Recipe Finder: Hess sugar cookies

Sharon Birnie of Finksburg, Md., was in search of the recipe for the sugar cookies that were sold at the now-closed Hess Country Store in Reisterstown, Md. She said the cookies were rolled and dusted with sugar and that they were very crunchy and light in color.

Cathy Wagner of Monkton, Md., thought she might have the recipe Birnie was looking for. Wagner used to work in a dental office in Pikesville, Md., and said she was given the recipe many years ago by a patient who lived in Reisterstown. She was told that the recipe came from the Dorothy Hess Tea Room in Reisterstown. Based on Birnie’s description, I would say this is most likely the same cookie. I could not find any information on either the Hess country store or tea room, but I suspect they may have been the same place — or at least run by the same family and therefore likely to share recipes.

The cookie is very simple but very tasty. I was surprised that the recipe called for equal parts margarine and butter, but the butter is all you taste and the margarine might be what makes the cookies so nice and crispy. Simply add a little colored sugar to the white sugar when you press the cookies down before baking, and you’ll have a delicious and pretty cookie suitable for just about any holiday or party.