Sugar Cookies a la Grandma

Another goodie from the treasure trove that is my grandma's recipe box. This is from the back of a product box (Crisco and Arm & Hammer are my educated guesses) from, I believe, the late 1940s. The last step before baking involves putting sugar on the top, so the traditional thing to do in my family is to make these for Christmas with red and/or green sugar, but obviously they can be made with white sugar for color-neutral occasions. Like last night's occasion, which was me wanting cookies.

Sugar Cookies
Sift together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (presifted), 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

Cream 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter and 1/2 cup shortening, then add 1 cup granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla and cream again. Add 1 egg and cream until fluffy.



Do not announce "I'm making this recipe because it's the only one that only needs one egg," in case this happens to your only egg before the preceding sentence has even finished leaving your mouth.

Wait for boyfriend unit to go to grocery store for more eggs.

Stir in dry ingredients until mixture is smooth. This will be difficult. Then blend in 2 tablespoons milk.

Drop by teaspoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet...




Then flatten the tops with the bottom of a water glass dipped in sugar.



I would recommend--if you didn't already figure this out for yourself--removing any stray sugar from the cookie sheet before baking. The dough is pretty adhesive, so I usually just tip the sheet over the sugar bowl and brush it back in with the end of a paper towel or something.

Bake in a 400-degree oven until the edges are very lightly browned. The recipe says this will take 10-12 minutes, but I was taking cookies out after 8.5 and my oven is not particularly fast. The cookies are no good if you let them get too brown, so keep a close eye on them. Makes between 3-5 dozen, depending on how big your teaspoonfuls are.



While I'm typically a purist with these cookies, last night I went experimental. Here they are with cinnamon sugar on the top.




They were good that way.

And here they are with homemade butterscotch sauce drizzled on the top.



The homemade butterscotch sauce is pretty freaking amazing. There's a lot of it left over, in a bowl in my fridge, and I am exercising a lot of self-control right now. It's really hard not to just grab a spoon and eat the damn stuff on its own. I didn't have kosher salt, so I used sea salt, which created a delightfully salty/sweet combination if you're one of those salted caramel folks. I think I might be.


FYI, today I made an awesome breakfast of poached eggs over cornbread with a sun-dried tomato spread. Then I made a batch of super-healthy vegan chili, which even has organic green chard in it (on sale at Whole Foods), and will hopefully combat the effects of the butterscotch-drizzled sugar cookies...

Media Pairing: This came up when I searched YouTube for "butterscotch," and combines my loves of butterscotch, late-night television, and ponies. Well, sort of.

Just Like Grandma Makes: Walnut Frosties

No photo here, as I am at Grandma's house without my own laptop or my camera cord. I took some photos on my cell phone, but my Bluetooth does not want to talk to my mother's MacBook's Bluetooth. Look, I'll put in placeholders for now, and maybe when the boyfriend unit arrives he can figure out how to make my phone sync with the MacBook.

[image = "picture of cookies in clear glass cookie jar, poinsettia and mixed nuts in background"]

Anyway, these are my favorite of all my grandma's cookies, aside from maybe her sugar cookies. I'll blog the sugar cookies later. These, these Walnut Frosties...to be honest, I never knew they had a proper name until tonight. And, while to me they are my grandma's cookies, they are properly attributed to Mrs. G.P. Longmire of Austin, Texas, published in ...from the 17th annual Bake-Off: The Pillsbury Busy Lady Bake-Off Recipes: 100 Prizewinning recipes...shortcutted and up-to-dated by Pillsbury...the Idea Flour (The Pillsbury Company, 1966). The ellipses are not me omitting parts of an even longer title; they are on the cover of the book.

I'm doing this now, before I inadvertently go back to the other side of the country without this recipe for, like, the twelfth time.

[image = "picture of cover of cookbook"]

[image = "picture of Walnut Frosties recipe, page 65"]

2 cups flour (technically, according to recipe, Pillsbury's Best Flour, which to be frank is probably what my grandma bakes with)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (technically, Land O'Lakes butter, which I know for a fact is what my grandma bakes with)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Oven 350, makes about 48 cookies

Combine flour, soda, and salt (note: Grandma sifts her flour before measuring, even if it's pre-sifted). Gradually add sugar to butter in mixing bowl, creaming until light and fluffy (note: Grandma actually does this by hand, bless her). Add egg and vanilla extract; beat well. Gradually add dry ingredients, mixing well after each addition. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Make a depression in center of each cookie; place 1 teaspoonful Topping (yes, it's capitalized) in depression (note: Grandma uses a melon baller). Bake at 350 for 12 to 14 minutes or until delicately browned.

Topping: Combine 1 cup chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, and 1/4 cup dairy sour cream. (The book says Diamond Walnuts, but I think we all know I'm going to buy my walnuts at Trader Joe's, where nuts are plentiful and inexpensive.)


Media pairing: We've been watching the endless Brett Favre coverage on ESPN. All you have to do is turn on ESPN and I'm pretty sure they'll be talking about Brett Favre, regardless of what time of day it is or whether they're broadcasting women's college volleyball or whatever.