The Twelfh Cookie of Christmas: Marge's Star Sugar Cookies

I’m sorry to say that the cookies I’m sharing with you (metaphorically, at any rate) today are not my finest work.

There’s nothing wrong with the recipe, I assure you. But some cookie batches—and days—don’t turn out QUITE the way we hope they will.

Yesterday was my birthday. We weren’t planning a family celebration until tonight due to the Washington Capitals’ nefarious habit of scheduling hockey games on my birthday every year.

My brother, sister-in-law, and nephew love me, but they are die-hard Caps fans, and I don’t want to ask them to choose between hockey and me. I don’t think I’d be happy with their choice.

I had only two simple goals for the day. I wanted to buy some peppermint-stick ice cream, my annual birthday treat. And I wanted to post my last cookie recipe for this year.

The day started out nicely with phone calls, emails, and Facebook messages wishing me a happy birthday. At about 10:30 in the morning it went downhill.

It wasn’t an awful day by any means.

I wasn’t hit by a truck.

I didn’t start a fire in the new apartment–unless you count the little melt down on one of the stove burners. (I really HATE electric stoves.)

My near and dear remained reasonably hale and hearty.

I did spend an awful lot of the day cleaning up after a slightly sick mother, however. I won’t go into details, but the clean up involved back-to-back laundry that lasted well into the night and a lot of on-my-knees scrubbing.

When she wasn’t being sick, the mother was longing to go for long walks in the open air—until she actually felt the wind blowing on her face.

I popped her into the car to search for the ice cream. She enjoyed the ride, but the frozen treat didn’t materialize. We found egg-nog ice cream and gingerbread ice cream. For some reason, peppermint stick was impossible to come by.

Luckily, my brother showed up in the middle of the afternoon to visit with the mother so I could work on the cookies.

Nevertheless, the baking process got a bit muddled. First I put too much milk in the dough (the recipe below gives the correct, not the Tinky, amount of milk).

Then I sprinkled sugar everywhere and spilled dough on the kitchen floor.

I couldn’t find my cutting board so I tried rolling the cookies out on a plate. They were a bit misshapen.

Finally, I tried to answer the phone while measuring vanilla and ended up with very pungent icing.

After all this I just plain didn’t have the energy to color and pipe the icing. I simply slathered icing onto the cookies, took advantage of the wonderful holiday sprinkles Wilton recently sent to me (really, I think sprinkles could save the world), and threw the things onto a plate.

As you can see from the photo above, I let the setting sun do its thing and dapple the cookies; I figured the light was nature’s decoration. And who am I to mess with nature?

Luckily, the cookies still tasted amazingly good—and brightened the day considerably. My mother also brightened up after a dose of sugar and sprinkles. She tried to feed one to the dog, but I explained that Truffle wouldn’t be able to fit into her Santa suit if she ate cookies.

My birthday wasn’t a perfect day, but it ended with laughter and good flavors. And I consoled myself with the thought that I will get a redo next year when I turn 39 yet again.

Merry Christmas to all. And remember, a loving family, sprinkles, and a cute dog can get you through just about any minor disaster.

Star Sugar Cookies

This cookie recipe was given to me years ago by my friend and fellow thespian Marge Matthews. It’s simple and tasty. What more does one need in a Christmas cookie?

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter (1-1/2 sticks)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
4 teaspoons milk
2 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add the egg and milk, and beat until light and fluffy. Blend the dry ingredients and stir them into the creamed mixture.

Divide the dough into manageable pieces (2 or 3; it depends on how comfortable you are rolling out dough). Cover the dough, and chill it for at least one hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut into shapes and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 5 to 8 minutes (if you roll them out clumsily you may have to wait 10 minutes), or until the cookies begin to turn golden around the edges.

Decorate with icing and/or sprinkles. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Wisconsin Cranberry Bread

In a recent post I wrote about the annual cranberry festival in Warrens, Wisconsin. The recipe below is adapted from its Best of Cranfest cookbook. Lyda Lind of Pine River, Wisconsin, entered this festive bread in a 1990 competition.

I would never have thought of combining cranberries with coconut, but the combination would be a winner in any book. The bread makes a lovely holiday gift. Remember, we still have seven days (and nights) of Christmas left!

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) sweet butter
2 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
2 cups chopped cranberries (I just cut them in half)
1 cup white raisins
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup pecans (optional—if you use them, cut the coconut back to 1/2 cup)
2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 2 regular loaf pans or 5 small ones.

Cream together the sugar and shortening. Add the eggs and mix well. Stir in the cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and blend thoroughly.

Measure out the flour, and place 2 tablespoons of it into a bowl along with the cranberries, raisins, coconut, and pecans (if using). Mix well, and add this fruit mixture to the butter batter.

Blend in the remaining flour and the vanilla. You will have a fairly stiff batter. Spoon it into the prepared pans.

Bake the loaves until a toothpick inserted into the center of the batter comes out clean—about 55 to 60 minutes for the large loaves and 35 to 40 for the small ones.

Let the loaves rest in their pans for 10 minutes; then remove them and let them cool on a wire rack. Makes 2 large or 5 small loaves.

Peppermint-Swirl Brownies

Regular readers may ask whether in fact I didn’t just post a peppermint-brownie recipe. The answer is yes, I did, and I’m not ashamed to admit it!

I don’t believe a cook can combine chocolate and peppermint too often at this time of year. And the two brownie recipes, although both good, are quite different.

This one is a holiday version of a basic cream-cheese brownie. The fudgy base is adapted from King Arthur Flour. The cream-cheese-peppermint layer might be a bit much on any other day of the year, but not on Christmas Eve.

We took them yesterday to lunch with my one of my mother’s oldest friends, Riley Yriart, and her son Juan. My mother and Riley met in France in 1937 and still like to get together whenever they can.

Riley may look a little doubtful about the brownies in the photo below, but she did seem to like them.

Jan (left) and Riley met in college. They still enjoy each other's company--and a little good food and good wine.

Ingredients:

for the brownie base:

1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups flour
12 ounces (2 cups) chocolate chips

for the peppermint layer:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 or 2 drops of red food coloring (enough to make the mixture a gentle pink–optional)
4 to 5 candy canes, crushed (the more pulverized the better)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch pan with parchment paper or foil, and grease the parchment (or foil).

Begin with the brownie base. In a 3-quart saucepan over low heat melt the butter. Add the 2 cups of sugar, and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat briefly—until hot but not bubbling. (It will become shiny looking as you stir it.)

Remove it from the heat and let it cool briefly while you assemble the other ingredients.

Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla. Add the eggs, beating until smooth; then stir in the flour and chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into your pan.

Next, work on the cream-cheese layer. In a small mixing bowl beat the cream cheese. Beat in the 1/2 cup sugar, egg, salt, peppermint extract, and food coloring (if you’re using it). Gently stir in the candy.

Spoon the cream cheese gently on top of the brownie batter; then use a knife to swirl it around gently.

Bake the brownies until they just start to brown on the very edges (30 to 35 minutes). Remove them from the oven.

After 5 to 10 minutes loosen the edges of the parchment paper or foil. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Makes about 2 dozen brownies, depending on how large you cut them.

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Introducing: The Twelve Cookies of Christmas

I'm getting ready to fill my cookie tin!

Welcome to a new monthly feature of In Our Grandmothers’ Kitchens.

Nothing says “Christmas” like a plate of cookies, preferably accompanied by a glass of crisp cold milk or a mug of steaming hot cocoa.

After all, we wouldn’t give Santa anything less than our best.

A few days ago I came up with the idea of doing a series called “The Twelve Cookies of Christmas.”

Unfortunately, I don’t have the energy or the waistline necessary to make (and perhaps consume) twelve different kinds of cookies between now and December 25, 2009.

So I’m aiming for Christmas 2010.

Once a month from now until next December I plan to post a Christmas cookie recipe. When December rolls along the twelve cookies will all be in place. (You’ll have to supply the milk and cocoa yourselves.)

I hope readers and friends will submit their favorite cookies as the months roll by.

My “Partridge in a Pear Tree” cookie comes from Marcia Powell of Norwalk, Connecticut.

Marcia’s cranberry lemon cookies are unusual because their base is a cake mix. She writes that she and her grandchildren Allison and Cooper adapted the recipe from one in The Cake Mix Bible.

The cookies’ yellow-and-red color is striking. Their flavor is sophisticated enough for adults but sweet enough for kids. My nephew Michael and his friend Carson loved them.

I have a feeling I’m going to try them with orange cake mix and peel next………. Yum!



Marcia Powell’s Cranberry Lemon Cookies

Ingredients:

1 package lemon cake mix (According to Marcia, The Cake Mix Bible calls for for Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Lemon Cake Mix. She has also used a Shop Rite mix)
1/2 cup (1 stick) sweet butter, melted (Marcia uses vegetable oil, but I used butter for flavor)
2 eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1-1/2 cups (half of a 12-ounce bag) cranberries

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with silicone or parchment. (Marcia actually uses an ungreased cookie sheet, but my cookie sheets are old, and I tend to be paranoid about sticking.)

In a large bowl combine the cake mix and melted butter. Stir in the eggs, followed by the lemon peel and the cranberries.

Drop the cookies by rounded teaspoons onto the baking sheets. You may also make them larger—up to a tablespoon. Mine were about 2 teaspoons.

Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies turn light golden brown.

Cool the cookies for 1 minute on their baking sheets; then remove them to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 20 to 48 cookies, depending on how large yours are.

Carson was happy to help test the cookies!

The Postman Always Rings Twice … IF YOU GIVE HIM BROWNIES!

I LOVE having an excuse to bake. This time of year I have many reasons to turn on the oven. Yesterday’s was creating a holiday gift for my mother’s New Jersey mail carrier, Colin.

My mother and I are nomadic. We travel from our house in Massachusetts to her house in New Jersey to my brother’s house in Virginia and then back again to New Jersey and so forth.

Fortunately for us, the Post Office almost always finds us. Our carrier in Massachusetts, Lisa, and our carrier in New Jersey, Colin, put up with our comings and goings and keep track of our mail for us. So do the clerks and postmasters in their offices.

We always like to give them a special thank you in December—not just money, but something that represents OUR time the way the help they give us represents THEIR time.

We all like Colin, but our dog Truffle carries her affection for him to extremes. If left to her own devices, Truffle would hop into Colin’s truck and never look back at us. I could tell from the look in her eyes that she felt he deserved something extra special this year.

So I tried baking a treat that had intrigued me in a variety of books and blogs—brownies with mint candy inside.

Basically, this involves making brownie batter and dividing it in half. The first half goes into the pan and is covered with a thin layer of mints. The second half of the batter goes on top.

I decided to use Andes mints, which are very thin. I didn’t want my mint layer to overwhelm the brownies!

I was torn between two different flavors—the traditional chocolate-surrounded “crème de menthe” variety and the seasonal non-chocolate “peppermint crunch.” I settled for using some of each; I put crème de menthe on one half of the brownies and peppermint crunch on the other half.

Naturally, I had to try both kinds before passing the brownies on to Colin!

I might SLIGHTLY prefer the peppermint crunch—after all, brownies already have chocolate in them—but if you are a chocolate lover you may disagree. In any case, both flavors were delicious.

I also threw a little icing on the top of the brownies (with a few sprinkles) to make them extra festive for Christmas. This layer is optional but fun.

Colin looked happy to see them.

Colin takes our comings and goings--and our occasional strange headgear--in stride.

Peppermint Surprise Brownies

Ingredients:

for the brownies:

1/2 cup (1 stick) sweet butter
3 ounces (3 squares) semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons vanilla

for the filling:

2 packages (4.67 ounces each) Andes mints (you won’t need quite all of them, but you will need most of them)

for the icing:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) sweet butter at room temperature
confectioner’s sugar as needed (about 3/4 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla
holiday sprinkles (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-by-8-inch pan with aluminum foil, and butter the foil.

Prepare the brownie batter: In a medium pan heat the butter and chocolate squares, stirring frequently, until the chocolate melts. Remove it from the heat.

When the chocolate/butter mixture is cool enough to stick your finger into it (this won’t take long) stir in the eggs, followed by the flour and then the vanilla.

Pour half of this batter into the prepared pan. Lay the mints (unwrapped, obviously) on top of the batter as lightly as you can, covering as much of the batter as you can.

Pour the remaining batter on top (use a spatula to smooth it over the mints as needed) and bake the brownies for 25 minutes.

Allow the brownies to cool completely in their pan. Remove the foil from the pan, and gently peel the foil off of the brownies.

Next, make the frosting. Cream the butter, and add enough confectioner’s sugar to make a spreadable icing, adding the vanilla toward the end of this process.

Gently spread the icing in a thin layer over the brownies. Decorate with seasonal sprinkles if you like.

Allow the icing to harden a bit before you slice the brownies.

Makes 16 to 36 brownies, depending on how big you want to make them. (We like them little so I hope Colin does.)

Jan's Killer Fruitcake

Belatedly, my mother and I are now getting around to making fruitcake. Fortunately, our family and friends will gladly eat it in the new year rather than at Christmas. As true fruitcake bakers and eaters know, fruitcake is most properly prepared around Thanksgiving. Ideally, it should have a few weeks to season before it is consumed.

Fruitcake is often the subject of jokes, and I myself have been known to sing “Grandma’s Killer Fruitcake” at this time of year. Nevertheless, in our family fruitcake baking is an almost sacred ritual that connects me to my mother Jan and her mother Clara. It’s as much about that chain of bakers as about the end product.

I’m sure I’m not the first home baker to fall in love with Truman Capote’s touching story from 1956, “A Christmas Memory.” First published in Mademoiselle magazine, of all places, this reminiscence sketches for readers the loving relationship in the 1930s between Capote as a child and his cousin, Sook Faulk. On the inside this sixty-odd-year-old woman was, as the author recalls, “still a child.”

The two are allies and best friends, misfits in a home of adults who are nameless in the tale and who seem to care little for the odd couple in their midst. The highlight of the year for young “Buddy” and his friend is the time in November when the two break into their piggy banks, shop for ingredients, and bake 30 fruitcakes. The fruitcakes make their way out into the larger world, presented to people who seem interesting or significant to the bakers, from President Roosevelt to an itinerant knife grinder.

The story is brilliantly written in the present tense, giving the reader an immediate sense of being a part of the two protagonists’ world and their baking ritual. Capote repeats several times the phrase with which his cousin announces each year that the time to begin baking has come: “It’s fruitcake weather!”

“It’s always the same,” he explains.“[A] morning arrives in late November, and my friend, as though officially inaugurating the Christmas time of year that exhilarates her imagination and fuels the blazes of her heart, announces: ‘It’s fruitcake weather! Fetch our buggy. Help me find my hat.’”

I love the insight this story shows into the ways in which cooking and food can bind us to other people and our recollections of those people. The Truman Capote who is narrating is two decades and more than a thousand miles from his cousin’s memory; toward the end of the story he explains that not long after the Christmas he recalls in minute detail he was sent away to school. She died before he could see her again.

Nevertheless, by telling the tale of their baking adventures—their marshalling of resources, the creation of their shopping list, their daunting encounter with the bootlegger who supplies the whiskey that preserves the cakes–he brings both his younger self and his beloved cousin back to life.

The story makes every reader pine for the wonder of childhood. I’ve participated in a fair number of local theatrical productions. The only time I ever had to wear waterproof mascara was when I played the part of the older cousin in staged readings of “A Christmas Memory.” I couldn’t make it to the story’s end without crying. I still can’t.

So let’s all bake fruitcake—for Truman Capote before he “became” Truman Capote, for lost cousins everywhere, for our mothers and our grandmothers.

Capote writes in the story that he and his cousin kept scrapbooks of the thank-you notes they received from the scattered recipients of their cakes, notes that gave them a feeling of connection “to eventful worlds beyond the kitchen with its view of a sky that stops.”

Cooking gives me that feeling of connection every day, but particularly when it’s fruitcake weather.

Image Courtesy of Random House

Jan’s Killer Fruitcake

Ingredients:

1 pound fruitcake fruits (I particularly like the not too sticky ones from King Arthur Flour)
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup raisins, cut in half
1 cup currants
1/2 cup orange juice or sweet cider
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons brandy, plus brandy for seasoning
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon mace
1-1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) sweet butter at room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 eggs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Combine the fruit, nuts, juice, molasses, 2 tablespoons brandy, and spices in a large bowl. Mix them together well, and let them stand while preparing the batter. (If you leave them for several hours or overnight, so much the better; you may use them almost immediately, however.)

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together, and beat them until they are fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Stir in the flour mixture, and then fold in the fruit mixture.

Line 2 greased loaf pans with well greased parchment paper, and divide the batter between them. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. This may take up to about 1-3/4 hours, but start testing at the end of 1 hour just to be sure.

Let the cakes cool completely in their pans. Remove them carefully. Wrap them in cheesecloth, and drizzle brandy over the cheesecloth. Cover the wrapped cakes in foil, and seal them in plastic bags. Stow them away to season as long as you can. Optimally, you should wait at least 3 weeks before serving them, but you may certainly try them as soon as 10 days after baking. If you want to keep them for more than 3 weeks, you may have to drizzle on more brandy from time to time.

Makes 2 loaves.

A few years ago NPR’s This American Life aired a vintage reading of “A Christmas Memory” by Capote himself. To hear it and more, click here, and look for the December 19 edition of the program. And to hear me make fruitcake and sing a few strains of “Grandma’s Killer Fruitcake” (not terribly well) on public-radio station WFCR, try this link.

Mother Jan is getting ready for Christmas!

North Meets South Pecan Pie

Pie is a grand old tradition for the holidays. There’s love in every pie crust–particularly in our home, where my 90-year-old mother Jan is the designated crust roller.

Everyone has a favorite flavor for holiday pie. As far as I’m concerned, you can keep your apples and your squash. Give me a pecan pie, and I’m so happy I could sing (and frequently do)!

This recipe combines two of my favorite ingredients—Southern pecans and Northern maple syrup. It comes from the recipe files of my sister-in-law’s grandmother, Lois Bullard of Memphis, Tennessee. The delicate maple flavor makes the pie taste less sweet and syrupy than many of its molasses- or corn-syrup-based brethren.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons sweet butter at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons flour
1 pinch salt
1 cup maple syrup (I like to use Grade B)
2 cups pecan halves
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, flour, salt, and syrup. Stir in the pecan halves, and mix well. Pour the mixture into the pie shell. Bake for 5 minutes; then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees. Bake until the mixture just sets, 30 to 40 minutes, being careful to avoid burning. Serves 6 to 8. A little whipped cream on the side gilds this lily in decadent fashion.

Rolling Pie Crust with Love: Jan in the Kitchen

Eggnog Scones

Now that December has arrived I’m starting to think about holiday baking. Fruitcake is on the horizon, but since I love scones I’m starting with them. These buttery treats taste like Christmas—delicious and full of nutmeg. I suggest using either homemade eggnog or a good commercial grade. If you’re trying the latter, take a good look at the ingredients. They should be things you recognize—milk, cream, eggs, nutmeg, sugar—rather than powdered substances, corn syrup, or things that end in “ose.” Spiking the eggnog is fun but not essential.

Ingredients:

for the scones:

1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking power
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) sweet butter
2/3 cup dried cranberries (optional for flavor and color)
1 egg
2/3 cup eggnog
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

for the optional glaze:

2 tablespoons orange juice
confectioner’s sugar as needed (I used at least a cup!)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Liberally grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment or a silicone mat. Combine the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. With knives or a pastry blender cut in the butter, but be careful not to overmix. Stir the cranberries into this mixture if you want to use them.

In a separate bowl, combine the egg, eggnog, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and blend until the dry ingredients are moistened. You may cut the scones in your bowl by forming the mixture into a round disk and cutting it into 6 to 8 pieces and then placing them on the baking sheet—or you may simply drop 6 to 8 lumps onto your baking sheet. Bake for 18 to 25 minutes, until the bottoms are golden brown.

If you wish to use the glaze (which is sweet but delicious), place the juice in a small container, and add confectioner’s sugar until you have a slightly wet paste. Drizzle the glaze over slightly cooled scones. If you want to go wild, place sprinkles on top.

Makes 6 to 8 scones.