GINGER BISCUITS Grandma was raised on these cookies (in England they are called biscuits). In the lean times of World War II they were made at least once a week, perfect for dipping in a mug of milky tea at ‘elevenses’. The dough tastes just as good before cooking, so the recipe was a double
JUSTINE’S SHORTBREAD STARS My room-mate Justine comes from Edinburgh, hence her mastery of these glittering shortbread stars. At Christmas she makes the stars round, brushing them after baking with a thin icing of confectioners’ sugar and water flavored with cinnamon. Makes about 12 stars 1 cup/250 g unsalted butter 1/2 cup/125 g sugar 3 cups/390
COOKIES GALORE! Here’s Grandma’s go-to recipe for the kids to use with cookie cutters to make all sorts of holiday ideas: for Chocolate Chip Cookies, simply add chocolate chips; for Mexican Wedding Cookies: add finely chopped pecans or walnuts, bake and after cooling, toss the cookies in icing sugar; for Thumbprint Cookies: before baking, make
OATMEAL CRUNCH COOKIES Grandma’s mother, who hated to cook, nonetheless kept a notebook of handwritten recipes, many of them handed down from her own mother. This recipe is cryptically called “crunch” and during baking the mixture runs all over the baking sheet, browning to a giant golden wafer rather like peanut brittle. We were all