Coludies

I come from a long line of amazing cooks. It should come as no surprise since one side of my family is Greek and the other is Italian. One of my favorites is my Greek Great Grandfather or fondly known as Popou lived to the ripe old age of 91. One of his recipes that later my Yiayia – his daughter, made her own. The recipe of these cookies are elusive because as I am finding some of the best family recipes are not easy to replicate because what’s written on the card isn’t always what actually goes into the mix. I’ve tried these cookies in the past and I never got it right. My mom even tried, she couldn’t do it either. I decided that I was going to try again, but tweak the recipe. Guess what? I GOT IT! I am so excited and I’m embarrassed to say that almost all of the 70 cookies that I made are gone. The entire family (and some neighborhood kids) have gobbled them up!

Simple ingredients, and even though the recipe gives some flexibility, it’s clear there is little flexibility if you want it to taste right! All along it’s been BRANDY, not Whiskey!

This is my favorite! I love looking at recipes in my Yiayia’s scrawly handwriting – it make me smile. I have her banana bread recipe hanging in my kitchen. I feel like a part of her is present because when I think of my Yiayia, I think of her cooking, sitting in her kitchen, enjoying one of her special treats. Do you see the final line – “reg. Flour ones” do you know what that means? The majority of my family recipes call for “soup bowls of oil” or “coffee cups of flour or sugar” apparently you use whatever you have on hand. It’s made some recipes a bit more challenging than others.

Coludies cooling – of course by now you know they aren’t called Coludies – it’s just our American name for them. These cookies aren’t super sweet, not salty, they’re crisp on the outside, tender on the inside and perfect with either a cup of coffee or big glass of milk. I feel like I’m ten again when I eat them!

Yum!