2 1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter or margarine,
1 softened
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 each egg
1/4 cup green sugar crystals, about
1/4 cup confetti or nonpareil candy
1 decorations, optional
Directions
Preparation time: 20 minutes Chilling time: 4 hours Baking time: 10
minutes
1. Put flour, sugar, butter, baking powder, salt, almond extract
and egg into large bowl of an electric mixer. Mix together, using low
speed. Dough will be crumbly. Then knead dough with hands until
mixture holds together.
2. Remove 1/3 cup of the dough; wrap and refrigerate. Divide
remaining dough in thirds. Using hands, roll each into a 6-inch log.
3. Put sugar crystals on a sheet of wax paper. Roll each log in the
sugar crystals to coat well; use the wax paper as a guide to press in
crystals. Shape each log into a triangle, pressing gently on wax
paper to give three sharp corners. Make sure to make 2 sides longer
than the third side. Wrap each log well and refrigerate at least 4
hours or until dough is firm enough to slice. To this point, cookies
can be made up to a week in advance.
4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. To bake, slice logs crosswise into
1/4-inch slices. Put slices about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie
sheets. For each cookie, shape about 1/2 teaspoon of the reserved 1/3
cup dough into a tree trunk. Attach to bottom underside of each tree.
Sprinkle each cookie lightly with candy decorations, if desired. Bake
until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Carefully remove to wire
racks. Cool completely.
Note: The logs can be divided and shaped into 3 sizes and sliced to
form a 3-tiered tree. These second-place winning cookies are easily
shaped into trees that are edged with glittery green sugar.
Of her simple cookies, Pat Egan of Dolton, Illinois writes,
"They're not a fancy or gourmet cookie, but a simple symbol of the
Christmas season that is so close to my heart." from the Chicago
Tribune annual Food Guide Holiday Cookie Contest December 8, 1988
Servings: 72 servings
1988 2nd Place: Pat Egan's Christmas Tree Coo Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Christmas; Holiday
The History of Recipes
We are able to track the history of meal recipes way back into the distant past, certainly as far back into recorded history as pharonic Egypt, and quite possibly further than that. However, mostly, these old recipes were just simple hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for food preparation.
The truth of the matter is, the oldest recipe found, according to experts are a few stone tablets in ancient Sumerian which recount the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel blissful. Later on, in The time of the roman empire around 25BC a man called Apicius assembled a few documents detailing recipes enjoyed by wealthy Romans. In his publication, Apicius describes how the roman meals were divided into appetizers, entrees and desserts, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. Aspicius also describes how the cooks of his times were skilled in the use of many herbs, including a few that are still present in modern kitchens for example basil, fennel and parsley. As we move on, there are a couple of recipe books which were published in the fourteenth century : a recipe book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, these two books are nothing to do with the indian curry that is served today, but instead descriptions of the types of food on the tables of the rich and powerful. Later, in the fifteenth century, the Crusaders brought back a variety of foods and spices from the Middle-East, including coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary. These new herbs and spices led to a surge in recipe books, some of which are kept safe in private collections. During the following few hundred years, the powerful families of the West competed to serve the most extravagent banquests, and as a result the best cooks and their collection of recipes became highly prized. Nevertheless, it was during the 1800s that cookery and recipe publications reached a high level of popularity. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the US, devoted much of their lives to collating, verifying, and recording recipes common in their social group. By the time we get to the 1900s, recipe books are highly popular as a result of increased literacy, more leisure time and disposable income. |
We hope you enjoy this 1988 2nd Place_ Pat Egan's Christmas Tree Coo recipe.
