Thanksgiving Pie and Christmas Cookies

Since the holidays are soon upon us I thought maybe we could share some recipes that have been our family favorites over the years, especially in the cookie category. In years past, we made dozens and dozens of cookies for Christmas. We’d begin shortly after Thanksgiving and continue up until, and sometimes including the week of Christmas. We stored the cookies in the coolest part of the house, which for me was the garage. I’d clean off a shelf or two, line them with tablecloths, and begin loading them with cookies stored in their air-tight containers.

Plenty of flour flew, chocolate dripped, fruit caramelized, nuts were chopped, sugar was everywhere, and for weeks before Christmas the house smelled so good everyone was in a constant state of hunger. When the boys became teenagers, sometimes, rarely, a container would become lighter as Christmas approached. Nobody would “fess up” but it soon became apparent what everyone’s favorite cookie was and it was easy to guess who the culprit might be.

Now that I live alone, I make far fewer cookies than I once did. I focus on just the favorites while wistfully remembering the hustle and bustle of making all the others. Of course, the grandchildren have their favorites so we still end up with plenty of cookies for everyone, and have enough after the holidays to store a box in the freezer for a 4th of July treat.

With all this talk about cookies, I’ve decided to first share my recipe for Pecan Pie, a Thanksgiving favorite in our family. Of course we also have the traditional Pumpkin and Apple, but the Pecan Pie was the one that disappeared first. Today, with the price of pecans, it’s almost cheaper to go to Eat ‘N’ Park and buy one of their delicious pecan pies, but for those with the means here’s the famous Henry Pecan Pie recipe.

Pecan Pie

Pecan Pie
Preheat oven to 375°

Prepare your favorite pie crust. Mine is as follows. This recipe makes 2 crusts but you need only one for the Pecan Pie.

Mix together
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Cut in
2/3 cup lard (or 2/3 + 2 tablespoons shortening)
Sprinkle with
¼ cup water and mix with fork
Roll out and place in 2 pie tins, fluting the edges.

For the Pecan filling (for one pie)
Beat together
3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon of rum
1/3 cup honey
2/3 cup dark corn syrup
Mix in
1 ½ cup pecan halves.
Bake 40-50 minutes or until crust is nicely browned and center set.

1963 Betty Crocker Cooky Book

Now for the cookies … I always begin my Christmas cookie baking with the same recipe every year. In fact I follow the same sequence of recipes year-after-year, for some unknown, but probably obsessive compulsive reason.

Here’s one family favorite and the one that kicks off my baking season. This recipe is taken from Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book, copyright 1963, and the book from which most of my cookie recipes come from. It is tattered and torn, splashed and spilled on, but it gets dragged out anytime I need a good cookie. A facsimile of this book is available from amazon.com for $15.96. I don’t know what I’d do without mine. I’ve included the recipe here exactly as it appears in the Cooky Book.

Russian Teacakes (Sometimes called Mexican Wedding Cakes)

Russian Teacakes

1 cup butter or margarine
½ cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¼ cup Gold Medal Flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cups finely chopped nuts

Mix butter, sugar, and vanilla thoroughly. Measure flour by dipping method … or by sifting. Stir flour and salt together; blend in. Mix in nuts. Chill dough.
Heat oven to 400 degrees (mod.hot). Roll dough in 1″ balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet. (Cookies do not spread.) Bake 10 to 12 min., or until st but not brown. While still warm, roll in confectioners’ sugar. Cool. Roll in sugar again. Makes about 4 doz. 1″ cookies.
Note: Do not use Gold Medal Self-Rising Flour in this recipe.

I sometimes roll the cookies in confectioners’ sugar one more time, in other words 3 times all together. They just look so delicious and ready to be eaten that way.

I’ll leave it up to my sisters to keep the ball rolling and add their families’ favorite recipes to the list. Other family members … daughters, granddaughters, sons and husbands, etc. are welcome to join the fray. Happy Thanksgiving to all …. and happy baking.

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