By Request

I have been asked for a lot of recipes this week so I am sharing them here with all of you! By request, here are two of Gram's Christmas cookie staples.

Mom made this for me for my birthday!

Peppernuts

1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar syrup (I am assuming this is corn syrup? Help, Mom!)
1 tsp soda dissolved in a little hot water
1/2 tsp salt
5 cups flour
1 Tbsp anise oil (Gram always bought this at the drug store!)

Roll in long strips. Cut. Bake. Bake approx 350-375.

These are Gram's exact instructions.  I can try to get more details from Mom if anyone wants to make them.
We cut ours into dime size pieces, filled a cookie sheet and baked them until they were golden brown. I have no idea how long that was.  Then we turned them on to newspaper to cool and kept them in a big glass jar with a lid.  They are best when dropped in a hot cup of coffee and fished out with a spoon!



Thumbprints

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 egg yolks, reserve whites for later
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder

Finely chopped nuts

Cream sugar, butter, vanilla and egg yolks until light and fluffy.  Gradually add flour and baking powder and mix well.  Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls.  Dip top of each ball into lightly beaten egg whites and then into finely chopped nuts.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  With thumb, make an imprint in the center of each cookie.  Bake at 350 for 11 to 14 minutes or until golden brown around edges.

Makes 3 1/2 dozen.

I fill mine with buttercream icing but you can use whatever filling you would like! I also leave the nuts off of mine, just for Adriane.