These cookies, your favorite,
are my favorite, too,
my daughters named them,
“Mommy Cookies,”
I baked these cookies for them
and for me
I baked them for events, for friends,
for moments of heartbreak
and moments of joy–
for memories.
I baked them for you.
I think of all the recipes handed down,
mother to daughter over generations,
measured by sight and feel
cooked or baked to taste,
I think of these cookies,
back in Eastern Europe–
the original version–
hard and dry,
kept in a tin,
taken out to have with tea,
but evolving over time
with new additions,
(like families)
becoming sweeter
and more nuanced,
cookies that are made
(now)
with ingredients of old world and new
bridging history in a bite,
tasting of past, present, and future–
what I see in your eyes,
the girl who was
the daughter, the mother, the grandmother,
what I see in my daughters’ eyes,
years gone, years yet to unfold,
bitter, spicy, crunchy, and sweet,
the definition of a cookie,
the measure of a life
This was a poem I wrote for my mom’s 95th birthday. I made her some of these mandelbrot cookies as a gift.
What a lovely poem for your mother. The cookies look pretty darn good, too. 🙂
Thank you very much! 🙂
This was a fine and yummy tribute to one fine, sweet and strong woman, your dear Mother.
I like how the recipe has evolved, adding “nuances.” Which is like your mother’s life, you depicted elements with two meanings, the ingredients and the metaphors they represent. Your recipe for a life well lived.
Thank you, Robin! Yes, that was exactly what I meant. 🙂
Oh, Merril:
🎶 Happy Birthday to your dear Mother! 😊 💐
Thank you so much, Robin!
So glad this message was written in a timely manner from me to your sweet Mother. . .
I loved the next post with the best #95th birthday celebration ever! 🎈🎉🎁
Much better now that I am once again “caught up” with my good friend, Merril. ❤
Thank you, Robin. 🙂
“bridging history in a bite…” Nice.
Thank you, Ken. 🙂
What a wonderful gift – the cookies and the words 🌺
Thank you very much, Susan. 🙂
Happy birthday to your mother! Beautiful poetry and cookies. I can’t think of a better gift. 🙂
Thanks so much, Robin! 🙂
Happy birthday, Mother 🙂
Thank you, Jane. I’ll tell her you said so! 🙂
🙂
An excellent poem. Two of my granddaughters still use a set of recipes I created when a single parent in the 1960s
Thank you very much, Derrick.
That is cool that you have family recipes. 🙂
Beautiful, honest. eye-watering poem. Yes, I know exactly what you mean. From mother to daughter to daughter. All the different ingredients that are added over the years that mingle in: the sweetness and the bitterness and the deep deep love. How about the recipe??? xo
Thank you very much, Pam. I knew you would get it. 🙂
I think I may have posted the recipe somewhere. I’ll check.
Good. I’m visiting my mom in a few days, and I’d love to make ‘your’ cookies and bring them to her – with some flowers, of course. xo
🙂
I did a search through the million times I’ve written about these cookies. Yup, my favorite! 🙂 This one has a recipe: https://merrildsmith.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/international-womens-day-make-it-happen/
THANK YOU. Just printed out the recipe. Will make them today. I assume they freeze well? xo
I don’t think I’ve ever frozen them, but I don’t see why not.
You can tell the recipe is a bit rough, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out. 🙂
A yummyl tribute! Grand-daughter Jenna and I are planning a September tea party now. We won’t have mandelbrot cookies though, probably scones. Still, like you, we are are making memories with our taste buds.
Thank you, Marian. I’m sure you and Jenna will have a wonderful time. (I imagine we will hear and see more about it after the event.) 🙂
What a wonderful gift! And a treat to find after your birthday post. (K)
Thank you, Kerfe!
Loved this poem and all the memories from my own baking experiences with my mother it evoked. In our family, the cookie is a plain sugar cookie. I included the recipe in my memoir. We never let sour milk go to waste. Like your mandelbrot cookies, our sugar cookies emerged out of the old country and sustained more than the body. Now that they have nourished multiple generations here, they too evolve. Food as love and history.
Thank you, Shirley. I’m glad this evoked memories for you.
To be honest, my mom did not do much baking, and this particular recipe did not come from her. I got it from another relative, and then played with it over the years. But mandelbrot is a traditional cookie–that perhaps originated in Italy (or not), and then traveled east. There are other ways of preparing food that I did get from my mom. We always cooked without recipes. 🙂
Ah, I was hoping you’d share the poem you wrote for your mom! Not too sugary, but you know it was written with much consideration, love, and admiration. I sure admire those Mandelbrot cookies, too — they have somewhat of a Biscotti shape.
Thank you, Rose.
Yes, they are similar to biscotti, and they are delicious. 🙂
Reblogged this on Shift2Drive.
Très émouvant et charmant poème. Joli blog. Je m’abonne et je reblogue.
Thank you!