REMEMBERING THROUGH RECIPES

         I like to remember people who are no longer with us through their recipes.  One such person is Grandma Maude Brye, my sister's former mother-in-law.   When Fern married Bernard Brye, she married into a Norwegian heritage.  Maude was a terrific cook and baker and passed many of her recipes on to Fern, who then passed them on to our mother and me.  One of the recipes I enjoy making during the Christmas season is Maude's Christmas Cookies topped with a red candied cherry.

                                                    Maude's Christmas Cookies
          
                                                3/4 cup brown sugar
                                                1 cup crisco
                                                1 egg yolk
                                                2 cups flour (I sifted first, then measured)
                                                Candied cherries

                         Cream brown sugar and crisco, add egg yolk and continue creaming.  Stir in flour.
          Roll into ball and flatten on the cookie sheet by pressing a whole candied cherry in the center.
         Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until lightly brown.
Note: I just made these and they seemed too rich and tended to crumple.  Maybe 1/2 cup crisco would be better.   Again, it could be high altitude.  But I have made these before, and they always turned out great.