Cookie Night

By Kathleen M. Tenpas (Kathleen) December 8, 2007

Mail this article Print this article Views: 521

Several years ago when our two daughters were becoming involved in activities outside the family, we decided to institute Cookie Night on the first Saturday night of December. The four of us would make, bake, frost and sample several batches of cookies, the bulk of which would be distributed to friends and family. We’d play Christmas records, make home made ice cream and spend at least this one evening together as a family.

The first Cookie Night started out wonderfully. We all pitched and got chores done early, ate a light supper (to save room for the cookies and home made ice cream), put the cooked custard in the ice cream maker and got down to making cut out cookies, pressed Spritz and cutting and baking the filled ice box cookies that I’d made earlier in the day and rolled into logs to refrigerate.

About midway through what had quicky become a lot of very cheerful silliness, the phone rang. It was Stan’s dad, every time his cows tried to drink, they would jump as if shocked. Stan told him it sounded like stray voltage and he’d grab his tester and be right up. There was a chorus of groans as he hung up the phone. He looked at the three of us and said, “I have to go. Save me some ice cream.” The girls and I finished Cookie Night without him, and he and I had our ice cream much later that night.

The second year began even better than the first. I’d done a little more preparation and we were into cutting out and pressing and frosting as we ate a light supper. There was a snow storm going on, the roads were horrible, no one was going anywhere. About an hour into our lovely messy goofy proceedings, we heard a truck going by much too fast for conditions. Stan stepped into the living room and watched as it skidded sideways, hit the opposite ditch and flipped onto its roof in a fortunately soft bank of snow. The driver crawled out and headed in our direction. Stan absentmindedly put the cookie he’d been frosting into his mouth and headed for the back room. “I have to go," he said. “Save me some ice cream.” The driver came in and used the phone to call a wrecker and then made a second call. Stan and he rode the tractor back down to the flipped truck and waited. Shortly after the wrecker arrived, a second truck pulled up. The driver of the pickup got into that vehicle and left the scene. The wrecker driver told Stan at that point that he wasn’t doing anything until the cops came. The girls and I took turns watching the wrecker driver and Stan clearing away some of the snow as they waited the arrival of a Sherif’s Deputy. Stan and I had our ice cream much later that night.

As I recall, we had several uneventful Cookie Nights after the first two. It was after our oldest daughter was in college that we added the element known as the boyfriend. The first time our eldest daughter’s future husband came, he was of the erroneous opinion that real men don’t frost cookies. However, as his future father-in-law appeared to be having a rather good time doing just that, he played along and soon found himself frosting away, quite adequately if a bit bizarrely.

The next year brought a second boyfriend and I decided that if I wanted to have any cookies left to give away, home made pizza must be added to the evening meal. Unfortunately, the younger boyfriend had been at basketball practice that afternoon and hadn’t had a chance to eat. After downing nearly a whole pizza, two bowls of home made ice cream and an unknown number of cookies, he turned rather green and left abruptly.

Subsequent Cookie Nights saw the addition of college room mates and different boys. It became apparent after our youngest daughter married and moved far away that it had served its purpose valiantly, but the time was past. These day, we occasionally have a Cookie Afternoon with the nearby grandchildren and our youngest daughter has instituted Cookie Night with her growing family, building a whole new generation of quirky memories.

If you want to start your own version of our Cookie Night, here is the Filled Ice Box cookie recipe from Aunt Hester Dean:

1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

mix together and roll out ½ the dough into a rectangle. Spread one of the fillings on, roll into a log and refrigerate until firm. Cut cookies 1/4 inch thick, place on baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

These also make good cut out cookies.

Cran Raison filling

2 cups Craisons and/or golden raisons, 1 cup pecans or walnuts chopped together
½ cup sugar, ½ cup water boil all together for one minute. Cool before spreading on cookies
(microwaving for 1 minute about does it)

Chocolate filling

1 ½ cup chocolate chips and 1/4 cup butter melted together mix with 1 cup ground nuts and spread on dough.

About Kathleen M. Tenpas   We have a grazing dairy of 55 cows in the rolling hills of western New York State where we raised two daughters who have now blessed us with four grandchildren. I have messy, jungly beds of old roses, (some real antiques left by former owners), perennials, wildflowers and lots and lots of not so ornamental grasses! I have a Masters degree in Creative Writing: Poetry from Antioch University. I am a photographer and fabric artist and I bake a mean loaf of bread.

Nav   » Read more articles written by Kathleen M. Tenpas « Return to the articles homepage

Subject: Great recipe!

---

Posted by pamsaplantin (from Morgantown, WV) on December 11, 2007 at 2:03 AM:

Baked the filled cookies last night. Froze them this morning or there wouldn't be any left for Xmas. I absolutely love the cran-raisin filling. I used orange juice instead of water just 'cuz that sounded good to me. The filling is so good I'm thinking of other recipes to use it with. The chocolate filling is good, too, but I love craisins & pecans even more than chocolate. My cookies didn't look as pretty as yours in the pic above but I guess you have experience in your favor. I was impressed with how well the dough handled. I rolled it out on floured parchment paper & then used that to wrap the log in to refrigerate. I'm planning to make more dough to use for sugar cookies. It should be quite easy to cut out. Thanks for the great recipe!

...

Posted by Kathleen (from Panama, NY) on December 11, 2007 at 9:06 AM:

Your welcome. Mine don't always look that good - sometimes I get impatient and spread the filling on before it's really cooled These originally came with a date filling, so I probably should have listed them as "Filled Ice Box Cookies from Aunt Hester Dean, Kathleen's variations." If you like dates (we do, but are allergic to them - bummer) just substitute dates for cran-raisons.

...

---

Posted by gessiegail (from Taft, TX) on December 8, 2007 at 8:52 PM:

I just love your idea of a family tradition as they mean so much from generation to another generation.
My oldest daughter values traditions so much that every year on Thanksgiving day she puts out a 500 piece puzzle. The goal is to finish by the end of the Christmas holidays.

Then she frames the puzzle. They have a good collection going now. Thanks so sharing a really fun event with us!

...

Posted by Kathleen (from Panama, NY) on December 9, 2007 at 8:13 AM:

you're welcome! Ah, puzzles, we also used to do them, but waited until January had set in with it's short, frigid days and long freezing nights. Stan and I did one last year - maybe I'll look for another this year.

...

---

Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on December 8, 2007 at 11:59 AM:

What a great read Kathleen. Wonderful how the years brought such fun changes to your family's Cookie Night :)

Thanks too for the recipe !

...

Posted by victorgardener (from Lower Hudson Valley, NY) on December 8, 2007 at 7:48 PM:

Fun article, Kathleen!

...

Posted by Kathleen (from Panama, NY) on December 9, 2007 at 8:11 AM:

Thank you both. Dea, enjoy the cookies, iit is one recipe that can be used in many ways - wouldn't be Christmas around here without it!

...

---

Posted by grammyphoeb (from Upper Hudson Valley, NY) on December 8, 2007 at 8:42 AM:

Kathleen - I loved your story. Kinda makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over!! Even though cookie night sometimes got interupted, I think the warmth and cheer you extended to others in a time of emergency and to your daughters' friends, brought even more joy to your hearts!! My daughters and I used to make Christmas cookies and they have also grown up and moved out of the house. My oldest and I still do some occasionally and it is such a lot of fun!!
Eleanor (I grew up on a farm in Central New York and moved to Glens Falls 36 years ago to begin my first and only job as a music teacher)

p.s. - It was wonderful to meet you and your family through this story!!

...

Posted by grammyphoeb (from Upper Hudson Valley, NY) on December 8, 2007 at 8:48 AM:

I'm not sure I did this the right way!! Not the first time and certainly won't be the last. My intention was to comment on the article about "cookie night" and not to start a new thread. Hmmmm! Eleanor

...

Posted by Elena (from Nashville, TN) on December 8, 2007 at 9:20 AM:

My family also did a version of cookie night for a long time. Like you, as our family grew, things changed. Those times that we all gathered to prepare for and look forward to Christmas gatherings are among my fondest memories. Thanks for sharing your memories with us and for bringing back some of my very own memories of days gone by. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

...

Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on December 8, 2007 at 10:17 AM:

I agree with Eleanor about the "warm fuzzy feeling" - although as for the rest, i couldn't tell you WHAT she's talking about! Very nice, Kathleen. xx, Carrie

...

Posted by JaxFlaGardener (from Jacksonville, FL) on December 8, 2007 at 10:54 AM:

Loved the narrative story, Kathleen. Real life is often so much more interesting than fiction and I enjoyed your sagas with cookies.

Eleanor -- you did the right thing. The only way to comment on an article is to start a thread (or add a note to one already started, as I'm doing here).

Jeremy

...

Posted by grammyphoeb (from Upper Hudson Valley, NY) on December 8, 2007 at 11:55 AM:

Carrie - the rest of my post was in response to Kathleen's biography - she lives on a farm in western NY. I thought I was responding directly to her and not starting a new thread. I could edit that part and take it out if it's really confusing!! Eleanor

...

Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on December 8, 2007 at 12:03 PM:

E - I was mostly teasing! warm fuzzies back at you! xx, C

...

Posted by grammyphoeb (from Upper Hudson Valley, NY) on December 8, 2007 at 12:11 PM:

Thanks Carrie, but I know I can be very confusing sometimes. Extra warm fuzzies to you!! Eleanor

...

Posted by art_n_garden (from Colorado Springs, CO) on December 8, 2007 at 4:37 PM:

Eleanor, when you comment about an article, it automatically starts a new thread. Whether or not anyone replies to your thread is not a certainty...but if anyone does that means they agree with you!
If you ever wanted to comment privately to a writer, just click on their dg name at the top of the article and you will find a link to send them an email.

Love your article Kathleen, such a wonderful story. I like your cyclical style in it. Very touching. Susanne

...

Posted by grammyphoeb (from Upper Hudson Valley, NY) on December 8, 2007 at 4:40 PM:

Thanks art_n_garden - I've been here since last March and I still don't know my around very well!! Eleanor

...

Posted by art_n_garden (from Colorado Springs, CO) on December 8, 2007 at 4:43 PM:

Well welcome to you! Heck I've been here for going on 5 years and I still get really lost sometimes. Lol! I'm an art teacher at the elementary level here in CO. To what level do you teach music?

...

Posted by grammyphoeb (from Upper Hudson Valley, NY) on December 8, 2007 at 5:29 PM:

art_n_garden - I get it now art and garden! I was thinking of Art as in the name. Very appropriate screen name! I taught music mostly in first and second grade with a few kindergartens. It was a large school system with about 12 sections of each grade level. I am in my third year of retirement and loving it! Eleanor

...

Posted by art_n_garden (from Colorado Springs, CO) on December 8, 2007 at 7:45 PM:

Lol- lots of people think I'm a man named Art, it's ok! Wish I could change it, but too late for that. Wow, that must be a large school system! We only have 4 classes at each grade level, so I do all the grades. I wish I could specialize in high or low like you did though. Congratulations on retirement! I have a while to go...this is my first year teaching full time :) Nice to meet you! Susanne

...

Posted by grammyphoeb (from Upper Hudson Valley, NY) on December 9, 2007 at 8:02 AM:

Hello, Susanne! Glad to meet you and I guess you're not an Art!! I really enjoyed specializing in lower elementary music ed. I was better with the younger children cause I'm a child at heart. I acted just like them in my younger days - running and skipping around the room to music and crawling on the floor like turtles!! I felt it was time to retire at 55 cause I couldn't do the things any more with the children and that's the fun part!! I always tell younger teachers who have a long way to go to retire - I may be retired and don't have to work, but you still have your youth and your body is still in good working condition!! LOL Enjoy teaching, it is a very rewarding profession and you get to influence and bring joy to a lot of children. Eleanor

...

Posted by Kathleen (from Panama, NY) on December 9, 2007 at 8:28 AM:

I'm glad I could stir up some warm fuzzies for you all.

Jeremy, I agree, although my family often accuses me of embroidering my nonfiction with wandering into fiction. My youngest told me that this was the closest I've ever gotten what really happened! Perhaps I belong in the Creative Nonfiction genre.

grammyphoeb, was your farm in the Finger Lakes region? We have friends who live and farm in Alpine.

...

Posted by grammyphoeb (from Upper Hudson Valley, NY) on December 9, 2007 at 8:38 AM:

Kathleen- the farm was in Camillus, just west of Syracuse. The farm was sold a few years ago and it is still difficult to drive by and realize that era is gone. My father and 3 of his brothers owned the farm. There were some hard years for farming and the next generation was not able to take over the farm. It needed to be sold to pay off their debts. I have two brothers who have farming in their blood and have been known to go help out area farmers after their day jobs were done, just to get on a tractor and plow or combine until the wee hours of the morning!! Where is Alpine? Camillus is east of Skanateles. Eleanor

...

Posted by Kathleen (from Panama, NY) on December 9, 2007 at 8:50 AM:

Alpine is down near Ithaca, at the bottom of the lakes. We've through Camillus at one time or another.

You can take the boy off the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy! We rent pasture and meadow land from a man who works as an engineer at Cummins Engine. He's always tinkering with his antique equipment and will go out and mow pasture or plow up a chunk just for the fun of it.

...

Posted by grammyphoeb (from Upper Hudson Valley, NY) on December 9, 2007 at 9:18 AM:

I haven't been in Alpine, but I've been to Ithaca. Spent four years of my life there. I graduated from Ithaca college with a degree in Music ed. in 1971. That was a few years ago. I agree with you - can't take the farm out of the boy!! When the machinery and equipment were auctioned off - Dad told the local farmer who bought his special Steigert (not sure about the spelling) tractor that he had made handicapp accessible, that he came with the tractor. So he worked for free for several years before his death for the farmer who bought his tractor. Growing up on a farm has influenced me to grow things - I need to keep my farming roots alive and gardening is one way to do it. Eleanor

...

Posted by nanny_56 (from Putnam County, IN) on December 11, 2007 at 11:35 PM:

I love this idea for a tradition. It makes me wish our children weren't all grown! We did something similar a few years ago though. Our gd's lived with us at the time and on Christmas Eve their mom & boyfriend at the time ( Shawn,he was the oldest gd's dad) and our son came over. We had dinner, finished wrapping a few things etc.

Shawn mentioned he had never baked christmas cookies. So we were all in shock at that soooo we decided to make cookies!! It was the best Christmas Eve I think we ever had.

Unfortunately, Shawn ended up in jail and then left and dissappeared out of his daughter's life. But that night was truely magical.

...

Posted by Islandshari (from Kwajalein
(Marshall Islands)) on December 17, 2007 at 1:46 AM:

Kathleen, I just had the opportunity of reading this wonderful article, and it really made me feel like Christmas was here. We made cookies when my girls were little, on the second weekend in December. We made a LOT! Then we would package them all up real pretty, and deliver them to the local police station, fire station and hospital emergency room. I have continued that even now that my girls are grown with kids of their own. One of my SILs is a Denver cop, and he happened to work in my district...it was so much fun delivering the cookies to his station! They got to know me, and looked forward to our cookies every year.

Thanks for getting Christmas started for me!
Yokwe,
Shari

...

---

Posted by AYankeeCat (from Fairfield County, CT) on December 8, 2007 at 8:42 AM:

What a sweet story! I have a cookie day every year with two girlfriends. We each make a batch of cookies and drink wine and pretend we are sisters for awhile.

...

Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on December 8, 2007 at 10:13 AM:

Nice, Cat! My girlfriends are all in different states, but we would be sisters if they had ever met! x, C

...

Posted by Tammy (from Barto, PA) on December 8, 2007 at 9:42 PM:

Wonderful article! We never had a formal cookie night but I remember
many years we'd bake cookies or make various candies for my teachers.
My brother, sister & I would spend a weekend day together. Our favorites
were divinity fudge (a white fudge) or regular fudge or sugar cookies with
all sorts of shapes and decorations. Incredible how just thinking about
those few days in my life makes me feel. All warm & loved.

...

Posted by Kathleen (from Panama, NY) on December 9, 2007 at 8:15 AM:

It's funny, one daughter remembers it as being a lot of fun, the other as one of those horrible fun things that you just had to do like required reading. They do both have fond memories of it though.

...

Login to post a comment.