I'm talking edible cookies - not those enigmatic things that infiltrate our computers.
At this point in my life, cookies aren't exactly the foremost thought in my mind - but a recent blog post by Myra inspired me. I "lifted" the questions from her post. And I'll undoubtedly add my own ingredients...
On this rainy March day, I was suddenly thinking about those long-ago rainy March days in Southern California, when I'd come home from school and my Mom would be in the kitchen baking cookies, or cupcakes, or a cake.
Homemade cookies and rainy days are synonymous...and very satisfying.
Here's Mom with her coppertone stove.
Anybody remember when coppertone was in vogue?
And avocado green? And burnt orange?
Incidentally, my mother made the dress that she's wearing in this photo.
I remember her painstakingly navigating the Necchi sewing machine.
Mom was never exactly domestically-inclined. She hated cooking and sewing. But she did both beautifully.
She was a class act.
But what about cookies?
Here are the questions:
Are you able to pass by a plate of cookies and not take one? Or are you a bit of a cookie monster?
If the cookies are clean and fresh, I'll take one. If they're clean, fresh, and good I'll take a dozen.
Inquiring minds want to know if you're a dunker. If so, do you dunk in milk, coffee, or tea?
I'm only a dunker if the cookies are so hard that they'll break what's left of my teeth. I recently bought extremely hard (crispy?) oatmeal cookies and I've been dunking them in coffee.
Raw cookie dough? Yay or nay?
I prefer my cookie dough baked.
Do you buy Girl Scout cookies, and if so which is your favorite?
Hey, I haven't seen a Girl Scout since I was ten years old. Do they still exist?
The last I heard, they were rudely and aggressively infiltrating the Boy Scouts.
Girls want to be boys. Boys want to be girls. Genders are seemingly interchangeable.
The world went insane after Woodstock.
Our Democratic congress is suddenly filled with ISIS-loving, anti-Semitic, man-hating women....
Take a deep breath, Jon.
You're starting to editorialize. Get back on track with cookies.
Thanks. You're right. The last time I editorialized on my blog, I lost 95 per cent of my readers.
Tell us about your favorite cookie. Have your tastes changed since you were a kid?
I don't really have a favorite cookie. There are far too many to choose from.
I remember long ago when I was 4 or 5 (I'm now in my early 100's) - my parents used to buy unbelievably good Dutch cookies from a bakery in New Jersey.
And two of my aunts baked the most delicious spritz Christmas cookies I've ever tasted.
When we lived in California and I was around 12 to 15 years old (give or take), my Mom used to buy the most indescribably delicious chocolate mint cookies from Sears in Claremont.
I don't remember any Sears store that ever sold fresh-baked cookies except the one in Claremont, CA. They were displayed in a glass bakery case and you could buy them by the pound.
These were chocolate mint wafers, covered in real mint chocolate.
I'll never forget how good they were.
I also liked the Chinese almond cookies that we got at Alpha-Beta (a California supermarket). Each cookie had an almond on top, and they came in a big pink cardboard box.
Probably my favorite of all cookies are the Hungarian butter cookies that I used to bake (I seldom bake cookies any more because it's too dang much trouble).
I always filled the cookies with apricot jam and raspberry jam.
Here's a (rare) photo of my cookies. They probably look unispiring, but they taste delicious.
Of course, I always love home-made chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, pumpkin cookies....
and almost anything else.
I'll undoubtedly think of more after I post this.
I've only just cottoned on that cookies are what we call biscuits! It takes a while!
ReplyDeleteHome made cookies must be great. I never knew anyone who made their own until I was in the adult years, and I envied all those who could make them.
I knew that cookies were called biscuits in your neck of the woods. Here in the U.S. biscuits are dinner rolls.
DeleteI definitely prefer home made cookies to those purchased in a store, but in recent years I haven't made them very often because it's just too much trouble to do.
Jon, Your mother is completely glamorous and it sounds like she was well accomplished. I am glad to know that you had one parent who was so loving.
ReplyDeleteI am laughing about your political views because they mirror mine so am confused as to why you would lose readers. Well, stick to the cookie type subjects and things will be fine!
♥️Susan
My Mom was truly glamorous - and the incredible thing is that she never really tried to be. It just came naturally.
DeleteDuring the 2016 presidential election I made the fatal mistake of voicing my political views on my blog. You would not believe how much HATE I generated among readers who previously liked me. I even received one death threat!! My readership dropped drastically.
I now try to keep neutral - even though I'm always tempted to say what I really think.
Many of the liberal left are totally insane.
Class act … exactly! How many ladies today bother to put on a pretty dress, hose n' heels. Your mom looks like she's doing a commercial for General Electric! For the life on me, I can't recall the coppertone finish. In the 70's I had to have all avocado green … geesch. Tom's family traditionally makes a cookie with jam,; I think they're called Kolache.
ReplyDeletePS - You'll get no argument from me about the Scouting program.
Haha - my Mom did look like she was in a GE ad.
DeleteThe coppertone finish was really popular in California in the 1960's. I think the avocado green came a little bit later. Somehow, I miss those days....
The Hungarian butter cookies were called vajas sutik - - but kolache sounds familiar.
coppertone stove? My mother still had her up till four years ago!!!!! Now she went ultra modern with a stainless steel, glass top burners, and double over Frigidaire!
ReplyDeleteMe pass by a plate of cookies??? Oh surly you jest...I would NEVER eat sweets.
I adore that picture of your mother.
I actually like the coppertone appliances and wish they were still popular.....but stainless steel with glass top burners is great!
DeleteI'm a cookie addict, too - especially if they're home made (or come from a good bakery)
When I moved up here to Fargo-Moorhead in 1999 the cheap apartment I rented had a coppertone stove (only two burners worked and the oven burned everything on one side) and a harvest gold refrigerator (that was the other popular color in the late 60s--and this one frozen the milk and melted the ice cream). I was there for six years. When both the last burners quit working on the electric stove they replaced one form me--LOL! I wasn't able to bake or even make a pizza in that oven. ;)
ReplyDeleteYour mom looks very much like Mrs. Cleaver, Donna Reed, or Mrs. Anderson with her heels and hair done and beautiful dress. :)
Wow, I'm surprised that you were able to survive that long with such horrible appliances. I had completely forgotten about harvest gold until you mentioned it!
DeleteI miss the good ol' days when women looked glamorous - - but it's a lot easier just to be casual!
The only cookies I can eat are of the home-made variety - or made from scratch in one of our European bakeries. I read labels in grocery stores and cringe at the amount of horrible ingredients put into food items. No wonder cancer and heart disease is high in North America.
ReplyDeleteYour Hungarian butter cookies are similar to my German butter cookies with jam fillings.
My mom had avocado green appliances. They were built to last ... they just kept working. I don't remember coppertone though. Your mom was beautiful ... elegant in every way. Now I'm suddenly craving a chocolate chip cookie :)
I really dislike grocery store cookies - they certainly do contain a lot of preservatives and questionable ingredients. The ones here in the U.S. seem to be the worst and many of them are tasteless.
DeleteI think a lot of those European cookies and pastries are similar (such as German, Hungarian, etc.) and they're all delicious!
You're right - those old appliances were really built to last (just like the old automobiles were).
i remember the coppertone finish well. your mother is beautiful. i don't usually give cookies much thought. but after seeing your Hungarian butter cookies, i'd like a dozen or two.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could summon the energy (and inspiration) to make those Hungarian cookies again. My parents used to love them and I often made them around the holiday season.
DeleteWho knows - maybe I'll have a few beers and try to bake again.....someday....
Your lovely mother's photo takes me back to the carefully crafted clothes my own mom generated on a belt-driven Singer. It was the 1950s and many of my clothes came from that machine too. I also developed an abiding craving for chocolate chip cookies at that time --but I'm a great big man now and dip them in coffee. I sure enjoyed this post, Jon, thanks!
ReplyDeleteOur mothers were so practical and creative. It was an inspiring era and I miss it. I can still hear the sound of the sewing machine and see the material, patterns, and thread scattered about.
ReplyDeleteAnd I still love chocolate chip cookies.
I'm married to the Cookie Monster, so I bake a LOT of cookies. Only one variety at a time these days, though. When our kids were growing up, we always had multiple kinds, and they liked to bake them with me. (But not as much as they enjoyed eating them!)
ReplyDeleteYour cookies look lovely. And yummy.
There's nothing like home-baked cookies - especially when they're still warm. The packaged cookies on the store shelves seem to be getting progressively worse.
Delete