Icebox

When I was newly married, I realized that I had a stash of old recipes from my great grandmother.  I sifted through the recipes and pulled the ones I thought had potential.  And I carefully, reverently even, placed her cookbooks on my shelf where they would be safe.  Every now and again, when I'm feeling nostalgic and very Mad Men-ish, I get out those recipes and look for something new.  I like to think about my Great Grandmother and wonder what her life was like and if she ever baked these cookies.  I'm not sure, but I hope she did, they're amazing.

My Grandmother's cookbook is copyrighted 1942, and from what I've read regarding the history of homemaking and the American cook, recipes from this time period were created so that they used the ingredients that weren't rationed.  So this recipe, uses brown sugar.  Essentially, it's a sugar cookie, rolled into a log and sliced.  But the subtle carmel flavors from the brown sugar make them so amazingly special, you'll want to just keep them in your fridge for those spur-of-the-moment cravings.

1940 Slice and Bakes

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 3/4 cup AP flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda.
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Cream together the butter, sugar and egg.  When they are fully incorporated, mix in the remaining ingredients.  Dump the dough out onto a piece of wax paper and form into a roll about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.  Wrap in the wax paper and chill in the fridge until firm.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Slice the cookie log into 1/8-1/4th inch rounds.  Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet (they don't spread, so you can place them fairly close together) and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden.