Louisvillians are carrying their Christmas cookie tradition into the modern age
Pamela Haines remembers Christmas Day as a child, standing on a kitchen chair to watch her mother bake their family's annual blackberry cobbler in a cast iron skillet.
Back then, the dessert was a special treat served only on the holiday, when the family splurged on ingredients needed to create the generations-old recipe.
Now, it's a dish Haines's son can make with his eyes closed. And like many family baking traditions, it's not Christmas without it.
For decades, families far and wide have spent the holiday season coming together over plates of baked goods. They've spent hours cutting intricate cookies from hand-rolled dough, and they've embraced kitchen catastrophes in the name of creating new memories.
You may like: Super simple gift wrapping tips that can turn anyone into a holiday pro
In the modern world, it can come as a shock that the old-fashioned traditions remain. Yet people across Louisville are still passing on family traditions to new generations.
Here, we collected several family recipes from local readers, along with the stories behind what they bake.
Haines, the chef-owner of Sweet Peaches, 1800 W Muhammad Ali Blvd., in the Russell neighborhood, said she still remembers getting blackberry stains on her clothes, face and hands as a child on Christmas morning.
Her mother's blackberry cobbler is not difficult to make, but it's delicious and elegant, Haines said.
"The thing that makes it so good is having the right butter to sugar to vanilla ratio," said Haines, who continues to make the dish as a way to remember her mother. "It's something for me to hold onto about my mother, and she held onto it about her mother."
Louisville resident Becky Murphy, 62, said her annual Christmas cookies are a tribute to her sister, who died of leukemia at 45.
The recipe she uses — which calls for allspice, nutmeg and painted on icing — came from a Southern Living magazine some 40 years ago, though she said her mother used to make similar cookies when she was a kid.
"There were six kids, and my mom would take the time to spend the day making cookies that you roll out," said Murphy, whose husband owns Murphy's Camera. "We'd take turns, one at a time, to cut out one cookie then go to the end of the line. It took all day.
"The whole kitchen would be a disastrous mess, but she would do it every Christmas."
Gail Henson, who lives in the Bonnycastle neighborhood, said the holiday season isn't complete without getting flour and sugar all over the floor.
You may like: Sweet treats for everyone! 5 holiday candies to sweeten the Christmas season
Henson's family holds a Christmas cookie marathon baking session every year, where they make 12 different types of cookies.
"I think in the digital age, where people are so disconnected, the smells and the relationships and memories of making and eating these things, they make you feel like everything's going to be OK," Henson said.
Jody Dones Miller, 37, said people have come to count on her family's cookies, with names like ginger jellies, lacey oatmeals and egg kisses.
"Some of the cookies are cookies that my grandma and great-grandmother brought over from Germany," said Dones Miller, a teacher at Holy Spirit School. "You can't go to Kroger" to get them.
RoseMarie Bradley, who lives in Deer Park, said her specialty is a springerle cookie that she somehow makes soft instead of hard — though she declined to share her secret.
The cookies are made with anise oil that give them a licorice taste, and it's not Christmas until that smell fills the house, Bradley said.
"We do this every year. When the time comes to put the anise oil into the dough, we go, 'Are you ready for Christmas?'" Bradley said.
Bradley's recipe was passed down from her grandmother, who made Bradley promise she wouldn't share it until after her death.
"The day of her funeral, I had cousins lined up asking for the recipe," Bradley said.
"Christmas cookies are the way I think grandparents and grandkids really connect," she added. "... It's a family thing. It's a time you wouldn't have without a cookie."
Bailey Loosemore: 502-582-4646; bloosemore@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @bloosemore. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/baileyl.
Local recipes: It's not Christmas without homemade cookies. Check out these 5 local recipes
Cook's Corner: This bar Vetti chef's menu combines Kentucky with traditional Italian fare
Bar Vetti recipe: There's something warm and comforting about this Cacio e Pepe
LACEY OATMEAL COOKIES
Submitted by Jody Dones Miller. Recipe by Agnes O'Bryan.
1 pound butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
3 cups quick oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons almond or coconut extract
Cream together butter and sugar. Add extract, salt, flour and oats.
Place teaspoon-size dollops on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven. Remove cookies from the baking sheet and sprinkle heavily with sifted powder sugar while they are still hot from the oven. Give the cookies a second sprinkle of sifted powdered sugar once they've cooled.
RUSSIAN TEA COOKIES
Submitted by Colleen Craft
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
Cream butter, add sugar and continue to cream. Sift flour and salt together and add to cream mixture. Work well with hands. Add vanilla and nuts. Form into a ball and place on cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes, until brown. Cool, then roll in confectioners sugar.
MOMMA'S BLACKBERRY COBBLER
Submitted by Pamela Haines.
Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted twice
1 cup Crisco lard
1/2 cup cold water
2 pinches of salt
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth ball forms. Knead dough until smooth. Use a rolling pin to roll dough into two long, square pieces and set aside.
Filling
5 cups fresh blackberries
4 cups fine ground sugar
3 sticks salted butter
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 tablespoons flour
Combine all ingredients in a pot and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
Put one square of pie crust in a pan, brush with butter and bake at 325 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and add the ingredients from the pot. Add a second piece of crust and pinch the sides all the way around. Brush the top with butter and bake for 1 hour at 300 degrees.
CHRISTMAS COOKIES
Submitted by Becky Murphy. Adapted from Southern Living.
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups softened butter
1 egg
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Cream sugar and butter, add egg. Mix well. Stir dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add slowly to creamed mixture. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or up to 3 days.
Remove from fridge and let come to room temperature. Roll out to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes. Bake 8-10 minutes on ungreased cookie sheets at 350 degrees. Let cool. Frost with your choice of frosting.
TING-A-LINGS
Submitted by Gail Henson. Recipe by Ivy Irvine.
Makes 6-8 dozen.
2 11-ounce packages of semi-sweet chocolate bits
1 11-ounce package of butterscotch bits
1 12-ounce bag of Chinese noodles
1/2 cup chopped pecans or cashews
Melt chocolate and butterscotch bits together. Stir in Chinese noodles and nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper. Let dry. (Throw in freezer if you want them to set more quickly.)
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Christmas cookies 2017: We asked readers to share recipes, traditions
