"The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook" Baking Demo, with author Becky Diamond

"The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook" Baking Demo, with author Becky Diamond

Get inspired for holiday baking and get a glimpse into gilded age holiday traditions with a cooking demo by food writer and historian Becky Libourel Diamond based on her new book The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook: Cookies and Treats from America's Golden Era. The demo and book signing will take place in Mill City Museum’s Baking Lab and is included with museum admission.

Becky Libourel Diamond is a food writer, librarian, and research historian. Her most recent book, The Gilded Age Cookbook, blends Gilded Age details and celebrity stories with historic menus and recipes updated for modern kitchens. She is also the author of The Thousand Dollar Dinner and Mrs. Goodfellow: The Story of America’s First Cooking School. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Rider University and a Master of Library Service (MLS) degree from Rutgers University. She has worked as a Business Librarian at Rutgers–New Brunswick since 2020. She lives in Yardley, Pennsylvania. Visit her at www.beckyldiamond.com.

Mill City Museum’s Baking Lab is an exhibit and programming area where baking takes place every day. Milling operations tested and perfected their flours in areas that might be thought of as the original test kitchens. In the 20th century companies like Pillsbury and General Mills began using these laboratories to develop new consumer products. In Mill City Museum’s Baking Lab, visitors taste bread and sample other baked goods, while exploring the art and science of baking, the food revolution, and the social history of baking.

More information about:

The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook: Cookies and Treats from America's Golden Era

• Imprint: Globe Pequot
• Sales Date: 2025-09-02

Although most Americans have heard of sugar plums thanks to the famous holiday poem A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore, many have likely never have had the pleasure of tasting one of these luxuries, or even know what they really are (hint: they are not sugar-dusted plums). This is because sugar plums are one of the Gilded Age era holiday sweets that got eclipsed as America moved into the twentieth century. But The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook will bridge the past and present, bringing back sugar plums and other confections not typically found in modern cookbooks, while revisiting some beloved favorites.

With origins that date back to the nineteenth century and even earlier, the recipes in The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook have been adapted for today’s ingredients and appliances, allowing cooks to recreate them in their own modern kitchens. Each recipe will provide a colorful glimpse into the era, featuring the fascinating history behind each cookie, its ingredients and baking methods. There will also be sidebars throughout, offering tidbits of Christmas lore of the era.

A perfect gift to bring sparkle to the holiday season for anyone who enjoys food, history, culture and Christmas traditions, The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook is a unique way to revitalize any baker’s holiday repertoire while looking to past foodways for inspiration. With all the opulence and enchanting allure of the Victorian period, this nostalgic book is chock-full of delicious holiday treats.