Breakfast, Dessert, Supper

Four hundred recipes from Auburn, New York, 1881 — the oldest cookbook here, and the only one written by a woman for herself.

This site is the complete 1881 book Breakfast, Dessert, Supper, page by page as originally printed — period spelling, remedies and opinions included. About this edition →

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Breakfast

53 recipes

Dessert

117 recipes

Supper

231 recipes

Highlights

Oyster Salad

One quart oysters scalded in their liquor enough to plump them, pour in a colander to drain, when entirely cold, cut them in…

Chocolate Frosting

One cupful grated chocolate, one cupful sugar, one tablespoonful corn starch, one wine glass water, and boil sufficiently thick.

Cream Shortcake

One quart flour, three teaspoons baking powder, a piece of butter or lard the size of an egg, mix all with milk or water, a…

Lemon Cake (One and one-half cupfuls sugar)

One and one-half cupfuls sugar, one cup of butter, two and one-half cups of flour, five eggs, beaten separately, four…

Chocolate Charlotte Russe

One-half ounce Cooper's isinglass, soak in one cup cold water, three tablespoons grated chocolate, one-half cup milk, one teacup…

Pie Crust

Two coffee-cups butter, two of lard, two of ice water and seven of flour, a little salt; this will make six pies.

Curious Facts

10 genuinely curious things this book actually says, each linked to its page.

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Rights & ReuseThe complete text of Breakfast, Dessert, Supper (1881) is in the public domain in the United States — like all works published before 1928 — and is free to read, download, quote, teach from, and reuse. This digital edition (its transcription, restored images, and site design) is © 2026 PhotoOpAI, and any editorial commentary we add is clearly marked as ours; the underlying public-domain text carries no such restriction.