St Nicholas had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and thus became the model for Santa Claus, whose modern name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas, itself from a series of elisions and corruptions of the transliteration of “Saint Nikolaos.”
Many traditions have evolved during the course of history, including the supply for the children of St Nicholas cookies:
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter or margarine
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
DETAILS
Yield: about 40
DIRECTIONS
Sift together first 3 ingredients. Cream butter or margarine; slowly stir in sugar; beat until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time; beat well. Stir in vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, mixing well. Cover dough; chill until firm enough to roll out. On a floured board, roll out dough, a little at a time, 1 cm inch thick. Cut out cookies with a floured Santa Claus (or St. Nicholas) cookie cutter- if not available make them round or oval and decorate with a appropriate “face” and colours.. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes or until golden. Remove from sheets; cool on wire racks. Decorate with icing, candies, coconut, and colored sugars. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Recipe Source: Cook’s Blessings, The by Demetria Taylor, Random House, New York, 1965
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