European Tradition Yields Unique Holiday Cookie

By: Marilee Reyes | December 16 2010
Posted in Eugene - Cook It - Eugene

Photo: Marilee Reyes

My mother wasn’t the greatest cook. She would boil a can of green beans just to heat them up. She figured that a little carbon was good for a person’s digestion, so just scrape the toast or chew around the burnt spot on the roast. We have food on the table, right?

However, and it’s a BIG however, when it came to holiday sweets, she was not only a perfectionist, she was fearless. She made old-fashioned boiled fudge without a candy thermometer. There was no Fantasy Fudge that sets up no matter what the weather. Her divinity was like clouds bursting in your mouth. And fruit cake? Every crumb got eaten and enjoyed.

I remember making mushroom cookies with her a couple of times, but don’t recall that it was as time-consuming as it turned out doing them on my own. But after trying it this year, I have a better idea what to do next year, and will share some secrets. Be forewarned. It is not a cookie that you just pop in your mouth and chew. It’s a dunker. Coffee, tea, latte, whatever your choice of beverage.

Tips: 1. You will end up kneading the dough by hand. Resign yourself. 2. When making the caps, make the indentation in the bottom where the stems will be inserted at least ½ inch deep. After baking, they will still need to be reamed out a bit, and match stems and caps as you go. 3. Her original recipe didn’t include a frosting recipe, but a stiff mixture of powdered sugar and water works; add a touch of rosewater if you want. 4. Sprinkle the poppy seeds from a shaker. 5. Keep the finished cookies in an air tight container after the frosting has set up.

Gwendolyn Smith's Ukrainian Mushroom Cookies