This time of year makes me very nostalgic. That is probably why the holiday season is my absolute favorite time of year–it’s so rich with tradition and memories. Many of my memories are closely tied to my Grandmother and Oma (my great-grandmother) that I’ve written about before. This recipe for Forgotten Cookies is one that my mother made a lot when I was growing up. I remember begging her to make these cookies one year in elementary school for my birthday. (Did you take treats to your class on your birthday?) I recently asked my mom about the origins of the recipe, since we also have a very similar recipe that is my Oma’s recipe. My mom explained that it came from a Payson church cookbook (Payson is the little town in Utah that my mom grew up in) that my Grandmother had for years and gave to my mom when she was first married. My mom said that the recipes were printed on colored 4×6 cards, then strung together on metal rings. She kept a few recipes from it and threw the rest away. This cookie recipe is one of the ones she kept and the card says the recipe came from “Eddith Ockerman.” My mom says she never heard of her anywhere but on this card.
My mom started making these shortly after my Oma died in 1983, and before my mom had her recipe for Schaum Brötle (“little foam cookies”), a similar recipe (I’ll be sharing that recipe with you soon). My Oma’s Schaum Brötle were always my mom’s favorites of the mountains of cookies my Oma baked at Christmastime, and making these Forgotten Cookies reminded my mom of her.
I also love these cookies, but I warn you that they are highly addictive. The combination of crisp and light meringue that crumbles and melts on your tongue mixed with chocolate and nuts is wonderful. The batter works up quickly and you will have them in the oven in no time.
Although you have to exercise a lot of will power and “forget” about these for a few hours in the oven, it is so worth it, and the result is something you are unlikely to forget any time soon. Although we don’t know who Eddith Ockerman was, I think I would have liked her, because I love her recipe. When you taste these, you’ll be wanting to thank Eddith too.



Addendum: I got very curious thinking about Eddith Ockerman and wondering who she was, so I googled her name to see what I could find. I found this obituary for Bonnie Marie Ockerman Christensen which says Bonnie was born in Payson, Utah to Harold Peter Ockerman and Eddith Loveless Ockerman! It’s got to be the same Eddith. How fun! My mom and I are dying to know if her granddaughters still make these cookies. It would be a shame if this wonderful recipe had been forgotten by her posterity!