CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIES Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup margarine, softened
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1) Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, set aside.
2) In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Gradually blend in the sifted ingredients until fully absorbed.
Cover dough, and chill for 2 hours.
3) On a clean floured surface, roll out small portions of chilled dough to 1/4 inch thickness.
Cut out shapes using cookie cutters.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are barely brown.
Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup shortening
- 5 to 6 drops Anise oil (the American version preferred by some of the kids, 1 Tbls. vanilla extract 1 ts. almond extract)
- 2 eggs
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
1) Mix together sugar, shortening or margarine, Anise oil(or vanilla extract and almond extract). Cream these together until light.
2) Add eggs and beat well.
3) Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt ( use 1/2 teas. if using margarine).
4) Add to sugar mixture alternately with milk, ending with flour mixture. Dough will be quite stiff and may require mixing the last bit of flour in by hand.
5) Roll out portions of dough on floured board and cut with your favorite cookie cutters.
6) Place on greased cookie sheets and bake for 10 to 12 minutes .
Test for doneness by touching lightly with your finger. If there is no dent, they're done.
Cool and frost, decorate with colored sugars and colored frosting..
Note: If you like crisp cookies, roll the dough thinner. For more cake-like dough roll thicker and use metal cookie cutters.
My Christmas food memory is of my grandfather. He was an amazing man, so full of spirit and fun and practical jokes. His specialty was a candy called "Daisy Cream" - boiled, cooled on a marble slab and pulled like taffy, only it "aged" to a buttery, creamy, soft butter-mint type consistency (without the mint).
He had a small cottage-type business around Christmas -people from all over the country bought small paper-lined coffee tins of the candy for $1.00.
Any time we visited, there was a pot on the stove, and another batch already pulled and cut into bite-size pieces waiting for their intricately folded waxed-paper wrappers. My brothers and I used to argue over who would get the "sucker" - grandpa would scrape the remaining syrup out of the pan and put the spoon in cold water where it would harden into a homemade lollipop.
In my grandmother's diary (which, as the only grandaughter she left to me) she stated that one year, they raised $300.00, which they sent to the convent where my aunt (their daughter) was a member. That's 300 lbs of candy, folks!
My brothers and I have recently taken to trying our hands at Daisy Cream. We have grandpa's slab - it has a crack in it just as it did when he made his candy - his original cooking pot and candy thermometer. Ours is a clumsy rendition, but I'm glad my kids are able to have the same eat-yourself-sick experience that I did growing up.
Hi, Carlo. This isn't exactly Christmas, but folks have liked it. Make a crust of crushed ginger snap cookies (Salerno is pretty good), sugar, and butter. Into it put a mixture of fresh sliced peaches and mangos with enough sugar and some minute tapioca for thickening. For a topping mix chopped pecans, flour, brown sugar, and oatmeal, with enough butter to moisten it all. Bake at about 350 until the topping is starting to brown. Let it sit long enough so that it can be cut and maintain integrity.
HA! My mother used to tell me the same thing! ;)
Carlo:
I'm not Italian, except by marriage. I do remember the "iceman" however. My experience was somewhat different from yours -- World War II in California. The iceman would come down the street in his truck delivering ice to all the houses. All the kids would chase him hoping that he would throw us chips (he always did). His name was Tony and we loved to see him come.
The story in my family is that when I was about 5 my grandmother was cooking and asked someone to hand her the paprika. I piped up and said, "Oh, Grandma, you're talking like the iceman." Everyone laughed that someone so little would notice such a thing.
Christmas cookie bump
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