Just like the
Christmas stocking and other Christmas traditions, Christmas cookies plays a
very special role in the holiday celebration. Many of you remember
visiting your grandparents at Christmastime and running straight to the
cookie jar or attending a holiday celebration where there is a table full of
Christmas treats. Of all the holiday traditions inherited and adopted
by our ancestors, the foods (especially sweets) are likely enjoyed the
most. Here are some of my favorites, that have been passed on over the
years, that I would like to share with you.
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
½ sugar
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
1 egg
1 tsp. almond extract or vanilla
Heat oven to 400º. Mix margarine and sugar. Mix in remaining
ingredients. Place dough in cookie press; form desire shapes on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until set
but not brown, 6 to 9
minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Makes about 5 dozen.
To decorate: Before baking, top with raisins, candies, nuts, candied fruits
etc. Or, after baking
top with colored sugars, red cinnamon candies or finely chopped nuts. Use
drop of corn syrup
to hold decorations on baked cookie.
¾ cup margarine or butter, softened
¼ cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
Heat oven to 350º. Mix all ingredients. If dough is crumbly, mix in 1
to 2 tablespoons margarine
or butter, softened. Roll dough about ½ inch thick on lightly floured
cloth-covered board.
Cut into small shapes (ovals, squares, triangles). Place about ½ inch apart
on ungreased cookie
sheet. Bake until set, about 20 minutes.
Immediately remove from cookie sheet.
Makes about 2 dozen
2 cups margarine
2 ½ cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. molasses
1 tsp. vanilla
5 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ cups slivered almonds
Cream margarine; add sugar and eggs; beat well. Add molasses and
vanilla. Sift together the
dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Add nuts. Dough will
be thick. Mold into 4 rolls.
Refrigerate overnight. Cut into thin slices. Bake at 350º for
8-10 minutes until brown.
Makes 10 dozen.
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup finely chopped nuts
powdered sugar
Heat oven to 400º. Mix margarine, ½ cup powdered sugar and the
vanilla. Mix in flour and
nuts until dough holds together. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place
about 1 inch apart on
ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until set but not brown, 10-12 minutes.
Roll in powdered sugar
while warm; cool. Roll in powdered sugar again. Makes about 4 dozen.
Back to the top
Dutch
Bars
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. almond extract
2 cups flour
1 egg white
½ almonds, slivered
1 tbsp sugar
¼ tsp. cinnamon
Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add egg yolk and almond
extract and blend thoroughly.
Stir in flour. Pat dough into greased 10 x 15 inch jelly roll pan.
Beat egg white until foamy;
spread evenly over dough. Spread almonds over the top. Combine
sugar and cinnamon and
sprinkle on top. Bake 20-25 minutes in a 350º oven. Cool 10
minutes. Cut lengthwise cuts,
then 12 diagonal cuts. Cool.
3 eggs
½ cup sugar
½ stick butter
1 tsp. baking powder
flour
Mix with enough flour to make a soft dough. Roll out thin and cut into
strips. Every so often,
pinch this strip about ½ inch, then start with a circle movement and make it
look like a rose.
Fry in hot oil until golden brown. Set on paper towel to get extra oil
off and store. When ready to
serve, sprinkle with crushed walnuts and honey. Heat the honey; it
makes it easier to spread with
a spoon in all the grooves. Sprinkle nuts. Powder sugar
can be used instead.
1 ½ cup flour
1 stick butter or margarine
½ large cream cheese
Cream together butter and cream cheese. Leave at room temperature about 2
hours. Sprinkle
with milk lightly on mixture. Roll dough into a ball. Divide into two.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap; flatten like a patty and refrigerate. Dough must be cold to roll out.
Take out only a half a patty at a
time to roll. Roll dough on pastry cloth sprinkled with flour. Cut
dough into 2-inch squares. Put 1
teaspoon of prune, apricot or strawberry filling in the center of each
square. Fold in opposite ends to
make diamond shape. Bake at 350º for 10 minutes, only until bottom of
cookies are lightly
browned. Remove from cookie sheet immediately and roll in confectioners
sugar.
Makes about 4 dozen.
Walnut mixture:
1 lb walnuts (chopped)
½ cup sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
2 crushed melba toasts
1 lb. phyllo
Approx . 3 sticks butter
Syrup mixture: 2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 little lemon juice
Mix top 4 ingredients. Lay about 6
sheets phyllo in pan, brushing every 2nd sheet with melted butter
and allowing sheets to curve part-way up sides of pan. Sprinkle with a
layer of walnut mixture.
Add a few sheets phyllo again, brushing with butter. Add another layer
of the walnut mixture until
you have used all the walnut mixture. Put a layer of 6 unbroken phyllo
on top and tuck the edges in with phyllo edge of butter knife. With very sharp knife, cut into
squares, then each square
diagonally. Bake in 325 oven for 1 hour. Cool completely several
hours an soak with syrup.
Syrup: Combine ingredients above for syrup mixture. Bring to a boil.
Continue to stir and simmer
for approximately 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Pour a
little at a time over baklava, coating
evenly.
Dough:2 pkgs. dry yeast, combined with ½ cup warm
water
2 cups Crisco
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
6 tbsp. sugar
6 cups flour
1 small carton sour cream (8oz)
Nut filling: 1 lb chopped nuts (walnut)
½ tsp. cinnamon (optional)
milk (enough to make a thick paste)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix thoroughly like pie
dough (do not overwork). Roll out on powdered sugar board instead of
flour. Roll ¼ to ½ inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch squares.
Place ½ tsp. nut mixture in each square and roll up
and shape like a crescent. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350º about
10-12 minutes or until
lightly browned. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
⅛ tsp cardamom
¼ tsp allspice
2 cups flour
1 cup pecans, chopped
½ cup strawberry jam
Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add egg yolks and
vanilla and beat thoroughly. Add
cardamom and allspice to flour then add flour mixture to butter mixture.
Stir in chopped nuts.
Spread half of the dough in a greased 8 inch square cake pan. Spread the
strawberry jam on top.
Cover with the remaining dough. Bake in 325º oven for 1 hour or until
browned lightly. Cool then
cut into squares.
Brown sugar mixture:
1 egg
¾ cup brown sugar (packed)
½ cup honey
½ cup dark molasses
Flour mixture:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cardamon
½ cup chopped almonds
½ cup mixed candied fruits & peels (finely chopped)
Lemon Glaze:
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp. butter or margarine (melted)
1 tbsp lemon juice
Beat egg; add brown sugar and beat together until fluffy. Add honey &
molasses. Beat well.
Mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, ginger, and cardamon in
large bowl. Add
brown sugar mixture. Stir by hand; mixture will be stiff. Stir in
almonds and candied fruits & peels.
Cover and chill for several hours until easy to handle. Divide dough
in half. Roll each half on a
floured surface to a 12 x 8 inch rectangle. Cut into 2-inch squares.
Place on a greased cookie
sheet 2 inches apart. Bake at 350º, 8-10 minutes or till edges are
set. Slightly Cool. Brush cookies
with Lemon Glaze while warm. (Combine all lemon glaze ingredients; add water
3-4 tsp. to make
a drizzle consistency.) Garnish cookies with additional candied fruits and
peels. allow glaze to dry.
Place in a container and allow to sit for up to 7 days to allow flavor to
mellow.
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tsp anise extract
4 ½ cups cake flour
Beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar and beat for 15 minutes. Do not
overbeat. Fold in anise
extract and flour. Roll dough ⅜ inch thick. Flour mold or rolling pin. Press
molds firmly to dough.
Place cookies on greased and floured cookie sheet. Let dry overnight at room
temperature,
covered with paper towels. Preheat oven to 375º, then place
cookies in oven and immediately
reduce temperature to 300º. Bake for 15 minutes. Cookies should not brown.
Store for 2-3 weeks
to mellow flavor. Paint designs with egg yolk colored with food coloring.
Christmas
Stockings