Original Receipt in 'The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy' by Hannah Glasse, 1747 (Glasse 1747);To make hard dumplings.
MIX flour and water, with a little salt, like a paste, roll them in balls, as big as a turkey's egg, then roll them in a little flour, have the water boiling, throw them in the water, and half an hour will boil them. They are best boiled with a good piece of beef. You may add, for change, a few currants. Have Melted Butter in a cup.
Another way to make hard dumplings.
RUB into your first a good piece of butter, then make it like a crust for a pye; make them up, and boil them as above.