Nutmeg Cookies

A plain rolled sugar cookie leavened with sour milk and soda, of the sort that was mixed by the crockful. The flour is given as a range because the dough was judged by feel, not measured.

• Quick ovenRoughly 400-425F by modern equivalence; the book itself gives no temperatures. Thin rolled cookies at that heat are done in about 6 to 8 minutes, so check at five and pull them when the edges are just coloured.
• Sour milkThis means naturally soured raw milk, thick and acidic. Buttermilk is the standing substitute; two-thirds cup of it works directly. Pasteurised milk left out does not sour, it spoils.
• Soda, not baking powderThe half teaspoon of soda is there to react with the acid in the milk. Substituting baking powder for it while keeping buttermilk upsets that balance and gives a flatter, denser cookie.
• Six cups of flourTake "or enough to roll" seriously. Start with five cups and add only until the dough stops sticking to the board; flour of the period varied and did not necessarily absorb liquid like modern all-purpose.
• No salt listedButter of this period was usually salted for keeping, and many recipes of the date omit salt separately. If using unsalted butter, add half a teaspoon.
• Nutmeg quantityUnstated, as usual. For this much dough, about one whole nutmeg freshly grated, roughly two teaspoons. For the caraway version, one to two tablespoons of seed.
• Chill before rollingThree-quarters cup of butter in a soft dough is easier to roll thin after an hour in the refrigerator. Roll to about an eighth of an inch.
• YieldA full batch is very large by modern standards, many dozen two-inch cookies, and more the thinner they are rolled. Halving it is reasonable.