Every family has those certain recipes that are only made during the holidays or a special occasion. I think that they are great not only because they really are delicious, but because they are made with love.
My grandmother taught my mother and my sister to make certain dishes. They are very, very close to the original but not the same. Someone once said that the extra flavor is the love of the person making the dish. My grandmother always had that look on her face when she cooked. The only problem in sharing my grandmother's recipes is that they are so complicated. Latin cooking is a laundry list of great ingredients and several stages of cooking. Christmas dishes start the week before. It is the honest to God truth. Tamales, pernil, torrejas, y hojuelas. Fantastic food but very labor intensive.
At the same time that I was thinking about the memories of holidays past, my chef came home and said he was asked to submit a family recipe to the local county newspaper. He immediately called his mom to get his Nana's cookie recipe. Nana was a fun lady. She lived to be 100 years old. Her secret to longevity was being close to family, gambling in Vegas and drinking either 1/2 beer or a small Manhattan at night. I met Nana already in her ninety's, but even then she was a beautiful woman. There is a certain femininity that women over 70 have that we seem to have lost today. Nana never left the house without her makeup and her pearls. She went to have her hair done at the beauty salon on a regular basis. I am lucky if I shower and go. And I knew immediately I would like her because she loved the color pink. I love PINK.
I am going to share Nana's recipe here in her honor. Pick up the phone and get your family recipes. Print them, store them in a safe place and pass them down from generation to generation. Some of your grandchildren might not be able to meet your grandparents. But bring a batch of their cookies and tell them a family story over a glass of milk. I will save this one for her great-granddaughter Finley. I will have her come to the house and have a play-date with her favorite uncle to make the cookies during these holidays.
My Husband's Nana Katie Halfway Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar firmly packed
3 egg yolks + 1 tbsp water slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups sifted cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
For Topping
1 package chocolate chips
3 egg whites
1 cup brown sugar firmly packed
1 package chocolate chips
Mix shortening, vanilla, white and brown sugar well. Add egg yolks that have been blended with water. Mix until creamy. Sift the next 4 ingredients together and add to the shortening mix.
Take the 3 egg whites and whisk (or use an electric blender) until stiff peaks have formed. Add 1 cup of brown sugar a little at a time while whisking until peaks form again.
Grease a cookie sheet and spread the shortening mixture evenly over the whole cookie sheet. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over mixture and press into the dough. Then spread egg white-brown sugar mixture over the top of cookie dough.
Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool and cut into pieces. Enjoy. If you have any leftovers, store in an air tight container.
In these hard economic times, let us remember the important things. JESUS is the only reason for Christmas. We celebrate His birth. Then we celebrate the blessings of life. Our family, our health, food on the table and a roof over our heads.
And we celebrate the memory of those that have gone before us and the love they left behind.
Carl David
Mary Katherine (Katie)
Zoila Albertina
Tomas
Alice
Jizz
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