As Christmas approaches, it becomes a busy time in Bella Vista. Folks entertain their friends, families gather and food becomes an integral part of everything we do -- especially Christmas cookies.
I was amazed to learn that the history of the Christmas cookie goes back 10,000 years when Neolithic farmers created a food from grain and a water paste, which they cooked on hot stones.
The actual cookie has a European beginning and varies according to country. Gingerbread was probably the first cookie associated with Christmas, but by 1500, the concept had spread all over Europe. Some of the earliest were Lebkuchen or buttery spritz, Popparkakor, a spicy ginger delight, and Krumkake, a thin lemon and cardamom wafer. Recipe books from the Renaissance period included lots of cookies.
In America, a cookie is described as a small, thin sweet cake, and it can be any of a variety of hand-held flour-based products, and either crisp or soft. While we call them cookies, in England and Australia they are known as biscuits, in Spain as galletas, in Germany as keks or Platzchen. The name "cookie" actually comes from the Dutch koekie, which means small or little cake.
Culinary historians will tell you the first cookies were actually test cakes. A small amount of cake batter was baked to test the oven temperature.
Whatever their history, cookies are now a part of every Christmas. We bake them, buy them, exchange them, give them as gifts and enjoy them, and we all have our favorites.
For me, how they look is as important as how they taste, and I have a hard time passing up the pretty pastel and bright holiday offerings at the local grocery stores. My husband grew up with a plain, undecorated refrigerator cookie as one of his favorites. To me, it just didn't look like a Christmas cookie, so I seldom made them for the holidays.
When it comes to baking my own, it's the taste that counts. However, I don't bake them much anymore since my husband has been diagnosed as a Type II diabetic and I am trying to lose weight. I do have my favorites, which I have already used in this column. However, my husband's former employer puts out a Christmas cookie book every December, and I can always find a new one that would be fun to try.
My choice for this year is called Caribbean Coco-Almond bars. It is from the chefs of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and sounds very tasty.
Caribbean
Coco-Almond Bars
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
Additional butter for greasing the pan
3/4 cup finely chopped toasted almonds
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 cup sliced almonds
Coconut filling:
1 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons dark rum
1/4 teaspoon salt
Chocolate mixture:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line an 8-inch square pan with foil. Grease with butter and set aside.
3. In food processor, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, allspice and salt. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Add almonds and rum, and pulse until just combined.
5. Press into prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Cool slightly on wire rack. Spread coconut filling over still-warm crust. Return to oven and bake until edges are golden, about 15 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack. Pour chocolate mixture over filling and sprinkle with coconut.
7. Refrigerate four hours or overnight. Cut into bars. Makes 16 pieces.
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Burgess has been a Bella Vista resident since 1995. She and her husband, Bruce, are avid cooks. The opinions expressed in this column don't necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper.
Community on 12/17/2014