Sarah Worley

Welsh Cookies 

My grandmother was Welsh, and my aunt used to make these every Christmas and Thanksgiving. But, the funny part is, my aunt is not really my aunt. She was my mom’s best friend. Mom is an only child, and her mother happens to be Welsh. A woman named Sandy was her best friend. So these cookies actually came from Sandy’s family but my grandmother was also Welsh, so it worked. My mom has a version of this recipe and it’s in my handwriting, maybe from the third grade. My mom doesn’t cook much so I use Sandy’s recipe. 

I grew up on these cookies. They’re not very sweet. And they’re not like traditional cookies. So, you make the dough and cut them, and then you cook them on a griddle. And there’s funny little things about it—like you can’t use a cookie cutter, you have to use an old soup can tin. I don’t know why but that’s what my aunt told me. She said, “You don’t want them to have a flat edge because they won’t rise.” And we always use currants. All of the recipes in our family have it written as raisins. But everyone just knows you’re supposed to use currants. 

My sister and I both love these cookies. I think because we grew up with them, it’s just that nostalgia for both of us. I gave her a container of these last night and she ate the whole thing.