At this point, I’ve created a lot of dishes from old recipe cards and have definitely discovered some favorites, but I must say that my favorite type of recipe card is the seasonal one. After all, holidays are about tradition, and my favorite holiday rituals typically involve food! I enjoy seeing the recipes that other families hold dear during the holiday season, and Ann Roger’s Christmas Cookies appeared to be a festive addition to any Christmas cookie box.

This card came to me as part of the Recipe Tin Project, which involves cooking my way through an antique recipe tin filled with vintage recipes. But you may have already guessed that. It’s packed of old recipe cards, the majority of which appear to be from the 1960s and 1970s, though some are earlier. I adore food history, and the goal is to give these old recipes new life while also learning a trick or two along the way.

The recipes are from various persons with varying handwriting; some include lovely pictures, while others are on plain (sometimes dirty and discolored) index cards.The recipe is written in blue ink on a basic index card. It has some creases but no big spills or stains, and while all of the components are plainly written, there is little to go on in terms of directions. It informs you how to chill and slice the dough, as well as how long to bake it, but the mixing process is a guess.

But that’s okay; I’ve cooked a cookie or two before. I creamed the butter and sugar before adding the egg and vanilla, followed by the flour, nuts, and candied cherries. I used walnuts (the card just reads “chopped nuts”) and chopped the cherries coarsely. I also used the mixer to include the cherries, breaking them up a little more.

The leaflet instructs you to divide the dough “in rolls,” so I formed two logs and used wax paper to help them roll into a nicer shape. The chill time is not indicated, so I kept them in the fridge for about an hour until they were readily sliceable.I sliced them about a quarter inch thick, and they baked perfectly in the 13-15 minute length specified on the card.They’re a nice, festive biscuit. They are soft and buttery, yet the cherries provide a delicious, fruity chew. I think splitting them up was the best decision! It resulted in a more uniform blend and provided exactly the appropriate amount of cherry flavor in each bite.