The Christmas Cookie and the China Hutch

Christmas holds all the best childhood memories for me. My parents packed my brother and I, in our matching Christmas sweaters, into the car and off to my grandparents’ house we went. We drove the back country roads the 4 hours it took to get there and I loved it. There is a magic in bareness of tree and field. It was like living sculpture to me. Once there, I would run into Grandma’s and go directly to the china hutch. I did not pass go, I did not collect my 200 kisses. I loved to see all the little things grandma had on display. I think she moved them around just for me. My Imaginary world  was in that china hutch and I returned to see what was happening. Would the skaters fall in love on the tinfoil pond this year? Would the tree hiding amongst the crystal shimmer for the whole town to see?  Imaginary worlds are something I enjoy, it’s why I do what I do. I have witnessed the power and shared  humanity of storytelling. I could stare into that cabinet and make up worlds all day, but being pried away for proper greetings, there was promise of an evening at the kitchen table with tea, fruitcake and some real life stories. I think my grandma knew all the town gossip. How there could ever be so much I did not know but we sat for hours just listening. She was a great narrator because I did not really think to get up and go back to the cabinet.

Today, I brought out my Christmas decorations and had mom help decorate the table top tree we decided on together. I went around the house pretending to be Christmas trees of different sizes until we determined exactly what we needed. My secret motivation was that the usual home of my tree is in direct line of traffic to the bathroom from the bedroom and the last thing I needed was her running into a tree in the middle of the night. (Its a small house). She felt that she could not miss the tree and showed me how she would get around it. I told her that it was a great idea but didn’t seem likely. But she walked her foot traffic just to prove her point. Anyway, we compromised and a table top tree it is. I know it is early to be setting up a tree but I am desperate for activities and this seemed like a good one. There are ornaments from my childhood and ones from her parents to me. Each ornament is labeled and dated. Mom sinks further into her understanding of this as that childhood home I used to love visiting.

While she figured out the correct balance of ornaments on the tree, I started dinner. We roasted pork and made fresh cranberry sauce and sautéed asparagus. A simple Sunday dinner with what I had. The pork was successful and she loved the cranberry sauce. The asparagus she could do without.

The not so shocking hit? Fresh chocolate chip cookies. I have learned to keep them on hand as she always wants a cookie with tea (I draw the line at making fruitcake) and as she does, she sits at my kitchen island and tells me how smart it is that my china hutch is located in my kitchen. Outside of that being the only spot to put it, we do enjoy seeing the sparkle of glassware all the time. Turns out, we are more alike than I thought. In a world where I thought we could not be more different, I have found our commonality. The love of the china hutch. Usually Mom will start with half a cookie, and say the other half was for me. I would decline and she would take the cookie back, finish that half, and ask if we have any cookies to go with her tea. Why yes I would say and magically produce a second cookie and we would talk about the genius of the china hutch again.

I have a santa collection. Santas from wherever I travel and some from the 1930’s. I have gotten pretty simple in my life but that collection will travel with me for the rest of my days, I just love it. The final project of the evening was unwrapping the Santas and putting them on display in the china cabinet. She knew where she wanted each one and had very strong opinions on the location of the larger ones. Once satisfied she looked at me and asked if it was time for tea……….and maybe a cookie.

Saving me right now is my favorite recipe from Christina Tossi’s Milk Bar. They are truly the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. The secret ingredient in these classic cookies is nonfat dry milk powder. And as an added bonus, these are mixed (by hand) in one bowl! 

Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Christina Tosi

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter melted but still warm
3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
1 and 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line two standard baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the melted butter and sugars with a sturdy wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Mix thoroughly until everything is smooth and uniform, about 1 minute.

Add in the egg and vanilla and mix by hand for another minute.

Add in the flour, dry milk powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix until everything comes together, about another minute or so.

If your dough appears to be too wet, put the bowl in the refrigerator to firm up.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop mounds of dough onto your prepared baking sheets, allowing at least 2-3 inches between each cookie mound.

Bake in your preheated oven for 5 minutes, then rotate the pans front to back and top to bottom.

Bake another 5-6 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. The middles may appear to be underdone, and that is OK.

Allow the cookies to cool and firm up before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.