Maw Maw Ambrose's Christmas Cookies

This recipe is one of those that I can still smell and taste when I close my eyes and think back to being in my grandparents house. It could have been lost forever if I hadn't had the forethought to call my grandma and ask for it right after Thanksgiving in 2014. Right on time, as Maw Maw usually was, on December 11th, 2014, it arrived. Handwritten and on a Dixie Blueprinting Services "Things to do today" piece of notepad paper. I still have the stamped envelope and all! When it arrived, I held it up and gleefully said, "Finally, I've got it in my little hands, never to be forgotten!" But since she passed away in April of 2017, it means so much more. It means parts of her remain with me not just in my mind but in an 8.5"x 5.5" sheet of blue lined paper. Her handwriting was always beautiful to me even as she aged (photo included below).

As told by my mother, this recipe comes from my Paw Paw's mother, Nelli Mae Brizendine Ambrose. This recipe has no "serving size" but it makes a BUNCH. In fact, in her letter she says this recipe is half of the original recipe. Oh, when you go to add the baking soda, be ready for some quick action rising! Make sure you use a large bowl when you begin with the lard and molasses section of the recipe (as if the volume of each ingredient didn't give that away).

And I present to you, a family legend.......the Lebkuchen "Lep" cookie!

Mix together in a bowl:

2 Tbsp nutmeg

1/2 cup allspice

1/2 cup cinnamon

Set aside......

Mix together in a separate bowl:

4 cups lard (mash it down and whip it a bit to make sure it is smooth)

1/2 gallon molasses (mix together using a blender until smooth)

1/2 cup baking soda

1 Tbsp salt

1/2 gallon buttermilk

1 cup sweet milk (sweet condensed milk)

1 lb raisins

Stir in the nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon. Stir in 1 quart of nuts (either pecans or walnuts, chopped) and 1 lbs. gumdrops (cut in pieces). If you don't like gumdrops, you can leave them out. Once everything is incorporated, set the mixture in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, heat your oven to 350 degrees and start adding all-purpose flour to the mixture a little at a time enough to make a sticky dough. Keep adding flour and slowly mixing until you reach the "sticky dough" consistency. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut them using a biscuit cutter or glass jar. Bake until they are "light brown" or start with 10-12 minutes (which is average baking time for these types of cookies). You can also just use a cookie scoop and scoop them out, shape them in a ball with your hands and place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet. But her way was the way I remember the most.

Make sure they are cold before putting them in a large cookie or cake tin (yes, you read that right, tins!). That was perhaps the most memorable part of this whole cookie experience. Keep the tins in a cool dark place for about a month to soften. You can eat them after a day or two but the cookies (less than a month old) will be a bit dense and heavy; perfect with a cup of coffee! For whatever reason, the longer they were in those cookie tins, the better they tasted. And the smell once you took the lid off, INCREDIBLE!!

My advice to everyone right now would be, get those family recipes before they are gone forever. Sure, most of our grandparents and great-grandparents cooked with no measurements so it can be hard. But, don't let that prevent you from getting them and playing around with the recipe until you know it's right. Because when you know, you know!

This is a picture of my Great Grandpa Ambrose, Great Grandma Nellie Mae Ambrose and my Paw Paw, Norman Ambrose in 1930. The picture and information provided by my mother, Zaundra Sue Ambrose Pattillo.