Coast Packing Company Celebrates ‘National Cookie Month,’ With Call to Break Out the Baking Pans – and the Lard

October is officially National Cookie Month, and to mark the observance, Coast Packing Company (www.coastpacking.com), a leading supplier of animal fat shortenings throughout the Western U.S., is calling on cookie bakers and cookie consumers everywhere to indulge – and don’t forget the lard.

“Animal fat shortenings are all about making food taste better, but the really good news is that animal fats need to be part of the diet of every health-conscious individual,” said Eric Gustafson, CEO of the 93-year-old company. “The fact is, the health benefits of natural animal fats are now beyond dispute, and we’re proud to say that none of our products contains potentially toxic artificial trans fats or artificial anything. Consumers are wise to avoid industrially-produced partially hydrogenated fats in favor of animal fat shortenings, which have the added benefit of being consistently delicious.”

“[National Cookie Month] is for honoring and enjoying the sweet flavor of cookies and sharing them with friends and family,” noted the holiday directory website. “Let today be the day you learn to bake new cookie recipes and learn to decorate a cookie in a new way. Let today be the day you sit down with a tall cold glass of milk or hot coffee, a large plate of fresh cookies, and have no guilt at eating them all up.”

With appreciation to recipe authors for all their creativity, Coast Packing is pleased to offer a few sample recipes for National Cookie Month:

• 125 gr (4.5 oz) lard
• 125 gr (4.5 oz) sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 lemon (rind)
• flour: more or less 400 gr (14.3 oz)
• cinnamon (to sprinkle)

Melt the lard and add the sugar. Use a spoon to mix it, add the eggs and lemon. Add the flour little by little until the dough is playable and you can mold balls without getting it sticking to your hands. Roll small balls and if you want sprinkle with cinnamon before putting in the oven. Bake at 180º C (350º F) for about 7-8 minutes. Cookies will be white and soft, but they will get harder when cold.

• 1 lb. lard
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon crushed whole cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon crushed anise seed
• 2 eggs
• 6 1/2 cup flour
• 1 jigger of wine (any kind)
• Cinnamon-sugar mixture

Remove from cookie sheet and immediately drench in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Let cool and drench again if desired.

• 3/4 cup lard
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1 lg. egg
• 1 tsp vanilla or almond flavoring
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups flour