Pharm-to-Table

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Grandmalina Cookies

Jennifer Mathews

These are the cookies I grew up with for Christmas and Easter from my Italian grandmother. She made dozens, upon dozens of cookies for her 10 grandchildren to bring home each holiday. Although I have tweaked the recipe somewhat to accommodate a more sweet cookie with more sprinkles, this recipe is what instantly brings my family back to childhood. It is expected, three generations later to appear at each holiday and my children, who were not fortunate enough to know my amazing grandmother, love this recipe even more than I ever did. Warms my heart!

Tips:

  • The cookies will stay forever in the freezer. On the counter, please put them in the airtight container for about a week.

  • My parents and aunts love them dunked in coffee, so even stale these cookies are delicious.

  • I love that there isn't a single scrap of waste in this recipe, as all depression-era recipe will be. You can try to make them fancier by using a cookie cutter, but trust me there is a lot of charm using the juice glass.

Grandmalina Cookies

PREP 15 minutes

COOK 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

3 ¼ cups flour

5 drops lemon juice

2 ½ teaspoon baking powder

5 drops vanilla

¾ cup Crisco

3 tablespoons sprinkles

4 eggs

1 tablespoon sugar

¾ cup sugar

1 egg white

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  2. In a large bowl, mix flour and baking powder. Set aside.

  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream Crisco and sugar until well blended, 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla extract, and lemon juice.

  4. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl until smooth.

  5. Flour your work surface. Knead dough a bit. You may need to add a bit more flour if the dough is still sticky. Roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thick.

  6. Brush the entire flat dough with egg whites. Sprinkle sugar and sprinkles.

  7. Using the upside juice glass, cut shapes out of the dough and place them on a baking sheet. The shapes don’t have to be full circles; you want to use all of the dough. Grandmalina wouldn’t leave any scraps of dough.

  8. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.