I’ve saved the best for last! These are an all-time favorite of mine, and a recipe that my grandma made every year for Christmas. They look like they’re plain bark covered cookies, but inside there’s a surprise – maraschino cherries! This post is day 12 in the series Mayhem’s 12 Days of Christmas Cookies!
Category: Mayhem’s 12 Days of Christmas Cookies
It seems like everyone in food bloggerville is making super cute, modern, elaborately decorated, sprinkles-heavy cookies this year, and while I love those (and no doubt will be making a ton of them myself) I thought it’d be fun to share some really timeless recipes that are special to me and my family.
Many of these come right out of my mother in-law’s family cookbook called “For Love of Our Family” which was recently rereleased with new recipes added, so now not only does it include my mother in-law’s family recipes, but it also has a few passed down from my father in-law’s and brother in-law’s families! Others are staple cookies from our family Christmas celebration, favorites from my mum’s church cookbook (which we’ve basically adopted as our family cookbook) or recipes that were carefully written down on recipe cards by my grandma.
Family Christmas Cookie 11: Peanut Butter Kisses
I’m closing out Mayhem’s 12 days of Christmas Cookies with two cookies that are my all time favorites. Both are recipes my grandma made every Christmas, and while they’re a bit more modern (1950s) than many of the other recipes I’ve shared, they’re definite crowd pleasers. The first are Peanut Butter Kisses – chewy peanut…
Family Christmas Cookie 10: Snowball Cookies
Of all the cookies my grandma made for Christmas, these are one of the most memorable to me. I think it’s because they’re just so pretty! The bright white frosting combined with the coconut makes for such a delicate, lovely looking cookie, and provides a nice contrast on a cookie tray when placed next to…
Family Christmas Cookie 9: Sugar Cookies
No Christmas cookie plate would be complete without sugar cookies! Much like the gingerbread cookies I shared earlier, this same recipe came from several sources, and I eventually tracked it down to my old 1963 copy of The Cooky Book. This isn’t my favorite recipe for decorating or using precise cutters, but it tastes…
Family Christmas Cookie 8: Gingerbread Boys
One of the really fun parts of compiling this recipe list was comparing and contrasting my family recipes with my husband’s family recipes. In most cases, there’s a wide contrast between the two families – most of my grandma’s cookies were more elaborate and from newer recipes, while my husband’s family cookbook is heavily…
Family Christmas Cookie 7: Angel Pillows
Angel Pillows are a favorite from my mum’s side of the family. I made them with strawberry preserves, but my grandma always made these with apricot or peach. I believe the recipe must have come out of a magazine or advertisement, as the tattered copy I was given mentioned a few brands by name, but…
Family Christmas Cookie 6: Pfeffernüsse Cookies
This recipe is another of my father-in-law’s additions to the second edition of my mother-in-law’s family cookbook. They always say men marry their mother, but MINE often remarks that he actually married his father. One reason for that is our shared love for anise, and, in turn, these German Pfeffernusse (“peppernut”) cookies. Unlike the other…
Family Christmas Cookie 5: Grandma Ruth’s Apple Fruit Cake
Each year, my husband’s family anxiously awaits the arrival of grandma Ruth’s apple fruit cake, which is another favorite from the family cookbook. I love this fruitcake for three reasons – most importantly, it reminds me of my favorite grandmother-in-law, secondly, it has a lovely sweet flavor without the bitter bite of citrus rind that…
Family Christmas Cookie 4: Spritz Cookies
I think just about every family has a spritz cookie recipe that only comes out around Christmas time. Ours originated from my mum’s church cookbook, and features a light cookie with hints of both vanilla and almond. My grandma used to make these with the wreath shape in her cookie press, tint the dough green,…
Family Christmas Cookie 3: Russian Tea Cakes
Like yesterday’s Snickerdoodles, Russian Tea Cakes were in the first edition of my husband’s family cookbook, and were a staple at my mum’s family Christmas gatherings. My favorite thing about these is that they’re not too sweet, making them a great alternative to biscotti with a nice cup of coffee on Christmas morning. This post…
Family Christmas Cookie 2: Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles were a recipe in the first edition of my husband’s family cookbook, and a favorite at many of my own family gatherings. These were some of the first I cookies I baked and distributed at PAX as a member of the Cookie Brigade, and not only did they sell out faster than my monster…
Family Christmas Cookie 1: Gingersnaps
These classic Gingersnaps are made from a recipe passed down by my husband’s Grandma Lorraine. While I wasn’t lucky enough to meet Lorraine, these hold a special place in my heart as one of the family recipes we shared on our wedding dessert buffet. This post is day 1 in the series Mayhem’s 12 Days…