What do you think?
Mud Pies and Other Recipes
Whether you’re entertaining garden sprites, feeding a regiment of toy soldiers, or simply whiling away a lazy afternoon, Mud Pies and Other Recipes is the only make-believe cookbook you’ll ever need. With Marjorie Winslow’s timeless guide on hand, you’ll never be at a loss for something to do in your backyard or by the seashore; you’ll be busy scooping up sand (a filling for Stuffed Sea Shells), hunting for flower petals (they make lovely hors d’oeuvres), and collecting raindrops (essential for brewing up Fried Water). The book is organized by course, and includes a general discussion of yard cookery along with detailed ingredient lists, methods for preparation, and helpful serving suggestions. And on every page, Erik Blegvad’s delightful pen-and-ink drawings ensure that Mud Pies and Other Recipes is a feast for the eyes as well as the imagination.
56 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1960
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
February 21, 2017
Although yes indeed, Marjorie Winslow's Mud Pies and Other Recipes is most definitely caressingly, nostalgically imaginative (and with Erik Blegvad's black and white accompanying illustrations providing a muted but in my humble opinion in all ways totally perfect aesthetic, visual mirror of Winslow’s text), and that I can also very well appreciate and even delightfully visualise children (both now and then) using the presented and featured "recipes" for bona fide doll or other toy attended tea parties and feasts, as an adult, some and actually even most of Marjorie Winslow’s doll recipe suggestions do kind of also and actually frighten me rather a bit. For considering that I was in fact the type of child to not only actively cook for my dolls (and my stuffed animals) but to also then physically try to consume, try to actively sample most if not all of the resulting results myself, there really should be a cautionary note included in Mud Pies and Other Recipes that the featured recipes are absolutely NOT intended for human consumption (and especially that many berries can indeed be highly toxic and should thus be approached with much prudence and care by potential budding doll cooks).
Yes, the idea, the very concept of Mud Pies and Other Recipes is inherently creative and promises hours, days, weeks of potential fun, but alongside of my enjoyment and appreciation, I am still and defnitely left with a cold and snaking fear of curious children trying to sample the honeysuckle wine, the dogwood leaves, the berry boats etc. (and I guess I also do think indeed speak from a bit of personal experience here, for I did, in fact, as a young child make berry tea for my dolls and became quite violently ill after drinking it, as the berries I used were in fact toxic). And thus, while I definitely and indeed do highly recommend Mud Pies and Other Recipes I also do so only with the to and for me necessary caveat that there should, may that there really must definitely and for a certainty be parental supervision if or when children are actually trying out any of the recipes (as NONE of them should ever be sampled, period, as they are ALL simply and ONLY meant for imaginative, read completely make-believe play).
Yes, the idea, the very concept of Mud Pies and Other Recipes is inherently creative and promises hours, days, weeks of potential fun, but alongside of my enjoyment and appreciation, I am still and defnitely left with a cold and snaking fear of curious children trying to sample the honeysuckle wine, the dogwood leaves, the berry boats etc. (and I guess I also do think indeed speak from a bit of personal experience here, for I did, in fact, as a young child make berry tea for my dolls and became quite violently ill after drinking it, as the berries I used were in fact toxic). And thus, while I definitely and indeed do highly recommend Mud Pies and Other Recipes I also do so only with the to and for me necessary caveat that there should, may that there really must definitely and for a certainty be parental supervision if or when children are actually trying out any of the recipes (as NONE of them should ever be sampled, period, as they are ALL simply and ONLY meant for imaginative, read completely make-believe play).
October 14, 2010
I LOVE this book!!! And I had high hopes for it, so the fact it met my expectations is saying something. I absolutely adore the blend of sweetness, charm, and witty humor in this "cookbook for dolls" (that is, a cookbook for YOU to make recipes your dolls will enjoy, using a variety of ingredients from the "pantry" that is the great outdoors). Just like a "real" cookbook, there are sections on APPETIZERS, MAIN COURSES, DRINKS and DESSERTS, as well as a nice section on SUGGESTED MENUS for all occasions ;-)
Now, oddly enough, I am not sure how much children today will enjoy this book. I think some will love seeing mud pies and other dishes they have already "cooked up" with their imaginations, written out in this "cookbook" for all to see. Then again, for some it is probably superfluous--why read this cookbook when they can just go outside and get creative themselves? And, for those children who, unfortunately, do NOT have a pretty little wilderness to play in (or even a backyard), it might just be sad or frustrating since there really is no "story" it's just recipes.
But, by golly, this book took me back! I was riding waves of nostalgia, remembering my own childhood when I loved creating delicacies for my dollies thanks to a bit of moss here, some mud there, a flower here, an acorn there... I think adults who share similar fond memories will cherish this book and I am so happy that it has been reissued!
*Note that the illustrations are all black-and-white. I found them utterly charming, but some might be disappointed as the cover does make it look like they'll be in color.
Now, oddly enough, I am not sure how much children today will enjoy this book. I think some will love seeing mud pies and other dishes they have already "cooked up" with their imaginations, written out in this "cookbook" for all to see. Then again, for some it is probably superfluous--why read this cookbook when they can just go outside and get creative themselves? And, for those children who, unfortunately, do NOT have a pretty little wilderness to play in (or even a backyard), it might just be sad or frustrating since there really is no "story" it's just recipes.
But, by golly, this book took me back! I was riding waves of nostalgia, remembering my own childhood when I loved creating delicacies for my dollies thanks to a bit of moss here, some mud there, a flower here, an acorn there... I think adults who share similar fond memories will cherish this book and I am so happy that it has been reissued!
*Note that the illustrations are all black-and-white. I found them utterly charming, but some might be disappointed as the cover does make it look like they'll be in color.
October 14, 2010
Thank you, Kathryn, for alerting me to this book!
The reader should know that the wonderful cover illustration in glorious color is the only color picture in the book; all the pictures inside the book are black and white drawings. While I enjoyed the black & white, I suspect many of today’s children would prefer them in color, but they are charming even as is, and I think most kids could appreciate them.
This fortieth anniversary edition has extra material: a tea party in the menu section, this according to the description on the inside cover. There is also an edition specific author’s note. She writes about how her 2 small (with very cute smiles!) daughters ran the Test Kitchen for these recipes and talks a bit about that and a bit about their adult lives. There is a black and white picture of the three of them, when the girls were small, for the author’s photo on the inside back cover of the book.
This book is very text heavy, and while I found the book interesting and it definitely brought back childhood memories, I see two problems with this book:
1. While I do have OCD tendencies, I remember enjoying making mud pies and other such concoctions with abandon; I wouldn’t have been that interested in detailed instructions on how to use my imagination, but would have preferred spontaneity and using whatever grabbed my attention.
and 2. This book is best for an independent reader (although it could also be used as part of a fun project with younger kids and their adults) and I think that there might be a rather narrow time range when kids would be at the stage of being able to read this book and also wanting to use it as is.
But, this is undoubtedly an adorable book. I had to add it to my art shelf (these projects are art projects) and to my cookbooks shelf too!
The reader should know that the wonderful cover illustration in glorious color is the only color picture in the book; all the pictures inside the book are black and white drawings. While I enjoyed the black & white, I suspect many of today’s children would prefer them in color, but they are charming even as is, and I think most kids could appreciate them.
This fortieth anniversary edition has extra material: a tea party in the menu section, this according to the description on the inside cover. There is also an edition specific author’s note. She writes about how her 2 small (with very cute smiles!) daughters ran the Test Kitchen for these recipes and talks a bit about that and a bit about their adult lives. There is a black and white picture of the three of them, when the girls were small, for the author’s photo on the inside back cover of the book.
This book is very text heavy, and while I found the book interesting and it definitely brought back childhood memories, I see two problems with this book:
1. While I do have OCD tendencies, I remember enjoying making mud pies and other such concoctions with abandon; I wouldn’t have been that interested in detailed instructions on how to use my imagination, but would have preferred spontaneity and using whatever grabbed my attention.
and 2. This book is best for an independent reader (although it could also be used as part of a fun project with younger kids and their adults) and I think that there might be a rather narrow time range when kids would be at the stage of being able to read this book and also wanting to use it as is.
But, this is undoubtedly an adorable book. I had to add it to my art shelf (these projects are art projects) and to my cookbooks shelf too!
August 19, 2011
My aunt (or was it my cousin?) gave this to me for Christmas many years ago. I loved it to pieces (not literally, thankfully) and still do. But no matter how hard I wrack my brain, I can't remember ever actually making anything from it, though I read the recipes religiously and was always out in the backyard concocting something out of mud.
Here's what I do remember doing with it, though: for three consecutive summers, my brother and I opened up a restaurant in my bedroom. Complete with handwritten menus, tables (AKA stools tastefully draped in bandanas) and chinaware (or various plastic doll plates). The dishes and beverages our menu featured were solely from this book. The game would last days at a time and in the end I'd tot up our "profits" and spilt them two ways.
It was one of the most fun and memorable games we played, and is still talked about fondly by both of us. So, though I've never made these recipes in actuality, my brother (who was the chef) has "cooked" them countless times, not to mention the fact that I've taken orders for and served them to numerous hungry, invisible customers.
Here's what I do remember doing with it, though: for three consecutive summers, my brother and I opened up a restaurant in my bedroom. Complete with handwritten menus, tables (AKA stools tastefully draped in bandanas) and chinaware (or various plastic doll plates). The dishes and beverages our menu featured were solely from this book. The game would last days at a time and in the end I'd tot up our "profits" and spilt them two ways.
It was one of the most fun and memorable games we played, and is still talked about fondly by both of us. So, though I've never made these recipes in actuality, my brother (who was the chef) has "cooked" them countless times, not to mention the fact that I've taken orders for and served them to numerous hungry, invisible customers.
February 18, 2016
My full blog post here: http://suannelaqueurwrites.com/litera...
Mud Pies and Other Recipes is one of the most charming books ever written and will, in my biased opinion, get any child excited about finding the larder within the backyard, the woods, and the seashore. I discovered it as a child and re-discovered it when I became a mother. I highly recommend it for people of all ages. It's a book to make you remember simpler times.
Here are a few examples:
Boiled Buttons
This is a hot soup that is simple but simply delicious. Place a handful of buttons in a saucepan half filled with water. Add a pinch of white sand and dust, 2 fruit tree leaves and a blade of grass for each button. Simmer on a hot rock for a few minutes to bring out the flavor. Ladle into bowls.
Marigold Madness
Shred several marigolds into a pan and fill with water. Set in the sun to simmer. When the liquid has turned to gold, strain into bowls and put in the shade to cool. Serve chilled.
Mud Puddle Soup
Find a mud puddle after a rainstorm and seat your dolls around it. Serve.
Mud Pies and Other Recipes is one of the most charming books ever written and will, in my biased opinion, get any child excited about finding the larder within the backyard, the woods, and the seashore. I discovered it as a child and re-discovered it when I became a mother. I highly recommend it for people of all ages. It's a book to make you remember simpler times.
Here are a few examples:
Boiled Buttons
This is a hot soup that is simple but simply delicious. Place a handful of buttons in a saucepan half filled with water. Add a pinch of white sand and dust, 2 fruit tree leaves and a blade of grass for each button. Simmer on a hot rock for a few minutes to bring out the flavor. Ladle into bowls.
Marigold Madness
Shred several marigolds into a pan and fill with water. Set in the sun to simmer. When the liquid has turned to gold, strain into bowls and put in the shade to cool. Serve chilled.
Mud Puddle Soup
Find a mud puddle after a rainstorm and seat your dolls around it. Serve.
November 25, 2010
What an adorable idea! I love how this book reads so much like a real cookbook (I mean, it *is* a real cookbook, but one with ingredients like sand, mud and leaves, and prepared especially for dolls). I think I would have loved this when I was little! I especially liked the meal ideas in the back. The only reason I didn't give this five stars was because some of the ingredients seemed too specialized for certain areas/climates. But, other than that, I loved this (and the classic illustrations!). Simply delightful!
April 1, 2020
Originally published in 1960, and then reprinted last year in this 40th Anniversary edition, Mud Pies and Other Recipes is a charming little cookbook for all those children who love to play make-believe, and mess about in the mud. With everything from 'Molded Moss Salad' to 'Crabgrass Gumbo,' the delightfully doll-appropriate recipes contained herein will aid the child intent on throwing tea parties and banquets for her toys. Divided into sections devoted to: appetizers; soups, salads and sandwiches; main dishes; pastries and desserts; beverages; and suggested menus; there is something here for everyone!
I enjoyed Marjorie Wilson's whimsical recipes, apparently inspired by the outdoor play of her two young daughters (who, she assures us in an afterword, have both grown up to be excellent cooks!), and was reminded of similar youthful activities of my own. In particular, I seem to recall that my sisters and I used to make a 'jam' out of the (inedible) berries that grew on our front-yard bushes. Ah, good times! The accompanying black and white artwork by Danish-born illustrator Erik Blegvad is just as charming as the text. There isn't much of a story here, but it is still a fun little book to read through!
I enjoyed Marjorie Wilson's whimsical recipes, apparently inspired by the outdoor play of her two young daughters (who, she assures us in an afterword, have both grown up to be excellent cooks!), and was reminded of similar youthful activities of my own. In particular, I seem to recall that my sisters and I used to make a 'jam' out of the (inedible) berries that grew on our front-yard bushes. Ah, good times! The accompanying black and white artwork by Danish-born illustrator Erik Blegvad is just as charming as the text. There isn't much of a story here, but it is still a fun little book to read through!
April 20, 2018
This really is a cookbook for dolls -- the main ingredient for the Mud Pies mentioned in the title is wet dirt. It's a rather charming collection of "recipes" for various outdoor inedible delicacies that a child can produce for (hopefully easy-to-clean) dolls, action figures, and so on.
DD#1 (age 5) liked it a lot, but DS#1 (age 7) was even more enthusiastic. He set up a little camp restaurant in the sandbox for his plastic soldiers, then had them guard the kitchen, etc. The army marches on its stomach.
The only problem with the book is that it isn't waterproof. I'll just say that there have been incidents...
DD#1 (age 5) liked it a lot, but DS#1 (age 7) was even more enthusiastic. He set up a little camp restaurant in the sandbox for his plastic soldiers, then had them guard the kitchen, etc. The army marches on its stomach.
The only problem with the book is that it isn't waterproof. I'll just say that there have been incidents...
January 19, 2020
What an enchanting cookbook! Anyone who ever dabbled in sand and mud, who made piles of petals and filled acorn cups with water will love this elegant, witty jeu d'esprit, beautifully illustrated by Erik Blegvad. Thanks to the New York Review of Books for bringing this back into print.
Read
April 19, 2008It's too bad that this appealingly weird little book has gone out of print. Though maybe I should be glad it was ever published to begin with, and that copies are still floating around libraries and junk shops. The ingredients for all the recipes can be found on the ground outside--dirt, pine needles, etc. (do NOT taste for seasoning). I wondered who the text of this book was really intended for; wouldn't children already know how to make crabgrass gumbo and bark sandwiches? The deadpan humor reminded me of Peg Bracken, whose I Hate to Cook Book must have been published around the same time.
June 2, 2012
My guess is that this slim volume is a 'tongue-in-cheek' idea book for adults. It would be very sad if children needed instructions to make things such as a "Bark Sandwich - Make a buttery mixture of dirt, lake water and pine needles. Heap this on a piece of birch bark and serve".
October 28, 2010
If this little book of "doll recipes" isn't the cutest thing ever, I don't know what is. I do agree with others that by the time a child can read it independently, they may be too old for dolls, but I don't think they would be too old to enjoy the book. And it would certainly be the perfect book for a parent to read with a child- that's why I'm going to buy my daughter her own copy for the future. The comment about it stifling the imagination is utterly ridiculous - no one said children had to follow the recipes exactly and most children would branch out on their own anyway. Adorable little book.
July 1, 2011
A cookbook for Dolls and those who pretend with them. It includes all the categories that a regular human cookbook has including suggested menus. So adorable! The ingredients of course are very inventive and imaginative. Delicacies such as Wood Chip Dip, Grilled Mud Sandwiches, Dandelion Souffle and to top it off for dessert, Pine needle upside down cake
Sweet, sweet book tickled my fancy for sure and threw me back to the day where we really did have tea parties and have our dolls participate in our daily life. Anyone want to come over and play dolls!!
June 2, 2013
When I was a kid, my cousins and I would make mud soup in a large, flat, clay flowerpot in the backyard. We'd put dirt, grass, water, and all sorts things we could find on the ground like cigarette butts and weeds. It was called "soup a la tan" because we were fancy like that.
This book has recipes similar to our mud soup organized by dish type as well as suggested menus. I bet if we had access to this book as a kid, our mud soup would have had better accompaniments.
This book has recipes similar to our mud soup organized by dish type as well as suggested menus. I bet if we had access to this book as a kid, our mud soup would have had better accompaniments.
July 14, 2010
This was really cute. Recipes for doll tea parties. And written circa 1961, with equally quaint illustrations. The writing was deadpan, and it was thankfully free of warnings that a more modern book would have about how you shouldn't actually eat meals made out of putty or sand. I'd buy it for my niece... when she's old enough to appreciate it.
September 30, 2012
This book is fun for young girls. It's a cookbook for dolls. A pile of grass, few leaves, sprinkle of daisy petals to make a spring salad. Water, mud, sand, to make a mud puddle soup. Clever recipes you make using every day objects. A little mischief your mother won't mind you getting into.
May 31, 2013
Marjorie Winslow really understands how to play.
Read
March 5, 2021Charming, but good luck getting my kid to go outside.
January 14, 2017
I just enjoyed the 4oth anniversary edition. While it was a nice book that I would have loved as a child, and it was great to see more works by one of my favorite illustrators, I'm not sure why this was reprinted. There are so many lost books that are more worthy, imo. Still, I definitely recommend this to the target audiences (probably mostly adult women). I do like the author's note in which Wilson talks about her daughters, the staff of the test kitchen.
Marigold Madness
Shred several marigolds into a pan and
fill with water. Set in the sun to simmer.
When the liquid has turned to gold, strain
into bowls and put in the shade to cool.
Serve.
Marigold Madness
Shred several marigolds into a pan and
fill with water. Set in the sun to simmer.
When the liquid has turned to gold, strain
into bowls and put in the shade to cool.
Serve.
April 8, 2021
This collection of imaginary recipes for children to prepare for their dolls - with utterly perfect illustrations by Erik Blegvad - was the perfect comfort read while recovering from (very minor) fever/fatigue following my first COVID vaccination. I feel like it might work better as an adult-focused reconstruction of a child's imaginative mindset rather than something that actual kids today would use and enjoy, but that's how I read all children's literature anyway at this point, so why quibble?
September 23, 2023
A beautifully illustrated book showing wonderful menu ideas for dolls and teddies. Although (hopefully) most children will makes a mud pie or leaf salad, this gave some lovely ideas. This was a fun book to look through as an adult and brought back happy memories of playing a favourite game with friends in the woods, an ice-cream shop with cones made of beech leaves, ice-cream made of moss with flakes made of bark.
Read on Open Library.
Read on Open Library.
March 21, 2026
This is a copy from The New York Review Children's Collection, out in 1961, renewed in the eighties. It's such a lot of fun the way Winslow gives the recipes, like ending a recipe for "Sawdust Cake" that says "frost with moss"! With a "Dandelion Souffle", fill a pan with those dandelion tops, and seat your doll in a seat with a light breeze. Just watch it disappear! What fun this is, highlighted by Erik Blegvad's black and white drawings!
January 8, 2023
One of my favorite books growing up...I used it as a cookbook when playing outside. I borrowed my cousin's copy all the time. When I grew up I finally bought my own. I read it every year for fun. I immediately remember being 6 years old.
The drawings by Erik Blegvad are charming and transporting.
The drawings by Erik Blegvad are charming and transporting.
September 29, 2017
Delightful book in which are recipes for dolls!
August 20, 2020
The cutest thing I have ever seen.
May 8, 2021
Extremely cute. I saved this book from being tossed in the trash during the volunteer clean up event. It's simply amazing, a true gem! ❤️
September 2, 2021
A wry, messy delight.
January 8, 2022
oddly adorable 🥰
February 14, 2022
For dolls - It was certainly entertaining and the Illustrations gorgeous.
June 3, 2022
If I ever have a daughter, she will be owning this book! It’s sooooo cute! Fuels the imagination and inspires creativity.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews