Cooking web notes

 Today's recipe is almost the same like our last week's post. We decided to post another recipe on cookies especially because of its antique nature. This recipe was passed on by Angela to her family. Angela was born in 1911, so you can imagine how old the recipe is. It gives me goose bumps as I write about this old treasure.
  
Since my coming to the US, I have been fortunate to befriend a lot of people. They opened their doors to me and shared their lives and stories.  Some stories old, as they heard from their grandparents and parents. Over a board game of cribbage or scrabble we would discuss how games, family time, recipes all kinds of golden memories.  For me it has been a class on history of sorts. Life in America as it was then and its transformation into the commercial hub it is today are all lovingly reminisced. I was fascinated to know how deep rooted family values are, which Hollywood movies have ignored in my opinion, in this country. More than the shrinks, which the movies crack up to be the source to fix peoples problems, I am witnessing how communities, friends and families play a vital role in peoples lives.

      My friend J (I am not going to give the names for privacy sake) whose mothers recipe I am sharing today was second generation American. Her mother was German and a single parent who brought up her daughters during the great depression. Hers is a story of how self confidence and strength of character helped her survive in this country in the early 1900’s. The strength and will power which helped people who migrated here to make America their home. They did not know English or the ways of this country but they strived hard and brought up children who are doing extremely well today. Its an honor for me to share this time tested recipe which even today graces this families Christmas table.

Angela started this family custom (probably borrowed it from her forefathers) to bake cookies, breads and cakes for family and friends during Christmas. Now, her daughter J does the same every Christmas. It has been a wonderful experience for me to be part of this age old traditions. And so here I am sharing this jewel of a recipe to all our blogger friends.

We remember all our near and dear ones during this season of love. And here is a friendship cookie shared for you taken out from a very dear old ladies recipe. Hope you will be inspired to start a tradition at home which will be carried on for generations to come.

Ingredients:
Flour                - 3 cups
Baking Powder - 1 1/2 t
Salt                   - 1/2 t
Sugar                - 1 cup
Butter                - 1 Cup (soften)
Beaten Egg        - 1
Milk                  - 3 tbspn
Vanilla               - 1 tspn

Method:
     Mix all the ingredients in the order given above incorporating each step by step to form a ball.  Wrap this in wax paper and chill.  We had this mix refrigerated overnight and had to leave it outside the refrigerator for a while in the morning before the dough was soft enough to roll out. 
     Roll the dough into the thickness you prefer for your cookie and cut them into the desired shapes using cookie cutter and bake at 400 F for 9 - 10 minutes on a fat lines cookie sheet.  Alternatively, bake till the cookies turn a golden hue.


Contributor: Sunitha