Sugar Cookies of Legend

Sugar Cookies of Legend

"Famous Helen Taylor Sugar Cookies" is not an exaggeration. She'd scoff at that title, but it's the absolute truth and if you were ever lucky enough to put one of these beautiful morsels in your mouth, you're probably shaking your head in agreement right now. If you never had the pleasure, I'm sincerely sorry you missed out.

My Grandma was not a woman of worldly weatlh or valuable possessions - she lived a simple, humble life but she was wealthier than any other person I've known simply by the good she did in this world. I couldn't tell you how many times she went without just so someone else could have something. It's just who she was. She grew up in a different time when you didn't waste things, you shared your bounty, you genuinely cared for others, you made do with what you had and you were content. She never had a lot to give people (materialistically) but she always gave of herself. One of the greatest gifts she shared was her cooking and baking. She was a wizard in the kitchen and she loved being able to share those gifts.

Growing up, I can honestly say that every single teacher or school bus driver I ever had (even the ones I didn't care for) got a tray of goodies at Christmas. Her doctors, their entire staffs and her pharmacist got treats. The propane delivery man got treats (and could often be found taking a break from his deliveries at her kitchen table with cookies and a cup of coffee). Every member of her family got treats - they looked forward to those big boxes showing up at Christmas from Aunt Helen. None of my friends ever went hungry because of her. If she knew you, you were likely on that list of Christmas goodie recipients! She was that person.

I mentioned the "Aunt Helen Boxes"...oh those were a chore! A chore that she loved desperately. She would start her Christmas Baking in October, package the goodies up in bags and carefully tuck away in her freezer until assembly day came. A few days before the boxing happened, the popcorn popping would start. Bags and bags and bags of popcorn filled her house! When the time came to box, it was an assembly line but she double-checked every step of the line. She wasn't just making and shipping treats - she knew the families. This family preferred Sugar Cookies with crispy edges so they get the odd shaped ones not round, this one likes nuts in their Fruitcake so don't send them without, this one didn't like the nuts in the Divinity, this one liked darker Ranger Cookies...and on and on. Those boxes were personalized, packed to her specifications, filled with loose popcorn to protect the goods in shipping and sealed up with love. She passed away on Halloween, but had already started her Christmas baking the year we lost her. That was a difficult find in her freezer, but resulted in a beautiful Christmas Story that I'll share at a later time.

Everyone loved those Sugar Cookies and that's what they think of when they think of her. Don't be fooled - she shared that recipe. Kind of. Sorta. She didn't measure things - it was done by feel, touch, sight and taste. She just knew when it was right. Getting that into shareable recipe form was a challenge, at best! She'd estimate as best she could, but no one could ever duplicate them. Her cookies are about so much more than the recipe - it really is in the technique. I have an Aunt that lived with Ganna for awhile and learned at the side of the Master who can get pretty close. I can get pretty close. No one can replicate them exactly though. I've worked and reworked her recipe to get as close to her hand as I can and I've reworked it so it's more user-friendly. (Translation: it's crazy difficult to roll this dough without overworking it so there are instructions for drop cookies in the attached recipe.)

Call me superstitious if you must, but every time I make them I use her big yellow bowl, I cover it with plastic wrap and a towel and put in the fridge just like she did. Sometimes I even leave a large spoon in the middle of the dough. (She used to do that so my Mom could sneak in her back door and eat a spoonful of it! According to Mom, that's a necessity to make sure they turn out right.) I struggle with the dough sometimes, I get frustrated. I have shed many, many tears trying to get it right and longing for her helping hands to guide mine. I have also been able to share that recipe and even rolling the dough out with my kids, her great grandsons who never knew her but are growing up knowing about her. I have no doubt in my mind, she has watched from on high those moments with the boys and giggled at the messes they've made.

So why Sugar Cookies? Why share this story today? July 9th is National Sugar Cookie Day. July 11th is her Birthday. The irony of that is not missed by me. And it may be stretching (just a bit though) to think that maybe someone, somewhere whose life she touched created this day so close to her birthday so she could have a holiday in her memory. It seems absolutely reasonable to me.

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Ganna's Sugar Cookies