BROUGHT TO MIND â—½ HOME
Years before I was born, my great-grandmother ordered a set of cookie cutters in the mail from Oklahoma. They’re still a holiday staple today. The red plastic shapes cut and mold cookie dough into cute holiday shapes, perfect for decorating. We use the recipe that came with the cookie cutters and a simple powdered sugar glaze and food coloring to create “paint.”
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It’s been a family tradition to paint cookies for the holidays ever since my mom and her sister were little. Over the years, our cookie cutter collection grew to include more than the originals. When I was little, my mom’s mom made cookies for almost every holiday. Now, she only makes the cookies for Christmas, using the trusty Santa cookie cutter from Oklahoma.
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When we host Christmas at our house, my mom and I make the cookie recipe, but we’ve come up with a variation. We’re impatient in the Christianson household, so painting Mr. Claus’s detailed face on several dozen cookies doesn’t have the same appeal it did in childhood. So, we’ve found some new cookie cutters that are easier to use, and we dust the cookies with sparkling colored sugar instead of icing.
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Our family has never been one for super strict traditions. I’m glad of that. I don’t really enjoy symbols or ceremonies. A simple cookie recipe that we’ve put our own spin on over the years is all we really need to signal the season and inspire nostalgia.
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Families change, and traditions will change too. Often in ways a lot more significant than switching from icing to sprinkles. I think it’s best to hold the traditions loosely. Perhaps a little change is what is needed to keep them from being lost. And, usually, you’ll find the new memories are just as sweet.
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It wouldn’t be in the Christmas spirit for me to talk about a cookie recipe and not share it, would it?
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Oklahoma Cookies:
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4 ½ C flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 ½ C sugar
1 C shortening
1 tsp almond extract
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
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Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt
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Cream sugar, shortening, almond, vanilla, and eggs
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Combine mixtures and chill.
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Roll and cut out cookies on a floured surface.
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For the colored sugar variation, sprinkle cookies before baking.
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Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes.
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For the “painted” variation, let cool and decorate with powdered sugar icing.
Powdered Sugar Icing:
Milk (you can use regular milk or evaporated milk)
Powdered sugar
Food coloring
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Put powdered sugar into small bowls (one for each color) and add milk. There’s no real recipe for this. We typically just eyeball it. The trick is to add the milk in very small amounts, stirring in between, until you get a consistency you like. If you get it too thin, just add a bit more sugar. Once you have a paintable consistency, add in the food coloring until you have the color you want. Then use small paint brushes to decorate the cookies.