After 22 days, 51 dozen cookies, 37 dozen truffles/bark/brittle/turtles/rum balls and one pound cake, we've reached the last day of what I consider to be "regular season play" in my whole holiday baking challenge. And I've saved my favorite holiday cookie for last. For me, no Christmas season would be complete without Linzer Cookies, or as they're known in our family recipe books, Mrs. Perrin's Star Cookies.
Some of the best parts of the holidays are memories - those that you make in the present, and those that you keep from moments in the past. It's funny, isn't it, how sometimes we hold things dear not so much because of what they are, but because of the memories that we've attached to them? That's how these cookies are for me. They may not be at the top of my "required baking" list based on taste alone, but they are the hands-down winner when it comes to the memories that they evoke. When I was growing up, I only ever remember having Mrs. Perrin's cookies at my grandmother's house - a place that I loved more than anywhere else on Earth, that was filled with people I adored. My grandfather passed away before I turned five, so my recollections of him are pretty limited. But one memory that I do have has to do with these cookies - him telling me that he made the holes in the center with his big toe. Those are the things I think about every time I make these cookies. And even though I'm hundreds (and at times have been thousands) of miles away, I somehow feel connected to everyone and everything I love.
So I made some Mrs. Perrin's of my own today, although (and I know this will come as a shock to all of you) I didn't eat any. Not a single one. Because I actually like these cookies better when they've been around for a day or two. On day one, they're good, but they're a little too new, too crispy, too fresh for my liking. By day two or day three, especially if they haven't been kept in a tightly sealed container, the flavors have melded together - the jam has seeped into the cookies a little, and the cookies themselves have taken on a softer, cakier texture. That's how I remember them from my childhood. So tonight I wait. But tomorrow, when I finally eat one, I no doubt will be greeted by a flood of memories with the very first bite.
Mrs. Perrin's Star Cookies (Linzer Cookies)
Makes 6 dozen
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups shortening
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
3 tablespoons milk
4 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Fruit jam or preserves
Preparation:
1. Cream together shortening and granulated sugar. Beat in eggs and milk. Sift in flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Chill dough for at least an hour.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough on floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut stars (or whatever shape you choose). Cut a hole in the center of 1/2 the stars.
3. Bake for 7-10 minutes, until lightly brown. Cool.
4. Spread solid cookie with jam. Top with cookie with hole. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar.
No comments:
Post a Comment