Week 50: Amaretti Cookies

This week I chose to bake amaretti cookies.  I got this recipe from my Aunt Pat at the very beginning of my cookie project. My Aunt Pat makes wonderful cookies.  My favorite cookie that she makes is a shortbread spool cookie. I have never made them, but I do have the recipe, and would like to try and bake them soon.  I also wrote about my memories of my Aunt Pat's chocolate crinkle cookies that I made in week 5.  I don't think I have ever had an amaretti cookie when Aunt Pat made them, but I did get the recipe from her.  I am happy to report that these cookies are DELICIOUS!  They are the equivalent of an Italian macaroon and I love them.  These cookies contain no flour as the recipe calls for ground almonds instead, so they are gluten free.  They are only the third recipe to date that didn't contain flour. Here is a link to a recipe that is similar to the one that I used: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/amaretti_cookies/

In addition to cookies, my Aunt Pat makes wonderful pies.  After my Grandma Ann passed away, my Aunt Pat has hosted Thanksgiving for the family.  Every Thanksgiving she makes pies...plural...pies.  She has made every kind of pie imaginable.  One year my Dad teased her that she didn't have a grape pie.  Sure enough the next Thanksgiving, she made a grape pie!  It was pretty good too.  Every year her dining room is transformed into a smorgasbord of desserts...mostly pies. (see picture above) There is usually pecan, pumpkin, blueberry, apple, cherry, chocolate, and sugar cream pie. My favorite pies that she makes are pecan and sugar cream.  In addition to pies, she makes cheesecakes and cookies too.  I wait every year for Thanksgiving so I can eat the shortbread spool cookies that she makes.  They are the best!  I love love love going to my Aunt Pat and Uncle John's house on Thanksgiving.  It is always decorated for Christmas, it always smells delicious, and I love all the faces I see once inside.  It's one of the holidays that the whole family attempts to get together, and I love it.  The kids run around and play, and the adults watch football and catch up with one another.  I love to walk around her house on Thanksgiving, and admire all of her snowmen. We share a love of collecting snowmen, and she has dozens of them for me to admire.  She has a friend that hand makes little Santas and snowmen, and personalizes them to reflect who they are given to.  She has given me a few at Christmastime as gifts and I love them.  I have a Santa with a fishing pole (in our old house Dan and I had a nautical themed guest room), and I have two Santas holding newborn babies (one for each of the kids).  (See photo below).

When I was very small, my Aunt Pat and Uncle John used to live in a flat across the street from my paternal Grandparents.  I remember going to her house and watching my Uncle John play basketball in the alley with the other guys from the neighborhood.  When I was young I was fortunate enough to see all of my cousins every weekend.  My Aunt Pat and Uncle John have three sons, and we spent a lot of time together growing up.  My sister and I still crack up when remembering all the pranks we pulled, and all the adventures we had together.  As far back as I can remember I was told I acted like my Aunt Pat.  My Mom used to tell me that I reminded her of my Aunt Pat all the time, and she used to tell my Aunt Pat that I should have been her daughter because we are so much alike.  In truth, we do have a ton in common, and we are similar in a lot of ways.  I don't mind being compared to her at all, in fact, I take it as a compliment.☺

My Aunt Pat lost her Mom (my Grandma Ann) when she was in her 20's, so I have been able to turn to her in relation to missing my Mom.  She has provided me with wisdom, solace, and comfort as this topic is another thing we have in common.  I saw a post on "Facebook" today that reminded me of her.  It goes like this  "...Only Aunties can love you like a mom, keep secrets like a sister, act like a true friend, and kick your butt when needed."  That is completely true of my Aunt Pat...but for the record, she hasn't ever kicked my butt...haha.

Thanksgiving is just over a week away, and I am really looking forward to it.  It was last Thanksgiving at my Aunt Pat's, that I told my family about my cookie of the week/blog idea.  They all loved the idea and encouraged me to do it.  This year, I am looking forward to catching up with my family as we sit around the table, and feast on yummy food prepared with love, by Aunt Pat and Uncle John.  I love the feeling of togetherness when I am surrounded by my family...and of course I love the cookies. ♥

Aunt Pat and me ~  Christmas 1999.