Welcome to the Kirschner Collection Blog! This blog is a new project that will showcase cookbooks, recipes, research, and events from the Doris S. Kirschner Cookbook Collection at the University of Minnesota Libraries. For more information about Doris S. Kirschner and the collection, you can see our About page.

I would like to start off this blog by showcasing something whimsical I found among the cookie cookbooks in the collection (that’s the TX773 section for those of you who want to know.) This item is not a cookbook, but a pamphlet entitled 50 ways to use Marshmallows: A Household Necessity.

This pamphlet was produced by the S.S. Kresge company (a predecessor to K-Mart) and does not include a copyright date, although I have seen some sources that say it was published in the 1940s. The book includes a recipe for a “marshmallow graham cracker sandwich,” so it can be speculated that it was published before the popular use of the word “s’mores.”

In addition to providing 50 recipes for foods with marshmallows, the pamphlet also touts the purity and wholesomeness of marshmallows. The page above includes the following gem:

THE BEST SWEETS FOR CHILDREN
Marshmallows contain only pure, wholesome ingredients. They are, therefore, the best sweets for children. Let them eat all they want, either plain or in table dishes.