The mixer poised, ready and willing, sat on the counter’s edge. Sifters and spoons, cake flour and powdered sugar – part and parcel to a plan to make kourambethes early the following Christmas Eve morn.
Keziah and I had been chatting away, as we often do, wondering what we would make for supper and what delectable treats we would bake next. I mentioned that I wanted to bake Greek powdered sugar cookies (kourambethes) and that I could use her help. Well . . . that quickly became an action plan to bake them early the next morning, with Kezzie suggesting that we bring some to share at church on Christmas Eve.
Keziah helped me make peppermint kiss cookies for a ladies event I would be attending when our Up North family visited at Thanksgiving. I was impressed over how precise and efficient she had become, forming dough into cookies, molding them “just so”. in a way remarkably resembling that of my Yia Yia, so many years ago.
So it was that Kezzie sifted flour ( 4 or 5 times, Yia YIa, really? ). The mixer whirred and blended the butter and egg yolks (Yia Yia, you can’t use just the yolks!). A taste of pinched off dough determined that we needed more sugar (Yia Yia, you can’t eat cookie dough!).
I explained to Keziah that my Yia Yia could not read or write (oh, Yia Yia, everyone can do that!) which was why this recipe did not have precise measurements. I told her that this recipe was written down for me by my mother, who I called Ma (like Little House on the Prairie?) but Auntie Jenny and Kezzie’s Mommy called Yia Yia (could she read and write?). I replied that yes, she could, but that she did not finish 8th grade, nor did she read or write or speak Greek.
My sweet granddaughter, perched upon a stool, pinched and rolled with an uncanny ease for one so young. She lined the dough on cookie sheets as we talked and baked and tasted our results. Keziah did the work her Yia Yia couldn’t quite handle this year. We talked, she asked questions and we puzzled out family history. She reminded me to check the cookies in the oven and anticipated “dusting” the cookies with powdered sugar when it was time.
When we were done, 100 cookies were made, tins were filled, and Ezra helped us taste test – just to make sure they were good.
This recipe for kourambethes came to me like taking the long way home.
It begins for me with a young woman, Penelope, for whom I am named. She brought this recipe and others in her mind as she traveled down a mountain, more than a century ago, a donkey employed to carry their possessions. She came down the mountain and boarded one ship, then another and sailed across the ocean to New York, then traveled on to Massachusetts and finally Chicago. Her daughter-in-law, my Ma, wrote down what she saw and in time gave it to me. The measurements in saucers-full and baking until done.
This year, 2020, five generations strong, I will convert my cursive writing to print and provide more accurate measurements*, confident in the knowledge that a new generation is now becoming the keeper of family recipes, especially those that have traveled so very far.
- My one true test of knowing when the dough is sweet enough to bake is in tasting the dough. Yia Yia would always pinch off a little piece of dough for my sister and a piece for me before she would start forming cookies to bake. This pinch is how I know they are sweet enough. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
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Keziah is so lucky to have you to bake with and to tell her your family stories! I know you feel very lucky too! What a heartwarming post Penny. My family stories tend to be weirder haha!
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I do, truly, feel so very lucky, Janet. She is a joy to bake with and her brother is following just a few steps behind. Rest assured, there are a fair share of weirder stories. 🙂
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I’m happy to hear you plan to preserve the recipes, Penny! Those cookies are beautiful…almost too pretty to eat. Happy New Year!
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Thank you, Jill. With cursive fading out of favor, I’ve been thinking about it more and more and saucers for measures are “iffy” at best. Happy New Year and thank you.
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What a ‘sweet’ way to learn family history, Penny! Kezzie and you are both so blessed to share a love of baking together. I just adored listening to your conversation as you mixed and baked together!💕 Kezzie will always remember these precious family stories. Thank you for sharing your stories with all of us!
Wishing you all a healthy, happy 2020! 💗
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Awww . . . thank you, Dawn. I am fortunate to have such a willing young audience and hope I am imparting some family history. She’s at a good age for this and I’m looking forward to her brother coming along as well.
Thank you, my friend, for visiting and commenting. A health, happy 2020 to you as well.
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What a delightful experience to have shared with your precious granddaughter, Penny. She’s become quite the baker, hasn’t she? Beyond the help with such an abundance of baking, though, to have had the time to share family stories and to give her such a strong sense of “where she comes from” is immeasurable. I think it’s a wonderful idea to take the family recipe and make sure it’s preserved and will be passed along for generations to come. And can I just say that those cookies look wonderful. I’d like to have been a taste tester…although I’m sure Ezra did a very fine job. 🙂
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I have been thinking about you, Debra, and sorry for being so absent here on the Cutoff. 😦 Kezzie has, indeed, become quite the baker, and the time was ripe for storytelling. In truth, without her help I would not have been able to bake these cookies this year and the fact that she is so good at it is a bonus. Besides the “old country” type measurements, my grands are in the age group that will likely not know how to read cursive! I would have loved to have you test these, but, yes, Ezra did a very fine job. I hope you are doing well, my friend.
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The cookies look delicious, Penny. And what a good helper Keziah is! How sweet that she wanted some cookies to take to church. What a blessing for her to be able to bake with you.
Happy New Year! 😊
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It was a blessing, indeed, L. Marie and I was so pleased that she wanted to share the cookies at church. She was so matter-of-fact when she said it – I credit her Mommy and Daddy. I hope to catch up on your blog posts soon. Phew! Busy, busy.
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No worries! Busy time of year!
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Dear Penny, Reading all of your posts that I’ve missed was like opening a favorite book that has been sitting on the shelf for too long. I loved catching up. Thank you. And Happy New Year. I am glad this last post was a cooking one (and it’s wonderful you’re making a written copy of all the family recipes and that you know they will be appreciated for generations to come). But I’m also glad because I came wanting to thank you for telling me (in a post quite a while ago) about Penzeys spices. I’ve been ordering them for us and even gave gift boxes to some of the family at Christmas. …they are so good. And needless to say, I deeply approve of the company’s point of view and that they are not afraid to voice it.
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Oh, Sallie, what a joy it is to see your name pop up and your comment. Happy New Year and forgive me for not being present lately. I hope you are well.
Thank your your kind comments and for taking the time to catch up. That means a great deal to me and is appreciated. So glad you enjoy Penzeys. Just this evening I realized I need to restock my shelves. They make nice gifts.
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Dear Penny, as my Grandma O’Mara used to say, “This story warms the ‘cockles of my heart.'” Peace to you and yours.
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I LOVE your Grandma O’Mara’s words, Dee and will pace it in my Commonplace Book! Peace, my friend.
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