The Colonial Williamsburg Museum has a pig shaped cookie cutter in their collection. It's impossible to pinpoint an exact date on it, with all that's known is that it's from the 1800s...but how could you ever say no to something so cute?! emuseum.history.org/objects/34530/pig-cookie-cutter?ctx=87de06905dab52d795d8c90f26032f0afb8c63d2&idx=23 Happy Holidays to everyone around the globe. Thank you for all of the kindness that you've shown us over this past year. I want to wish you good health and prosperity. I know that not everyone has family or friends that they can turn to during this time of the year. Just know that I've been there and that you aren't alone. There is always sunshine at the end of every storm and a rainbow after the rain. You are beautiful and destiny has great plans for you. Gingerbread, American Domestic Cookery (1823) 1 & 1/3 cups of flour 1/2 cup of treacle 0.5 cups of butter, melted 3 teaspoons of ginger powder 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds Mix the flour with ginger and caraway seeds. Add in your treacle and melted butter. Mix well until you've formed a thick batter. Store in a cool place/refrigerate for half an hour before rolling out and cutting. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Allow the cookies to rest for at least 10 minutes once you've removed them from the oven before touching so that they may firm up. Field Pea Cakes, The Virginia Housewife (1824) 1 cup of black eyed peas (soaked overnight if dry) 2 tablespoons of bacon 2 tablespoons of lard Salt & pepper to taste If uncooked, boil the peas until soft. Alternatively you may also use a can of black eyed peas, in which case you do not need to pre-cook them. Strain away as much of the liquid as is possible then mash till it is a paste with salt & pepper. In a skillet, fry up your bacon till done. Remove the bacon and set aside, retaining the drippings in the skillet. In the same skillet, melt the lard till hot. Place a dollop of black eyed peas into the hot lard and press flat with a metal spatula. Tip: cover your spatula in hot oil before pressing and it will not stick. These require at least 5 minutes per side on medium heat before flipping. If you find it impossible to flip them without them falling apart you may add a tablespoon of flour into the batter. Goose & Apple Pie, Justine's Own 1 pound of Goose meat, cut 1 onion, diced 1 cup of vegetable or chicken broth 2 tablespoons of butter 2 tablespoons of flour 2 apples, peeled, cored and diced 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme Salt & pepper to taste 2 pie crusts, for top and bottom In a skillet, melt your butter over medium high meat. Once melted add in the diced onion and goose. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of flour and mix well. After cooking for an additional minute pour in the stock, diced apples, thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. In a pie plate lay down a crust. Pour the above prepared goose and apple mixture into the pie paste and flatten. Sprinkle an additional tablespoon of flour over it before placing the top crust on. Vent the top crust with a knife by cutting at least one small slit in the center. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes.

I feel like Christmas is getting more complicated every year. This is my type of Christmas.

I told my 4 yr old that Justine had a new video and she said “ooo, let’s watch!” And she grabbed a blanket and we settled on the couch. Thank you so much for helping to spark a love of history and cooking in my little girl. She told daddy she wants him to build us a little cabin, too!

it’s good to see people preserving history and raising awareness of our cultures. even though im an Australian-born asian, im happy to see this.

I love hearing the crackling fireplace, and watching you cook . I can imagine the warmth from the fire, and the smells of the food. Merry Christmas XOX ❤️

My Christmas wish is that I hope that people will remember our history as both of you do 💖💖

What's funny is my coworker is a Ukrainian man shown me how Santa Clause is depicted in his hometown. It's actually like the older way he was depicted as a religious saint (like in this video) and nothing like the Amercian tradition in the red suit. It honestly has not changed too much but some American symbolism has come in as with commercialism but not as much as here. I made him Ukrainian mulled wine for Christmas, as he does miss home. I'm not Christian myself by I still enjoy seeing people happy during the holiday as the lights and songs bring joy when people need it the most.

It good to see people preserving past

Everything is so unusual but looks so delicious 😋. I bet Ron likes it all🤩

It looked like a great Christmas feast! Thank you for the history lesson!

I like how "a cold place" at this time of year simply means outside.

Absolutely spectacular looking feast! 😊 Merry Christmas, everybody! 😃🎄🎆✨

Can we all agree that that hat will be the next fashion trend this winter? I’m gonna try to help get it going, that’s for sure.

Happy Christmas everyone! God bless!!! 🙏🏻🎄🎅🏻

What a feast!!! Justine, I have the same hat in navy blue. Love it!

Whenever I’m overwhelmed with something in life I come to your channel and relax, zone out, and watch you make these dishes. Thank you! Have a wonderful holiday season and may good health and wealth find you in the New Year! ♥️

Tip from my great, great-grandmother, found on one of her receipt cards: "In cold weather, warm your crock of treacle, honey, or molasses near the fire just as you would your butter, then pour it into the same bowl on top of the butter to get all of your molasses with less mess."🥰 But I loved watching you drizzle it.

I have never thought of mashing black eyed peas and frying them!! Best KZfaq channel!!!! Just awesome!!❤❤❤

My grandmother was making 'pea sausage' up until her inability to stand and cook and ultimate passing in the past few years. Essentially her 'pea sausage' was the leftover black-eyed peas, or field peas from the meal before or even the day before. She would mash up the peas just as you did and fry them just the same. I'm not entirely sure if she seasoned them or just cooked them in lard, but if you didn't know, it tasted just like a mildly seasoned sausage. Cheers!

I absolutely love the decorations in ir home for Christmas 🎄 love love love ya'll....I learn so much from ur research 💕

Justine you always make everything look so easy!!! Even the hard stuff…You are a pro. What a dreamy meal, thanks for sharing.

Merry Christmas to you and your families and fans! 🎄🥰💕❤️👍👍 Those recipes look yummy.

The meal looks delicious. Very hearty. Thank you Justine for the recipe. The story of Santa Claus.

LOVE, Love, love this one!! We are making our gingerbread dough tomorrow. I made ginger bread cake last week. It was the recipe used to make cake for the late Queen Elizabeth. Treacle was one of the ingredients. I had never heard of it before. I was excited to see you using it. I had no idea it was used in the early Americas, but I guess it makes sense! I also loved that the sweets and apples were hung on the tree and eaten on Christmas Day. I remember when I was a child, I always wondered why people used artificial apples to decorate trees. Now I know! The history at the end was near and dear to my Christmas-Around-the-World heart! Merry Christmas to you both! I so appreciate all y'all do! 💜

A lovely Christmas feast! Have a joyful Christmas!🎄

Thank you for all you do. I really appreciate the recipes and the history. I never knew any of that…..how wonderful! You are both very respectful of our history! Thank you!

i love the sound of old fashion cooking .merry xmas to all

With all that’s going on in the world,this makes me feel better!! Food looks delicious!! May God bless you all,and Merry Christmas 🎄✝️

I always enjoy her smile when she's cooking and because when I see her smile it makes my heart feel good she enjoys what she does and I'm happy for her God bless and Merry Christmas to her and her family

Those pig and heart cookies were absolutely precious. Another great video as always.

Thank you for the Christmas cheer. Merry Christmas to you and Ron...may all your moments be merry! God bless you both! ❤

Thank you for the history on this beautiful holiday and season. As always you two do an excellent job of presenting it.

That goose pie looks very delicious, Justine! Merry Christmas to you all!

Justine, I'm always impressed! Even with hearth cooking, you time everything right and don't forget a thing. You make it look so easy! Do you ever feel worn out after the food is dished up and the dishes, utensils and pots and pans are all cleaned? I do - and I have all the modern conveniences. I've had wild goose once. This was in early January 1968 when I was 13. I came home from hours of skating in frigid weather, and as soon as I opened the door, I smelt sage, Bell's seasoning, onions, like Christmas all over again. Dad told me a hunter friend of his surprised him with an already plucked and cleaned Canadian goose. He and mom stuffed and roasted it. The skin was crisp and the meat tender. It was very rich and fatty, but so good! BTW - I'm in the middle of reading a favorite childhood book, "Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates" by Mary Mapes Dodge. There's a fun description of a celebration of St. Nicholas Day at a wealthy family's house. St. Nick (someone dressed as him, obviously) would arrive in his bishop's robes and miter and know each kid's name and know exactly what he or she did during the past year. He'd encourage all the good kids to keep being good, and he would solemnly and gently lecture the naughty ones. And of course, he'd leave presents.

Merry Christmas to you both! Thank you for so many wonderful videos this past year! Well wishes for a happy healthy new year! 🎄

Oh Justine! A gourmet feast! My mouth is watering! Thank you so much for the receipt tutorial! Merry Christmas!

A Very Merry Christmas to you and Ron. I have so enjoyed watching both of your channels over this past year. So glad I found you both.

We just had black-eyed peas today for dinner, so it was fun to see them apart of your Christmas feast 😊

A very welcomed reminder of how Christmas started, and why we celebrate it. It has puzzled me for a very long time why we have holidays if no one understand the origins of them, now I know for sure!

Looks delicious as usual!

Great episode as always, everything looked delicious! Thanks to Alfred for the history lesson!

Beautiful! Tysm for the history because its good to stay humble to our roots especially now💕🎄❄️ Merry Christmas to you all!

Sending folks my best thoughts and wishes that you have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season! Bless you both and thank for sharing these historical munchies with us. Indeed it is living history and i tip my hat to you for keeping it alive!

Once again, amazingggggly beautiful. Every detail is priceless and thoughtfully thought out. Thanks for bringing us along and Merry Christmas to you and yours.

The winter forest there is beautiful! And I envy you those fresh eggs! It all looks delicious! Thank you! Happy Holidays everyone!🤶🏻🧑🏻‍🎄🇺🇸🎄

I think those pea cakes look delicious. I need to give it a go

Those tin cookie cutters remind me of the good ol days when I was a kid. My maternal grandmother had several different shaped tin cookie cutters in her household. She loved making sugar, peanut butter, and gingerbread cookies during Christmastime. Made from scratch, not store bought!

Whenever I’m overwhelmed with something in life I come to your channel and relax, zone out, and watch you make these dishes. Thank you! Have a wonderful holiday season and may good health and wealth find you in the New Year! ️

Have you guys ever made your own Christmas ornaments such as plain dough with crushed hard candies clear hard candies And then bake him and then they become like almost stained glass ornaments? They are fairly easy to make so long as you make just a plain unsweetened dough for the framework and you just need a parchment paper and a baking sheet To cook clothes on and while you're cooking them You want a chop chopped up or crushed up hard candies clear hard candies into the openings and you can color coordinate them as you wish you get some beautiful effects by even mixing colors and flavors and you can make extraordinary stained glass window ornaments i've actually seen reproductions done of various church windows and cathedral windows from Europe and the United States done like this. I'm not saying you have to get that elaborate but you could make some like Christmas trees and wreaths and other such stuff we used to do this when we were kids with my parents. I just thought it would definitely be. appropriate Because my grandmother used to tell us that she made them with her grandparents when she was a little kid and she was only about 656 years old back in 1895 so if her grandparents were making them when they were kids they're definitely. appropriate.

The history lesson at the end was a delightful bonus! Great video all around. Happy Christmas!

I love that house. All the great food thats made there, just makes it all the more enjoyable. Really draws me in.

Ah, the goose, yum. I did a whole goose one year that was stuffed with mashed potato... no butter or milk in it, let it cool and added diced onion and a diced tart apple to the mash and tied the legs. It was the best Christmas ever. My daughter was young and to this day remembers that as "the best stuffing ever":) Old Irish tradition.

What a feast! I must try the bean cakes! Merry Christmas Ron and Justine, I hope you have a good year's end and all the best to you in 2024 ❤

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Justine and Ron !!!

Outstanding. Appreciate your efforts for us.

Justine, you are wonderful, the way you whip up those pies! Absolutely impressive! Your feasts look so delicious. Thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas, to you and Ron.🎄⛄🎄

You look so festive and so does your cabin. Merry christmas

My father who recently passed away would have loved this ❤I wish he could have seen it….

The fried bean cakes reminded me of the latkes (potato pancakes) we make for Chanukah. 🕎 Thank you for a year of wonderful programs. 💖 Merry Christmas to you and your family. 🎅 ❄⛄

Oh how I like to hear the crackling from the fireplace!! 🙂

Everything looks amazing, thank you for taking us through another interesting, historical meal. God bless and have a very merry Christmas.

Your videos are so soothing, calming and interesting! I subscribed to your channel back when you only had around 100k subs. I've so very much enjoyed your videos and congratulations on the success of your channel. Thank you for your format of just showing how the food is prepared and cooked without all the narration. I love that you put just enough pertinent information on the screen to let us know just the things we need to know. I also like your chit chat on the other channel of yours where you eat the food you've prepared but here on the Early American It is so nice just to watch in silence and hear the crackling of the fire and the crowing of the rooster from time to time.

Everything was awesome, Justine! The cabin is cozy and beautiful and the meal looks good. Thank you for the fun and going to the Chew and Chat. Be blessed and a very Merry Christmas! 🎄⭐🎄

Merrie Christmas! Lovely food and neat history lesson! :)

Love all your videos!!!! And the narrative history on Santa today was awesome!! Quick question - 200 years ago - how was treacle made? (Was it something that could be purchased easily and within people's means? or did most folks make their own black strapped molasses (treacle)? Thanks so much for your great content!

Solo hizo falta un poco de manteca de cerdo, un pedazo de queso fresco, una salsita recién hecha y unas tortillas de harina para esos frijoles refritos 😍 hahaha. ¡Saludos desde México! 🇲🇽❤️

Justine and Ron you look so cute in your matching hats! I'm so happy you like them. Merry Christmas to you both!

Um Grande abraço pra vcs do Brasil🇧🇷 🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿 .

A good meal today ! Very good meal back then.

Just when I thought you couldn't be any more fabulous!! Merry Christmas Justine and Ron! ❤❤❤

Merry Christmas hope too see more in the new year

I love these. I wish you would do a tutorial on how to cook on open fire. I would love to learn how to do that!

So enjoy these lovely cooking films. I love the different pots and pans and how they are used on the open fire. Hi from West Wales.

Merry Christmas to you and your family! So interesting to see the things people used to eat and how they had to cook them.

Truly enjoyable. Merry Christmas and Season's Blessings to all.

Absolutely love this !!! Merry Christmas ⛄⛄⛄

Loved the video and the story of St. Nick! Wishing you both a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2024!!🎄🎅

I love your cooking videos I come to watch them when I have a headache or am feeling down I specifically love the sounds of the chickens the most I live in a rural area in Florida and we have some chickens I love hearing them I don't care what time it is I just love their sound it's soothing also love the sound of crows thank you for making these videos very soothing and comforting

Tbat goose pie looked delicious! I enjoyed this Christmas video, especially the history on St. Nicholas. Also, as a traditional Catholic, I enjoyed the midnight Mass history. Many Catholic churches still have midnight Masses today. A very Merry Christmas to you both! ❤

My goodness you are a wiz at cooking on an open fire, respect, and all the food you cooked looks delicious

Wouldn’t be an Early American post without Justine spilling! 😂 Wishing the merriest of Christmases and a happy, healthy new year to you both.

I love watching you cook. Merry Christmas to you guys! ❤️

Thank for sharing with us

im re-doing my whole life 1800s themed, and i think it started with your videos haha

I am 76 years old and I enjoy want you guys do so much. It is so educational but also a joy to see what you do. God Bless!

I LOVE your explanation of the history of Santa Claus at the end! Thank you for being accurate and interesting! (I did not know there was an English queen before Victoria that had a Christmas tree). Thank you for this! I have never heard of fried black eyed pea cakes. I would not have thought they would stick together without egg or something. Will have to try sometime. That goose pie looked delicious. Thank you as always for your interesting and relaxing videos. Happy Advent and a Merry Christmas to you both!

Looks wonderful Justine!❤

Aww! I loved the history of Christmas and Santa at the end. I was looking for some holiday vibes this morning to get me into the holiday mood and you guys delivered as always. Watching the tasting video over on the other channel next! Merry Christmas and happiest of new years ❤

I would absolutely love to spend time in the golden days. I love history and had grand parents that were born in late 1800so this is a big part of my young life. I would love to find one of the dough bowls that is usable I always had a big bread bowl. Through reasons that I need to forget I lost all my good baking stuff. Love your trough. You guys are awesome. Hugs and happy Holidays

Love your videos this looks amazing see u at the live thing lol

Great videos. I love the decorations.The food looks amazing.

Old fashioned gingerbread cookies. I can almost smell them here.

the fried bean cakes sound so delicious! I'd have never thought of cooking beans this way.

What a wonderful video,from the recipes to the comforting feeling of it all to sweet lil mish mish, and the santa info was very interesting, God bless you and yours, thanks for another wonderful video and I hope you have a merry Christmas.

Justine, this was fabulous!! Merry Christmas to you, Ron and MishMish❤️🎄

Thank you for the wonderful historical explanation of St. Nick /Santa ! Merry Merry and Happy Happy to you!

Thank you this was fun and I enjoyed the history at the end.

That was wonderful, Beautiful Justine! Merry Christmas! 🎄❤️💚💯🏆🌟✨

I love the surrounding noises..clicking of the pots, fire crackling, water pouring slowly.

Those bean cakes look pretty good. As hard as it would be I think Christmas back in the old days would feel extra special.