Virtual Cookie Exchange Blog Hop 2019

Our Texas Christmas Tree 2019.

Two Christmas Trees is now a family tradition for us.

Mr Scrapatch and I visit our daughter for Thanksgiving 

and she sets up her Christmas Tree so we can then celebrate 

"Grammy - Grampy Christmas" with our grand-darling.

Gathering and decorating The Tree 

is my favorite Christmas Tradition.

So two trees is even better than one.

Cookie baking is another one of our favorite Christmas traditions.

Usually I start early in December and make plates of cookies

for gifting. 

Here is a recipe card I have had in one of my old file boxes for many years.
Update:  There is an error in this recipe card.
The correct amount of unsalted butter is
 3/4 cup or 1 and 1/2 sticks 

I will have to fix my recipe card when I get home.
I have no idea why I never saw this error
except that I knew how much to add and never really read the card.

I have no idea where I originally found this recipe

as I have made them for over fifty years.

It was a favorite of mine when I was a teenager. 

Here is the back of my recipe card.

I have enjoyed many variations of flavors over the years.

I recall raspberry jam with no seeds and a chocolate-mocha drizzle

was my favorite in my 20's.

I also love peach jam with a sprinkling of nutmeg

for Fall Cookies.

It is essentially the same recipe found online here ... 

Spilt Second Jam Cookies from New England Today

from their

Cookies Through the Decades, 2013

which has 18 traditional New England Cookie recipes to enjoy. 

For  more New England traditions and recipes

Click Here For Yankee Magazine's Free Holiday Guide

I hope you enjoy making this recipe your own.

Since I will be visiting my daughter and grand-darling in Texas when this publishes, I had thoughts of a cookie baking in Texas photo,
but we have been busy enjoying other things.

I hope to update with a yummy cookie party picture
in the next few days.

We will be baking special cookies this year to send
to our soldier who is far away from us this Christmas.

Please visit all the yummy recipes from my blogging friends today:

December 4^th

Made By Marney

Homespun Hannah's Blog

Beaquilter

Cynthia's Creating Ark

Life in the Scrapatch (you are here)

DesertSky Quilting

Sunlight in Winter Quilts

Thank you to 

Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt

for hosting this yummy tradition.

This is our favorite holiday cookies recipe ...

which I shared in the
Virtual Cookie Exchange 2017

Iced Spritz Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup white vegetable shortening
1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
(dash of salt, optonal)

Cream butter and shortening until light and fluffy.
Beat in sugar slowly in small additions.
About 5 minutes.
Add vanilla.
Beat in eggs.
Add baking powder to flour and mix into wet ingredients in three additions.
Batter will be very stiff.
If batter is not stiff, add a little more flour a little at a time
until batter is stiff and not sticky.

Fill your cookie press as directed by manufacturer and press.

You may roll the batter in small balls and flatten slightly if you do not have a cookie press.

If you refrigerate the batter until cold, you may also roll and cut with cookie cutters.

Bake spritz cookie at 375 degree for 10 - 12 minutes,
just until set,
not brown.
Do Not Overbake.

Makes about 11 dozen small cookies.

Icing

4 cups 10x confectionery sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
milk as needed to make a thin icing
food coloring as desired

I will be baking a few batches of these soon.

Have a tasty and happy Cookie Day!