At the beginning of 1918, Canada was still in the midst of the First World War. Still in the throes of conflict overseas that still had no end in sight, the average citizen in North America was effected by the war in every aspect of their daily lives. Between rationing of food for the soldiers overseas, while still maintaining the home, the civilians residing in Canada struggled to live fulfilling lives with high-quality meals, instead relying on resources they provided for themselves.

The third edition of Dainty and Delicious Recipes Prepared from Cowan’s Cocoa and Chocolate was published in this last year of the war, likely in an effort to market their newest product—Cowan’s Active Service Chocolate, intended as a pre-packaged candy that families could send overseas to their loved ones in the war. The major issue that Cowan’s Company seemed to neglect in their publication of this cookbook was that the majority of the recipes they listed were simply unachievable by Canadians living in the shadow of the Great War.

The rationing projects in Canada were an effort to conserve valuable resources that would be better distributed to aide in the war effort to feed soldiers overseas. The projects were self-policed by women in their own communities, who ensured that their neighbours were contributing to the war effort through the storage of home grown goods, and using less of store-bought goods such as flour, milk, and particularly sugar. Women were encouraged to maintain home and community gardens where families could contribute to their personal food production, called "Victory Gardens;" children were encouraged to help their mothers with canning and gardening as well. Sugar during the war was hard to come by, being a luxury item, and shipments from the south were interrupted by the manufacturing of war products, such as ammunitions, ship parts, and medical supplies. Because of this, food products that required the use of sugar were set aside in favour of home-canned vegetables and meats. According to statistics the cost of living in North America went up 64.6% in the duration of the First World War.

Dainty and Delicious Recipes, unfortunately, focused only on the preparation of desserts, and nearly every recipe they listed required the use of sugar; furthermore, the price of chocolate skyrocketed during the war, and was a luxury product few could afford. The Active Service Chocolates were likely the most popular product that Cowan’s sold at this time, but for the citizens still at home in Canada, chocolates and desserts were not a priority.

Cowan’s Company was sold to Rowntree and Company Ltd., in 1926, and likely this decision was made based on the difficulty Cowan’s faced during wartime with making sales of their products.