Christmas Dogs

I cannot think of anything more traditional than Spritz cookies at Christmas. My grandmother was German. So, she made these cookies every year. A few years before she died, the women in our family started making cookies together at Christmas time with her and included myself and my cousin. According to my mother, it was my grandmother’s dying wish that the cookie day tradition be maintained to keep the family together at least once a year doing something together. And so it goes.

Every year, my mother, my sister, my aunt, my cousin and my cousin’s wife get together for a no-nonsense, grind-them-out, cookie day. There are no children. We make cookies with the children separately for fun. This is about producing lots of cookies! We make Russian Tea Cakes and Spritz. Over the years we have perfected our production techniques. We now make batter at home and each bring it with us to my aunt’s house. It took too much time making it as we went along.

Bad picture alert….

The day begins around 9AM and does not end until we are finished with all of the dough. This year, in our first snow, we finished close to 7PM! We allow very little deviation from the traditional shapes and decorations. It could get ugly for anyone that comes to the table with a new idea. Although, oddly enough, there were new sprinkles introduced this year…..I think that slipped by under the radar…hmmm.

We make trees, wreaths, chocolate decorated flowers and the Jackson Family Christmas Dogs. That’s correct, dogs! These dogs are the most coveted of all the Christmas cookies served each year. Think about it, do you know anyone else that makes Christmas Spritz Dog Cookies? Probably not.  But, here’s the thing, they are a pain in the ass to make. Why? Because of the little collar, that’s why. Very annoying.

The collar is made from a candied cherry. The cherries must be cut in half and then sliced thin. It takes a lot of cherries to decorate these dogs. They are so sticky. A mess. So, we decided that we would make the newest member of the group cut the cherries. My cousin’s wife. We weren’t fans anyway, if you know what I mean. But then, they split up!! Not to worry, he re-married! Thank god! We like this one though, but she’s still stuck with those cherries! But, I digress…….

Spritz

Decorated Spritz Cookies

1 cup butter softened (original recipe calls for margarine but I refuse)

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Cream together butter and sugar; blend in egg and almond extract. Combine dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture. Mix well. Either use right away, or if you need to refrigerate, plan time to allow dough to warm to room temperature. Press and decorate. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes.

I always double.

You need a cookie press to make Spritz cookies the authentic way. Those new fangled cookie shooters don’t cut it, sorry. You need the old fashioned, break-your-arm, get-calluses-on-your-hands, cookie press!

Exhibit A – the Cookie Press

I had planned my standard, “good luck with that” answer, but actually, you are in luck!  I found just want you need on Ebay!

We decorate our cookies with the standard sugars and use a silver ball for the “star” on our trees. We also cook some of the cookies plain and then drizzle chocolate sauce over them and press them into crushed nuts.

Spritz with Chocolate and Pecans

Make sure you have plenty of cookie tins on hand for storage. Line the tins with wax paper and use wax paper to tighten the seal of the tin to keep the cookies fresh for several weeks.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

It’s that time of year again! Cookie baking time. Our first recipe is a classic chocolate chip meets oatmeal cookie. This cookie as well as regular chocolate chips are not only favorites, but they are so easy to make. Because of their large size, they make a nice foundation for your cookie tins this holiday season! I always double my recipes because I need many, many cookies! Enjoy.

Marsha’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chips

1 cup of butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup light brown sugar (packed)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Cream the butter and the sugars. Then add the eggs and vanilla and mix.

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Mix the 3 dry ingredients together. Add slowly to creamed mixture.

3 cups of old fashioned oatmeal (not instant)

2 cups chocolate chips

Mix oats and chocolate chips into batter and blend.

Bake at 325 degrees for 12 minutes.

For new bakers: loosen cookies within 2 minutes of removing from oven and then let cool on a cooling rack or single layer on kitchen towels will work.

Artisanal Salts

Any home cook loves to discover a new herb or spice to use in their favorites recipes. Over the last few years artisan salts have become all the rage in gourmet cooking catalogs and magazines. Not only do they add different dimensions of flavor to a dish than regular salt, they are beautiful in presentation as a garnish, presented in salt cellars or decoratively  sitting in one’s cooking area.

Pictured above, on the left, is a French salt purchased in Western France on a recent vacation. It is Sel de Guerande and is the finest Fleur de Sel, which is a hand-harvested sea salt. Believe it or not, the salt itself, although perhaps not packaged as beautifully, is available at Amazon.com for really reasonable prices.

On the right is a pink Himalayan salt. This salt actually gets its color from trace amounts of magnesium, calcium and copper from the beds where it is mined. This salt is so pretty, all practical purposes aside! It looks so lovely sprinkled on top of the butter for your table service. It has a smooth, mild flavor and makes a really nice stocking stuffer. The one pictured was purchased from Dean and Deluca for $16.50. They also have an assortment of other artisan salts such as Murray River Salt, Alaea, Fleur de Sel, and Fumee de Sel.

Last year I gave myself an early Christmas gift and purchased a Himalayan salt block. I thought I would cook Kobe Beef on it and make it a real conversation piece at my next party. Wrong. It sat sweating on my granite counter top in the summer and collecting dust this fall. So, these are great if you are looking for something pretty on your counter, but I wouldn’t recommend them.

Here are some other places that sell artisan salts, although we have never personally purchased anything from them:

Saltworks – They seem to have a nice selection.

Artisan Salt – Wow, I may be getting some early gifts from myself!!

Salt Traders – The packaging looks a little weak, but decide for yourself.

If you have any suggestions for terrific artisan salts not mentioned, please let us know!!!