PROBABLY THE TWO MOST UNIVERSAL FOOD memories of childhood in old Wisconsin were the smell of cookies baking and the filled cookie jar always at the ready for snacking. Of course, cookies and Christmas are as inseparable as salt and pepper, and have been so for many generations.
Cookies were an important and permanent part of daily menus where hard physical work was performed: in logging camps, on construction sites, at threshing time. Their versatility contributed to their ubiquitousness. They were portable and nourishing; they could be baked up dainty or hearty to fit the occasion; and they were usually simple to make—an undoubted attraction to the novice, the hurried, or the busy cook.
The following recipes illustrate the kinds of cookies that have been baked by a wide variety of Wisconsinites for hungry working men as well as for holiday celebrants and pleading schoolchildren. Many remain favorites today.
1 cup molasses
2 teaspoons baking soda
1½ cups shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon water
Pinch salt
2 teaspoons ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons cloves
2 teaspoons allspice
About 4 cups flour
Bring molasses to a boil; remove from heat. When cool, add baking soda, shortening, sugar, and eggs. Mix well. Add water, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and enough flour to roll out thinly. Cut and bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
Elizabeth Meating Proctor, Appleton, submitted this family-sized version of the cookies her grandfather baked as a cook in northern Wisconsin lumber camps.
Many ethnic groups had a molasses cookie specialty similar to this one, with variations in flavorings.
2 cups dry grated bread crumbs
½ cup molasses
½ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons cream
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
1½ cups flour
Mix bread crumbs and molasses. Add shortening creamed with sugar. Beat in egg, cream, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and flour. Mix well. Form into balls with fingers. Bake on greased baking sheet at 375 degrees until done, 8 to 10 minutes.
Submitted by Frances W. (Mrs. Robert J.) Booker, Milwaukee.
1¾ cups melted lard
4 cups sugar
6 eggs
2 pounds raisins
7 teaspoons cinnamon
7 teaspoons salt
7 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
Combine melted lard and sugar. Beat in eggs. Stir in raisins, cinnamon, salt, and cloves. Sift flour and baking powder. Mix buttermilk and baking soda. Add flour to first mixture alternately with buttermilk. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheets and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 or 15 minutes. Makes enough for a threshing crew.
Nellie Kedzie Jones, who lived on a farm in Marathon County, recommended these cookies in her column in The Country Gentleman (which she wrote from 1912 to 1916) as ideal to make at threshing time. No directions were given in the original; she simply noted that the cookies should be stored in an earthenware jar.
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
Frostings and decorations as desired
Cream shortening and sugar; beat in eggs. Sift together cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture with flour. Stir in vanilla. Chill several hours or overnight.
To bake, roll a little out at a time and cut with cookie cutters. Bake on greased baking sheets at 300 degrees until done, about 15 or 20 minutes. Frost and decorate.
Submitted by Joan (Mrs. Willian) Fancher, Racine, who remembered that as a child, the best part of the holiday baking was decorating the Christmas cookies. “The trees were sprinkled with green colored sugar and decorated with cinnamon candies. Also made wreaths, stars, and Santa Claus forms.”
2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups cracklings (fried out crisp)
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup ground raisins or dates
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup hot coffee
Salt to taste
Cinnamon to taste
Nutmeg to taste
4 cups flour
Combine sugars and beat in eggs and cracklings. Stir in nuts and raisins or dates. Dissolve baking soda in coffee and add along with salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in flour. Form dough into balls and flatten on baking sheet with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees until done, about 10 minutes.
Submitted by Mrs. M. Burleton, Oakfield.
A Bayside family bakes and decorates Christmas cookies, December 1958. WHi Image ID 10850
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
About 3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Cinnamon, nutmeg, or grated lemon peel to taste
Raspberry jam (optional)
Filling (see below)
Cream butter and sugar; add beaten egg yolks. Combine flour and baking powder and add desired spices or flavoring. Beat egg whites and add to dough. Roll out and cut into rounds large enough to fit into small cupcake tins. Put a layer of jam, if desired, into bottom of cookie cups and add filling. Bake at 400 degrees about 15 minutes or until done.
6 eggs
½ pound chopped almonds (unblanched)
3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
Beat eggs well. Add almonds and sugar. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg.
Submitted by Elinore L. Loveland, Platteville.
1 cup lard
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup boiling water
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Cream lard and sugar together. Beat in molasses and egg. Dissolve baking soda in boiling water and add alternately with flour and salt. Drop by teaspoons on greased baking sheet, allowing room to spread. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes.
Submitted by Mrs. Glenn Daigle, Neenah.
2 cups very finely ground almonds
1 cup extra-fine granulated sugar
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon almond extract
4 egg whites
Mix together almonds, sugar, and confectioners’ sugar. Add almond extract and blend well. Add egg whites and beat vigorously until creamy. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto buttered baking sheet 2 or 3 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from baking sheets quickly and carefully.
Submitted by Helen Collins, Montello, who noted that these are very much like macaroons. A similar cookie, called zimpt hippen in German, is seasoned with cinnamon instead of confectioners’ sugar; after baking, the cookies are rolled around a wooden spoon handle into a cigarette shape.
1 cup lard
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
Vanilla to taste
1 teaspoon baking soda
About 5½ cups flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup or more chopped hickory nuts
Cream lard and butter together. Cream in brown sugar and then sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine baking soda with some of the flour and then add with enough flour to make a firm dough. Add cinnamon. Stir in nuts. Form into rolls or loaves; chill overnight.
Cut in thin slices and bake at 375 degrees until done, about 8 or 10 minutes.
Submitted by Alice (Mrs. H. E.) Johnson, Racine.
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons butter, softened
Semi-dry white wine
Oil for deep-frying
Filling (see below)
Pistachio nuts, crushed
Jimmies
Mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, and baking powder. Add butter and mix until a dough is formed. Add wine slowly until it becomes a pliable dough that can be rolled out.
Divide dough into 4 or 8 portions and roll each separately on a floured board until dough is paper thin. Using a very sharp knife, cut into 4-inch squares. Roll each square on an aluminum cannoli tube, corner to corner, forming a cylinder. Seal along the edges with a finger moistened in water.
Deep fry shells in very hot oil (375 degrees) no more than 2 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Slide off tube carefully and let drain on absorbent paper. Repeat until all dough is used up.
Shells may be made as long as a week in advance; store in airtight containers with absorbent paper between layers. After 3 days, change paper.
When ready to serve, fill shells with filling. Dip ends in crushed pistachio nuts and/or jimmies. Makes 25 cannoli.
8 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups sugar
2 cups milk
2½ pounds ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 pint heavy cream, whipped
1-pound bar chocolate-almond candy
1 tablespoon canned citron (optional)
Mix together cornstarch, sugar, and milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and is thick. Set aside and allow to cool 3 or 4 hours.
Whip ricotta cheese with electric mixer until fluffy. Fold in milk mixture and add vanilla. Fold in whipped cream. Cut chocolate bar into tiny pieces and fold in. Add citron, if desired.
From the files of the International Institute of Milwaukee County.
2¼ cups chopped dates
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup shortening
2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
Dash salt
Combine dates, sugar, and water. Cook for about 10 minutes over low heat. Add nuts and cool.
Cream shortening and add sugar. Stir in eggs. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture and mix well. Chill thoroughly.
Divide dough into two parts. Roll out each part an inch thick. Spread with date mixture and roll as for jelly roll. Chill overnight.
Slice ¼-inch thick and bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.
Submitted by LaVerne Hogan (Mrs. A. A.) Koeller, Ashland.
Norwegian, Scottish, Irish, Bohemian, German—just about every European ethnic group that settled Wisconsin had some version of the sugar cookie.
2 cups sifted flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Additional sugar
Sift together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Cream shortening, butter, and sugar until light. Add egg and cream well. Stir in nutmeg and blend in flour mixture. Cover dough and chill.
Roll dough into small balls, place on lightly greased baking sheet, and press flat with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped in sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Makes 5 or 6 dozen.
Submitted by Florence Rice, Ocanto Falls.
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1½ teaspoons anise seed
¾ teaspoon grated lemon peel
1½ cups flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
Beat eggs until foamy; add sugar and beat until light. Add anise seed and lemon peel. Thoroughly blend together flour and baking powder and stir into egg mixture. Chill thoroughly.
On lightly floured surface, roll out a sixth of the dough at a time into a rope ½-inch in diameter. Cut into 3-inch pieces. Place on a well-greased baking sheet, curving to form crescents. Bake at 350 degrees about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to a rack immediately. When cool, store in tightly covered containers. Makes 3 dozen.
Submitted by Miss Kathleen M. Bauer, Knowles.
1 egg
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
2½ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
Beat egg and gradually beat in sugar. Add lemon juice, butter, and caraway seeds. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt, and stir into egg mixture. Roll out and cut. Bake on greased baking sheets at 400 degrees until lightly browned. Makes about 60 cookies.
Submitted by Fay S. (Mrs. Orr) Dooley, Marinette. This recipe was handed down from her great-grandmother, who homesteaded a farm with her husband about five miles northwest of Peshtigo around 1860. She was one of the 1,200 victims of the great Peshtigo Fire in 1871. Her married daughter, Mrs. Dooley’s grandmother, survived by spending the night in the Peshtigo River. She made these cookies regularly when Mrs. Dooley was growing up.
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour milk (see page 267)
About 2 cups flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup raisins or currants
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Dissolve baking soda in sour milk. Sift together flour, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, mixing thoroughly. Stir in nuts and raisins. (Dough should be stiff.) Drop by tablespoon onto greased baking sheets, 2 or 3 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden.
Submitted by Florence Baker (Mrs. J. A.) Riegel, St. Croix Falls.
1 cup sugar
1 cup softened butter, lard, or rendered chicken fat (scant measure if using chicken fat)
3 eggs, or 1 cup sour cream, or 2 eggs and ⅓ cup sour cream
3 cups flour, or 2 cups flour and 1 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda (scant measure if no sour cream is used)
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla or lemon or almond extract
Additional sugar
Caraway seeds
Cream sugar and butter. Beat in eggs (or egg option). Combine well the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and nutmeg; mix into creamed mixture. Stir in vanilla. Chill slightly.
Flour board lightly and sprinkle with sugar. Roll out dough very thinly; cut with large scalloped cutter. Sprinkle with sugar and caraway seeds and press lightly. Bake on greased baking sheets at 375 degrees about 10 or 12 minutes.
Submitted by Pat Gottschall (Mrs. B. A.) Schuknecht, Lodi.
1 cup honey
¾ cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Grated rind from 1 lemon
About 2½ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
⅓ cup citron
⅓ cup very finely chopped almonds
Almond halves
Citron pieces
Glaze (see below)
Bring honey to a boil; cool. Add sugar, egg, lemon juice, and rind. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves; add to honey mixture. Stir in citron and chopped almonds. Chill in refrigerator overnight.
On a floured board, roll out dough (which will be sticky) to ½-inch thickness. Cut with round or scalloped cutter. Place on greased baking sheet and press a piece of citron in center and add three almond halves, like daisy petals, around it. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned. Glaze immediately; allow to set.
1 cup sugar
⅓ cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
Boil sugar, water, and lemon juice until syrup forms threads from a spoon. Stir in confectioners’ sugar. If glaze thickens while using, add a bit of water and heat again until all cookies are covered.
Store in air-tight containers with waxed paper between layers. Put a piece of apple in the container and allow to ripen at least 2 weeks.
Submitted by Ione R. Gadow, Oshkosh, who remembered that her grandmother stored the cookies in stone crocks with a plate on top.
The Lithuanian baravykai name means “mushroom-shaped cookies.”
5 cups flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon cardamom
¼ teaspoon dried lemon peel
¼ teaspoon dried orange peel
1 cup honey
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup butter, creamed
2 tablespoons sour cream
Icing (see below)
Poppy seeds (optional)
Coconut (optional)
Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and lemon and orange peel. Heat honey to lukewarm; add sugars and mix well. Add flour mixture, alternating with butter and sour cream. Add eggs and blend well. Let dough rest for a few minutes.
Cut about 2 dozen pieces of waxed paper 2 by 5 inches; roll into cones.
From two-thirds of the dough, form about 1-inch balls; flatten to ½-inch thickness. These will be the mushroom “caps.” If you wish to assemble some of the mushrooms upright, make several balls larger to form a base. Place on an ungreased baking sheet 1 inch apart. Bake at 325 degrees until center springs back when touched, about 15 minutes.
Roll remaining dough into a long roll and cut ¾-inch pieces (these will be the “stems”); place in the paper cones. Place on baking sheets and bake at 325 degrees about 10 minutes.
½ cup water
1 cup sugar
1 egg white
5 drops lemon juice or corn syrup, or ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Food coloring
Boil water and sugar until thread spins from the spoon. Beat egg white, then quickly add sugar mixture. Beat at high speed. Add lemon juice and beat until mixture is like thick cream.
If you wish to have the caps a brownish color, remove some of the icing and color with food coloring. For upright mushrooms, color some of icing green.
To assemble, make an indentation in the cookie cap to fit the narrow end of the stem. Ice stem and bottom of mushroom cap and place stem into indentation. Let dry.
Poppy seeds may be used to simulate spores on the bottom of the cap and end of mushroom. Ice top of cap using brown colored icing. Let dry. For upright mushrooms, frost base pieces with green icing, place assembled mushroom on top and support with a stand or toothpicks. Colored coconut may be used to simulate grass.
Submitted by Mrs. Theresa Balciunas, Kenosha, who explained that these elaborate cookies were used as decoration for the Christmas table. “The mushroom is quite prevalent in Lithuania,” she wrote, “and do look very attractive as decoration.” Other cookies were made to look like birch branches, porcupines, or oak branches and were often given as Christmas gifts.
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
¼ cup butter, melted
2 cups canned pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts
Confectioners’ sugar icing
Mix eggs, sugar, butter, and pumpkin together. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in chopped nuts. Pour into a well-greased and floured 15½- by 10½- by 1-inch jelly roll pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Cut into squares when cool. Frost with a confectioners’ sugar icing. Makes about 35 bars.
Submitted by Mary Gillis, Oconto Falls.
1 cup lard
1 cup molasses
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1½ teaspoons baking soda, divided
¼ cup warm water
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon ground anise
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ cup finely chopped almonds (optional)
Cream together lard, molasses, brown sugar, and eggs. Dissolve ½ teaspoon baking soda in warm water and add to lard mixture. Blend and sift together remaining baking soda, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, anise, salt, and pepper. Gradually mix dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Stir in almonds if desired. Knead down until dough can be molded into small balls, ½- to ¾-inch in diameter. Bake on greased baking sheet at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.
Submitted by Marion Philippi (Mrs. John A.) Urich, Madison.
1 pound butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 pound (about 4 cups) flour
½ pound finely ground almonds
Currant jelly
Confectioners’ sugar
Cream butter. Cream in sugar, flour, and almonds until smooth. Roll out as thinly as possible and cut in 1½-inch rounds. Bake on baking sheets at 325 degrees until just “sugar cookie color.” While still warm, spread with jelly and put 2 cookies together into a sandwich. When cool, roll in confectioners’ sugar.
Submitted by Jane (Mrs. Edward) Rikkers, Madison, who noted that these were the first to disappear from her family’s Christmas cookie platter.
1 quart honey
4 cups sugar
½ pound butter
1½ cups milk, divided
1 pound mixed candied fruits
½ pound walnuts
½ pound almonds
2 teaspoons cardamom
2 teaspoons baking soda
5 eggs, slightly beaten
About 13½ cups flour
Heat honey and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add butter and 1 cup milk; let cool. Add candied fruits, walnuts, almonds, and cardamom. Dissolve baking soda in remaining milk and add with eggs. Stir in flour. Chill overnight.
Roll out and cut as desired. Bake on greased baking sheets at 350 degrees until lightly browned, about 8 or 10 minutes. Store and season 4 weeks.
Submitted by Leone (Mrs. Elmer) Mielke, Janesville.
In Norway and elsewhere in Scandinavia, a seasoned fried cookie is served at Christmas.
6 eggs, separated
⅛ cups sugar
6 tablespoons heavy cream, whipped
1 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon cardamom
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
About 4½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cognac (optional)
2 teaspoons lemon extract
Fat or lard for deep-frying
Confectioners’ sugar
Beat yolks and sugar for about 12 minutes. Add whipped cream. Stir in butter, cardamom, and cinnamon. Combine flour and baking powder and sift several times; add to batter. Add cognac and lemon extract. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold in well. Turn dough out onto a board. Taking a small portion at a time, roll out thinly using as little flour on the board as possible. Cut into diamond shapes 5 by 2½ inches. (Make a pattern as a guide for cutting with a floured knife.) Make a lengthwise slit in the center of the diamond, pulling one tip end through it and tucking back under. Deep fry in hot fat or lard until light brown, turning once. Do not crowd fattigmand in kettle. Drain on absorbent paper. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
Submitted by Agnes E. Norem, Antigo, who added that, like her mother, she found these more flavorful if you grind or finely crush the cardamom seed fresh. She used a two-hundred-year-old heirloom Norwegian mortar and pestle for the job.
Lacking sandbakkels pans (which are small, fluted tartlet molds), you can thinly roll the dough for this recipe and bake it on cookie sheets. Some recipes call for brushing the baked sandbakkels with egg white and topping with chopped nuts.
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla
2½ cups flour
Cream butter; beat in sugar. Add egg yolks and vanilla and beat well. Gradually stir in flour and work dough until well mixed. Chill several hours.
Spread dough as thinly as possible in sandbakkels pans. Bake at 375 degrees about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and remove from pans.
Submitted by Mrs. Robert Smart, Muskego.
Friends prepare Norwegian sandbakkels (sand tarts) for the annual lutefisk dinner at Milwaukee’s Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church, November 1955. WHi Image ID 58397
Some version of a light, fried cookie is found in numerous cuisines in middle and northern Europe. Many traditionally served them on Shrove Tuesday as well as at Christmas time. They are called chruscik in Polish, listy by Bohemians, fastnach kuechli by Swiss. This Czech version, which translates as “celestial crusts,” is representative of the type.
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon brandy or wine
2 or 3 drops vanilla
About 1½ cups flour
Lard for deep-frying
Confectioners’ sugar
Cream yolks with sugar; add cream, brandy, and vanilla. Work in enough flour to make a stiff dough, not quite as stiff as for noodles. Work until smooth. Roll out on a lightly floured board until thin. Cut into squares and prick each with a fork. Deep fry in hot lard, a few at a time. Drain on absorbent paper. When all are fried, put on a plate and dust with confectioners’ sugar.
Submitted by Blanche Mendl, Deerbrook.
Rosettes are made by dipping an intricately shaped cookie iron first into batter, then into hot shortening. The irons can be purchased from gourmet cookware companies or Scandinavian specialties stores.
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1½ cups flour
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla
Shortening for frying
Confectioners’ sugar
Beat eggs; add milk, flour, sugar, salt, and vanilla and beat until batter is consistency of thick cream. Heat rosette iron by dripping into heated shortening for 10 seconds. (Shortening should be 350 to 375 degrees.) Dip heated iron into batter, so that batter is even at the top; dip into hot shortening so top of iron is covered. As soon as batter starts to expand from the iron, gradually lift iron until rosette drops off. Remove cookie from fat and drain on absorbent paper and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
Mildred O. (Mrs. Willett S.) Main, Milwaukee, submitted her Scandinavian aunt’s recipe. Her aunt, like her mother, always served afternoon coffee along with rosettes or other cookies: “I can remember coming home from school and being greeted by whiffs of delicious coffee made the old-fashioned way with egg.”
The shape specified for these Christmas cookies represents the halo of the Christ Child.
½ cup sugar
¾ cup shortening (half of it softened butter)
1 egg, beaten, plus additional beaten egg if needed
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cardamom
Cinnamon
Additional sugar
Cream sugar and shortening. Beat in egg. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cardamom and mix in well. Roll out thinly, about ⅛-inch. Cut with doughnut cutter (so there will be a hole in the center). Place carefully on lightly buttered baking sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 350 degrees about 8 minutes; watch carefully so they do not burn. Cool slightly, then place on a rack until cool. Store in airtight containers in a cool place (not the refrigerator).
If dough is too stiff to roll out easily, beat an egg and add as much as needed. A little more beaten egg may also be necessary to roll dough left from the first rollings.
Submitted by Ruth Jochimsen (Mrs. John) Mattke, Sheboygan.
1 pound butter, at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
4 cups sifted flour, divided
Work butter until creamy. Sift sugars together and beat in. Add 3 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well. Divide dough into 3 parts. Knead on a floured board, working about ⅓ cup more of flour into each portion. Roll out about ⅓-inch thick. Cut with diamond-shaped cookie cutters; place on baking sheets and prick with a fork several times. Bake at 325 degrees until very light brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Watch carefully, as these burn easily. Makes about 55 cookies.
Submitted by Irene Jones (Mrs. Leon A.) Pratt, Edgerton. These improve with age and can be frozen. “In making the recipe, our grandmother made it into 4- by 6-inch cakes ½-inch thick. Pieces were broken off and served,” she wrote. “Sometimes the shortbread was made with part butter and part pork drippings.”
Cookies baked in a special iron similar to a waffle iron are made in a number of European countries. After baking, they are often rolled up. In Norway, they are known as krumkage. This is a Swiss version. Belgian New Year’s cookies are baked in a wafflelike iron but are left flat.
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
⅔ cup lard, melted
⅓ cup butter, melted
¾ cup heavy cream
About 5 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
Beat eggs. Add sugar, lard, and butter. Stir in cream. Mix in flour and salt and blend well. Stir in vanilla. Roll into small balls and place in a hot bretzel iron. Bake until light brown. Remove from iron and roll around wooden spoon handle while still warm.
Submitted by Mrs. Edith H. Gotz, Pittsville.