Today I have cookies on the brain, and now this means I must make a field trip to Wilson Library on the West Bank Campus to find a microfilm reel of the December, 1976 issue of Redbook. Why? Because today while I was pillaging the cookie section of the Kirschner Collection, I came acrossRedbook’s Get-Ready-for-Christmas Cookie & Candy Cookbook. This “book” is really just a pamphlet with some recipes — it’s a teaser for the December, 1976 issue of Redbook, which featured a visit to Minneapolis and St. Paul for the holidays, as well as recipes from our best Minnesota bakers. I would love to see all the recipes (hence the microfilm), but this pamphlet is a nice start. There are a couple recipes in it from Anne Dimock, who I’m guessing is the same Anne Dimock that wrote Humble Pie in 2005. If any of you out there who participated in this issue, I’d love to hear from you. In the mean time, here’s a recipe:

Anne Dimock’s Bondkakor (Swedish Country Lasses)

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup chopped almonds
2/3 cup lightly salted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon dark molasses

Instructions

Mix flour with baking powder and almonds. In a large mixing bowl beat butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time and then add the molasses. Stir in flour mixture about 1/2 cup at a time. Divide dough into thirds and with lightly floured hands roll each piece into a cylinder about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in wax paper and freeze until firm. 1 hour or more. Heat oven to 375°F. Cut cylinders of dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices and place 1/4 inch apart on greased baking sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until firm and edges are golden. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.

By Redbook’s Get-Ready-for-Christmas Cookie & Candy Cookbook, 1976