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Valentine’s Day is approaching so naturally, I’ve got chocolate on the brain. I tried out a recipe for 1940s chocolate cookies from one of my vintage cookbooks. They’re a soft and chewy cookie studded with walnuts and topped with turbinado sugar (the last ingredient being one of my additions). While I’ll admit these aren’t the best cookies I’ve made, it was fun to bake another retro recipe and get in the Valentine’s Day spirit.

The cookbook: The Household Searchlight Recipe Book

At an estate sale long ago, I found a 1941 copy of The Household Searchlight Recipe Book by The Household Magazine. It’s filled with scribbles and notes from the previous owners. It’s also unique in that each section is divided with tabs on the right-hand side of the book, so it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. That’s where this chocolate cookie recipe came from. Some of the recipes in the book are from the magazine’s readers, but this one was created by the editors of the publication.

How to make 1940s chocolate cookies

This 1940s cookie is an easy chocolate cookie recipe. There’s no rolling or freezing required. Simply mix together your ingredients, drop dough by teaspoonfuls on a baking sheet and bake. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:

Ingredients:

I chose this recipe because it calls for basic baking ingredients most bakers have in their pantry. I wanted to try the recipe as close to the original as I could, and I am by no means an expert at baking, so I didn’t make many adjustments.

• Butter – You’ll need 6 tablespoons of butter for this recipe.
• Unsweetened chocolate – This recipe calls for 1 1/5 squares of unsweetened chocolate; however, this doesn’t give the cookies a deep chocolate flavor. You could substitute with unsweetened cocoa powder. I haven’t attempted this, but you could try these chocolate substitution tips from myfrugalhome.com.
• Milk – The original recipe called for 6 tablespoons of milk, but by the fourth to fifth tablespoon, my dough was starting to look a bit wet and sticky, so I stopped there.
• Granulated sugar – I used granulated white sugar for the dough. I also sprinkled turbinado sugar on the top of the cookies for added texture and flavor.
• Egg – You’ll need one egg for the cookie dough.
• Flour – I used all-purpose flour for the cookies.
• Salt – Adding 1/4 teaspoon of salt helps bring out the flavors of other ingredients.
• Baking soda – This recipe calls for 1/3 teaspoon of baking soda.
• Baking powder – This recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
• Vanilla extract – You’ll need 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
• Chopped walnuts – The original recipe doesn’t specify which kind of nuts, but I like walnuts with chocolate desserts. Use pecans, hazelnuts or whatever you like!

Baking tools:

No fancy equipment is needed for making these cookies. Here’s what I used:

• Silpat baking mat – I’ve started using a Silpat baking mat for cookies so I don’t go through so much parchment paper. I even use it for roasting vegetables. It’s truly life changing! The recipe actually calls for a well-oiled baking sheet, but I know that nothing will stick to my Silpat, so I used it instead.
• Baking sheet
• Spatula – I like KitchenAid’s spatula. I really gets every bit of batter from the bowl.
• Wooden spoon or hand mixer – I used a sturdy wooden spoon to cream the butter and sugar by hand. If you prefer, you can use a hand mixer instead. This Dash Compact Hand Mixer in Aqua is so cute!
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Large and small mixing bowls – You’ll need a small bowl for sifting the dry ingredients together and a large bowl for mixing the dough. I used my vintage Pyrex bowl and a small mixing bowl.
• Flour sifter – A handheld flour sifter makes quick work of sifting flour.

The results: How did they taste?

There are two teenagers living in my house and I consider them excellent taste testers. Their verdict: the cookies are OK. I would have to agree; they’re not amazing, but not awful. This could partly be due to baker error, of course. Here’s what I think of them:

Firstly, 400°F was too hot for these cookies to bake a full 10 minutes as suggested. The first batch was rather crunchy and too browned at the edges. I decided to lower the temperature to 350°F for the second batch and bake them for closer to 12 minutes. The texture for the second batch was more soft and cakey.

Secondly, the cookies don’t have a rich chocolate flavor. After doing some online research, I discovered that cocoa powder provides a deeper chocolate flavor to baked goods than bakers chocolate squares do. In fact, most other chocolate cookie recipes I looked at called for cocoa powder, not bakers chocolate. If I were to adapt this recipe and try it again, I would use cocoa powder instead of solid unsweetened chocolate, but then I’d also have to adjust the fat content.

Thirdly, the cookies are not super sweet. I didn’t mind this too much, but to make up for the overall lack of flavor, I sprinkled some turbinado sugar on top of the last batch. Sprinkling more chopped nuts on top would also add flavor and texture.

The recipe: 1940s chocolate cookies

If you’d like to try this retro cookie recipe (perhaps making some of your own adjustments), I’ve included the recipe card below.

Adapted from ‘The Household Searchlight Recipe Book’.

Did you try this recipe? I’d love for you to share a photo of it on Instagram and tag me @thedapperdahlia!

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If you enjoy retro recipes, try my Peanut Butter Bread recipe with almond flour, based on a recipe from 1927.