Anglican Cookies for the Feast of the Nativity, Rite I: A Recipe

I don't know about you, but at this point in Advent, my 'ticklebox' falls into disrepair and needs a little tinkering to get it back into good working order.

My friend, Michael Harnois, sent this to me earlier today, and it seemed to be just what Santa ordered.

I learned from my friend, Ann Fontaine, later in the morning, that it actually appeared yesterday over at the Commonweal website.

The author remains unknown or anonymous, which probably means it was a woman.

Never mind. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did. If not, stay tuned for "A Cookie Blessing" that was posted at the Commonweal site by one, James Martin, SJ (of course, it had to be a Jesuit!).

Anglican Cookies for the Feast of the Nativity, Rite I: A Recipe

Serves: You and great multitudes

Directions:

Cream these ingredients, that by their commingling, you may begin to make the dough:
1 chalice of butter, 2/3 chalice of sugar.

In a similar way, when the butter is consubstantial with the sugar, beat in
One egg

Gather these dry ingredients to yourself and combine them, so that you may add them to the dough which you have already begun to make:
2 1/2 chalices sifted all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp. Salt, 1 tsp. Vanilla

Mix the precious dough with your venerable hands.

Into the refrigerator, graciously place the dough so that it may be chilled for the duration of 3 or 4 hours, before the rolling and cutting of the cookies.

When, in the fullness of time, you are ready to bake these spotless cookies, these delicious cookies, these Christmas cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out the dough and take up a cookie cutter or stencil of your choosing, fashion the cookies into pleasing form.

Sprinkle colorful adornments over the cookies like dewfall.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies have just begun to manifest the brownness that is vouchsafed to them by the oven’s heat.

May these cookies be found acceptable in your sight, and be borne to a place of refreshment at your table, there to be served with milk or hot chocolate, or with your spirits.

Amen.

A Blessing Over Cookies:

“O God, who see the cookies that you have graciously deigned to allow us to bake here according to this recipe that you have given us that we may give to others that which you have given to us here, bless, we pray, them, O Lord, that you may allow us to offer them in return to many, as we seek to preveniently nourish these your holy people, we pray, with the ineffable taste of the flour that you have graciously allowed us to refine, O Lord, with the milky milk that milkily issues forth abundantly from the many bovine animals which you have made and from the sweet sugar that sweetly comes from the sweet sugar cane plants which you have created for we your people, who humbly implore your blessings, that all of us may humbly eat of them, in order that you might, O Lord, we humbly beseech you, bless us and them, and, we pray, O Lord, and I forgot what where I was going with this prayer.”

Someone say a quick "Amen" before he starts all over again and the cookies get stale.