Felicity's Cookbook

American Girl: Felicity

by Polly Athan, Molly McIntire, Susan Mahal

Presents recipes for Johnny cakes, Sally Lunn bread, and other commonly eaten foods in colonial Virginia, and offers tips for a colonial party

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, History, Childrens, Middle Grade, Nonfiction, Food

44 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1994

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

One thing that I absolutely love about the old school American Girl books is the commitment to the historical aspects - the cookbooks and other nonfiction books are truly amazing. And this one is no exception.

We start with a brief blurb about cooking in the Colonial Era - specifically, what kitchens looked like 1770s, table setting, and common cooking techniques.

There was refreshingly honest information about the relationship between slavery, servants and cooking. This book tells us that Felicity would've learned to cook, but only so she could direct the servants/slaves of the household when she was older. (see end of review for note).

This cookbook is split into three main sections: Breakfast, Dinner and Favorite Foods.

Breakfast - Here we learn about the typical breakfasts made by Rose for the Merriman family. We get a bit of information about her daily routine - getting up at 5:30am to serve an 8:00am breakfast.

Recipes Include
--Apple Butter (a good choice, considering Felicity was shown making this in the main series)
--Johnnycakes (a cornmeal pancake dish)
--Breakfast Puffs (similar to a Yorkshire pudding, where the breakfast pastry is very light and airy)
--Fried Ham and Gravy (the gravy is made with 2 tablespoons of coffee)
--Dressed Eggs (eggs sprinkled with nutmeg, cooked on the stove then under a broiler)

Dinner - this section teaches us that the biggest meal of the day (dinner) was served at 2-3pm and often was a huge status symbol. There was two courses, each with five dishes, and plenty of finery about.

Recipes Include
--Chicken Pudding (chicken breasts cooked with a savory pudding surrounding it)
--Veal Balls (meatballs, but made with veal)
--Sweet Potatoes and Apples (layered casserole dish, sweetened with maple syrup)
--Sally Lunn Bread (a yeasted bread cooked in a bundt pan)
--Green Beans (cooked in a sauce pan, finished with cream)
--Whipped Syllabub (a fizzy drink made with sparkling grape juice and heavy whipping cream)

Favorite Recipes - the dishes included in this section are based on the tea time lessons from Miss Manderly, the summers at Grandfather's plantation, and items made using herbs from Felicity's garden.

Recipes Include
--Beefsteak Pie (similar to a pot pie though just with beef and butter)
--Baked Pumpkin Pudding (a thickened pudding, flavored with molasses and other spices)
--Raspberry Flummery (a slightly-set jello-dish)
--Almond Tarts (tart shells filled with lemony ground almonds)
--Queen Cakes (similar to muffins, flavored with rose water and filled with currants)
--Spiced Nuts (various nuts, rolled in cinnamon and nutmeg)
--Liberty Tea (made with dried raspberry tea)

Plan a Colonial Party

At the very end of the book is an outline for how to plan a colonial party - whether it be an elegant tea party or a festive twelfth night party). There's information on invitations, games, food, place settings, decorations, clothes and music.

Overall Thoughts

After reading nearly a dozen books in Felicity's series, I finally get confirmation in this cookbook of something I've long suspected. The black family cook, Rose, was a slave to the Merriman family.

On the one hand, I can appreciate the honesty. The Merriman family was not the only family to own slaves in that era and historical accuracy is something that the American Girl company does follow.

That being said, I am disappointed that I had to read nearly a dozen books to get this confirmation - referring to Rose as a servant in the main series and side stories does a disservice if what you really mean is 'cook slave'.

I also think it is just...weird...to sell a doll who owned slaves. Granted, she's nine in the series so it's not like she was actually owning anyone. BUT the author/company chose for their family to own slaves, but then also seemingly try to hide the fact.

More Reviews in the Felicity-verse

Main Series:
Meet Felicity - ★★★★☆
Felicity Learns a Lesson - ★★★★★
Felicity's Surprise - ★★★★☆
Happy Birthday, Felicity - ★★★★☆
Felicity Saves the Day - ★★☆☆☆
Changes for Felicity - ★★☆☆☆
Felicity's Boxed Set - ★★★☆☆

Best Friend Book:
Very Funny, Elizabeth - ★★☆☆☆

Short Stories:
Felicity's Dancing Shoes - ★★★★☆
Felicity Takes a Dare - ★★★★☆
Felicity's New Sister - ★★☆☆☆
Felicity's Valentine - ★★★☆☆
Felicity Discovers a Secret - ★★★★☆
Felicity's Short Story Collection - ★★★☆☆

Mystery Books:
Peril at King's Creek - ★★★☆☆
Traitor in Williamsburg - ★★★☆☆
Lady Margaret's Ghost - ★★★★☆

Additional Historical and Activity Books:
American Girl Cross-Stitch - ★★☆☆☆
The American Girls Party Book - ★★★★★
The Boston Tea Party (American Girl: Real Stories From My Time) - ★★★★☆
Felicity's Cookbook - ★★★★★
Felicity's Cooking Studio - ★★★★★
Felicity's Craft Book - ★★★★★
Felicity's Theater Kit - ★★★★☆
Introduction to Williamsburg - ★★★★★
The Making of American Girl - ★★★★★
The Official American Girl Cookbook - ★★★★☆
Welcome to Felicity's World · 1904 - ★★★★★

Beforever (Re-Release of Main Series in 2017):
Love and Loyalty - ★★★☆☆
A Stand for Independence - ★★★☆☆

Beginner Reader & Picture Books:
Happy Birthday! (Little Golden Book) - ★★★★☆
Happy Holidays! (Little Golden Book) - ★★★★★
Time for School! (Little Golden Book) - ★★★★☆

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool, basically, colonial versions of pancakes, biscuits, muffins, pound cake, jello, and herbal tea (raspberry leaves were used to make liberty tea). I'd like to try the Queen cakes which are rosewater and currant flavored muffins, yum. Spiced nuts sound good, too. I like that the Colonists loved to dance and celebrate and the table setting with a pyramid of fruits (i.e. apples, pears, lemons, pineapples) and ceramic figurines of people or animals sounds right up my alley (knicknack love, anyone?). I think I need to throw a Colonial style tea party or Twelfth Night party and send some fancy handwritten invitations tied in red ribbon or sealed with red wax.

[Charlie - disableddaydreamer | itsbarbieparis (looking for mutuals) · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is probably so far, my least favorite in the cookbooks series. it’s nothing groundbreaking or even felt like it was be an exclusively felicity book and it just colonial esque foods

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book shares recipes from Colonial times along with historic illustrations and photographic reproductions of the past. It also addresses slavery and identifies Rose as an enslaved person in the Merriman household, even though the main series keeps this vague. The book doesn't make a strong statement against slavery, but I would assume that this is because the authors had faith in their readers to know that this was terrible without needing a lecture about it.

Although this book emphasizes details related to slave labor in the kitchen, it doesn't touch on class differences at all. It refers to "girls like Felicity" without making it clear that the experiences described were specific to girls of Felicity's social class, while other girls her age were living off the land with their families, did not have fancy table settings and parties, and lived very different lives.

---

When I first pursued the American Girl craft books, I wasn't sure if I was even interested in the cooking series, since I am on a very restricted diet for health reasons and wouldn't be able to use almost any of these recipes in the kitchen. However, I knew that I should get the Molly cookbook for the WWII-specific recipe ideas and historical information about rationing, and I decided that I may as well get all of the books. After all, after being on a very restricted diet for the past ten years, it's hard for me to come up with stuff for my characters to eat when I'm writing. It's all research!

I am very glad that I got these books, and they far surpassed my expectations. Although I enjoyed the craft-related books and would be far more likely to use them, the domestic history in the cookbooks absolutely fascinated me. These are far more than just recipe collections, and include detailed, specific information about domestic life and women's experiences. I would recommend the series to kids who are interested in making food that their favorite American Girl characters ate, but I would also recommend this series to adults who are interested in women's history or cultural anthropology related to food.

Each book includes introductory information and sidebars related to what cooking was like during the character's era, how cooking and food connected with the daily rhythms of family life, how people preserved food, and what was unique about cookbooks during that time. The recipes themselves also briefly include historical information, and the team responsible for these cookbooks did an amazing job of selecting recipes that kids and their parents can realistically make with minimal hassle, while still truly experiencing the types of foods that were common during specific times in history. Each book also concludes with ideas for themed parties that would connect to the character's background and celebrations that they would have participated in.

[Little Seal]

Why yes, I did check this out at my local library in order to veganize the recipes. Note: Date finished reading is literally just that, not the competition of making the recipes vegan.

[M M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sally Lunn Bread will make for a fun project.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3

[Cws]

J6415Ath

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great cookbook, full of fun tidbits and recipes!

[Abraham Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice cookbook for history buffs!

[Silvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

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