Last night I baked again. This cookie recipe, Brown Sugar Drops, from The Joy of Cookies originated in the US. A recipe collected, favored and passed on by the great-grandmother of the author, Sharon Tyler Herbst, it calls for 1 cup of shortening, no butter, as it was recorded during a time of scarce refrigeration. What it lacks in fat flavor, however, it makes up for in the sugar department: 2 cups of brown sugar.
Baking these cookies also used up a bit of the leftover buttermilk from another recent baking adventure: buttermilk pie. And they are very good, so I’ll have to remember it next time I have leftover buttermilk!
There is a spicy variation on the recipe that calls for cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Being a fan of (figuratively) killing two birds with one stone, I added spices to half the batch. We liked both versions, but preferred the plain. There’s something about brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, buttermilk and pecans. Mmmm.
Every Fibre of My Being 
Oh send the spiced ones my way! I love spiced cookies, and spice cake, (and spicy food), and…. My DD has a her own masala garam–3 parts cinnamon, 1 part clove, ginger, 1 part nutmeg, 1/2 part salt… she adds it to sweet and savory dishes alike. ( i leave the salt out)
conjure up Robyn and me, with some tea or coffee, and sweet spice cookies as a birthday treat.. (you can eat the plain ones–more of the spicy ones for me!)
Conjuring away, Helen! Thanks. Your daughter’s masala garam sounds fabulous!
Those cookies sound yummy!