Tradition has made Christmas time sweeter than almost any other time of the year. I speak of the edible variety of sweet... cookies, squares, candy, chocolate. Perhaps the new generations are breaking away from this tradition somewhat, but my generation still remembers watching our Mother's baking for weeks in preparation for Christmas entertaining.
Baked goods were given as gifts to elderly or shut-ins who could not bake for themselves, they were given to friends and families at Christmas get-togethers, and they were snacked upon wee into the hours of the morning by teen and grown children when they returned home to visit for Christmas.
I have not done any "traditional" Christmas baking this year, but I did do some baking for our Christmas Open House at the shop, earlier this month. I decided to try some new recipes this year so I made some gingerbread cookies - which were horrible - some eggnog cookies which I absolutely did not like, and some Candy Cane Crispers - which I loved! I guess that's what you get for straying from your own personal Christmas baking favourites. I don't think I will repeat that practice anytime soon!
Even though I didn't want a bunch of baking sitting in the freezer tempting me, I did want a bit to offer to our guests - so it looks like I will be doing a bit more baking before Christmas - this time from my tried and true, favourite Christmas baking list.
I thought I would share the one new cookie that I did like - Christmas Candy Cane Crispers with you. They are a lovely crunchy cookie.
CHRISTMAS CANDY CANE CRISPERS
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar, plus additional for coating
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup coarsely crushed candy canes
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a baking sheet.
In a large bowl beat together butter, confectioner's sugar and vanilla. In another bowl stir together flour, rolled oats and salt. Blend with creamed mixture.
Roll dough into 3/4 inch balls, roll in confectioners sugar to coat. Place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Flatten cookies with a fork, making a crisscross pattern. Sprinkle each with about 1/2 teaspoon crushed candy canes. Bake 18-20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 4 doz
I thought there was a major mistake in the baking time - but alas - it is quite correct. The oven temp is much lower than for normal cookie baking, and I think that is so not to burn the candy on the top of the cookies.
They came out just perfect as you can see:
So make yourself some of these festive cookies - I guarantee you will love them.
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