How to keep the cookie jar filled

...all through the holidays!

It's the time of year again, ladies and gents. Time to don favourite apron, give the electric beaters a good work out, tint frosting red and green, and go to town on whipping up scads of holiday cookies.

Like many people, I have a certain set of Christmas cookie recipes that have been a part of my holiday celebration throughout my entire life. They're beloved classics that were handed down from my mom and grandmothers, and which (though I now make gluten-free versions for myself) I could scarcely imagine December without.

There are others as well that have hopped on board over the years from various sources, and a few I created myself, too. I'm always open to adding new additions to the line up and vintage sources are certainly one of the first places I turn to if I'm in the mood to christen a new holiday cookie recipe.

With Christmas just twenty days away, I felt that more than one recipe was called for, so today's vintage recipe page from 1961 features three different Christmas cookie recipes, all of which include molasses to help give them an extra deep flavour and beautiful aroma that instantly puts one in the mood to curl up in front of the Christmas tree and listen to your favourite Burl Ives or Bing Crosby holiday album.




{Whether you fancy stars, gingerbread men, or Christmas trees, they're a festive cookie shape for one and all to be had amongst these delicious early 1960s recipes. Image via kristineroy on Flickr.}



These three recipes are, admittedly, quite similar to one another, though they do differ a tad (chiefly when it comes to which spices are used and the shapes they're cut out into). If you adore molasses or really need to bake up a mountain of cookies, you could certainly give all three a spin, if not, try out one or two this year and perhaps the others during holiday seasons to come.

I've always loved the flavour of raisins and molasses together, so if I was going to whip one of these tasty Christmas cookie recipes up, I'd be quite inclined to throw in a handful (particularly with the Swedish Crisps), but otherwise really wouldn't tamper with these recipes much at all.

The baking fest hasn't quite begun on this end yet, but soon enough it certainly will, and the days of a kitchen warm with the sublime aroma of sweet holiday treats will soon be here once more. I love cooking and baking for the holidays, so this point sets me smiling just thinking about it - not to mention the fact that it easily gets the ol' tummy rumbling, too!

Hmmm, perhaps I better go see if we have any molasses in the pantry and do a little pre-official Christmas baking cookie making.

Wonderful Cherry Nut Shortbread Cookie Recipe

✯ Day 354 of Vintage 365 ✯

Call me biased, but my mom - who is a stellar home cook, period - is amongst the best bakers I've ever encountered in my whole life, and there are few arenas where her culinary skills shine more brightly than when she makes her annual trove of flat out amazing holiday desserts and sweet treats.


Today's recipe, the second in this week's series of my family's classic Christmas dishes, is amongst my favourite holiday cookies of all time (and is one that I often make for friends and family to enjoy during this festive time season, just as my mom still does, too).


{Utilizing classic mid-twentieth century ingredients, including margarine, these festive shortbread cookies have the sort of timeless appeal ensures they'll continue to be loved by generations to come. Beautifully illustrated 1950s margarine ad via Paul.Malon on Flickr.}
Much like turkey gravy, mincemeat pie, or plum pudding, for me the aroma of these delightful little rounds of glistening red fruit studded cookies instantly evokes memories of Christmases past and is endlessly tied to holiday meals, past and present, for me and my family.



Cherry Nut Shortbread Cookies


Ingredients

-1 cup softened (but not melted) margarine
-1/2 cup white sugar
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 cup chopped nuts (my family usually uses walnuts, but anything from pistachios to almonds would work nicely, too)
-1/2 cup finely chopped (drained) maraschino cherries
-Sifted icing sugar (to dust cookies with after they're baked)


Directions

In a medium to large sized mixing bowl, thoroughly cream the margarine and sugar together either by hand or with an electric mixer; blend in the vanilla. Add flour and salt, sifted together, and stir well.
Fold in chopped nuts and cherries, then chill dough (in mixing bowl) in the fridge for at least one hour.

Shape dough into one inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet about half an inch apart (these cookies really don't expand very much upon baking). Bake at 325°F (160°C/gas mark 3) for 18-20 minutes, placing cookie sheet on an oven rack that is a little higher than the center of your oven.

Transfer cookies to cooling racks and while still a warm, dust liberally with icing (powdered) sugar.
Store in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze (and these do freeze really nicely - they even taste delicious when eaten frozen!) for four months.

I love how easy this recipe is to make and that one can often prepare it simply based on ingredients you have in your pantry already (especially at this time of the year).


You can multiple it as your heart desires, and also (for a fun change of pace) use green maraschino cherries instead of red, if you'd like. Either way, the inclusion of these splendidly sweet jarred fruits lends this scrumptious holiday cookie recipe such a marvelous vintage vibe.


Happy cookie baking and a very joyful Christmas countdown to all of you!

Wonderful Wednesday Recipe: Cherry Snowball Cookies

Hi, 2010, this is Jessica, care to explain how on earth you whizzed by so quickly? Ok, honestly this year wasn’t always as fast as grease lightning for me, but looking back at any year it almost always seems to have vanished faster than one can blink their mascara coated eyelashes. The particular happening today that made me reflect on just how incredibly quickly this year as rolled past was when I checked to see how long it had been since the last time we had an edition of the “Wonderful Wednesday” post, and discovered that it was way back in the sun-kissed days of early June!

Here we sit half a year later, snowflakes dive bombing themselves into my balcony, the screeching wind rattling every window and floorboard in my home, and June suddenly seems to far removed that it might as well be on a different planet.

Yet spring will return in a few months, and all years pass at their own unique speed - depending on our perception of time. While I won’t be lounging in any toasty sunshine for a while, that’s not the end of the world. There is much to love, celebrate and derive happiness from in this chilly time of the year – starting with the delicious splendours of holiday season baking!

Some of you may have started whipping up cookies, candied fruit studded cakes, bars, squares, pies, candies, and other treats already, whereas some of us may be holding off until the 25^th draws a bit nearer. Either way, if you’re like me, you have a tried and true set of beloved holiday recipes, but also enjoy experimenting with new one sometimes.

In order to revive the “Wonderful Wednesday Recipe” (it won’t appear each week, but fingers crossed it won’t be MIA for six months again either!), I wanted to share one of my most treasured of Christmas recipes with you today.

This delightful, super easy to make (and relatively inexpensive) cookie (which is similar to a shortbread cookie) is one that appeared on my family’s holiday table every year when I was growing up. It’s a simple classic that pairs marvellously with other sweets on a dessert tray, as well as with warm beverages like hot chocolate or Irish coffee.

{There’s no denying that walnuts go splendidly with chocolate cake, as this charming illustration from 1925 suggests, however they can also do wonders for your holiday baking and are a key ingredients today’s Cherry Snowball Cookie recipe. Vintage Diamond Walnuts ad via eBay.} 

Homey, delicious, teaming with glistening little flecks of maraschino cherries, these festive morsels also make for a great last minute cookie when time is off the essence and you know a little in advance that you'll have a peckish crowd to feed (or simply want to bake an extra batch of cookies to have on hand for when company stops by).

Cherry Snowball Cookies

·         Ingredients

·         1 cup margarine, softened (but not melted)

·         ½ cup white (granulated) sugar

·         1 tsp vanilla extract

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         ½ tsp salt

·         1 cup chopped walnuts

·         ½ cup (though I’ve gone as generous as ¾ cup and the recipe still came out great) chopped, very well drained maraschino cherries

·         Sifted icing (powdered) sugar

Directions

Preheat your own to 325°F/160°C/gas mark 3.

With an electric mixer or by hand in a large mixing bowl, thoroughly cream the margarine and white sugar together, then blend in the vanilla. Next add the salt and then the flour in three part increments, stirring well to combine ingredients after each addition.

Fold the nuts and cherries into the cookie dough, again stirring well to combine, and then place the dough (in the mixing bowl or other similar dish) in the fridge for at least one hour.

Remove dough from fridge and form into one inch sized balls. Place balls on an ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet, spacing them at least an inch apart (though these cookies do not spread out much at all, retaining their adorable snowball-esque round shape once baked). Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, then remove cookies from the oven and transfer them to a cooling rack.

While still warm, lightly dust icing (powdered) sugar over top of all of the cookies. Cool, and transfer to the airtight storage container of your choice (where these cookies should keep for at least five days). These delightful cookies can also be frozen (once baked), and stored for at least two months in a freezer-safe container.

Recipe yields approximately 40-45 cookies.

Bon appétit!