Christmas tree cookies taste like childhood

“Tastes like childhood!” I wrote in a text message to my brother, Robert. I sent along a picture of little lime green Christmas tree cookies decorated with colorful sprinkles.

“Don’t know how long it has been since I’ve seen one of those cookies,” he texted back.

My mother, Rita, used to make those cookies every Christmas of my childhood. I loved those cookies, and until this week I did not realize just how much I missed them. I cannot remember the last time my mother made those little green Christmas tree cookies and I tasted them. We lost her in 2006, and it has been years before then that I can remember eating them.

Amy and I have often talked about those little green Christmas tree cookies, because her mother Victoria also made them – though she used a different recipe, which I also have included below. We have talked about those cookies for years, but never made them. Amy got the recipe from her mom today.

I never got my mother’s recipe, but I know she had a Mirro Cookie Press. The Mirro Company included a recipe book with each of their presses and I am guessing she used the recipe provided.

Most of the cookies she made at Christmastime were old German recipes passed down from relatives, which made her happy when she was far from home. She included a few American cookies, but only a few. Along with all the German cookies, there always were mint chocolate chip cookies and these little green Christmas tree cookies among a few others.

My brother thought our mother may have made the cookies with butter instead of the shortening the recipe calls for. I thought otherwise because the shortening cookies tasted just as I remembered. But, I also made a batch with butter, just to make sure. The shortening cookies have a tender crumb with a little crunch, and the butter cookies are crunchy. Both were delicious, but the ones made with shortening taste like childhood to me.

RITA’S CHRISTMAS TREES

1 cup shortening

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 1/4 sifted all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

green food coloring

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix flour, salt and baking powder together in a small bowl and set aside.

Cream shortening and sugar well. Beat in egg and almond extract.

Blend dry ingredients into shortening-sugar mixture. Add a few drops of green food coloring to tint the dough to a light lime green color.

Fill a cookie press fitted with a tree plate, or shape of your choice. Press out cookies onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with colored sprinkles.

Bake for 9-10 minutes until the edges of the cookies are slightly golden and move to cooling racks.

Makes about six dozen.

VICTORIA’S PRESS COOKIES

1 1/2 cups butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla and almond extract and beat until thoroughly mixed.

In a separate bowl, sift flour and add baking powder.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture until mixed to a smooth dough.

Do not chill.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Force dough through cookie press and onto baking sheet.

Bake for 8 minutes.

Makes six dozen.

Do you have a childhood favorite you have just recently rediscovered? We would love to hear from you. DM us on Instagram @itswhateverblog, email us at itswhateverblog@outlook.com, or post to our Facebook page at http://bit.ly/amyandmariaFB.

Happy baking,

Maria