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Searching for a way to channel old-fashioned Christmas? Baking up batches of cookies for family and friends is one suggestion offered by the East End Home Art Guild (EEHAG).
To make sure home-baked sugar cookies will twinkle as brightly as the star on top of the tree, chef and caterer Mary Spellman gathered all the materials and mapped a strategy for maximum creativity in a workshop devoted to the transformation of plain sugar cookies into colorful wonders.
The Holiday Cookie Class last Thursday at the Southampton Historical Society and Research Center began with plates stacked with unadorned gingerbread men and sugar cookies shaped like evergreen trees and snowflakes.
The center of the table in the museum’s kitchen held the instruments of transformation: clear pastry tubes filled with white or blue icing; tubs of white and green meringue glazes contained spatulas for spreading. There were red cinnamon drops; sprinkles of red, green and blue; and tiny nonpareils in white and all the colors of the rainbow.
Through the next two hours, Ms. Spellman gave tips on how to decorate the kinds of cookies capable of conjuring the Christmas spirit.
“These cookies will make you smile,” she said. “There’s no doubt about it.”
Some tips were practical. “Dry” decorations like sprinkles or candy drops need “wet” ingredients (icing or glazes) in order to stick to the cookies. Colored glazes should be applied in sufficient thickness to obscure the cookie surface but not so thickly it becomes difficult to eat. If the icing begins to thicken, it’s fine to add some water.
Other suggestions helped creativity to flow. The key to successful cookie decoration lies in the creation of layers of color and texture, Ms. Spellman said. Taking chances and having fun are also important. After all the cookies were transformed into colorful—and delectable—Christmas confections, satisfaction from a job well done was a happy side benefit. On the self-esteem front, one of the best parts is that there’s no such thing as a cookie badly decorated.
“There are no mistakes,” Ms. Spellman said.
Workshop participant Hilary Herrick Woodwood expanded on that idea: “You get to eat your mistakes,” she said. “If the cookies are so gorgeous, you may not want to eat them.”
Christmas cookies are about joy, Ms. Spellman said. To make the most of the experience, it’s important to take the time to slow down and step away from hectic holiday preparations. It’s a time-honored way to celebrate the holiday and to connect with people around you, she said.
Ms. Spellman and her family made around 12,000 Christmas cookies each year when they owned the Sagaponack General Store (1978-1996). And they made plenty of cookies before that when her mother owned the Inn at Sagaponack, she said.
“We were like elves—we would sit around the table and make Christmas cookies,” she said. “It was gratifying. I looked forward to it because it was once a year.”
Getting into the holiday spirit was the reason Dot Loewenthal of Sagaponack decided to take last week’s class. As a creative person, decorating cookies proved to be a satisfying few hours, she said.
The class was a natural for Vivian Corwith of Water Mill. She enjoys baking and frequently attends EEHAG classes for the camaraderie and conversation. “It helps gets me into the Christmas spirit, being in the kitchen with all that dough,” Ms. Corwith said.
The Holiday Cookie Class was developed at the behest of Southampton Historical Museum co-president Elizabeth Skinner. While making Christmas cookies has long been a family tradition, she wanted to learn additional ways to add decorative touches. She also hoped to discover new recipes to add to her cookie collection. At the class, recipes were provided for sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies and Polish tea cakes.
The Holiday Cookie Class was sponsored by EEHAG. Part of Southampton Historical Museum programming, EEHAG was founded two years ago by Ms. Woodward with a goal of raising awareness and fostering “the skills and arts pertaining to home life,” according to their mission statement. Programs include workshops on cooking, baking, knitting, rug hooking and other activities and crafts. Programs for 2010 will be posted soon at www.southamptonhistoricalmuseum.org.
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