Thin Butter Cookies 27/325

Mama Weber

The Relation

The ma'am, the myth, the legend, Mama Weber is my great-great-grandmother. Mad respect for this wonderful lady. I mean, she had 16 kids!!! For so many reasons that seems impossible. Firstly, carrying and giving birth sixteen times??? Holy smokes. And then actually having to raise them! Having any more than one or two kids gives me anxiety... but sixteen? I don't know how she did it. The picture to the right was colorized by Brad Weber (Anton> William> Tracy> James)

The Process

$9.00 nuts

This is another one of those recipes where some of the ingredients are hidden in the instructions paragraph, so read carefully. You may notice the recipe calls for hickory nuts. What are hickory nuts, you may ask? Hickory nuts are the fruit of the hickory tree. They are in the walnut family and taste very similar to pecans. According to Genie (Gert>Henry>m. John), you can use pecans and hickory nuts interchangeably for the most part. But what fun would that be?

I went on the hunt for hickory nuts at my grocery store to no avail. I checked every single label in the bulk nut section, but alas, no hickory nuts to be found. So, I started to search the interwebs. Amazon sells a whopping 20 grams, which is less than an ounce, of chopped hickory nuts for $9.00. These nuts were expensive! But, I sucked it up and bought the nuts, which, but the way, were not even eligible for Prime Two-Day Delivery *big sigh*.

Roll shaped?

Hickory nuts in hand, (over a week later *eye-roll*) I started these cookies. The first part of the recipe is pretty simple, just mix all the ingredients, right? Right. Now, it tells you to roll. Roll the dough out? Like, with a rolling pin? Or create a roll, as in a cylindrical shape out of the dough?? I couldn't tell you. I had enough dough, so I figured, why not both?

Half of the dough I made into a long cylinder (not unlike the Pillsbury sugar cookie dough that you can buy pre-made at the store) and tossed it in the fridge. After 30 minutes, I took the roll out and used a knife to slice little circle cookies. I tried to get them as thin as possible, but this is much harder than it looked.

or rolled out?

The other half of the dough, I balled up and put it in the fridge. 30 minutes later, I rolled it out to 1/4 inch thickness and used cookie cutters to pop out some squirrels (of course) and stars (why not?). Once cut out, I placed the squirrels on parchment-lined baking sheets and chilled them again (a trick I learned from my mom to help them keep their shape and not turn into blobs).

With all of the cookies, I coated them with the egg whites and cinnamon sugar (I do a 1:5 ratio on cinnamon to sugar). I added hickory nuts to the tops of some, pecans to others, and left a few without any nuts at all (for the nut allergy peeps in my life).

I should have timed them, but I forgot, so I think I ended up baking them for about 8 minutes? Maybe more, maybe less.

The Feedback

Mama Weber is certainly right, this recipe makes a ton of cookies. I distributed them to my office, climbing gym and kept a few for myself. They are very nice, light cookies, great for drinking a cup of coffee with. They don't snap like a hard cookie, but they aren't super chewy either. Very floury. Overall, good bake. And the hickory nuts? They were good! But honestly, just use pecans.

The Receipt

THIN BUTTER COOKIES - CC80
Mama Weber+

1 lb butter
6 cups flour
2 eggs
1 cup sugar

Cream butter and sugar. Mix well. Add eggs and flour. Roll. Chill. Cut very thin. Brush with slightly beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixed together. Add chopped hickory nuts to tops – press in lightly. Bake at 300° until lightly browned. Half the recipe makes a lot of cookies

Chinese New Year Cookies 12/325

Happy Belated Chinese New Year! It's officially the year of the rat, so special shout out to all my fellow rats out there (esp. Remy from Ratatouille).

The Relation

Daisy Queen Helen

Helen Regina Weber Miller was the second oldest of Mama & Papa Weber's (George and Elizabeth's) children. From my research, she was an expert daisy grower and had an "everything's going to be okay" look to make the world a little better, for a little bit. Her clan is represented, at least at the most recent Cousin Club, by the dark green color.

The Process

A recipe that I don't have to use my oven? Don't mind if I do! These delightful sweet treats are easy peasy and only use four ingredients. Although, for only using four ingredients, it did call for two tools that I did not have on hand.

Macgyvered Double Boiler

First, and easiest to acquire, was the wax paper. Note: wax paper is a great tool for chilling candies on. I popped by my local grocers and picked up a whole roll. The second piece of equipment was a double boiler - or really any sort of contraption to melt the candy over hot water with. Instead of spending money on something, I macgyvered a ceramic bowl over a small pot. Aside from the constant worry of the bowl shattering, I think it went quite well!

A tip on picking up the "Chinese noodles": my grocery store has them in the "international" section of the store. They are typically referred to as chow mein noodles and would be in a bag. I never want to make any assumptions about these recipes, so I highly considered picking up a variety of other noodles on top of this bag just in case I picked the wrong one. Let me tell you, "Chinese noodles" could mean quite a few things.

No noodle left behind

I am highly confident that I actually picked up regular, unsalted, Spanish peanuts. But the fact that I even found Spanish peanuts at all was a miracle in itself, so I'm taking the win. Once the butterscotch and chocolate bits have melted into a divine brown-gold color, I added it to a plastic bowl where the peanuts and chow mein noodles were patiently waiting. It is important to give an even coating to all the peanuts and noodles, as nobody deserves to feel left out.

I tried to use my fancy new lemon baller tool for this recipe, but the peanuts and noodles were too clunky to fit. So I went back to the stone age and used a regular spoon *big sigh*. I filled up two trays (covered with wax paper, per the instructions) and popped them in the freezer.

The Feedback

Moments before getting devoured

When I was first talking about making this recipe, Roommate Lora stopped dead in her tracks and said "if those are the cookies I am thinking they are, I am calling dibs on at least half the batch." Needless to say, she was a big fan of the cookies. As someone who had never had this type of cookie, I was pretty into them as well. A really solid blend of crunchy and sweet.

The Receipt

CHINESE NEW YEAR COOKIES CC80
Helen Miller+

1 package – 6 oz – chocolate bits
1 package – 6 oz – butterscotch bits
1 can – 3 oz – Chinese noodles
1 can – 7¼ oz – salted Spanish peanuts

Melt chocolate and butterscotch bits over hot water. Mix in noodles and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper. Chill.

4 dozen cookies

Rice Crispy Cookies 7/325

Will the Crispy Rice be ok??

The Relation

This is our first recipe that was submitted by an anonymous contributor, so I haven't the slightest idea of how I am related to them or any fun facts or stories. In lieu of that, I want to thank all of the very supportive members of the Cousin Club who have been reaching out or commenting on my post. I have officially shared the blog with all 453 of you. Keep the support (and feedback) coming!

The Process

I will be honest: I specifically chose this recipe because I got a new toy and I wanted to try it out. After two recipes that required you to drop the dough by teaspoon onto a baking sheet, I'd had enough of trying to estimate a teaspoon-sized dollop. Or using a teaspoon measuring device and having to scoop out the batter from the device. I was at my breaking point. So, I bought a little teaspoon-sized scoop that plops the dough out for you. Technically, it is a half-tablespoon size, but beggars cannot be choosers. 

Fork technique on point

Back to the recipe. These cookies were pretty straight-forward, but again, I was dealing with a type of cookie that I didn't really know what it was supposed to look like as a finished product. Per usual, I assumed the butter/margarine called for should be softened. 

As I was mixing all of the ingredients together, I was oddly anxious about the rice crispies (technically I bought crispy rice, but it's all the same) getting crushed into the dough? It was not a problem whatsoever though.

With my new toy, I was a speed demon getting these bad boys onto cookies sheets. They are very small and don't spread too-too much, so you can get away with about an inch between each cookie. This is crucial because this recipe makes a ton of cookies. I had 5 trays full of cookies and still have half of the batter left. 

In terms of bake time, the recipe suggests 12-15 minutes (a rather large window). At 12 minutes, I checked on them and they looked done - potentially overdone. I sprang into action to get them onto a cooling rack ASAP to prevent further damage. Once they had cooled, they were not bad at all! The next few batches I kept in the oven for 10 minutes just to pay it safe. They all came out delicious.

Left cookies 12 min, right 10 min

The Feedback

Not going to lie here, I think these have been one of the biggest hits. Maybe it's because of their size, but I had multiple people coming up to me at the climbing gym telling me they had between 5-10 cookies. They are definitely a crunchy cookie, not chewy at all. Not my typical preference for a cookie, but they were really delightful. Not too sweet and very light!

The Recipe

RICE KRISPY COOKIES          CC80

Anonymous

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 cup margarine

1 cup oil

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

3½ cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp soda

1 tsp cream of tarter

1 cup oats

1 cup coconut

1 cup Rice Krispies

Mix in order given. Drop by teaspoon on ungreased cookie sheet. Press with fork. Bake at 350° for 12 – 15 minutes.

Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies 5/325

Zean and The Quilt

The Relation

We're continuing the Gerty Gassmann Gold trend strong here. Margie Montzingo (Gertrude>Katharine) is my dad's first cousin and therefore, my first cousin once removed. Her mother is Katharine Gassmann Schaub (better known as Aunt Kay). Now, Aunt Kay is the creator of the oh-so-famous wedding quilt given to my parents for their wedding. It has most, if not all, of the cousin club members' names on it with colored bars to indicate what branch they are from.

The Process

I, Maddy, confess that I had no idea what these cookies were going to look or taste like. The last time I used molasses was in Home Ec class in high school. I remember distinctly that if oil was also an ingredient that needed to be added, you should measure the oil first, as it would help the very sticky molasses slide out of the measuring cup. FYI, this recipe doesn't call for oil. Thanks for nothing, Home Ec.

Peanut Butter or Cookie Batter?

Also, molasses smells odd. Roommate Lora actually asked if I was cooking something with tomatoes in it as I was whipping up these cookies (I told her I was making cookies, to which she asked "with tomatoes in them?"). The molasses gives the batter a rich peanut butter-y color, further confusing me on what these cookies were going to end up looking like.

I chose to use butter instead of shortening and buttermilk instead of yogurt. I did leave the electric mixer going as I prepped all the baking pans. I am no expert baker, but I think this may have affected the texture of the cookies. They ended up wildly puffy and chewy - which in my personal opinion, is not a bad thing.

Harder than it looks

Like any rational human being, I did not add the optional raisins. People who put raisins in cookies should be tarred and feathered. The batter is pretty liquidy (definitely a batter as opposed to a dough) so spooning it onto the baking sheets was pretty tough. I (tried to) use exact teaspoon measurements for each cookie, but it's very hard. So hard that I actually ordered one of those fancy cookie scoops from Amazon while in the midst of this mess.

I baked all of my trays (all four) for exactly 8 minutes. The cookies seemed to be perfect when I took them out. Again, I have no idea what they should look like, but they looked A-okay to me. Better yet, they tasted like gingerbread! This shouldn't be that shocking of a discovery since the recipe does call for ginger, however, I was really worried about how these were going to taste with the odor they were giving off. Makes approximately 50 cookies.

Look at all those air bubbles!

The Feedback

Roommate Lora was a big fan of these cookies. She ate at least an entire trayful as I was still making them. Granted, she hadn't really eaten anything all day, but as someone who doesn't particularly love sweets, I am taking her word as gold. The office gang was similarly pleased, although Office Jordan asked if there was some sort of apple flavor in them (there is not). I will say, they are definitely a cookie with fall and winter type flavors. Perfectly paired with hot cocoa and a toasty fire.

The Recipe

OLD FASHIONED MOLASSES COOKIES - CC80
Margie Montzingo

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat ½ cup butter or shortening until soft. Gradually add ½ cup sugar and blend until light and creamy. Beat in 1 egg and ½ cup molasses. Have ½ cup yogurt or buttermilk ready. Sift 2½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon each cinnamon and ginger, ¼ teaspoon cloves and ¼ teaspoon salt together. Add the sifted ingredients in 3 parts to the sugar mixture alternately with the yogurt or buttermilk. Beat the batter until smooth after each addition. Add ½ cup raisins – optional. Drop the batter from a teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 8– 12 minutes.

Aunt Dot's Oatmeal Cookies 2/325

Aunt Dot's House

The Relation

Aunt Dot, for who this recipe is named after, would be my great-great-aunt. Mary L., who submitted this recipe, would be her daughter, and therefore, my second cousin, twice removed? Who knows. Dot was one of the original 14 kids that the Webers produced. While her sister's (my great-great-grandmother's) descendants wear Gassmann Gold at the family reunions, Dot's descendants wear purple. She lived in a big house, two houses down from where the Henry Gassmanns were brought up.

The Process

Under baked :(

Overall, these are a pretty easy bake. I recommend using softened butter, though the recipe doesn't specifically ask for it. I used my handy dandy electric mixer to cream the sugar and butter (because what sentient life form hand mixes anything these days?). 

The challenges with this recipe start once your dough is mixed. It's a very sticky dough, so getting it onto a spoon and then onto a pan was messy, to say the least. I highly recommend using parchment paper to line your pans (not wax paper... rookie mistake). When the recipe calls for teaspoon-sized drops, it means it! Aunt Dot was not playing around. If you go too big, not only will you end up with fused cookies, but the center will remain gooey - and not the good sort of gooey. Straight up raw.

Over baked :(

The instructions specifically say “Don’t over bake.” A cautionary tale to be sure. These baddies bake fast. After 3 trays to experiment, I had decided that 5 minutes was just right. Only after I threw the last batch in for 5 minutes, they came out underdone. Results inconclusive *big sigh*.

Further experiments were performed at the Weber Mecca (Olney, IL) under the watchful eye of Will (Gertrude>Henry>John). We lowered the temperature to 350° F and increased cooking time to 8 minutes. The results were indeed better, but even more so after Genie (Will's mother, and John's wife), helped us to move all the cookies to a cooling rack immediately out of the oven. No pressure to apply these changes, but I will say that cookies were crisper and evenly baked.

Just right :)

At the end of my baking, I realize that I never added in the nuts (which would have been leftover almonds from the Double Almond Crunch).  To be fair, the recipe technically never calls to add the nuts! Very confusing.

The Feedback

Climbers and family members alike were very fond of these cookies. Their thin and lacey texture received a special mention from both parties. The Henry Gassmann clan consistently referred to them as "Illini Crispies" which they are NOT! Illini Crispies are an altogether different recipe and should not be confused!

AUNT DOT’S OATMEAL COOKIES       CC90

Mary L.

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup – 2 sticks – butter or margarine

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 cup flour

1 tsp soda

½ tsp salt

2 cups “quick cook” oatmeal

½ cup nuts – more or less

Cream brown sugar and butter well. Add vanilla and egg and beat well. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Add oats. Drop by teaspoon on cookie sheet 1– 1½ inch apart. Bake at 375 for 7 – 10 minutes. Don’t over bake.