Unique cookies and fantastic baking tips guaranteed to make your cookies special at holiday time and all year round.
I am a published author, business writer and homemaker with years of experience at baking for the holidays.
I have three beautiful granddaughters who share in my love of baking and always lend a hand in the cookie fun at the holidays. My holiday baking begins with Halloween and lasts through Christmas. Of course, some of recipes can be made anytime of the year.
Sandra Joy Eastman
Work at Home Grandma
Do you know the secret to good cookies is not just following a recipe?
There are many tips and tricks to ensure your cookies are the very best they can be.
My grandchildren always look forward to holiday baking. We've incorporated great recipes to be used all year round.
This handy little recipe book contains old favorites as well as new holiday recipes that will easily become a part of your holiday celebration once you learn the secret of making them perfectly.
There is one recipe in the book that I have never found in any other cookbook. It's a old German cookie recipe that has been passed down through the ages and very few people know how to make.
With Grandma's recipes you will find people fighting over your cookies and begging you to bring them to every party.
Excerpt
Grandma's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Of course, there are the very favorite cookies that are a must for any season. The cookie that comes to mind is my very famous Chocolate Chip Cookie.
It is the one cookie that I think is a favorite for children and adults alike.
I’m sure a great many people remember Mrs. Field’s Cookies which I believe are still around in various parts of the country. Our Minnesota State Fair has the Sweet Martha’s Cookies which garner millions of dollars in profit each year. Years ago, when I worked for an insurance salesman I wondered how come he socialized so much and worked so little. I then discovered his wife was part owner of Sweet Martha’s Cookies. Then it all
fell into place.
My mother’s chocolate chip cookie recipe was one she found on the Pillsbury Flour bag about 40 years ago. I have been making that same recipe for years myself. If I ever have any doubt as to what to bring to a party, it's Grandma’s Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies and they are always a hit. In fact, there is never a one left to bring home.
My son always hates it when I give away the recipe because it is so unique. I’m not worried about it as I won’t ever be a “Mrs. Fields”.
Of course, cookies like anything else require some finesse and improvisation to make them special. Anyone can follow a recipe but there are little things you must know to have the cookies taste like Grandma’s.
Grandma’s Basic Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
1 C Shortening
1 C Granulated Sugar
½ C Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Tsp Vanilla
½ Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Salt
2 Cups Flour
Instructions: Cream shortening and sugar well. Add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients mixing salt and soda with flour before adding to the mix.
Add 8 – 16 oz. bag of chocolate chips either milk, semi-sweet or a mixture.
Drop by rounded teaspoonful on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350-375 for 7 to 10 minutes depending on oven. I bake for 8 minutes; then turn the pan around and bake for two more.
DO NOT OVER BAKE!
Cookies will be slightly brown on bottom but if they are brown on the top you have cooked them too long. Cool slightly and heap several on the large plate; pour yourself a huge glass of milk and ENJOY!
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Reviews for "Easy Holiday Recipes Guaranteed to Work"
"Easy Holiday Cookie Recipes Guaranteed to Work," by Sandra Eastman, is an informal collection of recipes for preparing a small variety of delicious cookies. I particularly liked the author’s back stories, pictures, helpful tips, and cautions.
I would warn all cooks to read through each recipe before preparing. (This is good advice to follow for any cookbook.) In this book in particular, some ingredients were listed in the preparation steps and not at the beginning of the recipe. Another caution is that not all recipes give a true amount of a particular ingredient, i.e., 8-12 ounces of chocolate chips is suggested for Grandma’s Basic Chocolate Chip Cookies. Also, expect a few typos and unconventional cooking abbreviations.
I was especially delighted and surprised by the healthy Santas appearing near the end of Ms. Eastman's book.
Overall, I would say that this book is a good value and contains helpful information, especially for beginning bakers. Readers, be prepared to learned a few baking secrets as well as “the four most important words in baking” as you bake your way through this book.
Well done, Sandra Eastman.
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