lov-mkitchen and sheilajoyce , I am so happy! For nearly 30 years I have been looking for that cookie recipe. Like sheilaoyce I bought that cook book "Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers" when I was in high school in the late '50's. The much used book somehow got lost in a move. That cookie recipe was a family favorite. In a recent post, Glenda mentioned something about cookbooks of the 50's while she was teaching Home Ec. I was about to contact her about the recipe, but didn't want to bother her now as I know she is busy getting ready for a cruise the end of the week. There was another recipe for a soft sugar cookie that I lost in that move. I am thinking that it was in the same book, but may not have been. No sour cream, but It called for the eggs to be separated and the whites to be beaten to stiff peaks and folded into the batter. It was dropped and spread slightly with the back of a spoon onto the sheet and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. It was a good substitute for the sour cream one.

My grandparents were all born in the 1880s and my last grandmother died when I was 12. She'd been in a nursing home for some time by that point so I was very young when I was visiting their homes. Both of my grandfather's passed before I was born. My maternal grandmother lived in an old duplex on Toledo, Ohio's south side--right near the big Haughton Elevator plant where my grandfather worked. Very industrial and I remember the neighborhood being very gray--dark, charcoal gray. There were railroad tracks that basically ran behind the house. During the depression, the homeless men who were traveling as hitchers on the train would stop and my grandmother would feed them--whatever she had--which wasn't much. Mom said that it was a daily occurrence. And there was a bar called The Showboat just a few doors down. Some time during my young adulthood, it morphed into a drag club. I never went there, but it was VERY important to my grandpa. LOL That grandmother had a small, dank kitchen with a freestanding gas (heating) stove, lino countertops with the banded edge, and (I think) green painted cabinets--and not many. It just felt dirty and old to me--much like that neighborhood. My uncle lived in that duplex apartment for more than 60 years. He had cerebral palsy and lived at home and never married. What I remember most about that house was the smell of his cologne, believe it or not. By the time he moved in the early 80s, the apartment had fallen into horrendous disrepair. My paternal grandmother was a charcter--my last remaining grandparent. Some time between 1915 and 1920, they sold their large farm in Tontogany, Ohio and moved to the "big city" of Bowling Green. Their house was a traditional 2 story, white, with a big front porch and two catalpa trees out front. I spent hours playing with the seed pods--"Indian cigars" as she called them. Her kitchen wasn't big, but it wasn't small. There was a wall of cabinetry that faced the country road to the east with a sink and symmetrical white painted cabinets. Certainly no dishwasher. LOL The floors were a speckled lino--all kinds of colors but basically white and the cabinets had black rubber toekicks. There was a typical 1930s wallpaper, red, blue, yellow with forks and spoons motif on all of the walls above white (?) ceramic tile. I want to say that it was banded in black tile, but...I don't know...maybe... There was a breakfast alcove with a wooden table and 4 chairs--always covered with a vinyl tablecloth. I remember a lot of red and white checks...LOL The stove and refrigerator stood by themselves on 2 walls, and there was a door in the back corner that led out onto a breezeway with a dirt floor that housed the old wringer washer and beadboard cabinets full of home canned goods. I grew up eating her quince jelly and peanut butter sandwiches. We had her jelly YEARS after she passed away. I can STILL taste it. And lebkuchen. Always lebkuchen. And on your birthday, she would sit down at the big upright piano in the living room and belt out the most raucous "Happy Birthday" you ever heard. She'd been a piano player in the silent movie houses and was quite good--sitting there in her flowered shirtwaist and gingham apron with her white-white hair pulled into a tight bun.... My mom always told me that I reminded her of that grandmother.... I like that.

I found a Frosted Pepparkakor recipe that sounded good (I don;t remember the source - got it googling) and decided to give them a try. They are excellent! The recipe suggests making them really thin and heart shaped, then piping a design of whote royal icing on top. Beautiful and tasty - what more could you want from a cookie! Here is the recipe if anyone is interested.... Alexa ********************************************************** Frosted Pepparkakor They can be cut into a variety of shapes, but the heart is the most traditional. Piped white icing adds a festive touch. Cookie Ingredients: 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup LAND O LAKES® Butter, softened 1/2 cup light molasses 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I omitted since I do not like nutmeg) Icing Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar 1 tablespoon meringue powder 2 tablespoons warm water 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1. Combine brown sugar, butter and molasses in large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed (1 to 2 minutes). Reduce speed to low. Add flour, salt, baking soda and spices; beat until well mixed (1 to 2 minutes). Cover; refrigerate until firm (at least 1 hour). 2. Heat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, one-half at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/16-inch thickness. Cut with 2 to 2 1/2 inch heart-shaped cutter. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until set. Cool completely. 3. Meanwhile, combine all icing ingredients in small mixer bowl. Beat at low speed until moistened. Increase speed to medium. Beat, scraping bowl often, until stiff and glossy (2 to 4 minutes). If too stiff, add additional warm water. Decorate cooled cookies with icing, as desired. Makes 6 dozen cookies.

It's the absence of the baking Powder that caused the problem....a couple of teaspoons of corn starch wouldn't make a huge difference...just a small difference.