Many of us get baking this time of year, and though I don't make 20 different kinds of cookies, fudge and candies like my mom did when I was a child, there are still a couple staples that come out of our kitchen each year:
• Gingerbread men -- Alex loves to decorate these little men, and who can blame him? Besides, I love the taste of molasses and spice and admittedly have eaten far too many of these for breakfast this year alongside a hot cup of coffee or tea.
• Sugar cookies: Scott likes them paper thin and a little burnt, and Scott's Aunt Lorna -- if you are reading this -- he prefers your sugar cookies to the recipe I have, so please, please share. He was also sorely disappointed that this year we had difficulty finding the little silver candle ball sprinkles to decorate the cookies with. I, myself, was perfectly content with a few round cookies frosted green with red, white and green sprinkles.
• Bird turds -- Nick's favorite; little raspberry flavored meringues with mini chocolate chips. Much too sweet for my taste, but admittedly, they taste much better than their name would infer.
• Shortbread -- I make shortbread for Scott's dad and myself every year. I found a fail safe recipe a few years back that you make in a round cake pan and slice into triangles. This sweet treat is another one I love with coffee, tea, cocoa or, oh yes, a lovely iced Irish Cream.
I must say I don't know how my mother and before her, her mother, found the time to make what was seemingly hundreds of cookies each year, as the simple four recipes I make seem to take up the better part of a couple days. But, there's something about even making a few cookies that make the holidays so much sweeter in so many ways.
Amy L. Schubert is a 15-year veteran of the hospitality industry and has worked in every aspect of bar and restaurant operations. A graduate of Marquette University (B.A.-Writing Intensive English, 1997) and UW-Milwaukee (M.A.-Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Writing, 2001), Amy still occasionally moonlights as a guest bartender and she mixes a mean martini.
The restaurant business seems to be in Amy’s blood, and she prides herself in researching and experimenting with culinary combinations and cooking techniques in her own kitchen as well as in friends’ restaurants. Both she and her husband, Scott, are avid cooks and “wine heads,” and love to entertain friends, family and neighbors as frequently as possible.
Amy and Scott live with their boys, Alex and Nick, in Bay View, where they are all very active in the community. Amy finds great pleasure in sharing her knowledge and passions for food and writing in her contributions to OnMilwaukee.com.
