Monday, December 23, 2013

The Eleventh Day of Kitschmas: Cookies!

Santy Claus Cookies, etc
contributed by Mrs. Andrew J. White, Columbus, OH
We got a little neighborly help today in baking cookies, chiefly Mrs. White's Santy Claus cookies. Which kind of look like aliens now that I closely examine the photo above. Though a treasured part of my childhood, I never actually saw the assembly process, so I had to piece it together with a lot of guesswork and second-hand information.

The recipe, though, is genuine, and written in Mrs. White's own hand.  You will also need a Santa-face cookie cutter, available in a thrift shop near you (or on ebay

Now, then:
Sift together 4 1/2 cups flour which has been sifted and measured, with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon baking soda.

Separately, cream 1 cup shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla & 1/2 teaspoon lemon or almond extract (I used almond).

Combine mixtures. Shape into roll 3 inches in diameter. Wrap in wax paper and chill. Cut cookies and bake at 350 till done (About 10-12 minutes).

Decoration instructions will follow in the video.

We also made gingerbread men, I'll let you look up your own recipe for that.

I'll warn you that the Santa cookie dough is very dry, almost like a shortbread, so you can't dawdle. Let it chill about 2 hours, then get right to work.  The longer it sits in the fridge, the drier it gets, so your last batch is likely to look like terra cotta.

Also, try and enlist helpers!
 

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