Un-humble sugar cookies.

Let's talk about the humble sugar cookie. I think it gets short changed. All cookies have sugar...okay, Mom always said "Always, never, all and none are fighting words" and I don't mean to start a row, but reasonably, cookies have sugar. So, cookie implies sugar. We've moved on to chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin. My love of cookies was fostered under the care of a deeply committed cookie lover, my Gram. She baked. She also knit, and had great talent there, but for a kid, Gram=cookies. And she was great at chocolate chip and peanut butter, also my childhood favorite, the Snickerdoodle. But when it comes to Christmas, the queen of my cookie dreams was Mimi. I can see that Gram had a rep for baking, and while Mimi did not have the rep, she had the chops. Mimi and Grandpa travelled to New England every Christmas, and as I have said before, their big Lincoln sailing up the drive meant the good stuff could begin. Mimi was in charge of the Christmas Cookies, and this was no small honor from where I stood. Christmas was the sole time of the year when it seemed unlimited cookies were provided. They came out of the vast trunk of the Lincoln in big, well- loved tins. Mimi and Grandpa would park, and we'd dash out to greet them. Penny, or Muffin, or Hiltie (the dog of the generation) would be parked on an antique pink satin comforter folded, on the two foot wide arm rest between driver and passenger seat, impatiently bouncing. My Grandparents would get themselves out of the car, and then out came the dog, to greet ours and have a "piddle". Then, hugs, suitcases and presents were unloaded....and the tins.
I was drawn to the wedding cookies, with their sweet outside and nutty shortbread interior. Addictive. But, close second was the sugar cookies.
Sugar Cookies, cut out in shapes of trees and stars, and my favorite, the oddly shaped one that kind of looked like a submarine, but stood on end, your imagination could fill in the bits and you could see it was really a Santa Claus, with a pack of toys on his back. Mimi made her sugar cookies super thin, so they were really crisp and then sprinkled with the sweet colored sugars. Butter, sugar, flour, vanilla, baking powder, a little salt came together to speak Christmas to my tongue.
Years later, when I make Christmas cookies, the wedding cookies are the first out of the oven, and usually several batches are consumed before then birthday of Jesus. But I make cut out sugar cookies. I triple the recipe, and thanks to the hard-core KitchenAid mixer ( a years-ago Christmas present from a wise baking sister), power through a ball of dough the size of my head. And then we choose shapes.
I am drawn to big cookies, and maybe it the desire to create something memorable for my own children, I like to make not only sugar cookies covered with colored sugar, but also iced cookies. I suppose it feeds my creative need as well. So, last night, Youngest and I covered the table with a sheet and baked and decorated.

 This year's iced offerings include a favorite of mine, the Dala Horse.

 

 

 

 Behind the plate of cookies, you can see two real Dala Horses. One of them belonged to Huz' family, and I got it in the marriage. :-)

 

 

 

 

 Plus a herd of dairy bovines, wearing jingle bells.

 

 

 

And drums and trumpets for my musical family! Youngest did an exciting job of the little houses, and I will bet they go first.