Cherished Recipes From History's Most Famous Figures (2024)

Photo: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Rosa Parks spent her entire life fighting for justice. She was the recipient of dozens of honorary doctorates and humanitarian awards, remaining a powerful speaker and advocate for civil rights until she passed in 2005. In the midst of all herwork, Parks apparently took time to cook - even jotting down a recipe for "Featherlite" peanut butter pancakes on the back of a shipping envelope.

Rosa Parks's Featherlite Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
2tablespoonbaking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2tablespoonsugar
1 egg
1¼ cups whole milk
⅓ cup peanut butter
1 tablespoonshortening, melted, or any neutral oil, like canola

As for the recipe itself, Parks only writes, "Combine with dryingredients; cook at 275° on griddle."

Photo: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

From The CompletePoems of Emily Dickinson, XLV:

Undue significance a starving man attaches
To food
Far off; he sighs, and therefore hopeless,
And therefore good.

While Dickinson was perhaps at her mostopaque when she wrote about food, her personal recipesare light and quite easy to digest. Dickinson's coconut cake was developed inthe same Amherst house where she spent most of her life. The cake is simple and sweetwith a pleasant layering of coconut.

Emily Dickinson's Coconut Cake

1 cup coconut
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter
½ cup milk
2 eggs
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Though Dickinson left no instructions for how to prepare the cake, you can find a 21st-century approximation of the recipe on NPR.

Photo: Library and Archives Canada / Flickr / CC-BY 2.0

After President Dwight D. Eisenhower visited her at Balmoral in 1959, Queen Elizabeth II sent him her personal recipe for drop scones. It's not entirely clear what went on during the entirety of Eisenhower's time with the monarch, but there must have been something about her drop scones - or Scottish pancakes - that Eisenhower enjoyed.

The Queen also sent a note with some additional information. She explained that the recipe served 16 people, the pancakes were enjoyable with syrup, and that mixing the batter took a bit of effort.

Queen Elizabeth II's Drop Scones

Teacups were akin to ¾ of an American standard cup. From there, the batter would have been dropped onto a skillet and the scones were browned on both sides.

Photo: Chicago Bureau (Federal Bureau of Investigation) - Wide World Photos / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Fine dining may not be the first thing that comes to mind when imagining the life of the legendary Al Capone.In 2010, multiple companieswere selling Al Capone's "secret" spaghetti sauce, eventually causing the Capone family to becomelegally involved.

It's unclear which, if any, of Capone's secret saucerecipes were trulywritten by the notorious figure, but thisdishdoes have some of the Old-World charm and New-World boldness of Capone himself.

Al Capone's Secret Spaghetti Recipe

2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cupparsley leaves
¾ cupwalnut pieces
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 lb.fresh or dried spaghetti
2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
¾ cupgrated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ cupchopped or sliced tomato for garnish

In a large pot, bring four quartsof water to a boil. Add the salt and vegetable oil. Add the spaghetti slowly, allowing the water to boil continuously. Cook until the noodles are tender, about 10 minutes. Chop and blend the garlic, walnuts, and parsley, then pour all of the olive oil slowly into the mixture. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and ¼ cupof the Parmesan cheese and blend again.

Twist a mound of spaghetti on each plate. The sauce should be ladled in the middle of the plate, moist enough to coat the spaghetti when tossed for presentation tableside. Sprinkle each dish with the additional Parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, and diced tomato.

Photo: Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Legend has it that when Sir Francis Drake's crew were laid up with illness near Havana, Drake concocted an unusual beverage to boost their spirits. That beverage then became knownas El Draque before eventually being dubbedthe modern mojito.

Though there is some doubt Drake was personally responsible for the drink (some say it was invented by his cousin, others by native Cubans), the name "El Draque" is a longstanding part of culinary folklore.

Sir Francis Drake's Mojito

1 lime
2 ounce white rum
6 mint leaves
2 tsp. sugar

Mix ingredients together in a cup.

Photo: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

It's hard to imagine a more English dish than mystery author Agatha Christie's scone and cream mix.Christie loved her clotted cream made the old-fashioned way, "scalded and taken off the milk in layers." While later in life, she would have her butler cook for her, there is little doubt that she made these scones and cream herself, the passionate foodie that she was.

Agatha Christie's Fig And Orange Scones With Devonshire Cream

1 large egg
½ cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1 cup fresh figs, chopped into half-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, and orange zest.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and salt.Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender or rub together with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add chopped figs and toss lightly until spread throughout. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir until the mixture clumps together, being careful not to overmix.

On a floured countertop, gather mixture into a ball and knead once or twice to combine. Pat into a half-inch-thick circle. Cut into eightslices, like a pie, or into circles using a biscuit cutter.Place on lined baking sheet.

Bake 13 to 15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove to cooling rack, and eat warm with an “enormous amount” of cream.