Continuing a Cookie Tradition

With coronavirus keeping folks apart, we’re taking the usual holiday cookie swap virtual
Who doesn’t have a favorite Christmas cookie memory? And how could Hallmark make another Christmas movie if there were no cookies to bake? 
 
The tradition of sharing holiday cookies goes back centuries, according to the website Culturally Ours, which explains: “At a time when most families were not that well off, people started making cookies and sweets as a way to share gifts during the medieval Christmas season. Christmas in many cultures was a time of visiting friends and family. Since it was cold outside and the ground was hard and frozen solid, farming was not an option. 
So cookies were made in large amounts and stored as a way to share the spirit of the season with all those who visited.”
 
According to the History Channel, the first person to create gingerbread men was Queen Elizabeth I of England, who had the cookie molded into the shapes of her favorite courtiers.
 
The earliest examples of Christmas cookies in the United States were brought by the Dutch in the early 17th century, reports Lynne Oliver in the “Food Timeline.”
 
Whatever the reason, whatever the method, sharing holiday treats surely warms the heart.
 
Here some readers and the DI News staff share some of their  favorite recipes you can try with your family.  
 
SNOWBALL COOKIES shared by Katherine Smith
 
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup walnuts, very finely chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Pinch kosher salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, chopped and softened
1 cup powdered sugar
 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° and line a large cookie sheet with parchment. In a large bowl, mix flour, walnuts, granulated sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add butter and, using your hands, combine everything until mixture resembles a coarse meal.
Form dough into small balls and place on the prepared cookie sheet. 
Bake 15 minutes.
When they’re still warm but cool enough to touch, roll cookies in powdered sugar. 
Set aside on a rack to cool completely. When cool, dust again in powdered sugar.
 
FROSTED PEPPERMINT HOLIDAY COOKIES shared by Marie Rocha-Tygh
 
Ingredients:
Cookies 
3 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
11/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
 
Frosting
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
½ cup shortening
5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup of crushed peppermint candy canes
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
Frosting
Mix confectioners’ sugar with shortening. Gradually mix in the milk and vanilla. Blend with an electric mixer until smooth. Put aside.
 
Cookies
Combine eggs, butter, oil, and sugar. Slowly add baking soda, salt, powder, vanilla and flour. Scoop batter onto a greased cookie tray. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool then frost cookies. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candy canes.
 
In the recipe below, Elizabeth Bush said, “This is one of my favorite holiday dessert recipes! It was shared with me by Emily Davis, a former librarian at Daniel Island School, and is always a hit with my friends and family at Christmastime!”
 
SALTINE CRACKER TOFFEE shared by Elizabeth Bush
 
Ingredients:
1.5 sleeves of saltine crackers
1 stick of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with the crackers (you can spray sheet first with baking spray or line with aluminum foil to make removal of toffee a little easier). 
Place butter and brown sugar into a saucepan over medium heat. Stir while butter melts. Bring to a rolling boil. Once boiling, carefully pour the mixture over the crackers. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes, or until toffee is bubbling all over. 
Remove from pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of hot toffee. Put back in oven for 1 minute to allow chocolate to soften. Remove from oven, take a rubber spatula and spread chocolate over toffee. 
Sprinkle crushed crackers on top (or for a little Christmas flavor – crush up candy canes and sprinkle on top). Place sheet in refrigerator for 30 minutes to harden. Then remove and break into little pieces to serve. 
 
GRANDMOM SEYBOLD'S BEST-EVER GINGER SNAPS shared by Sue Detar (this is a double batch)
 
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups Crisco
2 cups sugar
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 eggs
½ cup molasses
4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger
2 tablespoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
 
Directions:
Melt Crisco, let cool. Add sugar, eggs, and molasses to Crisco. Mix well. 
In a separate bowl, mix rest of ingredients and then add to the Crisco mix. Mix well by spoon and hand. Roll into two large balls. Wrap in parchment paper and refrigerate for several hours. 
Roll into 1-inch balls, roll in sugar, place 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
 
SHORTBREAD COOKIES shared by Kelly Oestriecher
 
Ingredients:
• 3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
 
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees..
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature. Decorate with royal icing or dip in melted chocolate.
 
HOLIDAY HAYSTACKS shared by Boot Gifford
 
Ingredients:
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 2/3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup dark or semisweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup chopped almonds
 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper on cookie sheets. Do not grease or use cooking spray or macaroons won’t stand up.
Separate two egg yolks and whites. Save the yolks for another recipe. (Yolks can be frozen to use a later time.) Beat the egg whites and add in granulated sugar, salt and vanilla. Fold in shredded coconut. Using a tablespoon, drop balls of mixture on parchment paper-covered cookie sheet. Then using your fingers, form into haystacks (pyramid shapes).
Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Macaroons may not look finished, but still remove. They will continue to cook while cooling and you don’t want to overbake. Overbaking will hurt the texture and make them dry, not chewy.
You can leave them like this or add chocolate and almonds.
You can melt the chocolate in a small dish in the microwave, then dip cooled macaroons into the chocolate to slightly cover the bottom. You can then also dip into the chopped almonds for added crunch. Set back on parchment paper to cool until chocolate is firm.

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