Traditions - continued

Only 11 more days until Christmas.

One of the recipes my Grandmother and mother made during the Christmas holidays was a small cookie made the size of a penny. Can you imagine a cookie that small? My family grew up with this cookie made only during the holidays. My grandmother could tell you the name of the cookie in a minute but none of the grandchildren were able to pronounce it so we nicknamed the cookie, "Pappenate" (pape-a-nate). The real name however is Pfeffernussee.

My mother called this cookie, "Poor man's cookies" because she grew up in a poor home and they had little resources. The cookie uses dark corn syrup, shortening and flour as the main ingrediants so hence the name of "Poor man's cookies."

Depending on the German background, each family had its own twist to this cookie. Some families would put cinnamon and nutmeg in their mix and some would make it bigger than my mother but essentually the baisc recipe was the same. My mother said to get just the texture, you needed to beat the mix with a wooden spoon (sorry, no mixers allowed).

Each Christmas, my mother would make 2-3 batches of this cookie and gave them to each son or daughter's family making sure everyone knew about the tradition of this German cookie. One of our daughters says this cookie is her favorite and my mom would give her a container full of these cookies just for this daughter because she would eat them all anyway. HAHA. This year, I want to make sure this daughter still has her own container to share with her friends.

Last year when my parents' health was failing, members of our family ventured to make the cookie and take little bags to my mom and dad in the care facility. The cookie again used the basic recipe but the taste varied differently among the families. One of my friends asked me the other night how these cookies tasted and I didn't have an answer because they are a unique flavor. You decide. The cookies are best eaten with a cup of coffee or you can let them melt in your mouth.

Here you go for Pfeffernussee:

2 cups dark corn syrup
2 cups white sugar
1 cup shortening (DO NOT USE BUTTER) Lard is even better if you have it
1 1/2 teaspoon sale
2 teaspoon baking powder
7 cups flour
1/4 cup milk

Mix the dark corn syrup, sugar and shortening WITH A WOODEN SPOON (you can use a regular spoon if you like), until the mix looks white and fluffy. This process will take about 10 minutes of hand mixing. (Remember no mixers are allowed with this cookie).

Add the dry ingrediants alternately with the milk and mix together to form a stiff dough. Take a handful of dough and roll into a 1/2 inch log and with a sharp knife, cut into small pieces 1/2 to 3/4 inch long. Drop the pieces onto a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees until very light golden. The cookies will flatten out and look about the size of a penny when they're done. Cook on a wire rack. When cool, put the cookies into an airtight container and enjoy all Christmas season long. Once the cookies are cool, they are hard and ready for eating.