Say, Kids, it’s 17 days ’til Hanukkah, 43 days to Christmas, Diwail has passed already, and Kwaanza is 44 days away. If you haven’t started your holiday baking of cookies to go with the coffee you’ll be making for those unexpected guests who drop by to wish you holiday cheer, and you’re shivitzing so hard your sweat rings could rival the rings of Saturn, fear not!

For the next forty-four days I’m here to drink coffee, wish YOU good cheer and offer you a cookie recipe.

Drawn from cookbooks (from the 30s through to the 60s) that I was given by my tiny dynamo-mom (she’s my Dynamom) and grandmother who could knit and bake for her massive Italian family, each recipe will appear with a 1 to 4 cup of coffee rating of nominomness. The nominomness is, of course, based on my taste, but I will be curious to know who makes the cookie of the day and what your rating of that cookie is.

The first cookie is from Page 7 of Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book from 1963. My cook book is a reprint of the one my Dynamom had. It is the cookie cookbook I grew up with and the one I love the most because, well, it’s a book all about cookies! Dynamom gave me her original copy, which was falling apart because it was Velveteen Rabbited for so many years that it was held together by clothespins and a rubber band. I brought the book with me to Australia. Then when it was reprinted, Dynamom demanded her copy back and gifted me with the pretty new one, which wasn’t stained with food colouring, butter marks, or old chocolate, which I kind of miss. The one thing I did before I handed back her dilapidated copy, was make note of all my childhood favourites.  You’re getting those recipes first.

Now, a word about baking some of these cookies Down under. Shortening. You will be hard pressed to find vegetable shortening in Oz. Copha doesn’t cut it. Neither does good ol’ lard. So kids in Oz, you’re gonna have use butter or to try to source Crisco Shortening from an importer of US foods. David Jones stocks it and it’ll cost you. USA Foods in Moorabbin stocks it too and will post it to you and it won’t cost as much as DJ’s. The lolly shop near me carries it too, so YAY for me having a local Crisco pusher.

Without further fanfare, I give you Cookie Recipe Number One: Applesauce Cookies

• Set oven to 400F/200C
• 1 cup shortening
• 2 cups brown sugar (packed)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup cold coffee (HOORAY FOR COFFEE!)
• 2 cups applesauce
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves,
• 1 cup raisins (or sultanas)
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I use walnuts but you can leave them out).

Mix shortening, sugar, and eggs thoroughly. Stir in COFFEE and applesauce. Add flour and other dry ingredients and mix well. Chill at least 2 hours.

Drop rounded teaspoons of dough about 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 9-12 minutes or until almost no imprint remains when lightly touched.

Serve with Coffee. Eat lots of them.

Applesauce Cookies Nominom rating: