Ann and Lex Alexander are retired but are active community members who have started several retail businesses including Wellspring Grocery and 3 Cups.
“My mother, Peggy Bowman, was known by all my friends as Mama B. Every Christmas, my buddies and I would gather in her kitchen to make Danish Butter Cookies from an old family recipe. In those days, we used a wooden spoon to cream the butter and sugar. It took quite a while and a lot of muscle to cream the butter and sugar to a fluffy, light consistency that was necessary for these wonderfully light, but rich cookies. Everyone got to take some cookies home, and we all had a great time laughing along the way. When my friends later got married, Mama B gave each of them a wooden spoon, cookie sheet and cookie press for a wedding present.” –Ann Bowman Alexander
Mama B’s Danish Butter Cookies
1⁄2 lb. unsalted butter (2 sticks) at room temperature
1 1⁄4 cups sugar
1 egg, well beaten
3-5 Tbsp. half-and-half or evaporated milk 3 1⁄2 cups all-purpose white flour, sifted
1 tsp. salt
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugar using the paddle attachment on an electric mixer until fluffy and light. Add egg. Then add flour and milk/cream alternately. Mix until blended thoroughly, but do not overmix. Using a cookie press with a ridge die, make long strips and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Using a blunt knife dipped in water, cut into 4 or 5 pieces per long strip of cookies. Each piece should be about 3 or 4 inches long. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until barely golden brown. Remove immediately and let cool on racks.
