Thank you for making our Open House such a success! Our parking lot was completely full on Saturday, what a joy to behold. Christmas tree sales were brisk, so Santa brought more in this week. Mine is in the stand, but not yet decorated- maybe tonight? I spent yesterday making jam with one of my oldest and dearest friends. If you are fortunate enough to be on my Christmas gift list, expect some Little Wild Blackberry jam in your stocking! When it comes to Holiday baking, I have one word of advice for you; Butter. I cover my ears to any howls of protest and take a firm stand on this matter. Butter is King. Butter is Supreme. Butter is.. Well, you get my meaning. If I happen to see you in the grocery store holding a package of margarine I will snatch it away and subject you to a stern lecture about using quality ingredients to achieve quality results. I will regale you with the pitiful story of having received a lovely plate of cookies from a well meaning friend only to bite into a sugar cookie made with, you guessed it, margarine. What a sad waste of precious time! And just think about Santa on Christmas Eve. Would you ever want to present the jolly old elf himself with second quality cookies? This is a guy who has massive experience in cookie consumption. Of course, he holds any cookie made by a child in the highest esteem even if it is rock hard and requires hot cocoa to soften up.
What you want for all of your holiday baking is good old fashioned butter and lots of it. Then comes the decision of which cookies to make. I tend to stick with the classics, but my sister-in-laws have all got some recipes that brought an eye popping , hand clapping reaction from me. I’m hoping that they keep making and sharing those special treats. You may want to consider having an old fashioned cookie exchange. The idea is that each person makes several dozen of their very best cookies and everyone leaves with an assortment, thereby saving many hours of baking. If you know someone who makes spritz cookies or krumkake, count yourself very, very fortunate. If you don’t ,start scouting around for some new friends with a Scandinavian heritage! Sometimes you have to be a bit devious in order to get the finest Christmas cookies. One Scandinavian recipe that I absolutely adore is Oslo Kringle. It is amazingly simple to make and tastes as though you spent laborious hours creating it. You can slap this together in no time at all. And yes, it calls for BUTTER! Oslo Kringle one cup boiling water one cube Butter! one cup sifted flour three eggs one tsp. almond flavoring Melt the butter in the boiling water. Remove from the heat now! Add the flour and stir until smooth. Let cool for 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each until the mixture is smooth and shiny. Add one tsp almond flavoring. Spoon onto a cookie sheet, either in a ring or in two oblongs. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Let cool, then mix together and frost with; one tablespoon Butter! one cup powdered sugar one half tsp. almond flavoring two tablespoons ( approximate) of milk Best served with; Hot Buttered Rum one pound room temperature BUTTER one pound powdered sugar one pound brown sugar 1 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp cinnamon pinch of allspice one quart vanilla ice cream Beat together until smooth, put in containers and freeze. Measure a shot of rum, add a heaping spoonful of batter, and top off with boiling water. It’s yummy even without the rum! Be assured that our Nancy at the Hoquiam Farmers Market uses only butter in her cookies. She also makes Spritz cookies, Russian Teacakes, Scottish Shortbread, Pecan Crisps and many more fabulous cookies. I’m adopting her this year. Barbara Bennett Parsons, cookie connoisseur and manager of the Grays Harbor (Hoquiam) Farmers Market. 1958 Riverside in Hoquiam, ph. 538-9747 Wednesday is Taco Soup Day in Deidra’s Deli! 538-5880
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