My grandmother wasn’t the greatest cook, according to my Mom and, later in life, agreed upon by me. Like everyone, however, she had a few signatures that we loved. I loved her apple pies and walnut cookies. As I got older, I came to appreciate her pecan pies too. (She also made a killer kielbasa, but if you put a kielbasa in the oven, what’s to stop it from getting done?) Out of this rather thin list, I savored the walnut cookies the most. They signified the holidays, and Gram would put them in cookie tins, line them with foil, and cover them with basically an entire bag of powdered sugar. As she got older, the cookies got bigger and bigger. She earned the right to do that, to say to hell with rolling a bazillion balls and just making three or four marge ones, shoving them in the oven, tossing on a bag of sugar and calling it a Christmas cookie collection.
When I was in Savannah last I found a cookbook that had a recipe for Mexican Wedding Cookies. Not quite sure how they fit into Savannah, aside from the pecans, but there was butter and sugar and almond extract and how can that go wrong? I didn’t realize how similar they were to Gram’s walnut cookies, but when I popped one in my mouth it brought back a wave of happy memories.
They may not be much to look at, but that was Gram’s style. Simple, humble, unassuming, no-nonsense. And oh how good they tasted – it was a beauty that belied their simplicity, a grace that transcended their material shell. It was a lovely little entry into this year’s holiday season.
