The Malone Cookbook

The history of The Malone Cookbook stretches back 128 years, and includes nine editions. The cookbook was sent all over the world, including to troops in World War I, and was given to Grace Coolidge (wife of President Coolidge).
       From the August 18, 1926 Malone Farmer:

The Malone Cookbook appears in kitchens throughout Franklin County and across the country. A recipe for Adirondack Trout from the 1923 edition was included in the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Writers' Project [unpublished] "America Eats" project.  The recipe for "House of History Molasses Cookies," used for 30 years in the Franklin County Historical and Museum Society's fourth grade Museum Day program, appears in the 1982 edition.

4 c. flour

1 c. sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. ginger
2 t. cinnamon
1 c. shortening
1 c. molasses
2 eggs

Sift together the first six ingredients. Cut in shortening. Add molasses and eggs. Mix well, using hands. Roll teaspoonful of dough into a ball and roll in extra sugar in dish or on wax paper. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees (F) for 8-10 minutes (12-15 for crunchy cookies).

The first Malone Cookbook was published in 1882 by the Ladies' Aid Society of the First Congregational Church of Malone, as a means of raising funds to build their third (current) church building. Mrs. C.S. Richardson (the pastor's wife) and Mrs. M.E. McClary were editors of this first edition. An 1882 article in the Franklin Gazette noted that

The 500 copies of the small book, costing $.75 each, sold so well that a second edition was published in 1888. Ten years later, the third edition of 700 copies was offered to the public, and in 1903 1000 copies of the fourth edition were for sale. The 1908 (fifth) edition, priced at $1.25, sold 2500 copies and was also chosen to be used as a textbook in New York State Institutions for the Blind. This abridged edition was published in New York Point (a predecessor of Braille).

From the August 26, 1908 Malone Farmer

The sixth edition was printed in 1917, priced at $1.50, and sold out by the early 1920s. The 1923 (seventh) edition was revised and expanded, and half of the 3000 copies (selling for $1.75) were sold within a year. Although the church continued to receive letters requesting copies of the cookbook, a space of 45 years intervened before the eighth edition (1968) was created.

The current (ninth) edition of The Malone Cookbook was produced in 1982 as an anniversary edition in commemoration of the cookbook's centennial, and also to celebrate the centennial of the church building, in 1983. This edition contains recipes submitted by three great-granddaughters of one of the original editors, reprinted recipes and advertisements from earlier editions, and a list of all the editions' editors.

(Note:  Copies of the 1982 edition of The Malone Cookbook can still be purchased from the office of the First Congregational Church of Malone by calling 518.483.3950, although we understand that supplies are low.)