Cookies by the pound . . . Worth their weight in sugary delight
Mineral County Library Assistant Librarian Echo Hayder made boxes and bookmarks out of old books for a library fundraiser last Saturday in Superior.
Mineral County Library Director Guna Chaberek shares a book with Griz and Pauley Wilson along with their service dog, Chrissy, at the library’s annual holiday fundraiser on Dec. 8.
Cookies sold by the pound were available during the Mineral County Library’s annual holiday bazaar held on Dec. 8 in the Superior gym.
Wall-to-wall vendors were available during the Mineral County Library holiday bazaar in Superior on Saturday.
There were plenty of holiday delights at the annual Mineral County Public Library Fundraiser Christmas Bazaar last Saturday. The Superior Elementary gym was filled with Christmas music, thanks to Bear from the Nightliners band, as well as Patsy Foote and George Regan.
The room was wall-to-wall vendors selling handcrafted wood products; knitted scarves; jewelry; and other beauty products. There were even items fitting the library’s wares, such as a coat rack made of old books, and assistant librarian Echo Hayder made clever little boxes and bookmarks from the pages of old books. Old books were also available by the table full for a mere dollar each.
The bazaar ran from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and people could munch on lunch with yankee pot roast, navy bean or chicken tortilla soup. Santa also stopped by at noon to see what the little kiddos wanted for Christmas this year.
A POPULAR table is always the sale of “cookies by the pound,” but patrons had to get there early because they usually sold out by noon. The table was filled with sugar cookies, peanut brittle and divinity in several flavors, including huckleberry, plus chocolate chip cookies, gingerbread men and gingerbread cats, and even pies.
Cookies have become synonymous with Christmas, but the popular sugar cookies frosted and covered with sparkly sprinkles didn’t become popular until the 1930s and 40s. However, cookies themselves have been around over 10,000 years. Dating back to Neolithic farmers who used to bake them simply with grain and water made into a paste and cooked over hot stones.
From there they evolved and were a popular treat all over Europe by the 1500s. Gingerbread cookies find their origin in Medieval European recipes and were called Lebkuchen, and is probably the first cookie to be traditionally related to Christmas.
Cookie historians theorize that they got their name from Dutch settlers who called small cakes “koekje,” which is pronounced “cookie.” Just a little “food for thought” as the family gathers around the Christmas tree and munches on their family favorite treats.