Snickerdoodles

1-1/2 cups sugar 1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened 1/2 cup shortening 2 eggs 2-3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons sugar 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups sugar, margarine, shortening, and eggs. Beat together until smooth and well blended. Add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Blend well. Shape dough into small balls about the size of a walnut. Mix 3 tablespoons sugar with cinnamon and roll each ball in the mixture. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes until cookie is set and lightly browned at the edges. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on a rack. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Old Time Ginger Snaps

1 cup molasses 1/2 cup butter 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 to 2 teaspoons ginger 1-1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 3-1/4 cups flour

Directions:
Sift dry ingredients together and set aside. Heat molasses to the boiling point in a heavy saucepan. Add 1/2 cup butter and stir until melted. Add dry ingredients a little at a time, stirring until well blended. (Mixture will become stiff.) Shape dough into a roll and chill. Cut into thin slices and bake on a lightly greased sheet at 350° F. Store in a tightly covered container.

Notes:
My mother Doris Hill collected this recipe for old-fashioned gingersnaps and hand-wrote it on a card for her recipe files. I think the Fannie Farmer Cookbook Gingerbread Cookie recipe has a few more spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg), but it's very similar.

Cinnamon Triangle Cookies

3 cups flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup shortening 1/2 cup sugar 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water 1/2 teaspoon anise (optional) 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon cinnamon Milk

Directions:
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening. Blend well, until mixture resembles coarse flour. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, stirring to combine. Add water a bit at a time (and anise, if desired,) stirring well. Chill dough. Working with half of the dough at a time, roll 1/8" thick and cut with a sharp knife into triangles about 2 inches high. In a small bowl, stir 1/2 cup cinnamon and 1 tablespoon cinnamon together. Brush each cookie lightly with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture. Bake at 400°, 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned

Notes:
My mother Doris Hill collected this recipe. She notes that this is a Spanish recipe.

Crackled Gingersnap Cookies

3/4 cup soft butter 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/4 cup dark molasses 1 egg 2-1/4 cups sifted flour

1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves Sugar

Directions:
Cream butter and brown sugar together; add molasses and egg. Beat thoroughly. Sift dry ingredients together and stir into the molasses mixture. Shape the dough into a flattened ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it for one hour. Then shape the chilled dough into balls the size of walnuts and place them on a greased cookie sheet about two inches apart. Flatten the bottom of each ball with the bottom of a greased drinking glass which has been dipped in sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Ginger Bread

3/4 cup margarine 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 cup dark molasses

1 teaspoon ginger 1 teaspoon powdered cloves 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon soda 3 cups flour

Directions:
Blend margarine and sugar. Stir in eggs and molasses. Sift remaining ingredients together, and add to molasses mixture, mixing well. Coat an 8x8" baking pan with cooking spray. Spread batter into baking pan and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until gingerbread tests done.

Notes:
This recipe was collected by my mother, Doris Hill. She wrote it by hand on a recipe card for her files.

Spicy Apple Bars

1/2 cup shortening 1 cup sugar 2 unbeaten eggs 1 cup sifted flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon cocoa

1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon cloves 1 cup rolled oats 1-1/2 cups diced pared apples 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Sift dry ingredientstogether and add to creamed mixture. Stir in oats, apples, and walnuts. Spread into a greased 9x13-inch pan. Bake for about 25 minutes. Cool for five minutes and cut into bars. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Notes:
From my mother's recipe files.