If you enjoy the hundreds of free recipes here at Kitchen Overlord, help me keep the lights on by picking up a cookbook or two. As a historian who grew up reading Tolkien, An Unexpected Cookbook: The Unofficial Book of Hobbit Cookery is one of my favorites. (You know you’re […]
Tag: Victorian Cooking
Jurassic World Dinosaur Tracking Medallion Cookies
Whoo hoo! The weekend is coming! That can only mean one thing. It’s time to lose your children and elderly relatives on a highly experimental, ethically dubious island paradise full of bloodthirsty monsters genetically engineered to look like scientifically inaccurate retro 1980’s vision of dinosaurs! After all, if the kids […]
Hobbit Week: Plum Heavies
Chocolate and vanilla may seem ubiquitous today, but they’re actually both new world beans. That means Tolkien explicitly excluded them from the Shire, even though both flavors were quite popular in Victorian England. Plum Heavies were the cheap, kids cookies of their day. Victorian country cooks would knead in a […]
Hobbit Week: Shire Seed Cake
Many modern readers imagine seed cake to be chock full of sunflower or pumpkin seeds, but it turns out Tolkien grew up on a decadently buttery version of pound cake full of caraway seeds. They have a sweet, licorice flavor reminiscent of a milder, earthier version of anise seeds. You […]
Hobbit Week: Apple Hand Pies Two Ways
These petite apple pies can be enjoyed either as a hearty vegetarian breakfast when visiting Beorn or as a durable teatime treat capable of keeping their shape after bumping around in your pack for a few days. Apple Hand Pies Two Ways Filling: 8 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and […]
Hobbit Week: Hot Buttered Shire Scones
Forget those crunchy triangles you find at Starbucks. The Victorian scones of Tolkien’s day were far more like southern style American biscuits. Like American biscuits, these are best served hot and buttered. Unlike their modern counterparts, they’re served at teatime, around 4 p.m., with clotted cream or home made raspberry […]