From time to time, we'll offer an activity from one of our background books for you to try.
"Monkey-Face Cookies" are very easy to make and the aroma of ginger and cinnamon will make your whole house smell like the holidays. They are delicious, too, and keep well.
This easy recipe is from The Anne of Green Gables Treasury (page 70):
Monkey-Face Cookies
Walter was in bed, warm, fed, comforted. Susan had whisked on a fire, got him a hot cup of milk, a slice of golden-brown toast and a big plateful of his favorite "monkey face" cookies, and then tucked him away with a hot-water bottle at his feet." (ANNE OF INGLESIDE, X)
The raisin "faces" provide a touch of whimsy to these deliciously spicy molasses cookies. Today we have the luxury of seedless raisins, but before Anne could have used raisins in a recipe, she would have had to pick out all the tiny seeds by hand!
1/3 cup (75 mL) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp (25 mL) molasses
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour
1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
Pinch salt
1 tsp (5mL) ground cinnamon
1 tsp (5mL) ground ginger
1/4 cup (50mL) raisins or currants
1. Preheat your oven to 350 F (180C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, blend together the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in the egg and molasses.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter/egg mixture.
4. Flour your hands and pinch off bits of dough about 1/2 tsp (2mL) at a time. Roll each bit into a ball or simply drop onto the baking sheet, about 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
5. Using the bottom of a glass tumbler that has been greased and dipped in sugar, press each cookie until it is about 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick. (Re-sugar the glass for each cookie.) Press three raisins into each cookie to make the eyes and mouth of the "monkey face." [ :· ]
6. Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes or until firm. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
Enjoy with a glass of milk or a cup of tea. Give some to your friends and "kindred spirits!"
Note: In our books, we use only materials and methods our characters would have used in the late 1800s so that you will have the most authentic experience possible.
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