It’s hard to believe I’ve been writing these posts for a decade of my life! How did that happen? It started out simple, a way to share my recipes with family and friends and maybe engage in dialogue with other like-minded folks. Recipes that began life in the hearts and hands of my mother and…
Category: Cookies
Sylvia’s Oatmeal Apple Rum Cookies and the silly saga of how they grew up.
A misunderstanding led to the greatly evolved oatmeal cookie we all love When I was first on my own, I made my mother’s oatmeal cookies several times but they were never quite the same as hers. Although they tasted great, they didn’t look right or have the same texture; they were flatter and not as…
Share this:
Holiday Encore: Sylvia’s Filled Mincemeat Cookies
Mom’s recipe started in October when we stripped the garden of its green tomatoes and made our own micemeat. I still make this (now and then) when I want the house to smell like my childhood home.
Share this:
Maple Graham Fire Crackers
Graham crackers have been a pantry staple in my house since I was a child. My grandmother loved them, so they were always on the shelf along with her ginger snaps. She was a bit greedy about her ginger snaps, but often shared the graham crackers. My own grandchildren now love them when making s’mores,…
Share this:
So, there are times when you really shouldn’t lick the spoon!
It started as a really nice thing to do for a friend who was not feeling well. As I start this story, let me introduce Betty, one of my dearest friends and a kind and loving soul, who is a very active community member, business entrepreneur, and one of those people who travels through life…
Share this:
Christopher’s Burbon Butter Tarts
Sweet little butter tarts are a quintessential Canadian treat. Little pastry shells filled with butter, syrup, egg, and vanilla. They’re also the topic of much disagreement about what exactly, if anything, should be added to these little pastries; some bakers add a little extra something. Raisins? Nuts? Be careful not to declare your preference too…
Share this:
Did you say Snickerdoodles?
New Englanders love to give silly names to simple dishes, just for the sake of saying them! My granddaughter asked to make snickerdoodles the other day. She asked me multiple times, using the word as much as possible because it is really lots of fun to say. “It should be a grandmother to make snickerdoodles…
Share this:
Secret Recipe Toffee Squares: Now you know!
This is THE recipe to contribute to the bake sale; first to sell out, and always popular. And now, you know the secret. For years, my friend C. helped me stock the green room for our performing artists at the Roots on the River Music Festival. It was a great deal of fun, and our…
Share this:
So, where was this Toll House and why did they make chocolate chip cookies?
We’ve all made them, possibly your first cookie adventure. But how did they become such a part of our baking landscape? When I was a kid, I loved baking chocolate chip cookies; you know, the recipe we all made. My kids followed in this love, and my grandkids do now. During the baking frenzy of…
Share this:
Barb’s Grandmother’s Hungarian Christmas Cookies
Known as “Kolaches,” these delightful apricot-filled cookies are a favorite holiday treat from my past, and now part of a virtual cookie exchange in the present. Barb and I have been friends since we were in our early 20s. Two young newspaper reporters (at first working for different newspapers), we didn’t have two nickels to…
Share this:
Snow Day Ginger Spice Cookies
My cookie-baking ritual begins with brewing my little pot of stove-top espresso. I’ll use just a little for my ginger cookie recipe, and the rest is my own little treat. I need a treat too because my confession is that unless I am making them with a kid, I really don’t like baking cookies.
