Tuesday, March 27, 2012

A Baker and a Candlestick Maker

Every two weeks Bloggers unite for a day to write about a communal topic. This week LetsBlogOff is all about Cookies! 

                                                     

My mom was not a great cook or even a good cook though she tried.   I didn’t know vegetables could taste good until I moved into my own apartment & started learning how to cook.  What my mom could do well was bake!  She didn’t bake often mostly for church & school bake sales and Christmas.  She also made candlesticks and you can see them here.

I grew up in a house with a wonderful kitchen.  It was long with two large corner windows at the end with table & chairs tucked in.  The stove was a drop in and the oven was a separate wall unit located near the garage door.  There was also a long counter on the sink side of the space.  Keep in mind these are my memories, my mom may have hated the fact that there was no counters directly next to the stove or the ovenJ  I knew good smells were on the horizon when I saw the mixer pulled out and set up on the counter.
 
www.mexicanwedding.org
The three very distinct cookies I remember my mom baking were: Mexican Wedding Cookies, Drop Cookies & Gingerbread Men.  I am sure she made others I just can’t recall.  I probably remember these three because I was allowed to “help”.  I rolled the Mexican Wedding Cookies in the powdered sugar (I can’t imagine the mess I made) and set them out on the cookies sheets.  For the Drop Cookies I unrolled the Hersey Kisses and “dropped” them onto the cookie.  I think I ate as many as I dropped.  The gingerbread men were fun because I always was handed the leftover dough to make whatever I wanted!
www.bakerella.com

www.starkinsider.com
My sister-in-law has carried on the tradition and has my mom’s recipe cards.  Anytime I visit, cookies from my mom’s recipes are always on the counter! 

9 comments:

  1. Julie makes those drop cookies a lot. They are very popular at our house!

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  2. My wife and I are quite a bit older and have both lost our mothers by now. Both mothers were wonderful cooks, but neither one of them was really all that big on making cookies! My wife and I are the ones who have been the cookie makers for both families these last 35 years!

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  3. Hmmm, Hershey kisses - we havent tried that one yet but now we are going to have to
    Thanks Ginny & great piece

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  4. The experience of baking is raised to a whole new level when children are helping. I miss the days my little one would stand on a chair by the kitchen counter and help. They both still help, but they are taller now... :-)

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  5. James & Sean - I think I should give them a try too!

    Joe - How wonderful you & your wife started a new tradition!

    Under Cover - I have to chuckle because I seem to recall a lot of mess when I helped;) Thanks for reading and commenting!!

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  6. The Wedding Cakes look like what my mom calls Russian Teacakes...interesting. The drop cookies we do with peanut butter cookies and always liked them. Gingerbread are one of my favorite!

    Isn't it funny the memories we have? You know, I could search all over for cookies recipes, but Mom's will always be the best.

    Oh...and baking is what I do best too. I'm not a gourmet chef, but love to do dessert!

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  7. Amy -I think they have several names :) Mom's are definitely best! I tend to get overwhelmed and don't think I could ever do over 700! You are a brave woman!

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  8. Thanks for sharing these lovely memories.

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  9. Ginny,
    thanks for giving a name to my craving. I've eaten the mexican wedding cakes and drop cookies before (enjoyed both), but never knew what they were called. Now I can enjoy them and address them properly.

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