Cookie of Christmas Past, Present & Future

Trying new Christmas cookie recipes is definitely part of the fun of Christmas baking. Sometimes you find a fabulous new recipe like the Chocolate Peppermint Cookies from last week, and others result in trays and trays of gingerbread men you will never, ever eat.

While new recipes do hold a certain allure, it's the recipes that take you back to childhood that keep coming back--like my grandmother's butter cookies. I can say that this is the only Christmas cookie that has made an appearance in my kitchen every year for the past 15 years at least. In a Christmas cookie world that includes fancy cookies and cookie bars with 25 different types of chocolate, "butter cookies" sounds a bit boring. The name just doesn't do them justice. I think the combination of powdered sugar and almond and orange extract just combine to create Christmas magic. Or perhaps that it's just that it reminds me of Christmas Eve at Grandma's.

Funny thing is, my aunt J once mentioned that my uncle likes these so much, that she bakes them all year round. Huh? Christmas cookies in May? And then I thought about how much I've deprived myself of eating these year round...but they've yet to make an appearance outside of the Christmas season.

What I especially love about Granda's handwritten recipes are that they include words like "icebox" and "oleo." This particular recipe calls for 1 cup of fat, in some butter, oleo and shortening combination. I'm pretty sure I've experimented with this in the past because I have my own handwritten version that states 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup shortening but this year I second guessed myself. These are called "Butter Cookies," after all, surely butter is always better....

Yeah not so much. In this recipe, the all butter version was flat and spread out and a bit greasy, as characteristic of butter only recipes. The 1/2 butter and 1/2 margarine version behaved the same and only the addition of the shortening created the crisp, light and flaky cookie I wanted. And while colored sugars make a pretty cookie, this cookie really calls for sprinkles. It's part of the overall flavor and texture combination. Not sure why, but sugar versions are not the same. Sugar= bad, sprinkles = good.

Grandma's Butter Cookies

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. Crisco shortening

3 egg yolks

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp orange extract

2 1/2 c. flour

Preheat oven to 350

Beat together sugar, butter, Crisco, egg yolks and extracts.

Add dry ingredients and mix well.

Roll cookies into balls and dip in sprinkles.

Bake 10-12 mins.