Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon. Nursery rhymes possess a saccharine silliness like goofy animal cookies. This found recipe from the 1950-60s with Humpty Dumpty cookie cutouts prompted me to try the same using this vintage cast iron mold with its storybook cats, bears, pigs, and butterflies. They baked up easily, but the inherent thickness of the mold didn’t lend itself well to a traditionally dainty cookie, so this mold might be better for corn bread or country muffins.
Humpty Dumpty Sugar Cookies
2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine (I use butter!)
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and beat until smooth and fluffy. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture and milk alternately and mix well.
I skipped this next part because I needed the dough to be soft for squishing into the individual shapes. Chill cookie dough until easy to handle. Roll out half of dough at a time to 1/4-inch thickness on lightly floured board. Now put the cardboard pattern of Humpty Dumpty on cookie dough and cut around edges with a knife. Pick up pattern and repeat. Place Humpty Dumptys on lightly greased cookie sheet and decorate, using raisins or currants for eyes and nose, maraschino cherry slices for the mouth, and other candied fruits for tie and vest buttons. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees F) 6 to 8 minutes. Use sugar frosting for his suit.
C says
I love this photo Yvonne. Reminds me of baking with my grandmother.
Yvonne says
Sweet memory! I hope you have a few of her recipes at your fingertips. Nothing better than cooking with grandma 🙂
Rebecca King says
I found this cast iron pan at an antique store. Is this a John Wright cast iron pan? Do you know the age?
Yvonne says
Hi Rebecca – This is indeed a John Wright cast iron. However, I do not know the age. Unlike the collectible pre-war cast iron skillets, these John Wrights appear to have no defining characteristics to help determine age. Good luck! 🙂
Rebecca King says
Hello, Thank you so much for the info! I love your work.
Cindy Hunt says
I loved seeing the Humpty Dumpty recipe page and pattern. My mother used to make them for me and my two younger sisters. We still have the pattern, and one of my sisters mailed the pattern to a copper welder who made us each a metal cookie cutter the same shape and size as the original cookie pattern. No more cutting around the pattern with a knife. We just use out new cutters! The metal company has closed down, so we are glad we got our cutters!
Yvonne says
Oh wow, Cindy. What a clever idea!