Patriotic Eating: Red, White & Blue Cookies
Mary’s Sugar Cookies & Thumbprints
These indulgences are usually reserved for Christmas, but decided to share the red, white & blue for the 4th of July this year. A little Christmas in July!
Mary’s Sugar Cookies: 1960s
This is Mary’s Recipe who gave it to Mary, a friend of Lorraine’s in Gardnerville, Nevada. Too bad her name isn’t Mary too!
Basic sugar cookie recipe:
- 2 ½ cups sifted powdered sugar. (1 cup for decorating)
- 1 cup butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ to 1 teaspoon almond flavor
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 scant teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon cream of tarter
- Strawberry Jam
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter & 1 ½ cups sugar; mix in egg & flavorings. Blend dry ingredients. Stir into wet ingredients. Refrigerate 2-3 hours or overnight. Roll out dough to 3/16 inch. Cut with cookie cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes: check for doneness, slightly browned around edges. Sift remaining powdered sugar over cookies or frost with icing, add sprinkles.
Mary’s Sugar Cookies with Strawberry Jam
Cut 24 circles from cookie dough. Place12 circles on the cookie sheet. Place ½ to 1 teaspoon of jam in the center of each cookie. For the remaining 12 circles cut out a small circle from the center of each one and remove the small circles. Place the shapes over the cookies already on the cookie sheet exposing the jam in the middle. Press edges together with finger or fork. Follow cooking directions as above.
Cookie Thoughts:
What do cookies and computer s have in common? They both have chips.
Basket players love cookies because they can dunk them!
What did the Gingerbread Man put on his bed? A cookie sheet!
This Blueberry filled Thumbprint recipe reminds me of the children’s picture book, Blueberries for Sal written by Robert McCloskey. It was awarded the Caldecott Honor in 1949. The only thing better tasting than this cookie filled with fresh blueberry jam is eating blueberries right off the bush.
Thumbprint Cookies: 1970s
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup shortening
- ½ cup margarine or butter, softened
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups finely chopped nuts
- Blueberry Preserves
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix brown sugar, shortening, margarine, egg yolks & vanilla. Mix flour and salt. Add flour mixture slowly until dough comes together. Shape dough into one inch balls. Beat egg whites a tad. Dip each ball into egg whites & roll into nuts. Press thumb in the center of each ball. Bake on ungreased baking sheet until light brown, about 10 minutes. Note: Parchment paper may prevent the bottoms from browning. Remove cookies from cookie sheet, cool & fill with blueberry preserves.
Before Dr. Oz, Richard Simons, and Jane Fonda there was Jack LaLanne:
Jack LaLanne was the fitness and nutritional guru of the time. For 34 years from 1953 through 1985, he introduced millions of Americans to the health benefits of regular exercise and a good diet through his popular television program and numerous books. He introduced Americans to the concept of fitness gym. Homemakers began to rethink the high calorie recipes that were a large part of the American diet. (Not to mention the popularity of fast foods). Who can ever forget his juicer and dog Happy!
He died at the age of 97.
Ann Marie Bezayiff received her BA and MEd from the University of Washington in Seattle. She is an author, blogger, columnist and speaker. Her columns, “From the Olive Orchard” and “Recycled Recipes from Vintage Boxes”, appear in newspapers, newsletters and on Internet sites. Ann Marie has also demonstrated her recipes on local television. Currently she divides her time between Western Maryland and Texas.