Auntie Mae's Christmas (and Solstice, too) Cookies

Being an Instructable on the topic of baking, in which the secret holiday cookie recipe created by RavingWife's distant ancestor "Auntie Mae" is divulged for the whole internet to see. And there was much rejoicing.

Seriously, this is the best cookie ever. Make some.

Step 1 You Will Need

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (aka 2 sticks or 1/2 pound) unsalted butter
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda (not baking powder)
1 cup crushed pineapple - drained
1 cup maraschino cherries - drained and chopped
1/2 cup green candied cherries
1 cup nuts - slivered almonds work very well
1/2 cup amarretto liqueur (optional)
1 cup raisins, figs, or other dried fruit (optional)

NOTE: This is a very forgiving recipe. Feel free to adjust amounts and ingredients to suit your own tastes. More or fewer cherries, different nuts, another kind of liquor - go crazy. It'll turn out fine.

 

Comments

[AngryRedhead]

OMG!  You and your son are so adorable!  These cookies look delish!

DeKuyper makes the best generic liqueurs in my opinion, and with liqueur, it's rarely necessary to go top shelf unless it's one of the very few ingredients, again, in my opinion.

I'd probably use dried cherries and pineapple for the texture, but I still love the recipe!  Good job!

 

[RavingMadStudios]

Thanks! They are addictive cookies. I'm not sure why, but everybody seems to love them more than one would expect just from the recipe on paper.
I'm totally with you on the liqueur thing. No reason to use the high-end stuff except in very specific applications like those frou-frou layered drinks. For cookies, the cheap stuff works just fine.
If you decide to try this, I'd recommend keeping the crushed pineapple in addition to the dried. It seems to help bind the batter, and adds an interesting texture of its own.

[AngryRedhead]

Ah ha!  Good to know!

 

[RavingMadStudios]

Now that you mention it, I was at the grocery store the other day and I noticed that they were selling these big tubs full of mixed candied fruit. "Fruitcake Fruit Blend" I think it was called, in a stunning display of redundancy. Two kinds of cherries, pineapple, maybe dates or raisins, too.
I thought something like that would be a great thing to try in the cookies, mostly 'cuz it's already chopped up and so I wouldn't have to wash the food processor.
RavingWife, being something more of a Auntie Mae Cookie traditionalist than yours truly, vetoed the idea. But she won't always be at the store with me.... BWAHhahahahaha!!! (I'm working on my evil laugh).

[AngryRedhead]

Well, you could always say you're making a different recipe, which is sorta true.  I can understand the traditionalists because when you expect something to be one way, it always tastes bad when it doesn't taste that same way - it doesn't matter whether or not it would taste good if you hadn't had those expectations.  Like having a hamburger in Italy.  Not good.

So call it something other than Auntie Mae's Cookies.  ; )

 

[RavingMadStudios]

Maybe Anti-Mae's cookies?

[AngryRedhead]

It would certain be a punny name for it.