Cookies To Live For
by Cole Imperi
Cemeteries are connected to history, tradition and meaning. Sometimes, that comes in the form of a recipe.
Food and death have long walked hand-in-hand in the form of ‘Funeral Foods.’ The food served to mourners are reflections of the communities they are made—and savored—by.
Many of us have a particular dish we cook when there’s a death—maybe it’s a casserole that’s easy to reheat, or a pot of comforting soup. You might be of the sweets persuasion and reliably bake a specific cake or cookie.
When it comes to death, it’s often impossible to find the right words. But finding the right cookie recipe? Life suddenly seems to start moving forward again, giving us something to do to show another how much we care.
There are a number of great cookbooks all centered around Funeral Foods. Two of my favorites are Food To Die For… and Food To Live For… both from the Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Here’s a recipe from Food To Live For:
“You Can’t Stop Eating Them Cookies”
Ingredients:
1 Cup Butter, softened
1 Cup Sugar
1.5 Cups All Purpose Flour
½ Teaspoon Salt
½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 Cups Rice Crispies Cereal
½ Cup Pecans, chopped
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together with an electric mixer. Combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda and add to butter/sugar mixture and continue to beat until thoroughly combined. Add vanilla. Stir in Rice Crispies and pecans.
Drop dough by the teaspoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie with a fork. Bake cookies about 10 minutes, but only until they have begun to turn brown at the edge. Cool on a wire rack.