3 Pumpkin Recipes from 1776–1839: A Delicious Journey Through Time
Imagine stepping back into the crisp autumn of the late 18th century, where the air is filled with the fragrance of fresh pumpkin and spices, and communities gather around warm kitchens, sharing stories and tastes that have withstood the test of time. In this inspiring culinary adventure, we embrace three cherished pumpkin recipes that reflect the spirit and resourcefulness of early Americans.
🎃 Pumpkin Cornbread: A Harvest Classic
First on our nostalgic journey is the beloved Pumpkin Cornbread, a rustic bread that speaks of hearty meals shared at the family table. Combining the sweet earthiness of pumpkin with the texture of cornmeal, this recipe captures the essence of simplicity and warmth.
The pumpkins of the era were not merely a harvest; they were a lifeline, providing nourishment and comfort through the changing seasons. This cornbread, golden and crusty, is perfect for soaking up comforting stews or enjoyed with a smear of fresh butter. One bite, and you can envision families celebrating bountiful harvests, the crackle of the fire in the background, and the laughter of children playing outside.
🥧 Pumpkin Pie: A Timeless Dessert
Next, we delve into the enchanting world of Pumpkin Pie, a dish that hails from America’s first published cookbook in 1796. This luscious dessert exemplifies the ingenuity of home cooks who transformed basic ingredients into something remarkable. Imagine a buttery crust cradling a velvety filling of spiced pumpkin, each slice a celebration of the harvest season.
Pumpkin pie wasn’t just a dessert; it was a tradition, encapsulating the warmth of gatherings and the joy of family. Each forkful offers a sweet glimpse into shared memories, where the clinking of silverware and laughter filled the air. As you savor this pie, let it remind you of the rich heritage and flavors that connect us through generations.
🍲 Pumpkin Soup: Comfort in a Gourd
Lastly, we explore the comforting depths of Pumpkin Soup, a dish that’s as heartwarming as it is hearty. Traditionally served right in its gourd, this soup is a work of art born from practicality, ingenuity, and the desire to create something profoundly nourishing from humble beginnings.
With each spoonful, you can taste the earthiness of pumpkin, combined with savory herbs and spices that evoke images of community kitchens filled with the laughter of friends and family. This soup is not merely a meal; it is a testament to the spirit of sharing, where the very vessel that contains it tells its own story—a story of sustenance, love, and tradition.
In creating these three historic pumpkin recipes, we not only honor the flavors of the past but also connect with the resilience and creativity of our ancestors. Each dish embodies the idea that food is more than just sustenance; it is a celebration of life, love, and togetherness.
Join us as we recreate these timeless recipes, inviting a taste of history into our modern kitchens. Let’s gather around the table, raise our forks, and toast to the enduring legacy of pumpkin in our culinary heritage.
Watch the video by Early American
Video “3 Pumpkin Recipes from 1776–1839 |Pie, Soup, Cornbread| ASMR” was uploaded on 09/23/2026 to Youtube Channel Early American





































Wonderful video! I love anything pumpkin!
Love seeing your animals and your precious kitty!
Bubba adorable as always ❤
This is a beautiful vignette of early American family life from a woman’s perspective. You captured every detail very well and brought it to life. I love that you included the era appropriate clothing for each person, the homestead animals, even the baby toys and kitchen gadgets. It’s fascinating. ❤
All three recipes look great, and each has something special about it. I think I’m more drawn to the earlier recipes, though. Really love your videos!👍
👋🏻 🎃🎃🎃🎃
I love your channel so much. Your home and sweet baby are so beautiful. Mish Mish enjoyed his treat, whatever it was!
好會煮😊😊😊
I love this little family ❤
Beautiful video. Loved seeing the farm parts & you enjoying it & each other ❤
This food looks good! We have never had pumpkin soup we have had pumpkin pie before. We are glad to see you Justine a cooking again! Glad to see all scenes from the homestead, glad to see mish mish and bubba again he looks good in his haircut. Like the artwork Justine that you have done on the walls! Here in Kentucky we are having more of the fill of fall. Rebecca and David Back.
Lovely video! These recipes look so good, too.
Bubba is spinning!
What a truly beautiful family snapshot! Thank you.. 😊
Cute video but early America was not as romantic as you make it.
The Darker Reality
While a painting or a poem from the 1800s portrays pure romance, the physical reality of living in Kentucky during this century featured significant grit and tragedy: [1]
The "Graveyard of the West": In the early-to-mid 1800s, major cities like Louisville suffered from atrocious sanitation. Because outhouses flooded into local wells, deadly cholera and typhoid outbreaks were rampant, earning Louisville a grim nickname. Respiratory diseases like consumption (tuberculosis) were the leading causes of death across the state. [1]
The Cost of the Beauty: The "beautiful" historic brick mansions and perfectly cleared rolling hills that survive today were heavily built on the backs of enslaved labor. Antebellum Kentucky’s economy and high-society aesthetic were deeply intertwined with the institutional cruelty of slavery. [1]
I clicked for the recipes, but it's so much more, the scenery, the tools, the clothes, it's authentic, I bet when you throw a party, you party like it's 1799 hehe
OMG! He's walking!
Do you save and roast your pumpkin seeds?
Fall is in the air as you can tell down in your neck of the woods! My AC is off now and windows OPEN here in St Louis! Great video with all the stores now full of pumpkins for this wonderful time of the year!! Thanks Justine, for kicking this season off the RIGHT way! That baby is growing like a weed too! So cute!!
Look how big your boy is!! WOW! You and Ron make pretty babies!
Wow!! Bubba's hair cut is darling!!❤❤
Pompkin soup looks yummy! 😋
Magical as always
beautiful life you have!
Your recipes look delicious! Bubba is getting so big, and he's extremely adorable. Mish Mish goes so well with the pumpkin decor 😅
❤❤❤❤❤Where did you purchase your stencils. I can't seem to find historical ones or similar stencils❤❤❤❤❤. Bubba looks so cute.
How do you hold your stencil so straight? I would probably make each one slanted!
Bubba’s haircut makes him look like such a big boy🩷
Please give full recipes of what you cook thanks
Oh so cute! Don’t worry about mentioning, adding the pumpkin, I kind of figured it! Oh how beautiful the room looks with all the pumpkins coming in! You guys make me so happy when it’s Wednesday! God bless friends❤
Hi! Loved the editing on your video this week. Especially that you added in more of your home, family time and the animals.
Pumpkins are fantastic and so underrated in terms of their versatility. They can be used in all kinds of dishes from ravioli, stews, a stuffing, etc. Both savory and sweet. Super cool in the past they had so many dishes too for pumpkins!
Amazing editing!!!!
I had to watch this video twice, i found it so relaxing AND informative and fun to watch how people lived 200 years ago. Thank you so much for making this video and all the others. Plus, i LOVE pumpkin pie and watching you put the ingredients together and baking it by a fire has made me hankering for a big slice of pumpkin pie with some whip cream on top.
the homestead is looking fabulous!
It was long ago and it was fat away and it was so much better than it is today. Thank you for taking us back in time for a little while, Justine. ❤❤❤
I stumbled on your channel by chance and became addicted to watching your videos. They are comforting, informative, and I love the recipes and watching you cook them. I also loved your drama series!!! Would love another one!!❤
Love this home looks beautiful Justine
I absolutely love your home. It looks so warm and comfortable.💜💜💜
It’s finally in the 60s today! Woo hoo
Always good to see you and the family ❤❤ the house looks amazing by the way I am so jealous haha
That Pumpkin Cornbread looks really good.. I'd put a dab of Honey Butter on a warm piece…. Another pumpkin favorite that I do make is Pumpkin Butter, sweetened with brown sugar & maple syrup – delicious! Great job Chef Justine! 🧑🍳
I love what you are doing with your house. The style is simply darling! 🙂
Looks delicious! Btw, the paint-work in your home is absolutely beautiful!!^^ Where did you get those gold panel things? I would love to do this in my home.
LOVE the B roll! 😍
You have lots of seeds for next year's planting! ❤
Might want to try growing catnip for Mish Mish. Since it's part of the mint family…it needs to be in a container otherwise it will spread everywhere. I grow it for our kitties and they love it!
I feel the need to share with the world that I think pumpkins are the most rancid disgusting things to ever eat in the whole world! But, I’m ok watching others make stuff with them even though it’s a hate crime!🤪🤪🤪
Lovely delightful cozy video! All the pumkin recipes looks sooo yummy
Justine the baby is adorable that pie looks awesome ☺️👍👍👍
Thank you so very much for this wonderful and soothing video. It was way too short😊
Justine, I am always amazed at your ability to translate these old recipes into something usable. That's a very unique skill and it's always fun to watch. So relaxing for us but lots of work for you. 😂 Everything looks yummy as always. In Mexico, they love the pumpkin/squash flower soup. 🥣 It's very tasty. I think I want to have some with some of that pumpkin cornbread. 😋
Ei ei ei I completely forgot to mention adding the PUMPKIN to the pumpkin cornbread 😆. But it is there! Please click here to find the recipes, translated from their historic originals which you can always find at the end of my videos. Thank you for accompanying me here today.
Pumpkin Pie — American Cookery (1796)
This is a very simple 1796 pumpkin custard pie, sweetened with molasses rather than sugar. It contains no cinnamon or clove either. This one is an acquired taste!
Ingredients
1 pie crust, fitted into a 9-inch pie dish
2 cups pumpkin purée — 1 pint
4 large eggs
4 cups milk — 1 quart
Molasses, to taste — I would suggest ½ cup as a modern starting point
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions:
Prepare the crust: Place a single pie crust into a 9-inch pie dish. Leave the crust unbaked.
Make the filling: Whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, milk, molasses, allspice, and ginger until well combined.
Fill the crust: Pour the pumpkin mixture into the unbaked pastry shell.
Bake: Bake at approximately 350°F (175°C) for about 1 hour, or until the center is set but still has a slight jiggle.
Cool: Allow the pie to cool before slicing so the custard can finish setting.
Pumpkin Cakes (Pumpkin Cornbread) — Kentucky Housewife, 1839
1 pint (2 cups) cooked pumpkin, very well mashed
1 quart (4 cups) fine cornmeal
1 small dessert spoon salt — about 1½–2 teaspoons
2 large spoonfuls butter — about 2 tablespoons
2 eggs, beaten
About 1½–2 cups whole milk, or enough to make a thick batter
Additional butter for greasing the baking sheet
Instructions:
Cook the pumpkin: Stew or boil a sweet pumpkin until completely tender. Drain it well.
Puree the pumpkin: Mash 2 cups of cooked pumpkin very thoroughly, then push it through a fine sieve. This would have produced a smooth pumpkin puree in 1839.
Make the batter: Combine the pumpkin with 4 cups fine cornmeal. Add the salt and melted butter.
Add the eggs: Beat 2 eggs and mix them into the pumpkin-cornmeal mixture.
Add the milk: Gradually add enough sweet milk to produce a thick, spoonable batter. I would start with about 1½ cups and add more only if necessary.
Form the cakes: Generously butter a baking sheet. Drop the batter onto it by large spoonfuls, making individual little cakes.
Bake: Bake in a brisk oven, which I would interpret as approximately 400 degrees (200 c), until the cakes are firm and cooked through, probably around 10-15 minutes, depending on their size.
Pompkin Soup (A Sweet Pumpkin Soup) — The Professed Cook, 1776
1 large pumpkin
2 cups milk
2 tbsp butter
6 egg yolks
Sugar, to taste (1 cup is what I used)
Salt, a pinch
Toasted bread croutons
2–4 egg whites + 1 teaspoon of sugar for decorating
Instructions
Prepare the pumpkin: Cut off the top and scoop out the seeds, leaving the shell intact. Carve the outside decoratively. Save the flesh.
Decorate & bake: Beat egg whites with sugar until frothy. Brush this on the outside of the pumpkin before placing it in a 350 degree (170 c.) oven and bake until nicely colored.
Make the soup: Dice the removed pumpkin flesh and boil it in 1 tablespoon of water until very soft. To this add 2 cups hot milk, butter, sugar, and salt.
Thicken: Beat the 3 egg yolks and gradually stir them into the hot pumpkin mixture. Cook gently until thickened
Assemble: Pour the hot soup inside of the pumpkin and garnish with croutons. Cover the pumpkin with its top when serving.