I was named after my Grandmother Margaret, my mom’s mother. She was about as much a Yankee as someone could be and still have lived over half of her life in Florida. Although Florida has its share of northerners, so I guess it’s not that surprising.
The reason I mention her northern roots is not a desire to re-fight the Civil War, but rather is an acknowledgment of the differences in culture between the two areas, especially in the middle of the twentieth century. Preferences for food was no exception. My grandmother had strong German roots, and she never learned to appreciate southern cooking. She cooked meats and potatoes but seldom added vegetables. I don’t ever remember a stand-out meal at her house.
My favorite thing to eat at Grandmother’s was the ice cream. She kept her freezer full of it––not a half-gallon container of vanilla but five or six containers of different varieties. It was ice cream heaven to us. Plus, we always ate the ice cream in green glass bowls that just seemed to make the ice cream better. Her ice cream was something we looked forward to whenever we made the trip from Atlanta to West Palm Beach.
What we seldom did was visit during Christmas. Our family tried once or twice, but we small children missed being home where Santa could find us and where we could get all of the attention from our parents. After a couple of Christmas visits, we tended to go at other times of the year.
What we missed at Christmas was Grandmother’s Christmas Cookies. She started baking at the beginning of December and fixed five or six different kinds of cookies. She would even make more than one batch of each. The cookies were carefully packed in air-tight containers and were brought out for every holiday event and meal.
Meanwhile, in Georgia, my mom had a tradition of making Christmas cookies as well. She, too, would make five or six varieties and put them in air-tight containers, ready for the season. It wasn’t until this past month that I realized my mom had brought my grandmother’s tradition into our house.
Christmas baking has always been part of Christmas for us, but I realize now that I have been woefully negligent in keeping up with the family standards. I must confess that I tend to use pre-packaged cookie dough. I now feel convicted––so never again. Maybe.
Anyway, in celebration of my mom and my grandmother’s attention to cookies, here are a few of their favorite recipes that date back to somewhere before 1950. Enjoy!
Grandmother Margaret’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
Preheat oven to 375.
In a small bowl, combine:
2-1/2 cups unsifted plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Set aside.
In a larger bowl, combine:
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup softened margarine
1 tsp vanilla
Beat until creamy. Then beat in 2 eggs.
Add flour and mix well. The stir in 1 12-oz. package (2 cups) of chocolate chips and 1 cup of chopped nuts.
Drop by teaspoonful onto uncreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Makes 100 two-inch cookies.
Grandmother Margaret’s Russian Tea Cookies
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chopped nuts
2-1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp vanilla.
Cream butter and sugar. Blend in other ingredients. Shape into little curved fingers. Bake at 350 degrees until brown and then dust lightly with powdered sugar.
Note: If dough is too soft, add flour to handle easily.
Grandmother Margaret’s Congo Squares
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish and set it aside.
Combine and then let these cool slightly:
2/3 cup margarine, almost melted
1 box light brown sugar
Beat in 3 eggs, adding one at a time.
Add 2-2/3 cups self-rising flour a little at a time, blending well.
Stir in 6 ounce package of chocolate chips. Add nuts if desired.
Put into prepared baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Slice into squares to serve.
