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This Hershey’s Cocoa Cookbook (1979) is a charming booklet packed with classic vintage chocolate recipes from one of world’s most beloved chocolate brands, and filled with recipes for chocolate cakes, brownies, and classic cookies. If you love brownies, check out my modern take on classic brownies, inspired by their vintage recipe for “the best” brownies, a rich and decadent dessert using a combination of both cocoa powder and melted chocolate.
Vintage Inspired Recipes
Classic Brownies Recipe
These Classic Brownies are a rich, decadent dessert from the combination of both cocoa powder and melted chocolate for deep flavor. My vintage inspiration for these old fashioned brownies is from a 1979 “Hershey’s Cocoa Cookbook.“ While almost everyone loves brownies, people like to eat them in different ways. Some prefer them thick and cakey, while others like them thin and fudgy. They can be served simply dusted with powdered sugar or frosted with a chocolate ganache.
My modern modifications included adding instant ClearJel to retain moisture, added melted chocolate in addition to just using cocoa to deepen the flavoradded additional salt for our modern palettes, and increased the vanilla to enhance the flavor.
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1970’s Vintage Cookbooks
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This post includes original cookbook images and text excerpts from Hershey’s Cocoa Cookbook 1979, shared for educational and historical purposes. All rights belong to the original publisher.
Any commentary, notes, or recipe adaptations are my own and reflect my professional baking experience in an FDA-inspected, commercial kitchen. I am not a licensed medical professional and do not provide medical advice.
All modern recipe adaptations and photography © 2025 Vintage Baked Modern LLC. Please do not copy or reproduce without permission.
