Longtime followers of this blog most likely know I love to bake! “Nothin’ says lovin’ like something from the oven” was a refrain I grew up on and apparently took to heart. Baking is fun and magical. So Christmas season, as in every kitchen, is a time to have every excuse to play, exploring all manner of recipes from all over the world as women (I’m imagining) worldwide created sweet delicacies for their friends and families and those recipes made their way into other women’s kitchens over centuries, really. How fascinating. And so when I noticed Betty Crocker had a book, Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book, that assembled many of these recipes in one simple book I immediately purchased it and am gradually making my way through some of the options. This week I learned to make date pinwheels, which I actually thought I had made decades ago, but realized as I was rolling the sticky dough into a log and wrapped it in waxed paper, this was new territory. I think I managed pretty well for my first time. And they are delicious! And they have made lovely gifts for neighbors and friends!
Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book is easy to navigate. It begins with a cooky primer, covering drop, bar, refrigerator, rolled, pressed and molded cookies. There’s an inspiring section on Holiday cookies, appropriate at this time of year. Then moves on to Family Favorites, Quick ‘n Easy Cookies and Company Best Cookies, a bit more challenging, perhaps. My favorite section, however, is the Best Cookies section which covers cookies from a historical perspective. The Best Cooky of 1880-1890 is “Hermits”. Best Cooky of 1890-1900 is Cinnamon Jumbles. Oatmeal Drop Cookies were apparently Best of 1900-1910 and Ginger Creams were Best of 1910-1920. This section extends into the 1960’s and recipes are given for each Best Cooky!
My next endeavor will be to learn to make the German traditional Christmas pfeffernüsse. I will let you know how that goes! 🙂
Cookies at Christmastime have a special container in our household, so I will close this post with a peek at our endearing Santa cookie jar! All good yummy baked cookies live in here!
I wish you all the warmest end of year wishes, dearest readers! Merry Christmas, happy holidays and all good cheer!
Love and blessings,
Kathryn xoxox
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Footnote to subscribers: Some of you might have noticed a little gremlin sneaked in some spam at the end of the Feedblitz announcement of this post. Rest assured that the combined efforts of Phil at Feedblitz and my trusty techie we have unearthed the code and it has been eliminated. Not to worry. Thank you!
Posted on December 25th, 2013 by Kathryn
Filed under: Book Notes | 6 Comments »
