Monday, December 5, 2011

Life This Week: December 5, 1938 and Visions of Sugarplums



My regular readers (hi, guys!) know all about "Life This Week," but if you're visiting from Visions of Sugarplums (more about that later), first, welcome to my blog. Second, "Life This Week" has been a regular Monday feature on The Past on a Plate for most of this year. I post when the issue for the corresponding week in 1938 has an interesting movie reviewed in it or features an interesting recipe, sometimes both! You can visit this week's issue by clicking the graphic above.

Chocolate Kriss Kringle Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ( plus extra for rolling)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
sprinkles, to decorate

Cream together the butter and sugar then beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the melted chocolate.

Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon with the first 1/2 cup of flour.

Wrap the dough in waxed paper or plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll out the dough (you'll probably need to roll it out in batches, say 1/3 at a time) on a floured surface to 1/8" thickness and cut out with cookie cutters. Decorate with sprinkles.

Bake 5 to 8 minutes on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking sheet or parchment. When the cookies just start to brown around the edges, they're ready. Let them cool on a wire rack.

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Adapted from a Baker's Chocolate ad from 1938.


Print at Food52
Print at Food.com


See? I let "hubby" help. He doesn't like being called that, though. He prefers "Paul." One note: the original recipe doesn't specify when to apply the sprinkles. I thought the cookies would be warm enough when they got out of the oven for the sprinkles to stick. Not really. So--I've instructed you to put the sprinkles on before baking in the instructions.

I know it's not Christmas-y, but Paul and I listened to Glenn Miller while enjoying our Kriss Kringle Cookies. I've got a former jazz trombone player in my house, so he's always "In the Mood" for Glenn Miller! Here are some of our favorites (at least the ones I was able to find on Grooveshark).

Glenn Miller by Lauren Hairston on Grooveshark

*****


For more info, click on the graphic, above. Be sure to check out today's bloggers:

My mom, Lori Hairston
Mika at Mika's Pantry
Jennifer at Just Wedeminute

15 comments:

  1. Love the ad and the pictures! The cookies sound so yummy!

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  2. I love the look of these, and your photos too! I was thinking of making some Christmas biscuits (or cookies in US lingo!) soon and may well try this recipe for a change! (will let you know if I do)

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  3. I just love how you are bringing back all the old recipes! They look amazing and I can't wait to try them with Bay and the boys! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Ahhh.. How sweet your photos are.. Hubby helps me in the kitchen also.. Those cookies looks so yummy. So glad to pop in and meet you!!

    Hugs, Linda

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  5. I was just telling Mika how scrumptious her recipe looked, but when I look at your cookies, goodness, these are mouthwatering! And in such lovely shapes, too! Glad to see your husband loves to work with you in the kitchen, I'm one of those fortunate girls, too, we never argue but if we do it's about who's allowed to prepare dinner for the evening, lol!

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  6. How fun! I love the vintage ads, 'see Pintrest board'. Looks like you and hubby had fun, I like your playlist too!

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  7. I don't know what's cuter you and your 'hubby' or those cookies! x

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  8. How fun! These sound really good, Im always up for chocolate. This is a neat series you've got going on here!

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  9. Jennifer from Just WedeminuteDecember 5, 2011 at 11:55 PM

    I love to bake and have never made these, can't wait to try them out! I just got a new Kitchen Aide mixer so I need an excuse to use it, I think these fit the ticket perfectly!

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  10. Oh, how pretty! Love all the clothes and hair. I'm always amused at how in older period piece movies, the women's hair are more or less done in the style of the (modern) time they're filming in. Its like no one thought "well, perhaps they wouldnt have fingerwaves/a beehive/ tons of hairspray back in this time" lol. I think your pudding looks so yummy too!~

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  11. My husband doesn't like being called hubby either, so he appears as D on my blog. Its so nice to see your man on your blog, as well as in the kitchen.

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  12. The cinnamon in these makes them especially suited for Christmas. If you get a chance to try them, I hope they work as well for you as they did for us!

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  13. I'm always in charge of dinner, but Paul is an excellent sous-chef and dishwasher!

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  14. These are sooo yummy! I made a trial batch as I am trying to find a good cookie recipe for Christmas. These are by far the best of the recipes I've tried so far. Thanks for sharing!! :)

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  15. Thanks so much for letting me know! I'm very glad you liked them.

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