By 1955, my mother had three small children and a husband who spent long hours at his trade of construction/paint/cement work. She had a garden in the backyard of their rented half of the double on West Main Street in Medway. She also had the know-how to put tasty, nutritious meals on the table three times a day.

 She was thrifty to a fault. Her thoughts often went back to the Depression years when she and her brother grew up very familiar with a lack of a variety of foods and other necessities. She wasted nothing. So, when she had to purchase a sack of flour, she looked for the best buy. Was it on sale? Did she have a cents off coupon? Was there a bonus in the package?

 In those years of the 50s, Robin Hood Flour also knew the importance of being thrifty for the consumer. They gave a printed “Money Back Plus 10%” guarantee in every sack. They printed recipes on that thin strip of paper folded and tucked in the top of the sack. And, they issued four value stamps with each sack that were good for merchandise at a reduced price from their Homemakers Club Catalog.

 Robin Hood flour is marketed today to the retail consumer by J. M. Smucker Company of jam and jelly fame. Originally it was a brand name under the Moose Jaw Milling Company in 1900. The Moose Jaw mill closed in 1966 but the brand was continued in a facility built back in 1928 in Saskatoon, Canada. Smucker purchased three mills and the Robin Hood brand in 2004. Now owned by yet another milling entity, the flour still comes to our markets through Smucker.

  Mom’s recipe box shows how partial she was to Robin Hood. Every category seems to have the recipes, cut along the dotted lines, most with notes or grease smudges. A few of her favorites are below written in the original text from Robin Hood. They bring back sweet memories of home, a baking aroma throughout the house and those little treasures tucked inside a sack of flour.

Contact Connie at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Box 61 Medway Ohio 45341.


Double Crust Pastry
  • 2 cups Robin Hood all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup shortening
  • 4-5 tablespoons cold water
“Spoon flour (not sifted) into dry measuring cup. Level off and pour flour into a bowl. Add salt to flour and stir to blend. Cut in half the shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal; then remaining shortening until particles are the size of small peas.
Add water, a little at a time, mixing lightly with fork. Shape dough into firm ball with hands. Divide dough in half.
Roll out half of pastry on lightly floured cloth-covered board. Place loosely in 9-inch pie pan. Cut 1 inch larger than pan. Fill unbaked pastry with pie filling.
Roll out remaining pastry for top crust, cutting slits for steam to escape. Place top pastry over filling. Fold edge of top pastry under edge of bottom pastry. Flute edges. Bake according to directions given with pie filling.”

Cinnamon Twist Coffee Cake
  • 1 cup milk, scalded
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 ½ cups sifted Robin Hood Enriched Flour
  • 1/3 cup melted shortening
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 pkg. dry granular yeast
  • ¼ cup lukewarm water
“Pour milk over sugar and salt in a bowl. Stir to dissolve. Add 1 cup flour and beat until smooth. Stir in shortening; then beaten eggs. Beat mixture with rotary beater. Cool to lukewarm, then add yeast dissolved in the water. Beat again.
Add remaining flour and mix to a soft dough. Turn out on lightly floured board and all to rest, covered for five minutes. Knead vigorously for 5-10 minutes or until dough becomes smooth and satiny. Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise in a warm place until double in bulk, 1- 1 ½ hours.
Divide dough into 6 portions. Roll each portion into strips 16 inches long. Roll strips in mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and one teaspoon cinnamon. Braid 3 strips together for each loaf, fastening ends well. Place in well-greased 9x5 inch bread pans. Allow to rise in a warm place, covered, until loaves are light and doubled in bulk (3/4 -1 hour).
Bake in a moderately hot oven (375 degrees) for about 20 minutes.”
Note: By the time I was baking this bread in the mid-1960s, we simply called it cinnamon bread. We usually used about double the sugar/cinnamon mix and as I recall it took a bit longer than 20 minutes to bake. Mom’s recipe is dark, somewhat greasy and taped together in two places. It was used a lot!

Old Fashioned Drop Doughnuts
  • ½ cup warm water
  • 2 pkgs. Dry active yeast
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/3 cup shortening
  • 2 eggs
  • ¾ cup lukewarm milk
  • 4 cups sifted Robin Hood All-purpose flour
  • 1 cup raisins
“Soak yeast in warm water 5 minutes; combine sugar, salt, nutmeg, shortening, eggs, milk, yeast mixture and 2 cups of flour. Beat 2 minutes with electric mixer (medium speed) or by hand until smooth. Add remaining flour. Beat 2 minutes more. Scrape batter down from beaters with spatula. Add raisins. Let stand 45 minutes.
Drop spoonfuls of batter into deep hot fat (385 degrees) and turn as soon as they rise to the surface. Turn again when one side is brown.
Drain on absorbent paper. Glaze while warm with mixture of 4 cups sifted powdered sugar, ½ cup milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Yield 3-4 dozen doughnuts.”

Corn Stacks
  • 2 cups Robin Hood all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon soda (baking soda)
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup cooking oil
  • 1 ¾ cups (15-16-17 oz. can) whole kernel corn, drained
“Spoon flour into measuring cup and level off. Pour into mixing bowl. Add sugar, salt and baking soda to flour. Stir well to blend.
In another bowl, combine buttermilk, eggs, oil and beat well. Add liquid ingredients to blended dry ingredients. Beat until smooth. Stir in drained corn.
Grease griddle lightly for first pancakes. Pour batter by ¼ cupfuls onto hot griddle (375 degrees). Bake until puffy and bubbly. Turn and bake other side. Serve hot with maple syrup and cooked pork links or sausage patties. Yield sixteen 5-inch pancakes.”
First Group 2x2
First Group 2x2
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