Fruit Roll

Recipe No. 115 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Desserts. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

• Flour, sifted — 9 pounds (9 No. 56 dippers)
• Salt — 1½ ounces (3 mess kit spoons)
• Shortening — 3 pounds (1½ No. 56 dippers)
• Water, cold — 1¼ quarts (1¼ No. 56 dippers)
• Butter, melted — 1 pound (½ No. 56 dipper)
• Apples, sliced* — 14 pounds
• Sugar, granulated — 4½ pounds (2¼ No. 56 dippers)
• Nutmeg — ¾ ounce (3 mess kit spoons)
• Cinnamon — ¾ ounce (3 mess kit spoons)

Directions

Key ingredients

Cinnamon

1. Sift flour and salt together.
2. Add shortening; stir until a crumbly mixture is obtained.
3. Add water gradually; stir until mixture is moistened just enough to hold together. Stir lightly until smooth.
4. Divide dough evenly into 11 portions. Roll each piece of dough into strips about ¼ inch thick, 8 inches wide, and a little longer than length of baking pan to be used.
5. Brush each strip of dough with melted butter.
6. Mix apples, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon together. Spread over dough.
7. Roll up lengthwise like a jelly roll.
8. Place rolls in pan seam side down and close together so that rolls will retain their shape.
9. Bake in moderate oven (375° to 400° F.) about 1 hour or until apples are tender and dough is well baked.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Flour, sifted — 11½ oz Salt — about ¾ tsp Shortening — 3¾ oz Water, cold — 6⅓ tbsp Butter, melted — 1¼ oz Apples, sliced — 1 lb 2 oz Sugar, granulated — 5¾ oz Nutmeg — about ⅓ tsp Cinnamon — about ⅓ tsp

Two No. 10 cans apples may be substituted for the 14 pounds fresh apples. Drained, canned cherries may be used as the fruit in this recipe. Use two No. 10 cans. Omit apples, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Serve with cherry sauce (recipe No. 486).

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 115, Desserts. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.