Christmas Baking

No, I'm not wishing it was Christmas yet, even though this the 2nd blog this week about a Christmas recipe! haha! My mom (Grandma Snell to Liv) recently emailed me 2 of her recipes along with one of her favorite kitchen memories: our annual bake day.  So, even though it's not Christmas time, I thought I'd go ahead and share them. I'm sure they're just as tasty any other time of the year too! 


The first of Dec. each year mom and I would take one day and do nothing but bake. Mom remembers, "We baked dozen after dozen of cookies, peanut butter, chocolate chip, pineapple, and chocolate cherry.  We made batches of candy, peanut butter fudge and chocolate fudge."  We laughed, made a mess, and enjoyed each other's company.  One thing that sticks out in my mind is the HUGE coat boxes we filled with cookies and candy.  We would take the majority of what we made to the church who used baked goods from the church members to make baskets to take to the elderly and shut-ins. I wish I had a pic of one of those boxes.  Most people wouldn't believe how big they were and how much food you could put in them!  Still, even after we had filled at least 2 of those boxes, mom would make a smaller box for the mailman, my bus driver, maybe a teacher or two, for dad to take to his office, for her to take to her work, and yet there'd always be some left for us to eat on too...yeah, we made THAT many goodies! 


Anyway, mom says her favorite was always the pineapple cookies and I always thought the chocolate cherry cookies looked so festive. Don't take our word for it though...try 'em out! 

Pineapple Cookies

Old recipe from Granny Moore (Liv's great-great grandma)

2 eggs
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup nut meats
1 tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup strained crushed pineapple
½ tsp salt
3 ½ cups flour

Cream shortening, sugar and vanilla. Add pineapple and nut meats. Sift salt, baking powders and flour together and add to other ingredients. Blend and drop on greased baking sheet. Bake @ 350 degrees until brown. Drop with spoon on cookie sheet.

Chocolate Cherry Cookies

(The recipe came out of a paper called Grit dated Nov. 30-Dec. 6th, 1986)

2/3 cup butter or margarine
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
1 ½ tsps vanilla
1 2/3 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
6 tbsps unsweetened cocoa
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
18 maraschino cherries, well-drained and halved

Cream butter, sugar egg and vanilla until fluffy. Stir together dry ingredients: add to creamed mixture (dough will be still). Shape into 1-inch balls. Place on increased baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Press a cherry half into center of each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until almost set. Cool on wire rack. Prepare Chocolate Glaze. Frost each cookie, leaving top of cherry showing. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Glaze

Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons water in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat: immediately add ½ cup chocolate chips, stirring just until melted. Cool until glaze is of spreading consistency.