Cookies hold treasured holiday memories

Cookies, more than any other sweet treat, embody the holiday spirit. These culinary gems easily accommodate a variety of flavors and ingredients that represent our diverse cultures and traditions.

While other people open the holiday season by bringing out ornaments and garland, I and other passionate bakers, begin the festivities by dusting off our cookie recipe collections. I get a tingle in my heart as I turn the well-worn pages and revisit treasured memories of holidays past.

Earlier this year I rediscovered a box of vintage cookie recipes. Tucked away at the bottom were two holiday cookie recipes from my childhood that I hadn't baked for more than 25 years. What a find!

After devoting years to testing and creating new cookie recipes, my heirloom collection had sadly collected dust on my bookshelf.

Glancing over the recipe titles brought back floods of kitchen memories from long ago. Back then Holiday Rum Balls and Festive Cherry Winks placed high on the required baking list for our party cookie platters.

So this holiday season I decided to resurrect these old favorites. Armed with delicious memories and a few more years of culinary experience, I set out to bake a few old and craft a few new holiday cookie memories. Here's what happened.

Holiday Rum Balls

These treats were my childhood favorites. I loved the chocolate flavors and the interesting unbaked texture. The original recipe called for vanilla wafer crumbs with a touch of ground pecans, highlighted by a splash of rum extract.

One test batch and my adult taste buds craved a more authentic rum flavor. I reduced the amount of water, replaced the extract with spiced dark rum and boosted the amount to 2 tablespoons. This added significant depth to the recipe.

My seasoned taste buds now prefer a darker chocolate taste and hue without the traditional sugar overload. To counter the sweetness, I selected Hershey's special dark cocoa for the deep chocolate flavor and introduced ½ teaspoon of salt.

I rounded out the recipe with a splash of dark corn syrup to add hint of caramel. After allowing the flavors and textures to set a few days, these rum balls pass the taste bud test.

Cherry Winks

You could say this is a tale of two very different cookies. While Holiday Rum Balls reigned as my favorite, Cherry Winks always fell short of my expectations. Years ago I thought this to be the lack of chocolate or the addition of dates, but after a recent taste test, the problem turned out to be the cherries.

My family recipe calls for maraschino cherries; not as the usual adornment but stirred into the batter. While they're great as an eye-popping garnish, maraschino cherries offer little fruit flavor or texture to a cookie recipe.

To give this cookie a modern touch, I replaced the stir-in portion of the maraschinos with dried tart cherries. Re-hydrating the cherries before baking prevents the dried fruit from absorbing too much moisture in the dough.

I also replaced ½ cup of the shortening with unsalted butter to help firm the texture and smooth the flavors. As a bonus, I mixed up the nuts to include savory walnuts and smooth pecans.

Not to worry, I kept maraschino cherries as the festive "wink" on top of the cookies. Now these cookies boast the cherry flavor your taste buds expect from a holiday heirloom cookie.

Try these holiday offerings or dust off your own family's heirloom recipes. It's a gift you'll be giving yourself.

Cherry Winks

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chopped dates, pitted

¼ cup dried cherries

¼ cup hot water

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

¼ cup shortening

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups crushed cornflakes

24 maraschino cherries, halved

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease.

In medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, stir together pecans, walnuts and dates. Set aside.

In small bowl, pour hot water over dried cherries. Set aside for 10 minutes. Drain and reserve cherries, patting dry. Set aside.

In large bowl, beat butter, shortening and sugar until combined, about 1 minute. Add eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Beat 1 minute until smooth. Stir in flour mixture and mix 30 seconds until incorporated. Add chopped nuts, dates and dried cherries. Mix just until combined.

Using small disher or spoon, scoop dough into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball into crushed cornflakes. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on baking sheets and top with half a maraschino cherry. Press down gently.

Bake cookies 14 to 15 minutes; cool 5 minutes on baking pan before transferring to cooling rack. Store at room temperature tightly covered.

Makes 48 cookies.

Baker's hint: For a more caramel flavor, reduce sugar to ½ cup and add ½ cup dark brown sugar.

Nutritional values per serving: 94 calories, 5g fat (2 g saturated fat), 2 g protein, 11 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 14 mg cholesterol, 88 mg sodium.

Holiday Rum Balls

3 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (about 12 ounces), see note

½ cup ground pecans

3 tablespoons Hershey special dark cocoa powder

1 cup confectioners' sugar

3 tablespoons dark corn syrup

3 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons dark rum

Garnish

½ cup confectioners' sugar (sifted)

2 tablespoons ground pecans

2 tablespoons red sanding sugar

In a large mixing bowl, whisk wafer crumbs, ½ cup ground pecans, cocoa powder and 1 cup confectioners' sugar until evenly combined. Set aside.

In a small bowl, stir corn syrup, water and rum until combined. Pour over crumb mixture and stir with fork until evenly absorbed and combined. Gently press together to create dough ball.

Turn dough onto plastic wrap and form into flat disk. Cover with plastic and chill 1 to 2 hours until slightly firm.

In pie plate or flat bowl, stir ½ cup confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons ground pecans and sanding sugar together until evenly combined. Set aside.

Using small scoop or spoon, portion dough into 1-inch balls. Gently roll between palms and roll in garnish sugar. Store balls at room temperature in a tightly covered container, single layer, for 4-7 days before serving.

Makes 36 rum balls.

Baker's hints: Use food processor or blender to crush/grind vanilla wafers into fine crumbs. For a more savory twist, replace ground walnuts for the pecans in the balls and garnish.

Nutritional values per serving: 68 calories, 2 g fat (trace amount saturated fat), 1 g protein, 12 g carbohydrates, trace amount fiber, 3 mg cholesterol, 24 mg sodium.