Category Archives: Christmas

Christmas Cream Wafers (Kenmore Presbyterian Cookies via Lisa Zdyb)

The roots of Kenmore Presbyterian Church run deep in the City of Buffalo, the Village of Kenmore, and the Town of Tonawanda. On April 6, 1877, Miss Ada Chalmers began a Sunday School with six in attendance. This Sunday School met in an old log house on Amherst Street near Delaware Avenue. Then, it moved to an unoccupied house on Amherst Street and became a mission of Westminster Presbyterian Church. Next, it met in a P.S. 21 on Hertel Avenue where it remained until Christmas 1887 when it moved into a former tavern on the corner of Hertel and Delaware Avenue.

The Superintendent of the Sunday School, Henry S. Larned expressed hope that the Sunday School would evolve into a chapel. This hope saw its fulfillment in 1890 when Kenmore developer, Louis P.A. Eberhardt donated a site on the northeast corner of Delaware and East Hazeltine Avenues to establish the Kenmore chapel. Westminster Presbyterian Church accepted the offer and the Kenmore Chapel was dedicated in 1891. It served as a mission church until November 22, 1894 when 34 persons requested the Presbytery establish Kenmore Presbyterian Church. The presbytery installed the Reverend George Marsh as the church’s first pastor and the congregation elected three elders.

The church worshipped in the original wood frame church until February 1926 when the current church building was dedicated. In 1948, the church added a second building to provide more educational space, two pastor’s studies, additional offices, and a dining room and kitchen. Also, at this time, the church purchased a new pipe organ by the Schlicker Organ Company.  In 1963, the church expanded again, tearing down the gym to erect an educational building. During this time, the sanctuary underwent a major renovation.

https://www.kenpres.org/history

I’ve already gone ahead and posted this recipe on reddit and there was a concern raised about raw eggs. It looks like the eggs can be optional, so you can decide your own acceptable risk of using raw eggs and it won’t super affect the final product.

I’ve already posted this on reddit- one concern someone raised is that the recipe requires a raw egg yolk in the cream. I have found other versions on the web and it looks like the yolks are optional (in case you are concerned about the minor risk of salmonella)

Christmas Cream Wafers (Kenmore Presbyterian Cookies)

Course: after church coffee hour, Cookie, Dessert
Keyword: christmas, cookie, cookies, potluck, scout fundraisers
Author: Lisa Zdyb

Ingredients

Cookie

  • 1 cup butter
  • cup whipping cream (Heavy Cream- 35%)
  • 2 cups flour
  • granulated sugar

Butter filling

  • ¼ cup soft butter
  • cup 10x powdered sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • food coloring (optional)

Instructions

Cookie

  • Mix butter, cream and flour thouroughly.
  • Chill 1 hour
  • Heat oven to 375°
  • Roll dough to ⅛" thick on lightly floured board.
  • Cut into rounds.
  • Transfer to wax paper that was heavily coated with sugar, turning to coat both sides.
  • Place on ungreased baking sheet.
  • Prick with fork.
  • Bake 7-9 minutes or until slightly puffy.
  • Put two together with filling in the middle.

Butter filling

  • Blend the soft butter, powdered sugar, egg yolk & vanilla.
  • Tint with food coloring if desired.

Banana Peanut Butter Top Hats (or how to kill George)

Banana Peanut Butter Top Hats

Course: Cookie, Dessert
Keyword: christmas, cookie, cookies, cooky
Servings: 3 dozen

Ingredients

  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup chunky peanut butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup uncooked quick cooking rolled oats
  • 2 bananas peeled and sliced

Instructions

  • Cream butter and peanut butter; add sugar gradually, beating until fluffy.
  • Beat in eggs and vanilla.
  • Add flour, baking powder and soda, mixing until well blended.
  • Stir in rolled oats.
  • Set aside 1 cup of dough.
  • Drop remaining dough by teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheets.
  • Lightly press banana slice on top of each cookie; then cover with a small amount of reserved dough.
  • Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 10 minutes.

The $250 Cookie Recipe or an urban legend? Find out here! (& the get the yummy recipe)

Back many many years ago there was a story that a woman asked for the recipe for a cookie she bought at Neiman Marcus. She thought she had been told $2.50, she was charged $250. She then got her revenge on Neiman Marcus by giving away said recipe. Keep in mind that this particular recipe went viral in the decades prior to social media. Per Snopes, this particular story dates to 1996/97 ish but there has been many forms and variations since at least the 1940s.

Here’s a fine example from a 1948 cookbook, Massachusetts Cooking Rules, Old and New, which lists not only the recipe for “$25 Fudge Cake” but also gives the following explanation for the name:

This friend had to pay $25 upon the receipt of the recipe from the chef of one of the railroads. She had asked for the recipe while eating on a train. The chef gladly sent it to her, together with a bill for $25, which her attorney said she had to pay. She then gave the recipe to all her friends, hoping they would get some pleasure from it.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/neiman-marcus-cookies/

One thing I find interesting about this particular version of the recipe is that it calls for Hershey (assuming milk) chocolate when I highly doubt that Neiman Marcus would use such a pedestrian ingredient. (Cue me getting sidetracked looking at the NM website and drooling over $600 shoes when the last shoes I bought came from the thrift store, but I digress)

250 Dollar Cookie Recipe

Course: after church coffee hour, Cookie, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cookie, cookies, cooky, urban legend

Ingredients

  • 5 cups ground up oatmeal (Measure Oatmeal & blend in a blender to a fine powder)
  • 2 cups butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 24 oz chocolate chips
  • 8 oz grated Hershey bar
  • 5 cups chopped nuts

Instructions

  • Cream butter and both sugars.
  • Add vanilla and eggs; mix with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
  • Add chocolate chips grated Hershey bar & nuts.
  • Roll into balls & place 2" apart on a cookie sheet.
  • Bake for 10 minutes at 375°


Kris Kringle Cookies

KRIS KRINGLE COOKIES

Course: after church coffee hour, Cookie, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: christmas, cookie, cooky

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda dissolved in 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 4 ½ cups flour approximately

Instructions

  • Cream butter and sugar together.
  • Add vanilla, milk, soda, and eggs, then salt and cream of tartar sifted with 3 cups flour.
  • Add enough additional flour to make a dough that may be rolled. (Chilling helps in handling.)
  • Roll on lightly floured board to desired thickness.
  • Cut and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet in 400° oven 8 to 15 minutes, depending on thickness.
  • Various flavors of dry gelatin are excellent as top decorations for cookies.
  • Spread cookies lightly with a little egg white and sprinkle with gelatin (or colored sugar) before baking.

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