1 qt. flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
Salt
2 tbs. thick cream OR 1 tbs. lard or butter
1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in hot water
Milk enough to make soft batter
Optional additions:
1 egg
2 tbs. sugar

Stir into one quart of flour, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, and a little salt. Add two table-spoonfuls of thick cream, or rub in one spoonful of lard or butter. Put in a tea-spoonful of soda or saleratus, dissolved in a very little hot water. Mix the whole rather soft with milk. Bake like tea biscuits.
It is a convenient way to make the mixture soft enough with milk to enable you to stir it well with a spoon, and then drop it into the baking pan. It should spread a little, but not run. To vary these drop-cakes add an egg, and two spoonfuls of sugar. For a family of three or four, make half the measure.

From The Young Housekeeper’s Friend by Mrs. M. H. Cornelius, 1863, Boston

Comment: This would seem to be about four recipes in one, if you count all the variations of use-this-or-what-the-heck-use-that-instead. While the resulting product seems to be as likely to resemble a pancake as it does a biscuit, it at least spares the cook the extensive rolling and occasional beating that true biscuits frequently require. It is also a comment on the typical family size of the period that Mrs. Cornelius suggests cutting the recipe in half for a “small” family of three or four.

          

1 and 1/2 lb. flour
1 and 1/2 lb. sugar
whites of 24 eggs
yolks of 18 eggs
cracked or ground coriander seeds (optional)
Yeast (optional)

Take a pound and a half of flour, a pound and a half of fine sugar, the whites of twenty-four, and the yolks of eighteen eggs, put in coriander seeds beaten small at discretion; mix these well together, and make them into a soft paste, add a little soft yeast or not. Lay this paste on paper, or in crusts about two inches broad, and four inches long, set them in a moderate oven, and when they begin to turn brown, take them out, and lay them on paper, in a dry place.

From The Cook’s Own Book by “A Boston Housekeeper” (Mrs. N. K. M. Lee) Boston 1832

Comment: This is a rather peculiar recipe. We cannot think of another which lists “a little yeast” as an option, and give no other rising agent at least as an alternative. Without the yeast this will make a very flat, and we would think very dull, not to mention very tough, biscuit, almost of the level of hardtack. On the other hand the addition of so much egg, both yolk and especially the whites, might serve to induce some rising just from heat expansion of the gas bubbles included therein. Coriander, if used, will give a rye flavor to the bread.

The suggestion to bake “on paper” means cooking-quality parchment paper. Once available only in gourmet cookware stores, this can now be found in a fair range of supermarkets, in the same section as aluminum foil and rolls of plastic wraps

          

3/4 lb. flour
1 lb. sugar
6 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. rose water

Put three-quarters of a pound of fine flour to a pound of fine sifted sugar; sift both together three times, then add six eggs beaten well, and a spoonful of rose-water; when the oven is nearly hot, bake them, but not too wet.

From The Cook’s Own Book: Being a Complete Culinary Encyclopedia by “a Boston Housekeeper” (Mrs. N. K. M. Lee) Boston 1832.

Comment: Rose-water was a common ingredient in fancy cooking of the 19th century, made by soaking large amounts of rose petals in a small amount of water over a period of days or even weeks. It is most commonly found today in markets catering to fans of Middle Eastern cuisine. If completely unobtainable a possible substitute would be a quarter-teaspoon or so of vanilla or almond extract.

Baked goods are some of the most difficult items to reproduce from recipes which date to the period before ovens came with thermostats. Various charts can be found which suggest equivalents for a “brisk” oven, a “hot” one, a “nearly hot” one as in this case, and other terms common in the day. The default for most baking is 350 degrees, so adjust upwards or downwards as the recipe suggests. Or try cooking with a wood-fired appliance and learn the distinctions first-hand.