These are excellent and quite pretty on a plate. Alexa *********************************************************** Holly Berry Cookies Servings: 12 Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, chilled 1 egg 1/4 cup milk 2/3 cup seedless raspberry jam 2 cups confectioners' sugar 2 tablespoons milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 cup cinnamon red hot candies 4 drops green food coloring Directions: 1. In a large bowl combine the flour, white sugar, ground cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl beat the egg and 1/4 cup of milk. Add this to the crumb mixture until the dough is moistened. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). 3. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut with a 2 inch round cookie cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheets. 4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Once cool spread jam on half of the cookies then top each with another cookie. 5. To Make Glaze: Combine the confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla until smooth. Spread glaze over the cookie and decorate with red cinnamon candy before the glaze is set. Let dry. Using a small new paintbrush and green food coloring, paint holly leaves on cookies.

I have a copy of, "the NEW Fannie Farmer-Boston Cooking-School COOK BOOK", 1953. My father, in his retirement, took on the care of several Summer homes in Southern Maine. He would check on them during the winter, board up windows against storms, uncover rose gardens when the time was right, deal with emergencies...that kind of thing. During the Summer, when people were in residence, he was sort of a general, all around handyman. His largest client was old money...there was a beach named after the family, a road named after the family, and a huge home, loaded with antiques that had been the original furnishings. An elderly Black woman came up every summer from South Carolina to be their cook for the season. Little bittie thing, set in her ways and stubborn as heck, but since she'd been cooking for the family for decades, she knew what they liked and how to manage them. I had been separated from my father at age 5, and when I found him again in my early 30's, I went out to stay with him and my stepmother for a year to get to know them. He took me down to meet Marguerite. She was a kick, and we got along...several years later, when she knew that she wouldn't be able to make it up again the next season (or ever), she gave my father her Fannie Farmer for me. It still has a bunch of book marks in it, some with shopping lists, some with her name, some with cryptic notes I can't decipher, all in the same, slanted hand. I actually use the book quite a bit, but I don't disturb the bookmarks. I sometimes puzzle over the marked pages, wondering which recipe she had marked... I also have my mother's copy of "The Complete American-Jewish Cookbook",1952. It has a separate section of Passover recipes. There are no pork recipes, naturally. Generally, the cookies and bread recipes are good. As for unique...I have an Ethiopian cookbook...the only one I've been able to find. "Exotic Ethiopian Cooking-Society, Culture, Hospitality, & Traditions. I've only made a couple of dishes out of it. I love Ethiopian food, and when I found out how much Nit'ir Qibe (purified herb & spice butter) is used in most of the dishes I love, I realized why I love them. For example, in dishes made from 1 pound of ground beef, it is not unusual that they contain a cup of butter. A typical lentil dish pairs 2 cups of lentils with 2 cups of butter. No wonder I love it!

Check out this thread from the Dessert Exchange. Here is a link that might be useful: Soft sugar cookies

1._______________________________________________________ Kitchen Delight Chocolate Chip Cookies Posted by: Patty_WV (My Page) on Wed, Nov 13, 02 at 11:57 Kitchen Delight Chocolate Chip Cookies 1 cup shortening,or 3/4 cup butter,1 cup packed light brown sugar,1/2 sugar,1 tsp.vanilla,2 eggs,2 1/4 cups flour,1 tsp.baking soda,1 tsp.salt,2 cups chocolate chips,1 cup chopped nuts(opt) Cream shortening or butter,brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy.Add eggs and beat well. Combine flour,baking soda,and salt.Add to creamed mixture. Stir in chips and nuts.Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.Bake at 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Makes 6 dozen Note:I use the butter flavor Crisco for shortening. My aunt gave me this recipe shortly after I got married 27 years ago.It came from a bag of chocolate chips.It's the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I ever use. 2.__________________________________________________________ Decadent Brownies Posted by: Ann_T (My Page) on Sat, Nov 16, 02 at 13:42 Patty, Now that I know I am posting the recipes to the right thread, I have a few more that you can add to the one above. Ann. Home Cookin 4.8 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Decadent Brownies ================= 1 Cup butter, 20 Ounces chocolate, 1-1/2 Cups sugar, Pinch of salt, 4 eggs, 1 Cup flour, vanilla to taste, 1 Cup toasted pecans Melt chocolate and butter in microwave bowl Beat in sugar and salt, Beat in eggs, add vanilla, Mix in flour, Mix in pecans. Pour into rectangle cake pan that has been lined with tin foil and rubbed with butter. Bake in oven at 350 for approximately 30 minutes. Do not over bake Should still be soft in the middle Put into freezer immediately for 1 hour or until cold. Cut into 8 bars and wrap each in plastic wrap and freeze 3.__________________________________________________________ Best Oatmeal Cookies Posted by: Ann_T (My Page) on Sat, Nov 16, 02 at 13:42 Home Cookin 4.8 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Source: from newspapper many years ago Best Oatmeal Cookies ==================== 1 Cup butter 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1 egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 1 2/3 cup flour, 3/4 Teaspoon baking soda, 1/8 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, dash nutmeg, 1 1/2 cups rolled oats Preheat oven to 350 Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until smooth. Add vanilla Combined flour, soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir into butter mixture. Add rolled oats. Roll into small balls (golf ball size) and flatten with glass dipped in sugar. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until bottoms are golden. Cookie should not get brown. Cool on wire rack 4.__________________________________________________________ Graham Cracker Chewies Recipe from the Nantucket Open House Cookbook. Posted by: Ann_T (My Page) on Sun, Aug 24, 03 at 19:43 Here are a couple of recipes that have become very popular on the Cooking/Recipe forum that you can add to the Archive. Home Cookin 4.9 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Graham Cracker Chewies ====================== These are amazingly good and simple to make. They are a nice alternative to brownies. Recipe from the Nantucket Open House Cookbook. Crust 1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature, 2 tablespoons all purpose flour Topping 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup chopped pecans, 1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 large eggs beaten, . Preheat oven to 350 Prepare the crust: Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter and flour in a mixing bowl until moist and crumbly. Press the mixture firmly and evenly in the bottom of a 9 inch square baking pan. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Prepare topping: Stir all the ingredients together until blended. Spread the topping over the baked crust and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely, then cut into 16 squares. Home Cookin 4.9 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table 5.__________________________________________________________ Silly Toffee Squares Posted by: Ann_T (My Page) on Sun, Aug 24, 03 at 19:43 Source: Patty Silly Toffee Squares 1/2 flour, 3/4 cup rice krispies cereal, 1/4 tsp baking soda, pinch salt, 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup butter melted, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 c butter, 1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup chocolate chips semi sweet, 1 1/4 cup Rice Krispies cereal, caramel layer. Chill and cut into squares. Combine first 6 ingredients and press into 8" square pan and bake at 350 for 10 minutes In heavy saucepan combine condensed milk, 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring continuously. (this burns easily so watch carefully) Remove from heat and pour over baked crust. Melt chocolate chips over low heat. Stir in remaining cereal until well coated. Using two forks spread over caramel layer. Chill and cut into squares. 6._______________________________________________________ PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES Posted by: chery2 on Sat, Nov 15, 03 I may be a slow learner, but I finally caught on to the fact that using sweetened condensed milk in a recipe covers the duties of lots of ingredients. You gotta love recipes of no more than 4 ingredients that turn out GREAT. For instance... PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES 3/4 c. pb, 1 can scm, 2 1/2 c. flour, 1 t. vnla, Mix all ingredients. Roll into 1-in. balls. Shake in bag w/ gran. sugar. Flatten on cookie sheet by making a cris-cross pattern w/ fork. Bake @ 350 for 6-8 minutes. [At first I didn't like these. They looked like little biscuits and didn't flatten during baking. But DH said they're the best ever. SIL likes them w/ a choc. chip in the middle; also likes that they're bite size. 7.________________________________________________________ MACAROONS Posted by: chery2 on Sat, Nov 15, 03 1 bag or can of sweetened coconut [about 13 oz], 1 can scm, 1 t. van [careful! changes shade of cookies], You can add other ingredients: baking chips, crushed mint, whatever. Recipe on back of coc. bag. Makes a ton of little ones. 350 for 8 minutes. chery-va 8._________________________________________________________ Lebkuchen Bars Posted by: Roselin32 on Sat, Nov 15, 03 RECIPE: Lebkuchen Bars Posted by Roselin32 on Wed, Oct 22, 03 A Christmas favorite in our home. 1 tsp cinnamon, l teaspoon ground allspice, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 1/2 c unsifted flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 c ground almonds, 1 tsp grated lemon rind, 2 eggs, 3/4 c sugar, 3/4 c honey, 1/2 c milk, Almond Glaze, 1 c confectioner's sugar, 1/2 tsp almond extract, 1 tsp rum, 1-2T water, Sift together spices, salt, flour, and baking powder. Stir in the almonds and lemon rind. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and sugar until a ribbon forms when the beater is removed. Stir in the honey and milk. Gradually stir in the flour mixture and beat until smooth. Spread the batter in an 11x17" greased jelly roll pan. Bake in a preheated 400° oven for12-15 minutes until the cake is done. While still warm turn the cake out onto a rack. Mix the confectioner's sugar, almond extrac, rum and water. Beat until it is smooth and of a glaze consistency, adding more water if necessary. Spread on warm cake. Cut into bars while still warm. Yields: 2-3 dozen. RL`