Baking Christmas cookies was always a challenge at our house. Especially the little butter press
cookies: small, time-consuming, and wonderfully tasty. The problem was, with six kids and three
adults, there never seemed to be any left to put away for Christmas.
One day I thought I'd found the answer. While everyone else was out getting a Christmas tree, I
baked a double batch of cookies, cooled and froze them, and washed up and put away all the utensils.
By the time they got back, there was no trace of my activities, and I had six dozen cookies put away.
My Dad was livid when he found out. Food is for sharing, not for hoarding, he told me. But how do
I get any put away for Christmas if people keep eating them? I asked. You make more, he said.
So now I do.
Our easy to fill, easier-to-empty Cookie jars come in three sizes, 8-1/2, 10-1/2 and 12 inches high,
respectively. I'd tell you what that is in cookie capacity, but I can't seem to keep them filled
up long enough to count... Large jars come in black bear or deer pattern, medium comes with chickens
or elephants. The small jar patterns change a lot; we've currently got wild horses, red foxes, piglets
(possibly an editorial comment)--better just ask what inspired me this month.
Is there a word for your Uncle's brother? (Will the fellow who called out "Dad" please sit down?
My dad had seven sisters, no brothers. I had a lot of uncles.)
No matter what your favorite honey is, it will serve well from our Honey Jars. Each holds nearly
a quart, comes with a hardwood honey stick, and has a bear cub painted on the front.
Our milkman wore white, true, but he collected milk, rather than delivering it, with a
giant truck that pumped out the contents of our bulk tank in two minutes flat. Glenn was a bit
of a giant himself; he'd got his start in the business throwing around 25-gallon milk cans.
He did deliver butter and cheese, though. We'd leave a note on the bulk tank, and he'd bring what
we wanted from the co-op the next time he came by.
We have two kinds of butter dishes at Off Center Ceramics. The
Cow Butter Dishes are
described in the Whimsical section.
The French Butter Dish (or French
Butter Crock) was used to keep butter fresh before refrigeration became common. Now days, it keeps
butter solid but spreadably soft without refrigeration. To use one, pack
butter into the lid, then put water into the base until about 1/3 full. When the lid is on, a
seal is created that keeps oxygen away from the butter; evaporation of the water keeps it cool.
It will stay soft and fresh. (Disclaimer: At kitchen temperatures above 90 ° F. even a French
Butter Dish will need to be refrigerated.)
Cookie Jars, Honey Pots, Butter Dishes
* * *
Honey Pots......$24
* * *
Television doesn't make much sense when you're growing up in the country. (Does it make sense
anywhere else? I doubt it.) I refer here specifically to its portrayal of the milkman, the
smiling fellow in white who leaves glass bottles of dairy goodness on the doorstep.
Butter Dishes......$24