Pauline’s Cookies

Among my grandmother’s things is a small well-worn notebook with a dozen or so recipes written in pencil, many are dated and attributed to names I recognize as friends or neighbors. One in particular was labeled “Pauline’s Cookie Receipt.” Pauline being my great-grandmother, and assuming I can attribute this recipe to her, I decided to give the cookies a try!

Pauline’s Cookies

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs well beaten
• 3 1/2 cup of flour
• 1 teaspoonfull soda
• 1 teaspoonful cinnamon
• 1/4 [teaspoon] salt
• 1 cup nuts (I used chopped pecans)

Make in roll let stay over night slice thin & bake.

The instructions are decidedly lacking in specifics. I used standard baking parameters: I baked the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet in an oven preheated to 350°F for 17 minutes. Chilling the dough overnight will result in more uniform looking cookies, but they will taste just as good and shouldn’t spread too much either way. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Store in an air-tight container.

The final cookies resemble a ginger snap in appearance and texture, but are missing some of the spices that give ginger snaps their strong flavor. The addition of the nuts also departs from a ginger snap, but pairs very well with the cinnamon and crisp, buttery cookie. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a cookie exactly like these, but if you know a common name for them please share!

Update 10/12/18: They are called icebox cookies! In addition to being a generally common recipe, my grandmother also typed the recipe into her personal recipe binder labeled as such, but with a note that she got the recipe from her mother.