiquitous cook book. My mother was given one, a home ec. teacher gave me mine and I got my daughter one. Yes, it's still going.

[@deweywatson9813]

We just watched the scotch cupcake video and one thing I thought of was crumbling one up in a bowl and adding a little milk and eating it as a cereal for breakfast

[@MichaelReidOttawa]

Perhaps increasing both the milk and the oil slightly and substituting the corn starch for more flour would improve them! That should increase the moisture in the Muffins. adding 1/2C of Vanilla Yogurt would do that also!

[@MrRilarios]

I think i like these kinds of recipes a lot, failures lead to understanding how something works or not.

[@MaureenErrant]

Going to try this tomorrow but with a few changes.....I would add the 3/4 cup corn syrup that the recipe called for. Glen said it wasn't sweet enough and if you go back and check you'll see that he only added about 1/3 of a cup...same as the oil. Might make a difference. Also too heavy on the oats and not enough flour to provide structure.

[@ski9600]

looks like you could crumble and use it for yogurt topping. Would an extra egg and some sugar help? What about HFCS? I'm sure ABF has control of all that, good/bad/indifferent?

[@paulasimpson7363]

Glen you should try and make the original hostess ho ho’s . The ones they make now are horrible and the originals were amazing and wrapped in foil. I can’t find the original recipe anywhere. Just a thought. Thanks for a great show. Love it.

[@darnstewart]

That's why they are Scotch Buns, like all good Presbyterians, we wouldn't swing if you hung us in a gale.

[@AvivaHadas]

Are all liquid sugars interchangeable? I have a honey chicken recipe, where I replaced the honey with Silan. Just wondering if there are viscosity concerns to take note of when replacing... Specifically, could I replace the corn syrup with silan/honey/maple syrup in something like a popcorn ball or other candy?

[@TamarLitvot]

I just read an article in the Washington Post that discussed the relative sweetness of corn syrup vs sugar (I don't think they compared it to honey) -- They said that corn syrup (not to be confused with high fructose corn syrup which is quite different) is only 30-50% as sweet as granulated table sugar. I believe honey is sweeter than sugar so corn syrup would be way less sweet than honey.

[@MichaelReidOttawa]

As far as cooking and the reaction of honey, corn syrup or molasses. There shouldn’t be much difference. Only difference, will be Flavour and sweetness. The only issue then is. If you sub (example) 1/2C Honey for 2/3C of Corn Syrup (to compensate for the sweetness). What will the end result be?

[@brenthooton3412]

Does anyone remember those yellow plastic bottles that Bee Hive corn syrup used to come in? At some point they switched to the boring generic bottle that you see here. But Loblaws copied the colour and shape for their No Name corn syrup and kept it even after Bee Hive abandoned it, so the Bee Hive bottle design lives on today.

[@virginiaf.5764]

I love that marketing may have thought people would be fooled into thinking there was honey in there somewhere with that name.

[@anthonydolio8118]

You don't know until you try. Thanks.

[@mikemullen8174]

I'm with Julie, when I saw Scotch cupcakes I assumed there would be a couple of measures in there.

[@darrellbedford4857]

I thought they would have had Scotch whisky in it as well. As far as the pan cup sizes go I think go big or go home. With the recipe not working out that well at least they are honest. My hats off to them for that.

[@dingus49ovi]

Glen, I have subscribed and followed you channel for some time. Don't remember what was the first video that got me watching, probably the one on Mince Meat Pie? Thanks, Tim

[@RxJeffery]

Does anyone have the link to buy the mixer attachments? I love the black and red look.

[@jamesellsworth9673]

Maybe they were meant to be served with tea? That might bring moisture. I LOVED the Corporate history and the story of the cookbook series. I have found some rolled oats recipes to produce dry results: BUTTER should bring much more fat/moisture to the batter.

[@Rouverius]

You hit on a point earlier. Maybe some of the flavor came from the corn products. Early days, maybe they weren't so well refined and the corn impurities created flavor?

[@suzettesanborn5659]

You could add a bit more corn syrup and maybe some all spice, nutmeg, or cloves in addition to the cinnamon and it would probably be good.

[@brockreynolds870]

That recipe for Karo pie is just more or less a version of Shoofly pie.

[@bradmcmahon3156]

I knew of the Westons from their North American enterprises but when you mentioned other Commonwealth countries I checked on Australia/New Zealand. Though the name of George Weston Foods isn't a household name, their brands certainly are. Tip Top, Don Smallgoods, Yumi's, Mauri and Jasol are all owned by GWF. They're one of Australia's largest food manufacturers: 40 sites, ~6000 employees. Yet, if you mention George Weston almost no-one will have heard of them here In Australia.

[@fyrekrystaal27]

I was looking at the blue Karo syrup and it was a dark corn syrup. I am wondering if the flavor would be different from using a golden corn syrup to a dark corn syrup.😊

[@johnhanes5021]

Very interesting. Not far off from some oatmeal cookie recipes. Change the corn oil to butter and the corn syrup to brown sugar and I'm in. I like a cakey oatmeal cookie.

[@linnylooable]

my grandma had a cake recipe with oats in it that she called a 'cat cake'. It also had an icing you spread on top and then cooked in the broiler.

[@maranscandy9350]

Possible suggestion would be to keep the cornstarch but process the dry oats in a blender before adding. Perhaps beat the egg white in your copper bowl and fold in. Drizzle finished cupcake with butterscotch syrup or honey. Oops, that was more than one suggestion.

[@joantrotter3005]

I would get rid of the corn starch and substitute either more flour or potato flakes. More than one suggestion is perfectly acceptable!

[@MichaelReidOttawa]

It requires more moisture in both milk and oil!

[@maranscandy9350]

@@MichaelReidOttawa Yes or maybe reduce the amount of oats.

[@MichaelReidOttawa]

@@maranscandy9350 that’s the same result, as I am getting to. The portion of moisture ingredients (oils, liquids) to the amount of grains (oats, Flour, Corn Starch)!

[@doberandkats]

I wouldn't call it a fail, but a chance to taste something historical. Peoples tastes and preferences change over time, maybe that was something people liked back then. Maybe as you said ingredients were different back then than they are today. So what if it wasn't a winner it was an interesting experiment and maybe will give someone an idea to make a better version of it. Thank you for the hard work and wonderful content Mr. Glen!

[@emilybilbow4990]

I wonder if you could salvage these by using them instead of bread for a stuffing for chicken/pork?

[@Luvknots78]

The size may have made a difference. A little jam would help.

[@3kids2cats1dog]

I with Julie ! When you say Scotch Cupcake, I was hoping for a booze breakfast... So disappointed..

[@irishpixierose]

Would baking them in the other tin change the way they hold together?

[@hungrymichigander]

I love oats, nuts and raisins -- I'd prolly like this!

[@MoYvStarkey]

Toasting them with butter can make them tastier. I do have a question for Glen. Do you remember that Karl syrup came in clear and dark, then one type in a golden/lighter color?

[@rebeccaturner5503]

So good to know that not everything is a"winner".

[@violetwithey4618]

I find that if you soak the osts overnight in the liquid you get a better texture muffin.

[@debbieosredkernelson13]

An oat-based muffin that isn't too sweet sounds like a good thing to have with coffee. I'll have to try this but tweak it a bit so it isn't so dry and bland... a few more spices and a bit more oil (oh, how about a little canned pumpkin!) , no cornstarch, maybe 1 1/2 cups oats. We shall see....

[@elizabethhanrahan4085]

I would crumble them up and add more corn syrup (or honey or any other liquid sweetener)and butter and bake to make granola. Might save this before you try another time.

[@teresajarkowska5792]

My first oven bought in 1976 came with a Stork cookbook. Stork was a brand of margarine in the UK so, unsurprisingly, every recipe involved using this. The only recipe that has lasted until today is the Christmas pudding one that, unusually, used fresh breadcrumbs. Needless to say, I now refuse to use margarine and use butter. The brandy content has also increased for flavour. No bought pud has ever come up to the standard of this recipe which is thick, stodgy, fruity and gorgeous. The cookbook has long gone not surviving house moves but this recipe will, hopefully, get passed on to my nephew. So brand cookbooks can sometimes prove very useful.

[@lusnorthernhome3410]

We never ate syrup on pancakes as children we had Karo. I never knew what maple syrup was until I grew up.

[@rabidsamfan]

Add butter and jam when they are breakfast!

[@JamieBainbridge]

Like Julie, I was also looking forward to scotch 😢

[@angellahanson8343]

What is Karo Blue label? I don’t think I’ve seen it on the shelves around my home.

[@GlenAndFriendsCooking]

It’s their dark corn syrup

[@devrarayvals5871]

I imagine all the changes in corn varieties and hybridization probably means todays corn products are made from different corn than used almost 100 years ago

[@carpeinferi]

Same Jules, same. Was disappointed by the lack of scotch in the recipe.

[@DonVDBorgh]

Think some nice strawberry preserves on them would go a long way, or dump the raisins and put in blueberries instead?

[@totallyscrunchy]

Does anyone know where tou can purchase the mixing paddle from?

[@williamwatson7489]

I wonder if they’re bland and dry enough to be a good candidate for stuffing/dressing. Kind of cornbread stuffing adjacent. Mirepoix, lots of butter, and a flavorful stock might just revive them and give them a new life.

[@scottwade3904]

What would happen if you cooked the oats first?

[@shawnsuth9830]

Love your channel, but no one has 1.5 muffins in a sitting 😜

[@jennytmaher]

In Australia, it's cornflour.

[@EdwardDowner]

Corn flour and cornstarch are completely different things. Flour is more the whole corn kernals powdered ( which is similar to cornmeal, which you may be thinking of, but is finer), cornstarch is as the name suggests just the starch extracted from the flour.

[@GlenAndFriendsCooking]

Yes - if you exist only in the United States or Canada; your explanation is valid. If you live in the rest of the world, you would be incorrect. In the UK and most Commonwealth countries what you call 'Corn Starch', they call 'Corn Flour'.

[@jrkorman]

Interesting watching Glen trying hard to find something to like about these "cupcakes", but it just wasn't happening. Rather than try to salvage the recipe, there are too many good ones out there already! Julie does have a point however. Directly out of the oven with butter and maybe some preserves. Have to wonder about the corn flour business. I live in the southwest US and there is "Corn Meal"; coarse ground, "Masa"; fine ground (which I consider flour) , and then corn starch; which I would never use as an replacement for flour of any kind.

[@littleshopintheshed]

Need some maple candied walnuts, blueberries and a ton of butter. I know that wasn't the point of the recipe, but damn that would taste good.

[@suzettesanborn5659]

Basically an oatmeal cookie in a cupcake batter.

[@thelegion_within]

need more corn syrup - maybe light and dark? and maybe a nut butter (pecan, if such a thing exists).

[@CathyMiller0711]

Add butterscotch chips then “scotch” makes more sense! Plus they’d be more flavorful!

[@coleenotoole3995]

Here in the Southwestern US when I hear "corn flour" I think Masa for tortillas.

[@HuggieBear39]

When I saw the thumbnail, I was thinking, "Glen done put a hard boiled into a muffin."

[@unfocused1]

You and I seem to have the same measuring issues. As you were saying "1/4 cup milk" you poured 1/3 cup. I doubt that it contributed to the outcome of the recipe---and probably rarely does in any recipe, but occasionally....

[@rubyirene2500]

I bet, with another eggs, omit the corn starch, and chop an apple and put in there, for moisture and flavor. Maybe a little bit of sugar, but maybe the apple would be enough, if you used a sweet apple. I'll be interested to see what becomes of this recipe, later on.

[@daveb-d4t]

I missed Glen's happy dance ... oh, there wasn't one.

[@jmitchell3]

Ah. Of course the big four: butter, cream/milk, sour cream, onion. Deeeelightful! Sometimes I like a dash of cream cheese!

[@LovingShadow-e3k]

Maybe if you crumble it into a bowl and pour warm milk over it you could use the muffin like a envelope of instant oatmeal.

[@gailroscoe7809]

So, don’t make these for the grandkids. 😂 Interesting topic though, thank-you!