Dec 18..Christmas Cookies Day 7..Cherry Winks and a story of family traditions

Making (and eating ) Cherry Winks is a tradition in the Rast family. We had other Christmas food traditions straight from some 70's cook books for which I have been mocked by my current in law family. (Don't go looking for a decorative salad that resembles a candle. Just don't.) But I digress...

The cherry winks were a recipe I believe was passed down from my Grandmother Rast to my Mother a Northerner. This was seen as a great act of trust by this amazing Southern cook. A few years ago, after my Mom had been diagnosed with Alzheimers, I was at my parent's home for Christmas and decided to make cherry winks. My mother was excited every time I told her we were going to make these, but then assured me she no longer remembered how. I told her not to worry because she had taught me and we would do them together. So as we chopped the dates and nuts together, I reminded her over and over, just keep chopping (as she would start to wonder off mid process) because we were making her favorite cookies. She would get excited all over again and remind me she didn't remember how, and we'd start the conversation over. When they were all done, she didn't really know what she was eating, but I remembered for her.

Note the headphones, its a teenager
in his natural state

Growing up overseas in Brazil, we thought of desserts as a luxury and especially around Christmas time, we knew the cost of dates, nuts, and other ingredients that were so special to us in those days. Unfortunately, this hearty cookie, covered in corn flake cereal and topped with a quarter of a cherry (because we were too poor to use half a cherry) was a classic. We looked forward to them, until we learned how much work went in to all the chopping of the nuts and dates. Our taste buds also began to realize that the heavy cookies weren't quite as sweet or light as some of the other Christmas cookies and lacked the key ingredient of chocolate. Now a days, no one in my family makes cherry winks any more. We talk about them fondly, but no one dares serve them. Bill found a recipe that did not call for dates and nuts and is a much lighter cookies although they look much the same. I must also be getting older because these are a nice break from the over sweet cookies and fudge at this time of year. You might want to try these. Enjoy!

(I lost the recipe I used, but just google it.)

Dec 15..Christmas Cookies Day 6..Wedding Cakes and Scones

Yesterday, since we were falling behind and since none of our faithful readers were picking up the slack, we had to double up. Wedding Cakes and Cranberry Scones!!!

While my family calls these Mexican Wedding Cakes, these cookies have many names. Check out this article in the latimes. Wikipedia, the go to website of choice for rock solid information, offers this:

"A reason for the common name "Russian Tea Cake" or any connection to Russian cuisine is unknown. Some have speculated the recipes either derived from other Eastern European shortbread cookies, may have migrated to Mexico with European nuns, or may have been associated with cookies served beside Russian samovars  (tea urns). By the 20th century, they were a part of wedding and Christmas traditions in the U.S., known by their popular "Russian tea cake" or "Mexican wedding cake" name."

What does your family call them? This is the recipe we used for the wedding cakes, The scones were just a basic scone recipe with cranberries added in and then drizzled with white chocolate.

Dec 12..Christmas Cookies Day 5..Pinwheels

This cookie was a little harder than it looked. Thanks to my wife and my mother who saved the day with little tips and lots of help, the pinwheels got done. Apparently these are the favorite cookies of my Uncle Bob. I was not aware that they came in so many variations. Just google "pinwheel cookie recipes" or type it into the search box on pinterest.

I finally found a simple vanilla and chocolate pinwheel cookie recipe. The recipe by joy-inthekitchen (no, not my wife Joy, but someone else named Joy) was exactly what I was looking for.

I would like to make two comments however:

(1) My mother showed me how to roll the dough out on wax paper, which made both the rolling out and the rolling up much easier.

(2) The half of the dough that was chocolate flavored was a little dry, we had to add a little milk to get it to match the consistency of the vanilla dough.

Other than that, it was a easy recipe to make.

December Update

" Suddenly, its December. It has been a good furlough. It just seems like every furlough the days creep by until suddenly, it is time to return to the field. Yesterday, it was September, and we were dropping off the kids for the first day of school. Now, we have 7 days of school left before they say goodbye to their friends. We were reminded recently that our God is a God who hears prayers and answers them for his children. Last letter we smilingly asked for some snow so that our three kids could experience a few of the normal snow activities. That prayer was answered when more than 8 inches of snow was dumped on Chicago in the weekend before Thanksgiving. Camilla was so excited she was running, yelling, and rolling in it all. The boys (with their mom's help) built a snow man, and we even had a little snowball fight. God has also been faithful in giving us new support partners as well as increased support from other individuals and churches. We are still lacking about $250 a month, and Wycliffe would like us to get as close to 100% as possible before we return to Peru. That means there is still time for you to join our monthly support team. We hope you have a blessed Christmas season and a great start to another new year. Bill and Joy and family PS CHECK OUT OUR NEW BLOG: Carreraliving.blogspot.com   Prayer requests 1. For packing and last minute details.. 2. For a safe trip December 30. 3. For re-adaptation to Peruvian culture. 4. Good transition for the kids back to SAM Academy 5. That God would lead us to the right used 4 wheel drive vehicle.

Dec 9..Christmas Cookies Day 4..Hershey Kisses Cookies

We had a hard time when we were growing up in Chicago keeping ourselves in sweets. We did not have a lot of spending money and when mom baked, four or sometimes 5 boys would have a hard time not going through a couple dozen homemade cookies in a few days. Mom baked a lot so, we really did not have anything to complain about.

Christmas was our favorite time of the year. Mom would make dozen upon dozens of cookies and store them in Christmas cookie tins on the back enclosed porch, which was as good as a refrigerator in a Chicago winter. Of course once we were old enough to figure out where the cookies were stored, we also figured out how to eat as many as we wanted without getting into trouble. You see, you had to take the cookies from the various levels and spread out the rest so that the cookie tin looked the same as when you opened it. It also meant that you had to graze a little, you ate from several different tins whenever possible.

These Hershey Kiss Cookies were way up there on the favorites list. The soft cookie, the hard chocolate candy....perfection. I used the recipe from bettycrocker but there are dozens of interesting variation on the hershey kiss cookie page. This recipe does have peanut butter in it, so those with allergies will have to substitute.

Dec 7..Christmas Cookies Day 3..Double Chocolate Biscotti

     Does anyone remember when they tried their first biscotti? Mine had to have been when I was in my early 20s while I was at the Moody Bible Institute. Some of us from the kitchen and serving staff used to go to a coffee house in Chicago called The 3rd Coast.

     Actually I had a lot of first at the 3rd Coast. My first espresso, my first cappuccino, my first scone (blueberry...next time I went back someone in our group asked for on of the puffy pop-tart things) and one of the first places I took my wife on a date.

Years later we tried to make some in Brasil and they turned out pretty good. We've made all sorts of different kinds by now. Do me a favor, don't buy the ones at Starbucks, make yourself a good cup and coffee and enjoy some homemade ones.

     Remeber when Bruce Willis starred in the show Moonlighting and Cybill Shepherd was always filmed in that soft glowing light? I did the same to Joy's photo below.

Dec 4..Christmas Cookies Day 2..Ginger Snaps

When I was teaching in Brazil I had a student named Andy who from time to time would make ginger snap cookies to sell. Before I  had Andy's cookies I don't think I even liked ginger snap cookies. Andy's cookies were moist and had that burst of flavor I demand from something I eat. (As an aside, this is my problem with most fast food restaurants, the food tastes bland and like everything else on the menu. The chili at one famous restaurant tastes like their burger and fries. You want a burst of flavor? Try the rad prik at Thai Aree House in Chicago.)

When Joy and I were working out the cookies for the 20 Days of Christmas Cookies, we naturally included Ginger Snaps. I used a recipe from allrecipes.com but there are lots of different recipes on the internet. The difference between them depends on if you want to use vegetable oil, shortening or butter. This one uses vegetable oil. Or you could just ask Andy for his recipe.

 So are you joining us on the 20 Days of Christmas Cookies? Anyone got cookies to show off?

Dec 1..Christmas Cookies Day 1..Spritz Cookies

Mom's recipe book.

Joy and I have always been intrigued by the idea of the "25 Days of Christmas Cookies" concept. We'd look at the websites, check out the recipes, and then because it was 90+ degrees outside figure we'd start tomorrow. The next day, bright and early we'd open the kitchen cabinets and suddenly find out that we only had the ingredients to make sugar cookie cut-outs (and after you decorate about ten of these you are done.)

"Next year will be better" we would say.

But not this year!!!

We are trying the "25 20 Days Of Christmas Cookies" but with a twist. We need everyone's help. We still have one more weekend trip scheduled and we just returned from an overnight speaking engagement, so we are already behind. If anyone can help us and and post pictures either here or on facebook, we would be able to keep to the 20 day schedule. Take a few pictures and if you can, post a link to a recipe or type the recipe into a comment.

Our first cookie was actually made by my mom, but I (Bill) did help a little, and I mean a little. Growing up in Chicago, we had a couple of favorite cookies. Sprtiz cookies were in the top 3 (along with "moona cookies" and those thumbprint cookies with the Hershey Kisses on them) (and the chocolate and peanut-butter bars)(and Aunt Beanie's Fudge) (and the lemon bars with the powered sugar on top).

We would come home from school and laid out cooling on the kitchen table would be rows and more endless rows of spritz cookies. Some were chocolate filled, some were little green Christmas trees, others were Christmas wreaths and on and on it went.

My mom uses the Betty Crocker recipe, and she has a great cookie dough gun that always came out during the holidays.

Now.....what should I make tonight.........