Cookie Memories - Grandma's Cookies

Linda Cardillo

Cookie Memories

My mother’s mother lived in the country about 50 miles north of New York City in a stone house built by hand by my mason grandfather. In the summers, we grandchildren would spend extended periods of time with her, swimming in the dammed up brook at the edge of her property and eating at her table under the willow trees. In the winter she would travel south to visit us, staying with each of her children and their families for two or three days. The highlight of our visits to her or her sojourns with us was always her baking. To this day, all my cousins still refer to her signature cookie as “Grandma’s cookie,” and at a recent family reunion, a celebration of more than 90 people spread over four generations, the platter containing 6 dozen of these cookies was emptied within minutes—before any of the other desserts had even been touched.

Grandma's Cookies

Cookie Memories

Pastry

5 cups flour
1 ¼ cup sugar
6 teaspoons baking powder
6 eggs
1 1/8 cup margarine cut into
small bits (¼ inch)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon orange extract

Icing

¾ cup confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon milk
Multicolored sprinkles

Sift flour, sugar and baking powder together and make well in center.

Beat eggs together, and then add to well. Cut in margarine. Add extracts. Stir and mix with hands. (Add more flour if dough is sticky.)

Break off small piece of dough and roll it with the palm of the hand to form a 5-inch rod. Form the rod into a knot and place on cookie sheet. Continue until all dough is shaped into knots.

Bake at 350° until lightly golden (about 8-12 minutes).

Brush warm cookies with icing and sprinkle with multicolored sprinkles. Makes about 4 dozen.

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