Christmas Cookies and Memories
Did you know that cookies as we know them have roots in Medieval European history? Check out this food timeline. Or, how about this link to a list of Christmas Cookies recipes?
All I want for Christmas, apparently, is carbs. I have been baking and baking for weeks now. It usually happens like this. The holiday season rolls around and I get the itch to bake amazing culinary creations. There is no denying that I have a sweet tooth, so I'm no stranger to cookies all year long. But, this season tends to bring out my bread and pie making abilities as well.
Grandmom Wilson
The Christmas season in general brings up memories for me of family, gifts, illnesses (for several years I was sick ON Christmas Day- which made for awful holiday pics), church, special homemade church outfits, decorations, and friends. I could go on several bird-walks here about each of these areas of seasonal memories. For now, I want to focus on family. More specifically, where my love of baking comes from as it relates to family memories.
My father's mother, my Grandmom Wilson, was an independent and strong woman. She nursed her mother into a peaceful passing while caring for her in her home, the home where my father grew up. My grandmother also nursed her husband through a difficult health battle and into his own peaceful passing. I have very vague memories of my Great-Grandmother and my Grandfather Wilson. My Great-Grandmother, as I remember her, was a quiet presence in the family. She would say grace for us at the beginning of holiday meals, in Norwegian. My father would joke and say she sounded like the Swedish Chef from The Muppets. We didn't have a clue what she was saying but we enjoyed hearing it anyway. For all I know, she was rattling off her Christmas wish list.
The memories I have of my grandfather aren't as pleasant. I really don't remember him being healthy enough to be with the family. He was in a hospital bed in their bedroom all my life, or at least that's how I remember it. He had emphysema and Alzheimers Disease. I remember having to go up to the bedroom to say hello to him. I remember him nearly always having a 5 o'clock shadow, making strange vocal sounds (his way of communicating), and the smell of medicine and illness. As a kid this tended to make me nervous to be around him. As an adult, that makes me sad and a bit ashamed of myself. What I also notice as an adult is I recognize just how much my Grandmom Wilson did for him.
My grandmom was an amazingly strong woman in so many ways. She took care of her mom and husband. She buried her husband. She buried one of her own sons a couple of years before I was born. She mowed her own lawn until the day she sold her house and moved in with us (because she was in the early stages of Alzheimers Disease). She taught me about the Bible. She let me live with her one summer and then again for several weeks in middle school while my family dealt with some of their issues. I gained 20 pounds the summer I lived with her! She knew how to feed me, that's for sure.
Something else I remember about my Grandmom Wilson is her cookies. She always had tins of cookies during the holidays. (On a side note, those tins are a terrible way to store cookies). I don't remember much variety in the cookies. Chocolate Chip, mostly. There was something about her cookies. They were like puddles of dough with big chocolate chips floating around. Her cookies were soft, moist, and buttery. I loved her cookies. The chips seemed to stay in a semi-melted state. We ignored the fact that she loved to bake with her hands and didn't pay attention to the hygiene issues related to licking her fingers throughout the baking process.
My family was not easy to live with. We had our issues. I won't break through the "fourth wall" too much here, but I will share that my family was riddled with troubles. The holidays were guaranteed times when we would all be in the same room together. Over the years, the numbers of people dwindled due to lifestyle or health/death. My mother even stopped being a part of the Thanksgiving/Christmas season celebrations at some point. But, the core group of me, my sister, my dad, and my grandmother was fairly consistent. And those cookies. They were always present, in those not-airtight tins, waiting to be consumed.
The Recipe(s)
I didn't think to ask my grandmother for her chocolate chip cookie recipe before she passed. She never asked for us to help her bake them, so I never had the opportunity to witness the creation. When I tried making my own chocolate chip cookies I would try various recipes, hoping to hit the recipe that reminded me of Grandmom Wilson. It never happened. I came close once when I used a LOT of butter, like Paula Deen amounts. The search continues.
I have children of my own now and I love baking for them. I can't stand cooking, but baking is fun for me. My kids have joined in on the baking at various times. Sometimes they will help bake their sibling's birthday cake. Sometimes they will make special requests for me to bake something. And, honestly, there are times when they couldn't care less about helping me in the kitchen. But, I still try to include them and create for them.
My children are teenagers now and they are, unfortunately, living in two homes because their father and I are divorced. They have each responded to the divorce in their own way. As I write this, I anxiously await our exchange time tonight when they come to stay with me for a week after being with their dad for a week. I know they will miss their father and step-siblings but I know they will be happy to be in my home also.
A couple of weeks ago my children and I made gingerbread houses. No, I didn't bake the gingerbread. Who does that? Ups to you if you do. My daughter was so proud of her house that she took pics and took it up to her room so it wouldn't have the potential of getting bumped or ruined. We had a lot of fun making the gingerbread houses together.
My son, before their Christmas break began, suggested to me that we make sugar cookies and decorate them. He said it would probably help us have fun together. So, I bought the ingredients, decorative selections also, and I expect to make them with the kids in the next couple of days. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with the cookies and with us. Their smiles and laughter never stop making me happy.
I'm hoping that my kids someday look back on our days in the kitchen together with fondness. We never finish eating all the cookies, bread, or pies that we make. It isn't about that. It is about holidays, traditions, and memories. I look forward to passing down recipes to my children and maybe someday helping my own grandchildren do some baking.
So, in good blog form, I am sharing a recipe with you. This recipe was requested recently by my daughter. I didn't even know that she not only liked the cookies that much, but that she also remembered their origin. The cookie she requested comes from a recipe that someone in my history used. Again, with the respect to the fourth wall, I won't say too much. I will say, however, that this person and I do not speak and we haven't for a long time. We have our reasons. My sister, on the other hand, does speak to her. I had to ask my sister for the recipe several years ago when I remembered how much I liked these cookies but didn't have a direct line of contact to get the recipe. Similar recipes call them Chocolate Drops. Rather than using the person's name in the title, these cookies are known in my house as "The Woman's Chocolate Cookies." You can fill in "The Woman" with anyone you want, or leave as is. It is your recipe to use and share now.
1/2 cup oil or butter
4 squares melted unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (optional, I never use them)
Powdered sugar for coating
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix ingredients and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Roll into balls, roll balls in powdered sugar, place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
All I want for Christmas, apparently, is carbs. I have been baking and baking for weeks now. It usually happens like this. The holiday season rolls around and I get the itch to bake amazing culinary creations. There is no denying that I have a sweet tooth, so I'm no stranger to cookies all year long. But, this season tends to bring out my bread and pie making abilities as well.
Grandmom Wilson
The Christmas season in general brings up memories for me of family, gifts, illnesses (for several years I was sick ON Christmas Day- which made for awful holiday pics), church, special homemade church outfits, decorations, and friends. I could go on several bird-walks here about each of these areas of seasonal memories. For now, I want to focus on family. More specifically, where my love of baking comes from as it relates to family memories.
My father's mother, my Grandmom Wilson, was an independent and strong woman. She nursed her mother into a peaceful passing while caring for her in her home, the home where my father grew up. My grandmother also nursed her husband through a difficult health battle and into his own peaceful passing. I have very vague memories of my Great-Grandmother and my Grandfather Wilson. My Great-Grandmother, as I remember her, was a quiet presence in the family. She would say grace for us at the beginning of holiday meals, in Norwegian. My father would joke and say she sounded like the Swedish Chef from The Muppets. We didn't have a clue what she was saying but we enjoyed hearing it anyway. For all I know, she was rattling off her Christmas wish list.
The memories I have of my grandfather aren't as pleasant. I really don't remember him being healthy enough to be with the family. He was in a hospital bed in their bedroom all my life, or at least that's how I remember it. He had emphysema and Alzheimers Disease. I remember having to go up to the bedroom to say hello to him. I remember him nearly always having a 5 o'clock shadow, making strange vocal sounds (his way of communicating), and the smell of medicine and illness. As a kid this tended to make me nervous to be around him. As an adult, that makes me sad and a bit ashamed of myself. What I also notice as an adult is I recognize just how much my Grandmom Wilson did for him.
My grandmom was an amazingly strong woman in so many ways. She took care of her mom and husband. She buried her husband. She buried one of her own sons a couple of years before I was born. She mowed her own lawn until the day she sold her house and moved in with us (because she was in the early stages of Alzheimers Disease). She taught me about the Bible. She let me live with her one summer and then again for several weeks in middle school while my family dealt with some of their issues. I gained 20 pounds the summer I lived with her! She knew how to feed me, that's for sure.
Something else I remember about my Grandmom Wilson is her cookies. She always had tins of cookies during the holidays. (On a side note, those tins are a terrible way to store cookies). I don't remember much variety in the cookies. Chocolate Chip, mostly. There was something about her cookies. They were like puddles of dough with big chocolate chips floating around. Her cookies were soft, moist, and buttery. I loved her cookies. The chips seemed to stay in a semi-melted state. We ignored the fact that she loved to bake with her hands and didn't pay attention to the hygiene issues related to licking her fingers throughout the baking process.
My family was not easy to live with. We had our issues. I won't break through the "fourth wall" too much here, but I will share that my family was riddled with troubles. The holidays were guaranteed times when we would all be in the same room together. Over the years, the numbers of people dwindled due to lifestyle or health/death. My mother even stopped being a part of the Thanksgiving/Christmas season celebrations at some point. But, the core group of me, my sister, my dad, and my grandmother was fairly consistent. And those cookies. They were always present, in those not-airtight tins, waiting to be consumed.
The Recipe(s)
I didn't think to ask my grandmother for her chocolate chip cookie recipe before she passed. She never asked for us to help her bake them, so I never had the opportunity to witness the creation. When I tried making my own chocolate chip cookies I would try various recipes, hoping to hit the recipe that reminded me of Grandmom Wilson. It never happened. I came close once when I used a LOT of butter, like Paula Deen amounts. The search continues.
I have children of my own now and I love baking for them. I can't stand cooking, but baking is fun for me. My kids have joined in on the baking at various times. Sometimes they will help bake their sibling's birthday cake. Sometimes they will make special requests for me to bake something. And, honestly, there are times when they couldn't care less about helping me in the kitchen. But, I still try to include them and create for them.
My children are teenagers now and they are, unfortunately, living in two homes because their father and I are divorced. They have each responded to the divorce in their own way. As I write this, I anxiously await our exchange time tonight when they come to stay with me for a week after being with their dad for a week. I know they will miss their father and step-siblings but I know they will be happy to be in my home also.
A couple of weeks ago my children and I made gingerbread houses. No, I didn't bake the gingerbread. Who does that? Ups to you if you do. My daughter was so proud of her house that she took pics and took it up to her room so it wouldn't have the potential of getting bumped or ruined. We had a lot of fun making the gingerbread houses together.
My son, before their Christmas break began, suggested to me that we make sugar cookies and decorate them. He said it would probably help us have fun together. So, I bought the ingredients, decorative selections also, and I expect to make them with the kids in the next couple of days. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with the cookies and with us. Their smiles and laughter never stop making me happy.
I'm hoping that my kids someday look back on our days in the kitchen together with fondness. We never finish eating all the cookies, bread, or pies that we make. It isn't about that. It is about holidays, traditions, and memories. I look forward to passing down recipes to my children and maybe someday helping my own grandchildren do some baking.
So, in good blog form, I am sharing a recipe with you. This recipe was requested recently by my daughter. I didn't even know that she not only liked the cookies that much, but that she also remembered their origin. The cookie she requested comes from a recipe that someone in my history used. Again, with the respect to the fourth wall, I won't say too much. I will say, however, that this person and I do not speak and we haven't for a long time. We have our reasons. My sister, on the other hand, does speak to her. I had to ask my sister for the recipe several years ago when I remembered how much I liked these cookies but didn't have a direct line of contact to get the recipe. Similar recipes call them Chocolate Drops. Rather than using the person's name in the title, these cookies are known in my house as "The Woman's Chocolate Cookies." You can fill in "The Woman" with anyone you want, or leave as is. It is your recipe to use and share now.
The Woman's Chocolate Drops
Ingredients1/2 cup oil or butter
4 squares melted unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (optional, I never use them)
Powdered sugar for coating
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix ingredients and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Roll into balls, roll balls in powdered sugar, place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
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