Memories of My Sister's Baking - and she's still at it!

This is from yesterday's SeriousEats.com and I thought the photo was adorable and had to share it all with you. My sister made Russian Teacakes...and we often get on the phone and share with each other what holiday treats we're making each year and it is a rare Christmas indeed that I don't make these...maybe I'll try them in another shape with some little additions to make them just this cute.



Mexican wedding cakes, snowballs, kourambiedes, Armenian sugar cookies, Viennese crescents, sand tarts, Russian teacakes—as varied as this international sampler of cookies may sound, they really do amount to basically the same thing: a buttery, usually nutty, melt-in-your mouth treat, liberally coated with confectioners' sugar.

But my favorite variation? Moldy Mice Cookies, a buttery pecan cookie smothered in confectioners' sugar, which to the best of my knowledge first cropped up under this name in a 1950 Junior League cookbook entitled Charleston Receipts.

So what's with the name?

I have two theories: first, if you squint really hard at the cookies, they sort of resemble tiny mice covered with mold. Second (my favored theory), it's a clever deterrent technique employed by bakers who want to hoard the cookies for themselves. I wouldn't blame them: these rich, tender cookies are simply delectable.

Moldy Mice Cookies
- makes about 3 dozen cookies -
Adapted from Charleston Receipts.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour, sifted
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
sifted confectioners' sugar for coating, to taste

Procedure
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Note: I've actually revised the original recipe a bit, adjusting the temperature from the suggested 425°F for 15 minutes to 350°F for 17-19 minutes; I found that this yielded a softer, more delicate cookie.

2. Beat sugar and butter until it becomes fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated. Combine nuts and flour; mix well then add it to the butter mix little by little, until incorporated (don't overmix!).

3. Shape dough by hand into little oval-shaped nuggets about the size of your thumb. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges. Let cool on sheet for about 2 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool for about 30 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar. If not served immediately, then dust the cookies in more confectioners' sugar and tap off excess directly before serving.

About the author: Jessie Oleson is a Seattle-based writer, illustrator, and cake anthropologist who runs Cakespy, an award-winning dessert website.

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Tags: A Cookie a Day 2009, Cakespy, cookies, desserts, holiday sweets, nuts, pecans

Sister Stuff

My sister is one of the best cooks I know and a woman who can bake anyone under the table with her delicious homemade goodies at holiday time. There are some signature dishes she makes that when we get together, she has to make them for me.

Kath is in Maine and I am in Pennsylvania, so we don’t get together as often as we ought or want to, considering we are the only siblings in our family of deceased parents. We share a father and have different mothers. She looks exactly like her mother (who died before Kath was a year old) and I look just like mine. We both have our father’s sense of humor, which seemed to help us survive some very difficult times over the years.

Mom and Dad married when Kath was about 8 years old, so there’s quite a difference in age, but you’d never, ever know it.

My mother wasn’t terrifically enthusiastic about cooking, but her mother was and took my sister under her wing and showed her some tricks. Along with her high school home economics classes (yup, we’re so old we can remember them) and Grandmom, she turned into quite the capable cook.

Kath has quite the repertoire of dishes…let me see if I can list them here…

Spaghetti – made with homemade tomato gravy
Jewish Apple Cake
Creamed Cabbage
Beer Bread
Pizzelles
Baked Beans
Thumbprint cookies
Kilbasa and Sauerkraut
Conga Bars
Fried Chicken
Meatball sandwiches
Chicken Salad
Fried Cabbage and Noodles
Macaroni Salad
Potato Salad
Broccoli Casserole
Did I mention Jewish Apple Cake?
Cheese cake --- she could go into business and retire in a year with this recipe!
Russian Tea Cakes
Apple Pie
Summer Squash Casserole
Meat pies
Lobster rolls


She is always making something when I call or just made something in the past week for someone’s birthday party, baby or bridal shower or someone’s funeral. Kath loves to cook and bake for others.

Food is not only part of our culture as a people, but for many of us, it’s a display of love and affection for those around us. Do something nice for me and I’ll cook you dinner to show my appreciation. Holidays are the times to be with loved ones and food is just one way of expressing love. I don’t bring lots of food to a gathering to show off my talents. I bring it to share what I love with those I love. My sister is the same way and how I appreciate getting together with her!

As a cook myself, it is hard to not cook for her when we visit one another, but she wants to make the meals…starting with breakfast and while we’re eating that, she’s planning what to have for lunch or if we’re going out that day, we’ll eat out, so we discuss the items we need for dinner. I have to slow her down, but with her energy it can be hard. When she’s on the prowl for something yummy, there’s no stopping her.

I often think I’d like to go into business with her and open a small breakfast/lunch place up in Maine. She’s a hard worker and takes an almost severe sense of pride in her cooking and baking talents. We could clean up, that’s for sure! Her with the cooking and baking, I with my marketing experience and my restaurant/cooking background, we could have a grand time and really enjoy being with one another.

I just know Maine would be so much the better for it!