St. Nicholas "Bread" Cookies

St Nicholas cookie
St. Nicholas "Bread" cookie made in a Belgian cookie board crved by Jan Vande Voorde
St Nicholas cookie
St. Nicholas "Bread" cookie made in a Belgian cookie board from the 1980s

This recipe from The Homesteader's Cookbook is probably from a German or Dutch Minnesota pioneer.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup (1/4 lb) shortening
  • 1 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoon (3/4 lb) brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon almond flavoring
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 4 - 5 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 3/4 teaspoon cloves

Directions

  1. Cream shortening and sugar.
  2. Beat in egg and flavoring.
  3. Blend in milk.
  4. Mix 4 cups of flour with soda, salt and spices, reserving 1 cup, if needed.
  5. Add flour mixture to egg mixture; blend; add additional flour if needed (ed. note, I always have).
  6. Chill 1/2  to 1 hour.
  7. Lightly oil and flour St. Nicholas molds, pat in filling to fit, see Tips for making molded cookies with cookie boards
  8. or roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness, cut into desired shapes and place on baking sheets.
  9. Bake in 350 degree oven 10 - 15 minutes.
  10. or bake cut-out cookies 5-7 minutes.

Book cover

Adapted from The Homesteader's Cook Book, a collection of recipes and memorabilia from the Minnesota River Valley Area, by Historic Murphy's Landing, Ginger Timmons, editor, Shakopee, Minnesota, 1971.

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