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How To Make Classic Thousand Island Dressing 

mayonnaise

ketchup

apple cider vinegar

onion

sweet pickle relish

salt

chili powder black pepper

hard-boiled egg, peeled

chives,

Mix the dressing: In a large mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, cider vinegar, onion, relish, salt, and chili powder or pepper and mix until well-combined.

Add the egg: Press the egg through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl and mix well.

Customize the dressing: If you wish, add any combination of optional ingredients (pimientos, chives, and/or hot sauce) and mix well.

Serve: This dressing can be served immediately, but tastes even better if refrigerated in a covered container for 12 to 24 hours. It will keep for about 4 days.

A recipe for homemade Gooey Butter Cake, complete with its signature crispy-chewy foundation, fantastically sloppy, sweet filling, and snowy blanket of powdered sugar. 

How a Glorious Mistake Resulted in Gooey Butter Cake: A St. Louis Tradition Since the &#8217;40s

instant yeast

milk

unsalted butter, melted

sugar

eggs,

vanilla extract

lemon zest

unbleached all-purpose flour,

Cooking spray

unsalted butter,

full-fat cream cheese,

brown sugar

corn syrup

egg,

all-purpose flour

Powdered sugar,

Reprinted with permission from Midwest Made by Shauna Sever, Running Press, 2019.

The Kitchn

Shauna Sever

Step 1: Make the dough:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the yeast and milk. Set aside for a couple of minutes. Whisk in the melted butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the flour and salt. Fit the bowl onto the mixer along with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes, or until shiny. It will be a very loose dough-batter hybrid. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl well about halfway through the mixing time. 

Step 2: Make the dough:

Spray a medium bowl with cooking spray or oil it lightly. Scrape the dough into the bowl and dust the surface of the dough with a couple of teaspoons of flour. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 45 minutes to 1 hour. 

Step 1: For the cake and topping:

Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 325°F. Spray a 9x13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. 

Step 2: For the cake and topping:

Flour your hands, transfer the dough to the baking dish, and pat dough into an even layer. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise a second time for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the topping.

Step 3: For the cake and topping:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Add the granulated and brown sugars, vanilla, and salt, and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the corn syrup and egg and beat until smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually beat in the flour. Fold the batter by hand a few times with a large flexible spatula until well blended. 

Step 4: For the cake and topping:

When the dough has finished its second rise, dollop the topping over the dough. Use a small offset spatula to spread it evenly. 

Step 5: For the cake and topping:

Bake until puffed and golden, but still quite loose in the center, about 40 minutes (it will appear almost liquid under the surface in spots, but will quickly set upon cooling. Have a peek at the bottom of the cake through the glass dish; if it’s deeply golden, you’re in good shape). Let cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar before slicing and serving. 

https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/mRtkXqDL

When I set out to write my new cookbook, Midwest Made, I spent countless hours paging old PTA and church cookbooks, digging through the recipe boxes of my grandmother, mother, and aunts, and asking for tips from extended family to get certain treats just right. But it wasn’t as simple as just curating a cohesive recipe list from the thousands of recipes I collected in my research and travel across 12 midwestern states. I wanted to bring all of these recipes into the present and give them a refresh, while keeping their roots intact. To me, that called for eliminating pre-packaged ingredients as much as possible, and let me tell you — even as a born and raised Midwesterner, navigating the sheer volume of cake mixes, day-glo gelatin, packets, and non-dairy whipped topping in retro recipes was really something else. 

I knew there would be a handful of iconic midwestern recipes that might present more of a challenge than others. One of those was the beloved Gooey Butter Cake, which hails from St. Louis. With its unique hybrid structure of crispy-chewy foundation, fantastically sloppy, sweet filling, and snowy blanket of powdered sugar, it just wasn’t possible to create a book of home baked Heartland favorites without it. The problem was that the majority of available recipes for it run on boxed yellow cake mix, pudding mix, and other instant ingredients. Now, I’m not a snob about boxed mixes (I blew half my bank account on Betty Crocker Triple Fudge Brownie Mix during both my pregnancies), but my goal for the book was clear, and a Gooey Butter Cake formula like this wasn’t going to cut it. Luckily, history was on my side. As it turns out, the most common version of “gooey butter cake” is just a shadow of what this midwestern classic was truly meant to be.

The Best St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

"Goop" Great Depression Dinner

beef

salt and pepper

white onion, chopped

mushrooms

green bell pepper, chopped

celery,

white rice

orzo or short vermicelli

chicken bullion

onion powder

water

Cook meat stock pot over medium heat until just beginning to brown. Season beef with salt and pepper. Add chopped onion and mushroom. Cook until onions begin to turn translucent.

Add the rest of ingredients and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer and cook (covered) for 35-45 minutes. If mixture becomes dry in cooking add 1/4 cup of water at a time until rice is cooked and meal is moist. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve piping hot.

Spotted Pup

salted butter

nutmeg

cinnamon

eggs, beaten

raisins

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Combine milk, sugar, butter, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and eggs in a mixing bowl. Beat until uniform in color. Add rice and raisins and stir. Pour into a greased 8”x8” baking dish.

Place a pan of hot water on the same rack as the spotted pup pan will go, then add the pudding pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until mixture is no longer watery. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy!

This dairy-free cream syrup is an excellent base for cocktails and soda and is even vegan friendly.

Cream Syrup

ml Sweet Almond Oil

Gum Arabic

Sugar

200 ml Warm Water

½ tsp Wilton's Butter Flavour*

Combine the granulated sugar and gum Arabic in...

Combine the granulated sugar and gum Arabic in a container that can hold at least 1 litre of liquid.

Combine the almond oil and butter flavour, set...

Combine the almond oil and butter flavour, set aside

Using an immersion blender, add the warm water...

Using an immersion blender, add the warm water to the sugar/gum mixture and blend until thoroughly combined.

With immersion blender still running, add the almond...

With immersion blender still running, add the almond oil and butter mixture in a slow steady stream and blend until the mixture thickens, about a minute.

Delicious warmly spiced bisciuits sandwiched with raspberry jam and iced

Belgium Biscuits

Raspberry or Strawberry Jelly Crystals

Cup Raspberry

Cup Icing Sugar

Butter, melted

Vanilla

Water

Butter, cubed, room temperature

Cup White Sugar, 165 grams

Cup Brown Sugar, packed, 50 grams

Tablespoon Golden Syrup

Egg Yolk

Cups Flour, 450 grams

Cinnamon*

Mixed Spice

Cocoa Powder

Baking Soda

Salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan Forced or...

Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan Forced or Multi Bake, and prepare two oven trays with baking paper, and place the oven racks in the upper and lower middle of the oven.

In a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment,...

In a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment, add the room temperature butter, white sugar, brown sugar and golden syrup and mix on medium for 4 minutes or until it is light and fluffy

Scrape down the sides and the paddle with...

Scrape down the sides and the paddle with a rubber spatula, then add the egg and egg yolk and mix for a further 2 minutes then scrape the sides again.

In a medium bowl sift in the flour,...

In a medium bowl sift in the flour, cinnamon (*or cassia or Ceylon cinnamon if using, see notes), mixed spice, cocoa and baking soda and stir well to combine

Add the dry sifted ingredients into the butter...

Add the dry sifted ingredients into the butter mixture along with a pinch of salt. Gently combine the flour into the butter until it forms a dough.

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead...

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead it into a soft ball.

On a well floured surface using a floured...

On a well floured surface using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough to approx 3-4mm high and cut out shapes using a 4-5cm crinkle or round cookie cutter (* see notes). Dipping the cutter lightly in flour can assist if it's sticking.

Carefully transfer the shapes to the baking trays...

Carefully transfer the shapes to the baking trays leaving 2cm between each biscuit - using a metal spatula that has the end dipped in flour helps this process.

Then roll the dough back into a soft...

Then roll the dough back into a soft smooth ball and roll out again on a clean floured surface, cut and repeat until no dough remains.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes...

Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes or until the edges start to brown

Remove from the oven and let them cool...

Remove from the oven and let them cool for 15 minutes, then transfer the biscuits to wire racks to cool completely before icing, 1-2 hours.

When ready to assemble make the icing in...

When ready to assemble make the icing in a medium bowl. Sift in the icing sugar, then add the melted butter and vanilla.

Stir then add water a teaspoon at a...

Stir then add water a teaspoon at a time until you have a smooth spreadable consistency.

Work on a few biscuits at at time,...

Work on a few biscuits at at time, for example, take 6 biscuits, turn over 3 of them. Spread a teaspoon or two of jam on the 3 turned over biscuits, and spread icing on the top of the other 3 biscuits, trying to centre the icing to leave an edge. Then place the iced biscuit on top of the jam covered one.

Then sprinkle over some jelly crystals and set...

Then sprinkle over some jelly crystals and set them aside, the icing will firm up slightly upon standing.

Repeat with small batches of the remaining biscuits

Store in an airtight container, layered with baking...

Store in an airtight container, layered with baking paper. These biscuits keep well, they will soften over the coming days with the jam and icing but that is part of their charm and it creates a delicious biscuit.

The unfilled biscuits keep for several days in...

The unfilled biscuits keep for several days in an airtight container or freeze for up to 3 months

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How To Make Classic Thousand Island...

How a Glorious Mistake Resulted in ...

"Goop" Great Depression Dinner

Spotted Pup

Cream Syrup

Belgium Biscuits

Top 6 history recipes from across the web

The most viewed history recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

How To Make Classic Thousand Island...

How a Glorious Mistake Resulted in ...

"Goop" Great Depression Dinner

Spotted Pup

Cream Syrup

Belgium Biscuits

The most viewed history recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine