I know, I know. Another recipe from the archives! But I just made these cookies this week for Alex. I added an extra 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and used red, white and blue gumdrops and they were delicious. And patriotic for the upcoming Fourth. So I thought I would share this crazy recipe with you all again. Mostly because desserts with ketchup make me laugh!
Yep. That’s right. There is ketchup in these cookies.
And gumdrops. We can’t forget about that.
AuthorRetroRuth
From Betty Crocker
Tested Recipe!
[cooked-sharing]
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla, and ketchup thoroughly.
Stir in flour, soda and salt. Fold in gumdrops.
Drop dough by scant ¼ cupfuls 2 inches apart on greased and floured baking sheet (or you can line with parchment paper).
Bake 15-17 mins or until golden brown.
Makes 1½ to 2 doz cookies.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla, and ketchup thoroughly.
Stir in flour, soda and salt. Fold in gumdrops.
Drop dough by scant ¼ cupfuls 2 inches apart on greased and floured baking sheet (or you can line with parchment paper).
Bake 15-17 mins or until golden brown.
Makes 1½ to 2 doz cookies.
Notes
When I saw this recipe in a Betty Crocker pamphlet from the 1960’s, I immediately put it on my to-make list. For some reason, I am a total sucker for recipes that randomly throw in tomato products.
Do I even have to tell you that I shivered a little bit when I added the ketchup to this dough? Well, I did. And, because this is the season of giving, I took a picture the ketchup in the bowl so I could share the shivers with you.
See? Spine-tingling!
Also, it made the dough smell HORRIBLE. Also, they smelled awful baking.
But they came out okay in the end. The horrible smell left, and the cookies turned out very soft and puffy. They actually looked sort of good.
Note: Tom did NOT know ahead of time what the “secret ingredient” was.
“What the…is there something weird in here?”
“Do they taste bad?”
“No, they just taste…odd.”
“It’s ketchup.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“Ketchup?”
“Yes.”
“Huh. Well, they aren’t bad, actually.”
“Really?”
“Really. They are kind of fun.”
The Verdict: Fun!
From the Tasting Notes:
These cookies ended up not being disgusting, but actually kind of fun. They didn’t taste bad, sort of bland really, but they were soft and thick. The gumdrops were a fun addition. If I was going to make these again I would add some cinnamon. If the thought of putting ketchup in your cookie totally freaks you out, you could omit the ketchup completely and just add more cinnamon.
My grandmother made gumdrop cookies but her’s were crisp and I know there was no cinnamon, hmm. I didn’t get the recipe though, so I’ll have to try these! LOVE your cabinets!!!
There is, or should be, cinnamon and cloves in ketchup already. A quarter cup in this recipe shouldn’t make much difference if omitted, just add cinnamon.
I must have had a traumatic experience with ketchup from my mid-century Mom because the stuff makes me gag and I can’t be near it. A ketchup phobia, and I am a psychologist by trade! I think I would try these with the buttermilk-maybe they wouldn’t taste “odd”?? Or maybe sour cream or greek yogurt to make them moist?
I think this is the first time I have seen buttermilk described as being interchangeable with ketchup.
Am making this now. Had gum drops left over from a bread recipe ( a cafeteria staple from North Dakota in the 50s ) so I jumped at the chance.