~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thursday is often a sweet baking day for us.
So whether it is cookies, muffins or biscotti,
we're sure to be found in the kitchen on Thursday afternoons,
cooking up something sweet.
This Thursday we decided on wedding cookies.
My great Aunt Edie used to make wedding cookies around the holidays.
So while the kids were helping out,
I told them little tidbits of stories about her.
While we cracked and finely chopped pecans from my grandparents farm in Virginia,
I told them about the ivy and lanterns lining the walkway up to Aunt Edie's house.
We toasted the pecan to bring out the flavor.
About five minutes on 350 degrees F was perfect.
We put some all purpose, unbleached flour in a large bowl
and grated some cinnamon into it.
I need a rasp, but we made due with what we had.
This took a long time, long enough for me to tell them
about the beautiful hemlock that grew in Aunt Edie's backyard.
I used to fill flower pots full of their tiny cones.
Lela asked "Did you Aunt Edie like it when you did that?"
"More than anything."
We added the powdered sugar and butter and toasted pecans to the flour.
The children scrounged for powdered sugar!
While the girls took turns stirring the batter,
I told them about the beautiful chandelier that hung in her dining room.
She would lift me to touch the many dangling crystals.
The dough is sticky yet firm,
so I rolled them into small balls
and placed on the greased cookie sheet.
In they went into the oven.
The girls love watching!
This is even more fun in the chilly winter,
and here I told them about the long red and green snakes
that lay at the base of the doors to keep drafts out.
We decided that they would be fun to make!
They inevitably start rolling on the kitchen floor.
At any given point in our day,
you can find this scene or a similar one.
Out came the cookies!
One of the twenty-four crumbled,
so it had to be consumed.
The girls took all the responsibility for
rolling the cookies in cinnamon powdered sugar.
I told them about the hourglass egg timer that sat in Aunt Edie's kitchen.
Don't forget to taste!
And enjoy!
I adapted Edie's recipe a bit,
substituting butter for margarine, and adding cinnamon.
I also cut it in half to make 24 little cakes,
but this recipe makes 48 yummy cakes.
*************************************
Great Aunt Edie's Wedding Cookies (adapted)
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar + 1 cup for rolling
1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans, lightly toasted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
In a large bowl, mix cinnamon and flour together.
Add butter, vanilla, pecans and 1/2 cup powdered sugar to the flour, and mix together well.
The batter will be stiff.
Roll into approximately 48 1-inch balls.
You can refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes if it is difficult to work with.
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400F for 10-12 minutes.
Cool a few minutes, then roll in remaining powdered sugar while hot.
Cool on a wire rack, then roll again in powdered sugar.
According to Edie, you should store these in a tin box in waxed paper.
Keep cool!
*******************************
My husband and I find they are delicious with coffee in the morning.
My daughters were delighted with their light texture and dainty size.
Hope you will enjoy making some of these special treats with your loved ones.
We are continuing the family tradition of making these for the holidays.
~carrie~
*Our work space is perfect for cooking with children, but poor for photographs!*
