C'est Bon: The Famous Bonbon Cookies of 1955-1960
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 
1955-1960 was certainly an eventful series of years. Sputnik I was launched; Alaska and Hawaii were proclaimed the 49th and 50th states; Truman Capote published the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's, which would later be made into a film by the same name.
And during these years, there was one cookie that spoke to the times more than any other: the Bonbon Cookie. At least that's what Betty Crocker says. And other than the fact that she's not actually...well, real, she's never led us astray. According to her Cooky Book (1963), the treats are described as being real trailblazers on the cookie frontier:
"candy-like cookies in vogue--women were fascinated by these beautiful and delicious cookies which were baked as cookies, served and eaten as candies. Excitement over Bonbons brought more candy-cookies, Toffee squares and Cream Filberts, for example"
And if that doesn't pique your interest, the photos in the book will (above)--in pastel tones worthy of Marie Antoinette's court, these are without a doubt cookies for ladies, a pinkies-out affair. We had to make them. Turns out, they're amazingly easy--and rather delicious.
- They are rather on the sweet side--so for those who like a less-sweet cookie, you might want to leave off the frosting, or opt for a more savory filling for the cookies, such as chopped nuts or unsweetened coconut; we used chocolate chips, but then again we're not scared of sweet cookies.
In keeping with the spirit of this dainty cookie and the era from which it harkens, we elected to make ours Tiffany Blue, garnishing them with white sugar pellets in white to offer the same color palette as that iconic box with its white bow. We found that adding a drop or so of green with two or three drops of blue food coloring reached the signature tone nicely.- To attain the desired round Bonbon shape, we used a small ice cream scoop to spoon out our dough; while in the scoop we inserted 2-3 chocolate chips, pressed them down, and then reformed the dough over it to secure the filling.
- 1/2 c. soft butter
- 3/4 c. sifted confectioners sugar
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla
- food coloring if desired
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- Mix 1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar, 2 tbsp cream, 1 tsp vanilla, and food coloring (if desired).
Cookies, cake history, recipes
Reader Comments (55)
Those bon bons scare me.
Jessie, I LOVE my striped unicorn cakespy tee!
the cookies look great, what made me sad reading this was the woman that made up the original recipe: Mrs. Joseph J. Wallace - she's lost within her husband's name. i think we should all look at this as a lesson to either keep our 'maiden' names and use them for work, our arts, no matter what that maybe or at the very least use our own names as part of our 'married' name so we aren't among the lost, too.
those are SO cute!
The colour is amazing.
They look so nice, yummm hehe!
breakfast at tiffany's has been on my mind lately so these are perfect... now, if i could only look like audrey hepburn...
BONBONS!!! Love them; and that color IS quite fun :0)
So sorry that I haven't been commenting on the recent blog posts - your blog hasn't been sending me the update alerts that I usually get, so I've missed about 5 of the previous posts! :0(
"-so for those who like a less-sweet cookie,"
Not me!!! Those look wonderful as is and can't wait to make them!
These cookies make me soo happy. Im so excited to try them.
zomg! Bon Bons! These were the first cookies I learned to make at the tender age of six. Alas, when the 'rents passed on and we were clearing out the house, one of my brothers got the cookbook with the recipe and I haven't found a copy of my own since, so I haven't made these in more than a decade.
I used to fill them will all kinds of things: chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, nuts, dried fruits, M&Ms...and then I would dip the newly-frosted cookies in colored sugar. I liked to color code them so I'd be sure to get the fillings I liked best and be able to warn people away from things they hated or were allergic to.
I'm taking down the recipe and will make a batch as soon as the weather cools a little.
Thanks for the trip down nostalgia lane combined with the means to take the journey again anytime I desire.
Anonymous: I think no different than any other amount of food coloring! It was only like three drops so hopefully not too bad.
Jenjen: They're yummy, and I am with you on liking that color!
Dana: Thanks!
Kitchenlogic: Ha! Fantastic, I love that pattern!
Krysta: Ha! So true!
Peabody: I know! They're so funny and seemingly antiquated, but somehow charming.
Caked Crusader: Oohh that sounds delicious!
Clumbsy: It sounds exactly like something from that era! I wonder what they'll laugh at in 50 years...
Recipegirl: Yea! It's the same type of sugar that I've seen on brioche sometimes.
Patty: Thanks, I am so glad you came across the site and are enjoying it!
CL: Totally! Funny :-)
Tres Poshe: Thanks! They're just a perfect color aren't they?
Snooky Doodle: Yup, they're almost too easy!
Kate: I hope you'll enjoy them!
Wandering: Oh my! Some blue foods weird me out--candies for instance--but I'm not opposed to a little food coloring. I think your schoolmates needed to chill out btw! :-)
Christina: They make you smile more when you eat em!
Glass Slipper Cakery: Ha! Well, you will if you have these around...they are addictive!
Grace: Yup, they're really easy to make. Not fussy at all! Which allows you to be fussy and ladylike while eating them. Or something.
Anonymous: Fantastic! I think you don't actually NEED the ice cream scoop, though it did make them so precious--I think just shaping them with a regular spoon or by hand would be fine.
Glamah: Aren't they too much? :-)
Hillary: YES! I just found the first edition on ebay and was super psyched. There have been editions since, but I think the 1963 one is the BEST!
Veron: Yeaaah! A girl after my own heart!
Surcie: Time to try it! :-)
Life in recipes: ha! Glad you like the tee! Yay!
Anonymous: I know. I tried to google the name but found nothing--sad that her identity was swallowed like that.
J. Danger: Thanks!
Natalie: Thanks!
Aran: You do! Or, you're even prettier, that is to say!
Veggiegirl: No worries! I changed the frequency so that it's only emailed once a week--Since a lot of people take vacations over the summer I didn't want to clog anyone's inbox. I might change it back to be more frequent in the winter...
Courteous Chihuahua: Ha! They're totally sweet in more ways than one!
Pasteychefbyfire: Cool, hope you enjoy!
Twistie: Yay!! I am so glad they brought back some sweet memories. I love that they're a kind of "choose your own adventure" cookie--and the filling changes their personality so much. I'm an instant devotee!
I don't think I've ever had one of these cookies - but then again, I wasn't alive during that era! I do love the Tiffany blue, though. How can I resist?!?
The blue kinda freaks me out! Like an old princess phone I used to have. I guess that's fitting though eh?
I can see that color blue at a pool party or in a scene from Mad Men. Bet they'd work well with or without frosting, but definitely with coffee or tea.
These are so charming! I'd never heard of them before. They seem perfect for an ultra-girly event like a tea party.
About one thirty in the morning last night I decided I needed to make some of these. My fiance had a friend over and they were hard at work on a project, so I got in the kitchen to make them a treat. I coloured half of it pink and flavored it with peppermint and crushed candy cane, and the other half I did lemon and bright yellow. They were fantastic! Especially the peppermint ones. I would show you a picture, but they didn't last that long! These would be great as fun holiday cookies.
These cookies match that little box you got for your bday!
That is quite the cookie!! I bet kids would love these!
I love the Cooky Book! You just reminded me that I need to steal my Mom's next time I'm home for a visit....
These are so cute! Thanks for the info, hadn't heard of 'em until now! Must make!! What fun colors too :D.
I have some old cookbooks and I've seen these in them--I have always wanted to try them. Love yours in Tiffany Blue!
AMAZING!! this reminds me of my birthday party theme last year: "it came from the back of a box" potluck, where friends had to replicate vintage recipes from the pictures and recipes of old 1950s and 1960s baking books! the crazy treats that seemed appealing back then are just too amazing... love it!
I love that you use Betty Crocker's cooky book :)
I have to brag that I got to hang in the Betty Crocker kitchen when they took our pics for the Pinktogether.com shoot. I was in awe, lol
I am off to etsy to special order a breast cancer ribbon cuppie - what do you think?
(I love that your illustrations are stamps soon, btw!)
That's what I was thinking when I saw your pictures.. Tiffany blue :)
Looks awesome
Thanks again everyone! So glad that it struck a nostalgic chord. It certainly did with the cakespy crew--love those retro cookies!
How much is 1/2 c. soft butter and 3/4 c. sifted confectioners sugar in metric?
(or does c. mean cups?)