From the October 27th, 1931 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, via the blog Steve Rogers’ New York
ORANGE BISCUITS
2 tablespoons grated orange rind
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons shortening
2 cups flour
Milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
Orange juice; loaf sugar
[M]ix and sift flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening with a knife. Add orange rind and enough milk to make a soft dough. Roll out on a slightly floured board to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with small biscuit cutter. Dip loaf sugar in orange juice, and press a piece into the top of each biscuit. Bake in a quick over (450 degrees) for 13 to 15 minutes.
Cane sugar used to come in cones, called sugar loaves. You’d cut them into manageable lumps with rather intimidating-looking cutters called sugar nips, or break them apart untill they were small enough peices to bake with. The recipe is probably intended for white sugar lumps. I used less refined sugar loaves since that’s what I can readily buy, but you could honestly just use sugar cubes.
These were a bit scone-like but fairly savory for all that the orange flavor came through surprisingly well. The sugar on top melted in the oven, giving it an interesting texture. I think these would have been improved by brushing the tops with cream or egg wash before pressing the sugar lumps in, but these were still very good. I could see serving them with tea or coffee
