cissalj

The lore: This is a recipe from J's great-grandma, as far as we can figure it. She probably cut it out of a magazine or newspaper, because various aspects date it to 1910 or so, particularly the use of dates and coconut- these were starting to be popularized then, but were still really "fancy" and exotic ingredients. Also, the butter was initially listed as "1.5 inches"- and I remember seeing J's mom using a yardstick to measure that out of a quarter-pound stick of butter! The cookies were tasty, but TOUGH! and really, REALLY hard to mix up! So when I started thinking about it, I realized that about the time the recipe was created, butter was sold in 1-pound blocks (not quarter sticks), and that put the butter amount into normal territory for cookies.

Making: this works fine with GF flour, even the beany ones. The texture will be slightly different but not much. There is a lot of variability in how they turn out- sometimes they spread a lot and get lacy and chewy; sometimes they clump more... but they are delicious however! I think it has to do with the heat of the kitchen impacting how much they spread.

These are basically a granola in cookie form. I think they'd be great with any kind of dried fruit instead of the dates, and other nuts instead of the walnuts; I am contemplating a pina colada variation (HERESY!!!) with dried pineapple and macadamia nuts... I do NOT think adding chocolate, or other chips would be true to the history. And- especially if you went with raisins- cinnamon or a spice blend might be a tasty addition... but below is the purist version!

Traditional Fisher Family Xmas Cookies

2/3rds cup (0.67 cup) butter, or 1.5 inches!
1.5 cup brown sugar (10.15 oz)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1.5 cups flour (gluten-free fine)
1 teaspoon baking soda
0.5 teaspoon salt

2 cups (5.25 oz) shredded coconut
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup walnuts, chopped to med pieces
1 pound chopped dates (buy already chopped; chopping dates is long and hard!)

Heat oven to 375F. Grease cookie sheets, or use parchment or silmat or similar.

Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat.

Mix flour with soda and salt. Add to egg mixture and mix.

Add coconut to mixture. Mix. Add oats; mix.

By hand, mix in nuts, then dates. The dough will be very stiff, and kneading them in by hand is usually the best method.

Drop from a spoon onto cookie sheet- roughly 1-2 tablespoons per cookie.

Bake at 375F for around 10 min, depending on oven, spreading, and taste.

Yield: quite a lot! And I don't know of anyone who hasn't liked them!

OK, this may be redundant. But it's really good coleslaw!

Bubbe’s coleslaw

Barbara: Bubbe taught me to make the cole slaw when I was a kid. I've made a few changes. I used to shred the cabbage in a processor, one head green, 1/2 head red, but it's easier to buy it shredded and add some more red. The pieces should be fairly uniform, so is the bag has some larger prices, cut them up. Add a few shredded carrots and some thinly sliced red/green bell peppers, no pith.The next part I never measure, but maybe a half cup of white wine vinegar diluted with almost as much water, a tablespoon or so of honey or brown sugar. A little salt (doesn't need much), black pepper to taste. Bubbe always liked to add those dried onion flakes. Add several tablespoons of Hellman's mayo. Mix thoroughly. Let sit for a while in the fridge. Garnish with chopped fresh dill and smoked paprika. Let me know if you make it. Great for Thanksgiving.

1 head green cabbage, shredded*
0.5 head red cabbage, shredded*
A few carrots, shredded*
1 sweet pepper, red or green, pith removed and thinly sliced

For dressing- all amounts approximate
0.5 cup white wine vinegar
scant 0.5 cup water
1 tablespoon or so of honey or brown sugar
Salt- small amount
black pepper to taste
dried onion flakes- optional (but Bubbe’s choice!)
Several tablespoons good mayo

Garnish
Fresh dill
smoked paprika

Mix cabbage, carrots and peppers in large bowl.

Mix dressing ingredients.

Pour dressing over veg, mix in, and let sit in fridge for at least a couple of hours.

To serve, garnish with dill and/or paprika.



*Can use shredded coleslaw mix- add red cabbage and/or carrots as necessary