Those cookies look really good. My wife doesn't cook some things anymore. The kids show up with stuff from the local grocery store bakery and if she cooked pastries they would leave the store-bought stuff with us and take home the left over homemade stuff.
Christmas cookies bring up so many memories. Now you have me in the mood to make them. Our favorite to make is Norwegian Krumkake.
I was just at a book event in Minneapolis at the Norwegian Mindekirken with Lee Stivak Dean and Rick Nelson who are delightful to listen to. They talked all about the book and about the annual Star Tribune cookie contest. The event was held in the church fellowship hall that is decorated with Norwegian Rosemaling. We drank proper church coffee out of large urns and sampled cookies from the book. A wonderful event. You need to visit Minneapolis Anne!
Karen, I promise to get there! So much history of baking there. So many wonderful stories and recipes. I’ve enjoyed diving into their book and will share on Thursday!
What a lovely post on so many levels! I would have loved to have known Dee, and sampled her cookies. There's something about a pecan tea cookie melting in one's mouth with that first bite, the powdered sugar like it soft layer on top of the buttery goodness. ❤️ Your recounting of memories with Dee marches parallel to mine of my mom and my childhood.
I have just returned from an early New Year’s Eve dinner with friends who really like fruitcake and the cake was a great success. When I first tasted the cake, to be honest, I was somewhat disappointed because I have always enjoyed cakes when I use your recipes. As you suggested I wrapped the cake in moistened cheesecloth and tried the cake again about a week later. It was amazing what that did to improve the taste and texture of the fruitcake. I know that I will be making this cake again next year. Thanks again for another wonderful recipe. Wishing you a happy and healthy new year.
These cheese date cookies were sublime. Based on how you wrote about your experience eating them, I knew I had to make them for my family. We substituted pretzels for pecans as my daughter is allergic to nuts. Worked perfectly. Truly these are wonderful hard to not eat a dozen at once.
Thank you, Alicia! It’s quite unique, right? And pretzels in lieu of pecans is genius! Thank you for that brilliant suggestion. I think that would work in our crescent cookies, too.
My favorite cookie recipe memory was my mother coming home from a Welcome Wagon event. Hopefully some of you remember this organization…but that’s a story for another day. Mom was ticked off because one woman had brought White Chocolate Bourbon Balls and they were delicious. She told mom that she could call her for the recipe but when she did so, the woman exclaimed it was an old family recipe and couldn’t possibly share it. At the next event, mom snuck a few of these cookies into her purse.
So mom went to the grocery and pulled out a whole array of ingredients and started testing. She’d take a nibble and mix in something. It took her hours and hours to recreate the taste and texture and I sat at the kitchen bar the entire time, wondering at her diligence and admiring her patience and sticktoitiveness.
Mom took HER White Chocolate Bourbon Balls to the next party and proceeded to share her recipe with anyone who asked.
Love this story, Jenne! There are recipe sharers and recipe protectors. There’s got to be good reasons behind both. For example, I was trying to procure a tea cake recipe for my recent book and sought the recipe from a woman in Nashville who is known for them. She had baked them at my girls’ high school each Friday, etc. But while she would share the tory behind them—no recipe. Because she said she might sell them one day. So I get it. But recipe sleuthing like your mom did, well that’s not easy. And yes, I’d love to hear more about Welcome Wagons. Do tell….
Thank you so much for your prompt reply. Looking forward to making the cake. I will let you know how it turns out. Have a wonderful and blessed holiday season.
In our house, we only had two homemade cookies growing up. Tollhouse recipe from the back of the bag and slice'n bake sugar cookies. Slice'n bake from the Poppin' Fresh doughboy is only home baked and not from scratch, as you know. lol.
I still make Tollhouse, and I make homemade sugar cookies, and sometimes I make homemade peanut butter blossoms. I have made homemade spritzer cookies, too. Creature of habit.
Having just shipped 22 tins of cookies off to clients, I thought I was cookie-d out. But now that I've read about the cheese date cookies, I may have to reconsider! We made an espresso cinnamon cookie dipped half in white/half in semisweet chocolate from a recipe my sister used to use when she baked cookies for her clients at Christmas. Froze them after baking/dipping so they ship pretty well!
Thank you for this extra special post - my family is Austro-Hungarian and as soon as I saw the crescents I thought other scrumptious version I loved even as a non-sweet eater and of their history, which you told so beautifully!
I am also working on a WWII story about my dad so your delightful story about Dee also resonated.
I am copying it and sending it as instagram stories to let readers know why to subscribe to you.
I am only sorry that the Melissa’s introduction to legendary you was not in person— and look forward to changing that one day!
This is not comment but a question about a fruitcake recipe from your wonderful cookbook “American Cake”. I am planning to make Mrs. Harvey’s Fruitcake from this cookbook and here is my question. The recipe states to wrap the cake in cheesecloth and then aluminum foil-should I dampen the cheesecloth with brandy or rum before wrapping the cake as I plan to make the cake a week or two before Christmas? By the way, I think that I have all of your cookbooks and I always have great success with your recipes and often give your cookbooks as gifts to my friends who like to cook and bake. Thanking you in advance for your help.
I loved hearing about Dee. What a special person! My grandmother was born in 1900 and made spritz cookies decorated with colored sugar or hot cinnamon candies. We did not leave nearby so she would send them in a tin can every year. I loved them. The New York Times reintroduced a spritz cookie recipe during the pandemic. I purchased a spritz gun and make them for Christmas with some other favorites. But, I often have trouble with the dough. The invitation to come to Utah is still open! Happy Holidays!
I have a crescent cookie Recipe that has been used in my family for over 70 plus years. We use chopped almonds in them. Roll them into a worm shape then use the tines of a fork to press them down. Roll them in powdered sugar after coming out of the oven. I also do a thumbprint cookie that I roll each small ball of dough in egg whites then in finely chopped walnuts. The print is made after the have baked for a few minutes. After cooled I use a cream cheese icing ( multi colors, pink, green, yellow and blue) to fill the thumbprint. So yummy.
Sounds so wonderful, Tsun! I do think the crescent cookies I know were originally made with almonds - like yours - and then resourceful cooks down South added the local pecans instead. The worm shape is interesting, too, plus the fork. I think the fork is underrated. Peanut butter cookies would be nothing without it!
I don’t remember the color of the phone, sadly! I just recall it rang at night a lot. The apartment was so small. Her neighbors surely heard the conversations, too.
Those cookies look really good. My wife doesn't cook some things anymore. The kids show up with stuff from the local grocery store bakery and if she cooked pastries they would leave the store-bought stuff with us and take home the left over homemade stuff.
Sounds like you need to preheat the oven, Paul. Those crescent cookies are pretty much foolproof. Go for it! Surprise them!
Christmas cookies bring up so many memories. Now you have me in the mood to make them. Our favorite to make is Norwegian Krumkake.
I was just at a book event in Minneapolis at the Norwegian Mindekirken with Lee Stivak Dean and Rick Nelson who are delightful to listen to. They talked all about the book and about the annual Star Tribune cookie contest. The event was held in the church fellowship hall that is decorated with Norwegian Rosemaling. We drank proper church coffee out of large urns and sampled cookies from the book. A wonderful event. You need to visit Minneapolis Anne!
Karen, I promise to get there! So much history of baking there. So many wonderful stories and recipes. I’ve enjoyed diving into their book and will share on Thursday!
What a lovely post on so many levels! I would have loved to have known Dee, and sampled her cookies. There's something about a pecan tea cookie melting in one's mouth with that first bite, the powdered sugar like it soft layer on top of the buttery goodness. ❤️ Your recounting of memories with Dee marches parallel to mine of my mom and my childhood.
Please share a memory if you like, Mary! The ladies were strong but their hearts - and cookies - tender. ❤️
I have just returned from an early New Year’s Eve dinner with friends who really like fruitcake and the cake was a great success. When I first tasted the cake, to be honest, I was somewhat disappointed because I have always enjoyed cakes when I use your recipes. As you suggested I wrapped the cake in moistened cheesecloth and tried the cake again about a week later. It was amazing what that did to improve the taste and texture of the fruitcake. I know that I will be making this cake again next year. Thanks again for another wonderful recipe. Wishing you a happy and healthy new year.
Thank you, Bruce! Happy cooking and baking in 2025!
Looks yum
These cheese date cookies were sublime. Based on how you wrote about your experience eating them, I knew I had to make them for my family. We substituted pretzels for pecans as my daughter is allergic to nuts. Worked perfectly. Truly these are wonderful hard to not eat a dozen at once.
Thank you, Alicia! It’s quite unique, right? And pretzels in lieu of pecans is genius! Thank you for that brilliant suggestion. I think that would work in our crescent cookies, too.
My favorite cookie recipe memory was my mother coming home from a Welcome Wagon event. Hopefully some of you remember this organization…but that’s a story for another day. Mom was ticked off because one woman had brought White Chocolate Bourbon Balls and they were delicious. She told mom that she could call her for the recipe but when she did so, the woman exclaimed it was an old family recipe and couldn’t possibly share it. At the next event, mom snuck a few of these cookies into her purse.
So mom went to the grocery and pulled out a whole array of ingredients and started testing. She’d take a nibble and mix in something. It took her hours and hours to recreate the taste and texture and I sat at the kitchen bar the entire time, wondering at her diligence and admiring her patience and sticktoitiveness.
Mom took HER White Chocolate Bourbon Balls to the next party and proceeded to share her recipe with anyone who asked.
Love this story, Jenne! There are recipe sharers and recipe protectors. There’s got to be good reasons behind both. For example, I was trying to procure a tea cake recipe for my recent book and sought the recipe from a woman in Nashville who is known for them. She had baked them at my girls’ high school each Friday, etc. But while she would share the tory behind them—no recipe. Because she said she might sell them one day. So I get it. But recipe sleuthing like your mom did, well that’s not easy. And yes, I’d love to hear more about Welcome Wagons. Do tell….
Thank you so much for your prompt reply. Looking forward to making the cake. I will let you know how it turns out. Have a wonderful and blessed holiday season.
In our house, we only had two homemade cookies growing up. Tollhouse recipe from the back of the bag and slice'n bake sugar cookies. Slice'n bake from the Poppin' Fresh doughboy is only home baked and not from scratch, as you know. lol.
I still make Tollhouse, and I make homemade sugar cookies, and sometimes I make homemade peanut butter blossoms. I have made homemade spritzer cookies, too. Creature of habit.
Repetition builds tradition, Denise! You know what you like!
Having just shipped 22 tins of cookies off to clients, I thought I was cookie-d out. But now that I've read about the cheese date cookies, I may have to reconsider! We made an espresso cinnamon cookie dipped half in white/half in semisweet chocolate from a recipe my sister used to use when she baked cookies for her clients at Christmas. Froze them after baking/dipping so they ship pretty well!
They sound yummy and beautiful, Anna!
Thank you for this extra special post - my family is Austro-Hungarian and as soon as I saw the crescents I thought other scrumptious version I loved even as a non-sweet eater and of their history, which you told so beautifully!
I am also working on a WWII story about my dad so your delightful story about Dee also resonated.
I am copying it and sending it as instagram stories to let readers know why to subscribe to you.
I am only sorry that the Melissa’s introduction to legendary you was not in person— and look forward to changing that one day!
Thank you!
Gerry Furth-Sides
Sounds good, Gerry! Thank you for these kind words!
This is not comment but a question about a fruitcake recipe from your wonderful cookbook “American Cake”. I am planning to make Mrs. Harvey’s Fruitcake from this cookbook and here is my question. The recipe states to wrap the cake in cheesecloth and then aluminum foil-should I dampen the cheesecloth with brandy or rum before wrapping the cake as I plan to make the cake a week or two before Christmas? By the way, I think that I have all of your cookbooks and I always have great success with your recipes and often give your cookbooks as gifts to my friends who like to cook and bake. Thanking you in advance for your help.
Bruce
Thank you, Bruce! Yes absolutely soak the cheesecloth first. Good thoughtful planning
What a woman your grandmother was, Anne! Lovely tribute and delicious post. Crescent cookies are one of my favorites ✨
Thank you Jolene!
I loved hearing about Dee. What a special person! My grandmother was born in 1900 and made spritz cookies decorated with colored sugar or hot cinnamon candies. We did not leave nearby so she would send them in a tin can every year. I loved them. The New York Times reintroduced a spritz cookie recipe during the pandemic. I purchased a spritz gun and make them for Christmas with some other favorites. But, I often have trouble with the dough. The invitation to come to Utah is still open! Happy Holidays!
Thank you, Lisa! Cookie tins are been unheralded for preserving old recipes. Wonder if you could use unbleached flour in that recipe.
I have a crescent cookie Recipe that has been used in my family for over 70 plus years. We use chopped almonds in them. Roll them into a worm shape then use the tines of a fork to press them down. Roll them in powdered sugar after coming out of the oven. I also do a thumbprint cookie that I roll each small ball of dough in egg whites then in finely chopped walnuts. The print is made after the have baked for a few minutes. After cooled I use a cream cheese icing ( multi colors, pink, green, yellow and blue) to fill the thumbprint. So yummy.
Sounds so wonderful, Tsun! I do think the crescent cookies I know were originally made with almonds - like yours - and then resourceful cooks down South added the local pecans instead. The worm shape is interesting, too, plus the fork. I think the fork is underrated. Peanut butter cookies would be nothing without it!
Ahhh, the telephone nook…did she have a wall phone in that vintage shade of harvest gold?
I don’t remember the color of the phone, sadly! I just recall it rang at night a lot. The apartment was so small. Her neighbors surely heard the conversations, too.