Christmas Cookies

Peanut Blossoms

Sift Together

• 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt

Cream Together

• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup peanut butter

Gradually Add

• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup packed brown sugar

Add

• 1 unbeaten egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla — beat well

Instructions

1. Sift flour, soda, and salt together; set aside.
2. Cream butter and peanut butter together until smooth.
3. Gradually beat in granulated sugar and brown sugar.
4. Add egg and vanilla; beat well.
5. Blend in the dry ingredients gradually; mix thoroughly.
6. Shape dough into balls using a rounded teaspoon for each. Roll balls in sugar and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake at 375°F for 8 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and press a chocolate kiss candy into the top of each cookie, pressing until it cracks slightly around the edge.
9. Return cookies to the oven for 2–3 minutes to allow the candy to soften.

Transcribed from a handwritten recipe card across two photographs; some words were difficult to read due to wear and creasing, so a few phrasings are best-effort interpretations.

Russian Tea Cookies

Ingredients

• ¾ cup butter
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups walnuts

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugar together.
2. Beat in egg and vanilla.
3. Mix in flour, salt, and walnuts until combined.
4. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.
5. Roll twice in confectioners' sugar.

Card is marked "double" in purple ink beside the bake time — likely a note to double the batch. Transcribed from a handwritten recipe card; a few words were difficult to read due to wear and creasing.

Date Pinwheels

Dough

• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour

Date-Nut Filling

• 1 package dates, cut up
• ½ cup nuts
• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup water

Instructions

1. Cream butter and brown sugar together.
2. Add egg and vanilla.
3. Mix in baking soda, salt, and flour.
4. Chill the dough, then divide into two parts.
5. For the filling, cook the dates, nuts, sugar, and water together on the stove until blended.
6. On a sheet of wax paper topped with another piece of wax paper, roll out the dough.
7. Spread with the date filling.
8. Roll up (using the wax paper to help), and freeze.
9. Cut into slices about ⅓ inch thick.
10. Bake at 350°F for 10–20 minutes. Watch carefully — don't let them get too brown.

Transcribed from the handwritten card with the recipe's owner dictating corrections aloud for accuracy.

BeMa's Brownies

Batter

• 2½ cups flour
• 6 eggs
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup cocoa
• 3 teaspoons vanilla
• 1½ teaspoons salt (marked with a "?" on the card)
• 1½ cups butter
• 1½ cups chopped nuts

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Add eggs one at a time.
3. Add cocoa, flour, and remaining ingredients.
4. Then add nuts.
5. Bake in greased sheet pans at 350°F for 30 minutes.

Two-layer frosting recipe — the 1st frosting is applied and chilled overnight, the 2nd (chocolate) frosting continues on page 2 of the original recipe binder, both included in the appendix.

No Bakes

Combine & Boil

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 stick butter
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ cup cocoa
• dash of salt

Then Add

• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 3 cups quick oats

Instructions

1. Combine sugar, butter, milk, cocoa, and salt. Heat to a full rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
2. Add vanilla, peanut butter, and quick oats.
3. Mix well. Drop onto waxed paper.
4. Add raisins (the card trails off here — reads as an optional add-in).

The last line ("add raisins") is cut off at the bottom of the card — likely an optional mix-in note.

Shortbread

Ingredients

• ¼ lb sweet butter
• ¼ cup confectioners sugar
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 cups flour

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Add flour by hand. Mix just until smooth.
3. Pat into a pie pan.
4. Bake at 325°F for 30 minutes.

A typewritten card — the clearest and most legible of the collection so far.

Fantasy Fudge

Ingredients

• 3 cups sugar
• ¾ cup PARKAY margarine
• ⅔ cup (5⅓ fl oz can) evaporated milk
• 1 (12 oz) package semi-sweet chocolate pieces
• 1 (7 oz) jar KRAFT Marshmallow Creme
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Combine sugar, margarine, and milk in a saucepan; bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
2. Continue boiling 5 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.
3. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate pieces until melted.
4. Add marshmallow creme, nuts, and vanilla; beat until well blended.
5. Pour into a greased 13"×9" pan.
6. Cool at room temperature; cut into squares.

Recognized as the well-known Kraft "Fantasy Fudge" box/label recipe. A few words were cropped off at the photo's edge; those were filled in from the standard published version of this recipe rather than guessed.

Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 7 ounces high-quality dark chocolate (61–70%), finely chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Begin whipping the egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on low speed. As the whites start to look wet and frothy, after about 45 seconds, add cream of tartar and salt and allow it to dissolve with the mixer still on low speed, about 10 seconds.
2. While the whites are still frothy, slowly begin to add the sugar in a steady stream with the mixer on low. Once you've added about ¼ cup of the sugar, increase the speed to medium and continue to gradually add the sugar as the mixer runs.
3. Once all the sugar has been added, increase the speed to high and whisk until the meringue is thick and glossy and holds firm peaks when you lift the whisk out of it, about 4 minutes. If it's not there yet, continue to whip the meringue on high speed at 30 second intervals and test again.
4. Once the meringue is at firm peak stage, spoon a tiny dot of it onto each of the four corners of a baking sheet and press the parchment paper liner down over it. This will anchor the parchment paper.
5. Carefully fold the chocolate into the meringue with a rubber spatula, taking care not to deflate it.
6. Spoon 1½ inch to 2 inch dollops of the meringue mixture onto the baking sheet, spaced one inch apart. Try to shape the meringues with a spoon so they have crags and ridges all over.
7. Bake until the meringues harden on the outside, develop cracks, and are only slightly moist on the inside, about 2 hours (this can vary widely depending on your oven). To test for doneness, remove one meringue, allow to cool at room temperature for 5 minutes, then break open to check texture. The center should only be slightly moist at this point.
8. Allow the meringues to cool on a wire rack. Allow them to cool for at least 1 hour in a dry place before storing them in a container with the lid left only partially on. Moisture and humidity will cause them to melt, so try to use them soon after baking.

A gluten-free recipe. For best results, serve 20 minutes after removing from the oven while the chocolate is still slightly warm. Recipe by Lauren Weisenthal, printed from Serious Eats.

Peanut Butter Balls

Filling

• 2 sticks margarine, melted
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 1 (16 oz) crunchy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 packages graham cracker crumbs

Coating

• 12 oz chocolate chips
• ½ stick paraffin wax

Instructions

1. Combine melted margarine, powdered sugar, peanut butter, vanilla, and graham cracker crumbs.
2. Roll into balls. Refrigerate ½ hour.
3. Melt chocolate chips with paraffin wax (or use sweet chocolate as an alternative).
4. Dip the chilled balls into the melted chocolate coating.

The card notes "use su[gar?]... or sweet[ened] choc[olate]" as an alternative to chocolate chips and paraffin — likely offering a coating option without paraffin wax.

Buckeye Cookies III

Ingredients

• 1½ cups creamy peanut butter
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and confectioners' sugar (mixture will be stiff).
2. Shape into balls and place on a pan covered with wax paper. Refrigerate.
3. In a double boiler, melt chocolate and shortening. Pour into a bowl and dip balls with chocolate. Refrigerate for 30 minutes until the chocolate is firm.

Printed from Allrecipes.com, December 2020. A close cousin to the Peanut Butter Balls recipe (No. 16) — same idea, simpler ingredient list.

Ladyfinger Cookies (revised)

Dough

• 4½ cups flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1½ lb oleo (margarine)
• 3 egg yolks
• 1¾ cups water
• 5 drops yellow food color

Filling

• ¾ cup flour
• 3 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups Crisco
• 2 boxes powdered sugar
• 1 large package Cool Whip

Instructions

1. Mix flour, sugar, and 1½ sticks oleo like pie dough. Mix egg yolks, water, and food color; add to the flour mixture (add more flour if too sticky). Cover and chill one hour.
2. Roll to 18"×18" or larger. Spread 1½ sticks softened oleo over the dough.
3. Fold top down ⅓, bottom up ⅓, then fold sides over. Chill at least 1 hour. Repeat this folding and chilling process until the oleo is gone. Chill overnight.
4. Cut into 8 pieces, working with only one piece at a time (keep the rest refrigerated). Roll and press each piece until 6"×18".
5. Cut into strips and wrap securely around foil-wrapped clothespins.
6. Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then at 375°F for 10 minutes.
7. For the filling: cook together the flour and milk, then cool. Add vanilla, Crisco, and powdered sugar; beat until creamy, about 7 minutes. Fold in the Cool Whip.
8. Fill the cooled ladyfinger shells. Can be frozen.

The original handwritten version of this recipe (on the same "My Favorite Recipe" card series as the Date Pinwheels recipe, No. 3, also dated 11/26/1978) is preserved in the appendix alongside this later typed "revised" version.

Calachi (Barb's)

Dough

• 3 packages dry yeast, dissolved with ½ cup warm water (112°F) for 20 minutes
• 2 cups milk, scalded
• 2 cups sugar
• ½ lb butter
• 7 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 10 cups flour (may need more)

Filling

• 2½–3 lbs walnuts, ground fine
• 20 egg whites
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

1. Cream milk, sugar, and butter together. Add egg yolks, vanilla, and salt.
2. Stir in the yeast mixture.
3. Beat in the flour and salt (using the dough hook) until the dough is shiny but not wet — more flour makes more balls.
4. Let rise until doubled, about 3 hours.
5. Form into 7 balls (thicker dough keeps them from cracking). Roll out and fill with the nut filling.
6. Let rise 1 hour.
7. Mix egg yolks and milk to brush on top of the loaves.
8. Bake two to a cookie tray at 350°F for 20–30 minutes.

One of the family's famous desserts. This card carries handwritten notes added across multiple years (2010, 2012, 2023) as the recipe was refined — preserved here alongside the base recipe.