My love for all things vintage, especially cookbooks, is no secret, but that is only one of the many reasons why I was delighted to get the following treasure in the mail for my birthday this week:



The "Better Homes and Gardens: Cookies and Candies" cookbook circa 1966 is a classic by anyone's standards, but this particular copy is very dear to me. It was a gift from my mom, and was the cookbook that she used each Christmas to bake. The really amazing this is, she let me use it to. For as long as I can remember, I have been baking, and that is thanks to my mother. She used to pull a ladder-back chair from our kitchen table over to the corner of the counter, so that I could stand up next to her and put my little hands into whatever she was baking. At the time, with my little apron on and my tiny rolling pin, I thought I was a huge help. Now I can promise you, the only thing huge about this whole experience, was the mess I had to have made. But, mom never said anything about that, she just taught me patiently how to make cookies and pie crusts and many other wonderful treats. The every best part about this particular cookbook, in addition to my tiny dough-covered finger print marks all over it, are the pen marks. Most of them mine. At one point (or maybe more than one point) my mom must have needed a minute of sanity, because she let me sit down with a pen and circle all of the cookies I wanted to bake. I had to laugh that she pointed out that I circled all the very fancy and complicated ones. Yes, that's right. No run-of-the-mill bar cookies for me. I wanted lemon tea cakes and date-marmalade pastries-jamwich sugar cookie cut-outs and bright-eyed susans---flower pot cookie cups and a whole cookie zoo (no kidding). Apparently, I have always had a flare for the complicated and fussy, when it comes to baking at least. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The real humor is how carefully I outlined the photos. Some cookies were 'in' and some were most definitely 'out.'



Other pen marks in the cookbook that I love are the ones which make up the inscription in the front written by my mom-where she points out the specificity of my selections and confesses that she even lost sleep over the stained glass window cookies. And I have to confess, I remember them too. I think only a few select cookies even turned out from that whole batch….but they were beautiful and I was very prod of them…

I love you Mom.

And for all of you fellow complicated cookie lovers out there, straight from the pages of 'Better Homes and Gardens: Cookies and Candies" Celebration Cookie section:
(Please note the careful circling in the photo below)



Jamwich Sugar Cookie Cutouts

2/3 c shortening
¾ c granulated sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla extract
2 c all-purpose flour
1 ½ t baking powder
¼ t salt
4 t milk
Confectioner's sugar for rolling Tart red jam
Pink Cofectioner's Icing (recipe to follow)


Preheat oven to 375. Cream 2/3 cup shortening and ¾ cup granulate sugar; add 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla; beat well. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Add milk. Divide dough in half; chill 1 hour. On a surface lightly sprinkled with confectioners sugar, roll to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out cookies; cut centers from half the cookies. Bake on greased cookie sheet for 7 to 10 minutes. Cool. Spread whole cookies with tart red jam. Frost remaining with pink Confectioners' Icing and press top whole cookies. Makes 24.

Pink Confectioner's Icing

2 c sifted confectioner's sugar
Dash of salt
1 t vanilla
Light cream
Red food coloring


Combine confectioner's sugar, salt and vanilla. Add enough light cream to make it a spreading consistency and food coloring to reach desired hue.