Yule cookie – Mom’s Bon Bons

Mom’s Bon Bons

1 cup sugar
2 cups butter
1 egg
4 cups sifted flour
½ teaspoon of lemon extract
Or a few drops of oil of lemon
1 small jar of S&W chopped fruit
Bag of chopped pecans or walnuts

Mix creaming butter and sugar, adding rest of ingredients
Make into 2 rolls then roll in chopped pecans or walnuts
Put in refrigerator
Slice thin and bake at 400 degrees

The chopped fruit was a jar of mixed maraschino cherries and other coloured fruit.
When in the cookie makes it look like a stained glass window.

The mom in Mom’s is my grandmother and she did this pre any magazine article for stained glass cookies as this was her way of modifying the spritz dough sans the almonds.

Yuletide cookies – Spritz BakeLser

Spritz Bakelser

1 cup sugar
2 cups Butter (never ever ever use margarine in any cookie calling for butter unless you want a nasty tasting mess)
1 egg
½ cup finely chopped almonds
4 cups Soft as Silk cake flour

Chop nuts in blender or food processor. (this used to be done by hand by mom’s indentured servants)
Cream Butter and sugar together until light and delicate
Add egg and gradually work in flour and almonds
Chill dough
Squeeze through pastry tube with small star tip on to foil lined cookie sheets
(Mom used a cookie press with the star opening, much easier and more fun)
Bake in a preheated oven 400 degrees for about 12 minutes or until tinged with pale tan
Remove carefully when set

Makes 3-5 dozen

This recipe is from my Swedish great-grandmother and was transcribed my grandmother. It began as a little of this and just enough of that.

Yule Cookies – Chocolate stars

Chocolate Hearts

These are my all time favourites and they really aren’t a cookie. They are a confection because they have no flour.

3 oz of bitter chocolate
1 lb powdered sugar
2 or 3 unbeaten egg whites
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Melt 3 oz of chocolate
Add 1lb of powdered sugar
And mix thoroughly
Work to a stiff yet pliable paste with the unbeaten egg whites
Add 1 tsp of vanilla
Roll ¼ inch thick and cut with cookie cutter
Sprinkle the board with powdered sugar instead of flour
Place on oiled or foiled pan
And bake until firm at 325 degrees
Remove from pan after standing a minute to cool

Yule Cookies – Pecan cookies

Pecan Cookies

½ pound of butter
2 cups of flour, sifted
1 Teaspoon of vanilla
3 heaping kitchen tablespoons of powdered sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

Additional powdered sugar for rolling

Cover cookie sheets with foil or grease lightly
Mix thoroughly all ingredients except the nuts with electric mixer
Add pecans and shape into teaspoon size ovals
Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes or until set

Do not over bake! They should not be brown!

Roll in powdered sugar immediately when removed from oven. (And some if you wonder where I got my asbestos hands?)

Roll again when cool

Makes 3-5 dozen

Mom got this from her first voice teacher and you can use Chocolate chips instead of pecans.
When she packed them in the cookie tins she packed them in more powdered sugar under and between the layers.

Yule cookie – chocolate nuggets

Chocolate Nuggets

¾ cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
¼ teaspoon salt
2 1oz squares of unsweetened chocolate melted
2 Tbsp milk (whole)
½ Teaspoon vanilla
2 ½ cups of sifted flour
Chocolate shots, ants, jimmies, sprinkles or whatever you call them

Cream butter; gradually add sugar and cream until fluffy
Add egg, salt, chocolate, milk and vanilla
Mix well
Mix in flour
Chill dough thoroughly
Shape into 1 inch balls
Roll in the chocolate sprinkles

Place in oven on a greased cookie sheet
Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes

Makes 4 dozen

Yule cookie – Springerli

Springerli

5 whole eggs
1 lb of powdered sugar
½ tsp lump powdered ammonia (Also called Baker’s Ammonia)

2 drops oil of anise
Flour to make stiff enough to knead

Beat eggs well
Add other ingredients
Roll ¼ inch thick
Print with mold
Let stand overnight
Bake at 350 degrees until straw coloured

If you cannot find Baker’s Ammonia you can substitute an equal amount of baking powder. Baker’s Ammonia was used in Northern European recipes pre-baking powder. If you do use the Baker’s Ammonia, do not sample the dough! It’s a leavening agent that is harmless after cooking but your kitchen may stink a bit during baking.

Yule – cookies – Moravian Christmas cookies

Moravian Christmas Cookie

3 ¾ cups sifted cake flour
¾ teaspoon ginger
¾ teaspoon cloves
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon salt
¾ Teaspoon baking soda
½ cup butter or other shortening melted
1 cup molasses, heated
½ cup brown sugar

Sift flour once, measure and sift together with spices, soda and salt 3 times
Combine butter & molasses, add the sugar and the flour mixture and let stand in cold place for a week or two.

Roll out paper thin and cut with fancy cookie cutters and bake in a moderate oven (375) degrees) 6 minutes on a greased cookie sheet.

Remove at once from sheet, cool and store indefinitely in a closed tin
Makes about 200 cookies.

As you can tell this recipe is old. It’s pre-refrigerator and temperatures on ovens.

This used to be my favourite dough to sneak pieces to eat while we were cutting them out.

Yuletide treat – Toffee bars

Toffee Bars

2 cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or ½ cup butter and ½ cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 oz of milk chocolate
½ cup chopped walnuts

Cream butter and sugar
Add egg and vanilla
Mix well
Add sifted dry ingredients mixing just enough to combine
Spread in shallow 10×15 greased pan
Bake in 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and cover with 6 oz of melted milk chocolate
(Grate on sheet immediately)
Then sprinkle with nuts
Cut into bars immediately and remove to wire racks

Makes 50 1×3 bars

Yuletide cookies – Melt in the Mouth cookies

Melt in the Mouth

½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1Teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
¾ cup sifted flour
1 Teaspoon baking powder
½ Teaspoon salt
½ cup finely chopped nuts

Cream butter, add sugar, vanilla & egg
Beat until light
Add sifted dry ingredients and nuts
Drop by scant teaspoons onto cookie sheets
Bake in hot oven

400 degrees for about 5 minutes Cool for ½ minute
Remove to wire rack

Yuletide cookie – Makroner

Makroner –

Another of the Swedish ones. Just a little late for St. Lucy Day

1 lb butter
1 lb sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¼ lb flour

Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs and mix well
Add vanilla
Add flour to make smooth paste

Put in cookie press with die of your choice
Bake 8-12 minutes at 400 degrees