My Entry for Susanna Hill's 13th Annual Holiday Writing Contest was inspired by my grandmother's Spritz cookie recipe and our tradition of leaving Santa a plate of the BEST cookies from our batch!
When I was little, my mom taught me how to make Spritz cookies using my grandmother's old cookie press. There were all these inserts we could choose from that would squeeze the cookie dough into fun shapes, and my sister and I always loved making the wreaths and the Christmas trees. We would add sprinkles, frosting, chocolate, and other fun toppings, but I always loved the cookies plain, too.
Now that I have two children of my own, I enjoy continuing the tradition with them. My grandmother's cookie press doesn't work anymore, so I bought one from TJ Maxx that's much easier to use but still makes the same shapes my sister and I loved when we were little. My boys love mixing (and tasting) the cookie dough, clicking the handle on the press, and most of all, decorating!
So when I read the guideline's for Susanna Hill's 13th Annual Holiday Writing Contest, I felt inspired to write a cookie story that draws on this tradition and celebrates themes of togetherness and sharing. I'm excited to share my story with you here, and hope you feel inspired to bake some cookies and enter the contest! Entries must be posted on Susanna's blog by 11:59pm EST Friday, December 8th!
My grandmother's Spritz recipe is below (it's the classic Betty Crocker recipe).
Cookies for Santa
By Julie Hauswirth
250 words
FIVE delicious Christmas cookies
set on Santa’s plate.
Ellie made them all herself.
Her recipe is great!
Carefully she’d decorated
every single one
with chocolate sprinkles, peppermint,
and swirly frosting fun.
“Ellie, what a tasty treat!”
Grandma stopped to say,
and took the biggest cookie from
the top of Santa’s tray.
FOUR delicious Christmas cookies:
Santa’s midnight snack!
Plenty to devour as
he empties out his sack.
“Ellie, can I try one, please?”
Asked her sister, Kate.
Ellie let her take her pick
from Santa’s special plate.
THREE delicious Christmas cookies
Santa Claus could munch
placed beside some carrots for
the reindeer team to crunch.
“Hey, no fair! You have to share!”
Complained her brother, Drew.
Ellie, with an open heart,
gave him a cookie, too.
TWO delicious Christmas cookies
might be just enough
to fill a hungry Santa Claus
with stockings still to stuff.
Then Mittens broke an ornament!
The tree fell over- CRASH!
Ellie gave her frazzled mom
one treat from Santa’s stash.
ONE delicious cookie left
for Santa when he comes…
but Ellie’s puppy got there first-
all he left were CRUMBS!
Christmas Eve felt ruined now.
Ellie shed a tear.
The quiet sound of jingle bells
meant Santa’s sleigh was near!
From the chimney he appeared
and chuckled, “Ho, Ho, Ho!”
He placed the gifts beside the tree,
then winked and turned to go.
But Santa said to Ellie as
he set off to depart:
“It matters not what’s on the plate,
but what’s inside your heart.”
Classic Spritz Cookies
For this recipe, you'll need a cookie press. I found mine at TJ Maxx!
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 375°F.
Mix the butter and sugar in large bowl. You can use an electric mixer, but I prefer doing this by hand.
Slowly add in flour and mix gently.
Add salt, egg, almond extract. If you want to add food coloring, this is the time to do it!
Spoon the dough into the cookie press.
Bake for 9-10 minutes, until they are *just* golden but not brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.
Decorate as desired!
This is the sweetest Christmas story! Thanks for sharing your recipe too!
I absolutely adore your entry, Julie!! Good luck in the contest!
-Andi
Great job, Julie. Thanks for sharing. I love cookies!