Memories of Holiday Cookies

My son and I were recalling the days when making holiday cookies was a favorite activity in our house.

From my Fanny Farmer cookbook of the 1960s, I made date-nut bars and gingerbread cookies, among many others. With my cookie press, I made dozens of shapes with cream cheese dough, including wreaths decorated with bits of candied fruit for leaves and berries. Dough made with lots of sugar and butter made star or flower shapes to top with icing or sprinkles.

I think my son found this recipe for stained glass cookies, because Zoom was one of his favorite childhood TV shows. The recipe involved making quarter-inch rolls that could be shaped to enclose the crushed hard candy "glass." The more modern way is to use cookie cutters, as seen here
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I always made some Fanny Farmer peanut butter cookies for my father, to present along with some of his his favorite Jack Daniels.

My old cookbook became so worn that I finally dumped it. Our family eating habits had changed a lot and even though I learned much about cooking from it, a lot of the recipes seemed out of date. My tiny kitchen in this apartment precludes major baking, though for a time I made the Fanny Farmer Allspice Orange Nut Bread to use as breakfast.food.

My children are now middle-aged and there are no grandchildren for holiday baking adventures, but I hope some of you are enjoying the fun of making and decorating cookies with youngsters. It's also educational - reading a recipe, measuring, following the steps, watching the timer, all teach valuable lessons. And you can eat the rewards!

Happy holidays to all and good luck with your baking!

--Bernice