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Monday, December 16, 2019
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Christmas Cookies From Around The World
BETWEEN
THE ROWS
WENDY SCHMIDT
Catalogs
remind us
that spring
will come
Last week I received three seed
catalogs. The seed companies know
that in spite of global warming and all
the politics in the world, spring will
come again. Seed catalogs to me mean
there’s reason to have hope in the
future.
Spring is one of the certainties we
can count on. There are a lot of other
certainties. For instance: If I buy an-
other book on organizing and cleaning
my house, it’s certain that I will live
in a house of whimsical chaos every
day of my life. I always hope that even
in the midst of chaos, cleanliness can
sometimes prevail.
The beautiful pictures in the seed
catalogs are supposed to make me
want too many things. I’m learning
to exercise a bit of caution and think
of the limited space in my small yard.
I’m not always as wise as I wish, but
ordering seeds is less expensive than
ordering plants or buying them at a
nursery.
When the ground is covered in
snow, the house cats can’t fi nd any of
the grass they usually snack on, so it
is now kitty grass season. Buy wheat
seeds at a health food store and start a
tablespoon of them growing, Soak them
fi rst for 24 to 48 hours, then when you
see signs of sprouting, plant them in
a plastic cup of damp potting mix. In
no time you will have your own kitty
grass.
Be sure to order seeds early. Some
are limited in supply, and if you’re
starting them yourself, you need to
have seeds on hand so you can plant
them in little cups by the end of March.
(Peas can be planted outside in March
or April. They get sown directly into
the ground.)
Garden chores
• On cold nights, move houseplants
back from icy windows to prevent chill-
ing injury.
• Overwintering geraniums like
bright light and cool temperatures.
Keep soil on the dry side.
• Be sure newly purchased plants
are well-protected on their trip home.
Exposure to icy temperature for even a
few moments can cause injury.
Holiday poinsettia basics
• Keep away from drafts, furnace
registers and radiators.
• Night temperatures in the 50s to
low 60s, and days at around 70 degrees.
• The soil should dry only slightly
between watering. Discard the drain-
age.
• Be sure to punch holes in the
decorative foil wrap to prevent soggy
conditions.
If you have garden questions or com-
ments, please write to greengardencol-
umn@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading!
Hillary Levin//St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS
Christmas Mailanderli.
S HEET T REATS
By Daniel Neman
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
I know a woman whose family always left out
a shot of whiskey for Santa, along with cookies.
In the morning, the glass would be drained, and
there would be cookie crumbs on the plate.
The booze, instead of the more traditional
glass of milk, may say more about her father
than the actual Santa Claus. But the important
part of this story, for our current purposes, is the
cookies.
Cookies are as much a part of Christmas
as candles and caroling. They are the gift that
everyone loves, the holiday snack supreme.
In many respects, they are the reason for the
season.
And it is not just in America, by any means.
In other parts of the world, too, Christmas
cookies are as part of the holiday tradition as
whiskey is in certain neighborhoods of Chicago.
So this year, I decided to make holiday cook-
ies from around the globe. To be honest, most
of them come from Europe, because many of
the best cookies come from there. One batch
was from New Mexico, because they seemed so
intriguing. And after all, New Mexico is part of
the globe.
I’ll start with the New Mexico cookies fi rst.
They are called Biscochitos, and they are liter-
ally the state cookie of New Mexico. In the Land
of Enchantment (which is to say New Mexico),
they are typically served for big occasions and
especially for the holidays.
They turned out to be every bit as delicious
as I had hoped from the description: they are
crispy shortbread cookies infused with the
fl avors of anise and orange, and topped with a
sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.
There is, however, one thing about them that
gave me pause: Traditionally, they are made
with lard.
Hillary Levin//St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS
Finnish Christmas pinwheels (Joulutorttu)
I just couldn’t do it. Lard cookies somehow
seem ... wrong. So instead I used shortening,
which is widely recommended as the second-
best fat for biscochitos. It worked great, and
the cookies turned out every bit as crisp as you
could want them.
I next turned to Finland to make Joulutorttu,
which are Finnish Christmas pinwheels with a
dollop of prune jam in the middle of each one.
I know: A lot of people are vaguely repelled
by the idea of prune jam. But the stuff is quite
good, and if you don’t want to buy it at a store, it
is ridiculously easy to make yourself.
Still, if the idea of prune jam leaves you feel-
ing clogged, you can always use raspberry jam.
In fact, I’d recommend it if that is what gets you
to try Joulutorttu.
These cookies begin with the softest dough
I’ve ever felt. That is because they are not only
made with fl our, butter and a little baking soda,
but also whipped cream.
Not whipping cream. Whipped cream.
The dough is folded over on itself a few times,
too, like puff pastry. The result is a cookie that
is almost like pastry in both taste and texture,
marvelously fl aky and not too sweet. And it’s all
topped off with prune jam. Or raspberry, if you
insist.
See Cookies/Page 2B
HOME PANFORTE
A Tuscan Christmas
the ancient date- and nut-
based confection popular in
Christmas in Tuscany
different forms in several
would not be complete
Middle Eastern countries
without a slice of panforte — to this day, brought back to
the peppery, dried fruit and
Tuscany by medieval-era
nut-based spice cake born in crusaders. According to local
the central Tuscan hill town lore, Sienese soldiers won the
of Siena in the Middle Ages
Battle of Montaperti against
— served with a glass of vin their rivals, the Florentines,
santo, a sweet Italian dessert in 1260, thanks in part to the
wine.
spiced treat, which is not only
Several legendary origin
packed with protein-powered
stories surround panforte.
energy but also travels well.
Some culinary historians
In Siena, the cake was
believe it was inspired by
once considered a cure for a
lokum, aka Turkish delight, variety of ailments and was
By Amy Bizzarri
Chicago Tribune
originally prepared by spice
merchants, the pharmacists
of the Middle Ages. The
traditional recipe calls for
17 ingredients, one for each
contrada, or neighborhood,
of Siena (the same contrade
that compete against one
another in the palio, a pas-
sionate horse race held in the
heart of the city, Piazza del
Campo, twice every summer
since 1633, with just one
pause during the two World
Wars).
Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune-TNS
The secret to making exceptional panforte is to use high quality ingredients, including
See Tuscan/Page 3B freshly ground spices; organic, farm fresh nuts and dried fruits; and a top-notch honey.