RECIPES FROM MANA'S KITCHEN: Grandma Smith's Moravian Cookies

Grandma and Grandpa Smith (photos of grandma below), daddy's parents, lived in Leaksville, NC, fairly close to Virginia. That's where daddy grew up. It was a Fieldcrest Mill town. That's where grandpa worked from the time he was a small child until he retired. Grandma was a member of the Leaksville Moravian Church. Moravians are one of the oldest Protestant denominations in the world, originating in Bohemia and Moravia during the late 14th century. The Moravian Movement was founded by Jan Hus. He and his followers attempted to reform the Catholic Church one hundred years before Martin Luther. They have many rich traditions that have been passed down. Grandma was a very active member at the church. We grew up with a Moravian star hanging on our porch at Christmas. I had to look up it's origin online and it was quite interesting. The Moravian star originated in Saxony, Germany, in the two towns of Niesky and Kleinwalka in the 1830s. The stars were used as craft projects to help demonstrate geometry lessons to young boys attending Moravian school. The stars were quickly adopted by the Moravian Church as a symbol of the birth of Jesus and represented the star of Bethlehem. Traditionally, the star is hung the first Sunday of Advent and remains up until Epiphany, January 6, or the time of the coming of the Magi. The star has 26 points. I have one I got that hangs in my house at Christmas.

Another tradition of the Moravians was baking, especially during the holidays. They sold a lot of their baked goods. Grandma's specialities were pound cake and Moravian cookies which she only made at Christmas. They are very thin, very spicy, and very special. Moravian Cookies date back to the 18th century, when settlers from the European kingdom of Moravia journeyed to America and founded the town of Salem in 1766. They created these thin cookies as a way to preserve and enjoy rare, treasured ingredients like molasses, allspice and ginger. Because of the precious ingredients and the time required to roll the dough so thin, the cookies were traditionally made only during the holidays. The town eventually became Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

These cookies are so tantalizingly good. You have to eat them slow and enjoy the crisp, thin, spicy goodness. Great with a hot cup of tea.

Moravian Cookies

Ingredients

1 quart molasses
¾ pound brown sugar
¾ pound shortening
2 Tbsp ground cloves
2 Tbsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp baking soda
3 ¼ pounds flour

Directions

1 In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the molasses, brown sugar, spices, and shortening over medium heat until the shortening is melted and the mixture is uniform. Do not let it scorch!

2 Add the baking soda and mix well until it is dissolved. The mixture will be very foamy. Remove from the heat, pour into a large, heat-proof mixing bowl, and let cool to room temperature.

3 When cool, add the flour. Mix until the flour is fully incorporated, roll into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

4 The next day remove the dough from the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 325 F, and prepare a large cutting board or countertop by sprinkling liberally with flour (flour your rolling pin too). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Cut off a fist-sized chunk of the dough and return the rest of the dough to the refrigerator while you work. At this point it is important to work quickly while the dough is still cool. Roll the dough until it is uniformly thin – ¼ to ⅛ of inch thick; don’t be afraid to use more flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the board or the rolling pin. Cut out the cookies using whatever shape cookie cutter you wish, gently brush off any excess flour with a pastry brush, and place on the parchment-lined cookie sheet (a thin spatula will help to move the cookies). Bake at 325 F until barely browned around the edges, 7-10 minutes.

5 Repeat the process with the remaining dough until all the cookies have been baked, remembering to work quickly and keep the dough chilled. The dough keeps quite well in the freezer, so you can roll out the sheets and freeze them for up to 3 months for future use. Just remove from the freezer and let rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before cutting; bake as directed above.