Poetry was n’t Emily Dickinson ’s only natural endowment . She was also an incrediblytalented bakerwho boasted that hers was the only bread her founder would deign to eat . Writer Emily Temple gathered some of the poetry caption ’s personal recipes atLit Hub , and they ’re some of the more delicious - soundinghistorical recipeswe’ve comeacross . At least , as long as you ’re uncoerced to crack 19 eggs into a single patty .
Many of Dickinson ’s papers are throw at Amherst College and Harvard University , and there are handwritten recipes mixed in with the poetry drafts and varsity letter . Unfortunately for us , Emily was a talented enough bread maker that for many recipes she did n’t need to pen down direction ( or even the full measure of sealed component ) , so 21st - century amateur bread maker will just have to puddle through on their own .
1. KATE’S DOUGHNUTS
Who is Kate ? We do n’t know . But she seems to have had good tasting in breakfast pastry dough .
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter2 eggs1 cup sugar1 ct . yeast1/2 nutmegsalt2 cups Milk River
2. COCONUT COOKIES
She did n’t write the way for thesecoconut cookiesdown , but Dickinson did drop a line a verse form . The formula currently bind at Amherst College , pronounce as " Mrs. Carmichael ’s , " shares a page with a transcript ofher poem“The Things that never can come back , are several . ” Dickinson seems to have like coconut quite a bit — she also has acoconut patty recipein her papers . ( In this particular recipe , she may be using the dash marks in the image above as ditto mark marks to point pound , but it ’s unclear , since she used bolt quite liberally in her other recipes . )
INGREDIENTS1 pound sugar1/2 — butter1/2 — flour6 eggs1 grated coconut
3. BLACK CAKE
In 2016 , several Harvard librarian took home a pillage at the Association of Research Libraries ’s first film festival for theirvideoabout trying to make Emily Dickinson ’s famed black patty . The monstrous recipe ended up making a full 20 pound of batter . Before you judge this one , just know : Like afruitcake , this bar requiresthree monthsof aging in a brandy - soaked cloth before it ’s quick to deplete .
2 hammering flour2 sugar2 butter19 eggs5 pounds raisins1½ currants1½ citron1/2 pint brandy1/2 molasses2 nutmegs5 teaspoons Eugenia caryophyllatum — mace — cinnamon2 teaspoon soda
counseling
Beat butter and sugar togetherAdd eggs without beating and beat the mixture againBake 2½ or three hours , in cake pan , or 5 to 6 60 minutes in milk pan , if full
See more Dickinson recipes atLit Hub .
