Woot. It is a Three-Day Series. A brand new thing at Polly Goggles.
Yes, today is the first day in a three-part series. Oh, dive in on this very first day. And the suspense will be killing you day after day.
So here it is. September. The first day of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere for 2025 is just around the corner. It falls on Monday, September 22nd. The Autumnal Equinox when the Sun crosses the celestial equator towards the South.
Okay. So Fall is upon us. And what is better during the Fall and Winter than the most delicious of snacks?
So I bring to you the origins, yes, the origins of the wondrous treats in our lives. From the mystery of who made the first s’more to the dentists who invented a popular carnival snack.
• S’mores
Okay. So I’m starting off both strong and weak at the same time. S’more might be one of the best things ever. But the origin of s’mores is a mystery.
While we know plenty about graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate, it’s a big old mystery who invented the sweet treat that combines all three.
The first published recipe for “Some More,” which has been credited to Loretta Scott Crew, appears in the 1927 scouting handbook Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts. Oh. By the way. S’more made the cut to join the dictionary in 1974.
• Candy Corn
Candy corn will be Halloweening us soon. It was invented in Philadelphia. It is one of those treats that is controversial. People either love it or hate it. But candy corn might be the most famous Halloween candy of all time.
A Philadelphia confectioner introduced the sugary kernels in the 1880s, cooking the ingredients into a slurry and pouring the three individually colored sections into a mold by hand.
The guy’s name was George Renninger, and he worked for the Wunderle Candy Company. It was originally called “Chicken Feed” because corn was primarily used as livestock food at the time.
• Cupcakes
The first recipe for cupcakes dates back to the 18th century. Those tiny, frosted cakes go all the way back to the 1796 American Cookery cookbook. It was written by a good woman named Amelia Simmons.
She called her recipe “cake to be baked in small cups.” The more succinct cupcake first appeared in the 1828 cookbook Seventy-Five Receipts by Eliza Leslie.
That Amelia Simmons was practical and resourceful. She adapted British recipes with ingredients available in colonial America, like cornmeal, pumpkins, molasses, and other such things.
So there they are. Part One of Three in the series, “The Origins of Delicious and Wonderful Treat Goodies.” Or. “How The Sugar Fix All Began.”
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“The heat of autumn is different from the heat of summer. One ripens apples, the other turns them to cider.”
— Jane Hirshfield
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“Candy is childhood, the best and bright moments you wish could have lasted forever.”
— Dylan Lauren
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“Even the simplest food has a story if you dig deep enough.”
— Anthony Bourdain
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