FLOUR

Five different batches of  cookies

      Just two days ago I made five batches of sugar cookie dough.  Why?  Well I wanted to get ahead on the cookie baking that I do this time of year.  I also wanted to give attention to the simple sugar cookie or tea cake that does not have an icing.  You know, the ones you want to dunk in your hot chocolate, coffee, tea..... cold glass of milk??  I really like the iced decorative sugar cookie, but I was raised to appreciate a simple cookie as well and wanted to figure out which recipe could become a go-to.  However, it was a difficult job.  I mean who can say no to a cookie?  As you can see from the photograph, I only baked a dozen from each batch.  I even had my husband and some of his employees taste one from each batch to help in the decision making.  Looking at the photograph, the most popular was the fourth from the top.  The top two rows and the bottom row came in second.  The third row fell last.  
     What made one kind tastier than another?  Starting from the top down:
Batch one - This was a sugar cookie that included a mixture of half-and-half and evaporated milk as its liquid.  The liquid combination helped to make these light and pillowy.
Batch two - This was another sugar cookie with similar ingredients as Batch one providing a like taste.  There was no extra liquid which made the cookies short, or crumbly.
Batch three -  These were tea cakes.  Basic ingredients were used with a teaspoon of vanilla and only a quarter cup of milk.  This recipe also made firmer cookies that needed more flavor.
Batch four - These were Amish Sugar Cookies.  This prized recipe included both vanilla and almond flavoring and a mixture of granulated sugar and powdered sugar with the basic ingredients.  I know the flavor ensured it the winner.
Batch five -  Another a tea cake, this batch was aided by the addition of buttermilk, which I believe helped to soften the cookies.  This particular recipe is over 100 years old.
     I still have quite a bit of dough left and will definitely use it to have cookies for friends and family.  I do think I will make balls of dough and roll some of the dough with the least amount of flavor in maybe some cinnamon/sugar mixture or decorative sugar to enhance the taste.  Batch four will definitely be baked as is and I have included it here for you.  The recipe comes from St. Henry's Catholic School Cookbook from Charleston, MO, published in 2007.  I gain nothing from sharing this recipe other than the joy I get from baking.

AMISH SUGAR COOKIES 

1 cup granulated sugar                                          1 tsp. soda
1 c. powdered sugar                                               1 tsp. cream of tarter
1 c. margarine                                                         1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. cooking oil                                                        1/2 tsp. butter flavoring
2 eggs                                                                       1/2 tsp. almond flavoring
4 1/2 c. flour

Combine first 4 ingredients; beat well.  Add eggs.  Beat again.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Drop small balls of dough on cookie sheet and flatten slightly with fork.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. 
 

& FLOWER 

       To the left is our artificial Christmas tree.  We have been decorating this tree for nearly 20 years after moving into our current home.  It has gradually been weighed down by our many years of ornaments and ribbons cascading vertically one year and wrapped horizontally the next.  Between the middle section and the top one there is a spacial discrepancy like it was manufactured with too much center piping or not enough greenery, but we have learned to compensate with ornaments.  All things considered, this tree suits our needs and our family members do see it as festive, helping to aid in our spirit for this time of year.  Truthfully I did succumb to using an artificial tree because our lives became busier through the years with two growing children.  That's a natural progression that many face.

     However, I still reminisce about the times we had a real tree in our home.  Many years ago when my husband and I were first married, we would go to a local nursery (as pictured at right), grocery store, or lot vendor and purchase a tree already cut that had been shipped in to our area.  That was just fine to do and continues to be a great way to get a real tree for those who want one. We did just that until our two children were big enough to join us and make getting a tree a real family outing.  Not only did we purchase a live tree for a few years, but we would all crowd into my husband's pickup and take a long hilly, adventurous ride on the way.  Later he would cut the tree we all chose with his own saw from the many growing on the farm.  Of course there was some deliberation over height, stoutness, color, etc.  After our son and daughter ran around looking at different choices while we parents attempted to keep up, our tree was then cut, loaded, and we were on our way back home to decorate.
     When I was a child our family would go to a school lot nearby where trees were sold as a fund-raising project.  The purchase would always be done after dark so my dad could come from work to participate and help get the tree home.  However, we would have to wait until the next day to bring it inside, which was torture to a little kid.  It being completely dark when we arrived home, my mom said we would wait until light the next day so a bucket could be filled with wet dirt to hold and stabilize our tree's trunk.  (I do not remember tree stands being available at that time.)  That didn't always work though.  I remember a couple of years in particular when one tree kept slumping over from left to right until my mom brought in a couple of bricks to wedge between the tree's truck and the inner sides of the bucket.  Another year our tree fell all the way over about three times until my mom finally had enough.  She secured a length of wire around the middle of the trunk and then hammered a nail into the wall behind where the tree was supposed to stand.  Then she wrapped the other end of the wire around the nail.  No more mishaps that year!
     I will always look back at all of those days of cutting down or purchasing a real tree with fondness.  The fresh natural pine scent is amazing.  And the GREEN, oh my gosh, the different shades of all the different tree varieties are just beautiful. If you have never experienced a real tree, you may want to at least consider cutting some smaller pine branches for a table vase or to make a wreath for your front door.  Your effort would be completely worth it.