Ingredients
1 cup soft butter (real butter only)
2 tbsp vanilla
3 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
Directions
Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar. Gradually stir in
vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Blend
in flour and salt. Mix well. Wrap dough and chill for at least 2
hours. Lightly flour a pastry cloth and rolling pin. Roll dough to
about 1/8" thickness. Cut into desired shape. Place 1" apart on
cookie sheets. Bake at 350'F. for 10 minutes or until lightly brown.
Cool, frost and decorate. Makes 5 dozen.
Servings: 60 servings
Christmas Butter Cookies Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Christmas; Cookie; Holiday
The History of Recipes
We are able to read the history of `recipes` back into antiquity, at least as far back as the early Egyptians, and maybe even further. In practice though, sadly, these early recipes were just basic hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for food preparation.
The truth of the matter is, the oldest recipe discovered, according to historians is a collection of ancient tablets in Sumerian which recount the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making drinkers feel wonderful. As we move into The time of the roman empire around 25BC a roman called Apicius compiled a collection of documents showing how to cook the recipes enjoyed by the Romans. He tells us how the roman meals were divided into hors d`oeuvre, entrees and desserts, something we still use today. Additionally, he recounts how the ancient chefs were skilled in the use of many different aromatic flavors, including a few that are still present in modern kitchens such as bay, rue and parsley. In the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought back a variety of spices and herbs from Arab cuisine, such as coriander, basil and rosemary. These new culinary innovations caused a surge in books on cookery, most of which still exist in academic collections. Over the next few hundred years, the upper-class families of the West strove to serve up the most exotic banquets, and because of this cooks and their recipes increased in prestige. Notwithstanding that, it wasn`t until the 1800s that fine cooking and recipe books really came of age. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, devoted much of their lives to collating, trying out, and recording recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. When we get to the 1900s, cookery publications were greatly in demand mostly due to higher levels of literacy, people having more free time and a general increase in wealth. The arrival of TV brings us TV chefs and the accompanying recipe books. Which pretty much brings us up to date and the internet revolution, permitting us all to access massive numbers of recipes like those on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Christmas Butter Cookies recipe.
