December 20, 2005

• Food, and connections...

   

  
  

  

  
  

  Nothing like a favorite old Christmas cookie recipe to make you smile...

  
  

  except for maybe when you make those favorite old cookies with someone special...

  
  

  

  
  

  Last year, I had sinus surgery on December 10th.  My cousin Shirley, 7 years my senior, who has been more like a big sister to me and a best friend and confidante for my entire life, came to stay with me the following day.  It seems that every time there is a serious challenge in my life, she has been there for me, and this was just one more of those times.  It overlapped quite nicely with our plans and preparations for the holiday season, and although I was in a considerable amount of discomfort, I was able to be up an around (and was on some pretty good painkillers) and enjoy a nice long visit with someone I love dearly.   It just happened  that she was in a cookie exchange at work, and needed to make some of my grandmom's Hungarian filled pastry cookies, so we decided to spend some of the day in the kitchen making them and one of my favorite recipes as well -- a filled gingerbread cookie.  Just like old times.  Since we come from such a food-oriented family, we have spent more hours together in kitchens than probably anywhere else. 

  
  

  This year, looking back, I realize that day was one of the things that really "made" my Christmas last year.  Just us two girls in the kitchen...a sense of continuity, a legacy passed on from our mothers and grandmother on back to the first women who ever rolled out dough and put it in the fire...

  
  

  Thats what tradition is about.  Thats what is important, a sense of belonging, of caring and being cared for, of being a part of something way bigger than us, and having a place in the never ending cycles and rhythms of life, in the passage of time.

  
  

  Part of the cookie exchange 'rules' were that you include the recipe for your cookies.  Shirley included the recipe for the filled pastries, but not for the gingerbread men, which we decided at the last minute to add to each plate because they looked so cute.  This year, one of her coworkers asked for the recipe, and Shirley emailed me requesting that I send it on to both of them. I just got done sending off that email, and since I took the time to type out the recipe, I decided to copy it and share it here with you, Dear Reader. 

  
  

  This recipe is from one of the cookbooks my mom had, and I inherited from her.  When I was growing up, I loved experimenting with the recipes in her files and cookbooks, and I am so happy that I still have them.  One day I hope to put all of my favorites together so I can pass them on to future generations, and include the family stories that go with them, because they are sometimes even more important than the food itself. 

  
  

  Food, and connections. We need both to be truly nourished. 

  
  

  

  
  

   

  
  

  From Pillsbury's 6th Grand National $100,000 recipe and baking contest -- 1955

  
  

  Ginger Coookie Capers

  
  

  Junior winner by Patty Rose Welti, Plainview, Minnesota

  
  

  "the gayest gingerbread cookies you ever saw -- gingerbread men that run, dance and walk. Or, make simple round cookies and cut slits for saucy "faces". The apple butter filling makes them extra moist and delicious"

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Bake at 400 deg. F for 8-10 minutes

  
  

  Makes 1 dozen 6-inch gingerbread men, or 3-1/2 dozen 2-inch cookies

  
  

  Sift together ...

  
  

  2 cups sifted Pillsbury's Best Enriched Flour (white flour)

  
  

  1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder

  
  

  1/4 teaspoon baking soda

  
  

  1/3 cup sugar

  
  

  1 teaspoon Cinnamon

  
  

  1 teaspoon Ginger

  
  

  heat (over low heat until shortening melts) ...

  
  

  1/2 cup Crisco (shortening)

  
  

  1/2 cup molasses

  
  

  add...

  
  

  dry ingredients (see above)

  
  

  3 tablespoons hot water

  
  

  stir until blended

  
  

  chill throughly, at least 1 hour (or overnite, if you prefer)

  
  

  knead or "work" into a ball on lightly floured pastry board, roll out to 1/8 inch thickness, shape as directed below

  
  

  bake in moderately hot (400 degree) oven for 8 to 10 minutes

  
  

  for gingerbread men: cut with gingerbread man cutter. place half of men on ungreased baking sheet. spread about 2 teaspoons filling over heads and bodies, keeping the filling away from edges. top with remaining gingerbread men, decorate with currants or tiny slits to make features and buttons. no need to seal edges -- arms and legs may be stretched and curved to make gingerbread men 'dance' and 'run'.

  
  

  ** note from Joannie -- these also make really adorable dancing ginger bears if you use a teddy bear cutter

  
  

  for man-in-the-moons or peek-a-boos: cut with 2 inch round cutter, place half of rounds on ungreased baking sheet and top each with about 1 teaspoon filling. cover with remaining rounds and cut slits for 'moon faces' or an X in each one for peek-a-boos

  
  

  Apple Butter Filling

  
  

  
  

  
  

  cook...

  
  

  3/4 cup apple butter

  
  

  1/3 cup chopped dates

  
  

  1/3 cup sugar

  
  

  in small saucepan for 3 minutes, stirring constantly

  
  

  blend in...

  
  

  1 tablespoon butter

  
  

  cool

  
  

  ** note from Joannie -- store unused portion in refrigerator if you have leftovers - makes a delightfully decadent-tasting spread for toast, and keeps a very long time

  
  

  

  
  

  Because of this darned cold I have -- which has now settled into my chest, I don't think I will be making any cookies this time.  But there are still a few days left, so you never know what I may feel inspired to do.   I am just taking it easy for now, and taking things as they come.  Which has allowed me a lot of time for reflection, for recalling cherished memories and thinking about my place in the general scheme of things.  Something we all too often forget to do in the hustle and bustle of this season.

  
  

  I hope you, Dear Reader, can also find some time to do the same...

  
  

  It's pretty powerful stuff if you just let it flow.

  
  

  

  
  

   

  • 3:14 pm
  • 6 Comments