Holiday baking is a favorite family tradition, as well as a favorite tradition of "Southern Maryland-This is Living." Since our first holiday issue in 1999, we've shared many, many, great cookie recipes. We've given you winning recipes from our readers, traditional recipes from our families, and in our fifth holiday issue, we share with you some recipes from our elected community leaders. (Some people would call them politicians-but since we are a non-political publication-we'll give them a name based on what they really do-lead our community.) There are wonderful cookie recipes, a muffin recipe and two cake recipes!! Try a few- or do as we have-and bake them all!! Special thanks to all our elected friends who shared their recipes and family background. Enjoy!!

Michael S. Steele, Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
Giant Gourmet Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
1 c. butter (unsalted), softened
1 c. Dark brown sugar, packed
1 c. Light brown sugar, packed
1 T. Vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 tsp. baking powder, double-acting
2 1/2 c. flour, unbleached
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
4 c. Walnuts, coarsely chopped
3 c. Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter in a large bowl. Beat in the sugar, a little at a time;
Beat until light. Stir in vanilla extract. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
Stir salt into flour and add to batter. Add nuts and chocolate chips.
Chill batter for an hour and drop by 1/4 c. measures 3" apart on buttered
baking sheets. Bake in the middle of a 375 degree F. oven for 12 to 15
minutes; cool on rack.
Yields 3 dozen.

Roy Dyson, US Senator
Pumpkin Muffins

"A holiday favorite of mine is pumpkin muffins because it is an old family recipe. My mother was one of those many people who came to St. Mary's County when the Navy first established itself at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. This was a recipe that came from my grandfather, Col. Royden S. Meise and we have been enjoying this traditional holiday recipe for as long as I can recall".

Ingredients
2 c. of any brand packaged biscuit mix
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. of canned pumpkin
1 egg, beaten lightly
2 T. cooking oil

Mix biscuit mix, spice and sugar and set aside. Mix pumpkin, egg, milk, and oil. Blend into the dry ingredients. Fill greased muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake in oven at approximately 400 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.

Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., Maryland State Senate President
President's Delight

Ingredients
1 c. Crisco
2 c. sugar
5 eggs
2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk
2 tsp. coconut extract
1 can coconut

Cream sugar and Crisco; add eggs one at a time. Add dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk. Add coconut and coconut extract. Bake at 350 for 1 hour in a tube pan. (Do not use a bundt pan.) Cool slightly. Remove from pan. Put holes in the cake with a meat fork. Glaze: Mix 1 c. sugar, 1/2 c. water and 2 tsp. coconut extract. Boil for one minute. Spoon into holes. Enjoy.

Maryland State Delegate Sally Jameson, District 28 - Charles County
Chocolate Cinnamon Bar Cookies

"This was my favorite cookie at Christmas when I was growing up, and it remains my particular favorite to this day. While tasty, I think what makes them so good are the memories I associate each time I smell them baking, the pungent cinnamon smell mixing with the softening chocolate. This is my mother's recipe, and she made it throughout my childhood for church festivals, dinners and picnics, and for the Christmas holidays."

Ingredients
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup softened butter or margarine
1/2 c. vegetable shortening
1 egg
1 egg yolk

Topping:
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
6 ounces chocolate bits
1/3 c. chopped walnuts
1 egg white

Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside. Cream butter or margarine with shortening. Add sugar slowly. Stir in egg and egg yolk. Mix in dry ingredients. Turn into a greased 13 x 9 inch pan; spread and flatten the dough with a spatula, pressing down.

Topping:
Whisk the egg white slightly and brush it over the dough mixture. Stir together in a small bowl the remaining sugar, cinnamon, chocolate bits and chopped walnuts. Sprinkle the mixture over the dough evenly.

Bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for 25 minutes. Allow to cool completely, and then cut into small bars. Store in a tight container in a cool location.

(Sally sent us two of her family favorite recipes!)
Sally Jameson, Maryland State District 28 Charles County
Poor Man's Fruit Cake

"This recipe is one of my favorites. It is one that I have not previously shared with anyone. It was my grandmother's recipe. We loved having her visit us from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, because we knew she would end up in the kitchen fixing us this cake. We always called it poor man's fruitcake, as it was much less expensive to make than a real fruitcake, and with as many hungry mouths as there were around our home, it usually meant making more than one. It is as good after dinner as a dessert as it is on Christmas morning with a steaming cup of coffee."

Ingredients
1/2 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 cup coffee
2 c. chopped apples
1 c. raisins
1/2 c. chopped nuts

Mix together dry ingredients. Cream shortening and sugar, then add eggs. Add the dry mix, then stir in the coffee, apples, raisins, and nuts. Turn into a greased and floured 6 cup ring Jell-O mold. Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour. Cool before removing from the pan.

John L. Bohanan, Jr., Maryland State Delegate, St. Mary's County
Hello Dolly Cookies

"This recipe is a favorite that has been in the family for years and these cookies remind me of a term we began to hear a couple of years ago following the September 11th event: "comfort food." This is an easy recipe for the holidays. Enjoy!"

Ingredients
1 stick margarine
1 c. pecan pieces
1 c. crushed graham crackers
1 c. coconut
1 c./ 6 oz. chocolate chips
1 c. Eagle brand condensed milk

Do not mix above ingredients. Put each ingredient in a separate layer in your pan. Press each layer down as you would in making a pie shell. Start with the graham crackers, then chocolate chips, pecans, coconut and spread milk over this. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool and slice. Makes about 32 small bars. Serve these for dessert or serve with assorted cookie tray.

Joesph F. Vallario, Jr., Maryland Delegate, District 27 A
Congo Bars

"One Vallario Family tradition began seven years ago with birth of our first grandchild, Jacob, who is now seven---a photo with Santa, then Congo Bars and mild. Our six children then exchanged names. One grandchild has expanded to twelve with one on the way. It continues to be our special day to enjoy "Congo Bars" and milk before Christmas Day."

2 3/4 c. pre-sifted flour
2 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 stick butter
1 box dark brown sugar
3 eggs
1 cup broken nuts (I omit the nuts because of grandchildren)
1 16 oz. Package chocolate chips
Combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Melt butter-mix with sugar-add flour mixture ( a little at a time). Add nuts and chips. Grease and flour 9 X 13 pan. Bake in 350 degree oven 35-45 minutes. Check at 35 minutes-soft in the middle.

Jerry Clark, Calvert County Board of Commissioners
My Favorite Brownies

Ingredients
1/2 c. butter
2, 1 ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate squares together over medium heat. Remove from heat, stir in sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly. Stir in flour and nuts. Pour into an 8X8 lightly greased baking pan. Bake 30 minutes.

Wilson H. Parran, Calvert County Commissioner
Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
2 1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. softened butter or shortening
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. water
2 eggs
1 12 ounce package (2 c.) chocolate morsels
1 c. coarsely chopped pecans
1 8 ounce package of coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl combine the butter, sugars, vanilla, and water, and beat until creamy. Add the eggs and the flour mixture, mixing well. Stir in the chocolate morsels, nuts, and coconut flakes. Spread the mixture into a 13x9 greased jelly roll pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven, and cool slightly. Then cut into squares and serve.

Susan Shaw, Calvert County Commissioner
English Cookies

"I am submitting my grandmother's recipe for English cookies. My grandmother's name was Fern Maguire. The recipe goes back to at least the turn of the century (1900) and to the days when coffee was expensive and therefore, leftover coffee was not wasted. My grandmother Maguire made these cookies, which are more like the consistency of cake, in the oven of a wood-fired cook stove in rural Wyoming when I was a child."

Ingredients
1 c. cold coffee
2 c. brown sugar, packed
1 c. butter and lard mixed
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda, level
1 tsp. baking powder, rolling
3 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 c. raisins (or 1 c. if less are preferred)
1 c. walnuts, chopped

Mix thoroughly. Drop on greased pan or spread about 1/4" deep over cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F. until a toothpick comes clean (like a cake). Cool. Slice. Frost with powdered sugar frosting, if desired.

Murray Levy, President, Charles County Commissioners
English Drop Cookies

Ingredients
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. shortening
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cloves
pinch salt
1 c. cold coffee
2 c. stewed raisins ( drained) (simmer for 5 minutes)
3 1/2 c. flour

Mix white sugar, brown sugar, shortening, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, cloves, salt, coffee, raisins, and flour. Use a large jelly roll pan or make half a recipe in a 13x9 pan. Bake 20 -225 minutes at 375 degrees. Ice with confectioners icing and cut into bars.

Robert Fuller, Vice-President Charles County Commissioners
Snicker doodles

Ingredients
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 solid vegetable shortening
1 1/2 c. plus 2 T. granulated sugar, divided
2 eggs
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 3/4 all-purpose flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

In large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, shortening, 1 1/2 c. sugar and eggs until well mixed. Blend in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. Combine cinnamon and remaining 2 T. sugar. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place ball 2" apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in pre-heated 400 degree oven 8-10 minutes or until set. Remove from baking sheets, let cool on wire racks.

Wayne Cooper, Charles County Commissioner
Swizzle Sticks

Ingredients
1 c. margarine, softened
1 1/2 c. confectioners sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
2 oz. premelted chocolate
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 T. milk

Mix butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, chocolate and cinnamon. Blend in flour. Using star plate in cookie press, form 4 inch fingers on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 5 - 7 minutes in 375 degree oven. Mix confectioners sugar, chocolate and milk. Glaze.

Daniel Mayor, Charles County Commissioner
Dan's Favorite Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
1/4 lb. butter
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 T. cream or milk
1 1/4 c. flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, gradually adding sugar. Beat until light. Add egg, vanilla, cream/milk and beat thoroughly. Mix flour, salt, baking powder together. Add to creamed mixture and blend well. Arrange on cookie sheets one inch apart. Bake 8 - 10 minutes. After cooling, drizzle with powdered sugar mixed with milk, food coloring and flavoring.

Al Smith, Charles County Commissioner
Candied Pecans

Ingredients
1 lb. pecans
2 egg whites
1 c. sugar
1 stick melted margarine
dash of salt

Place pecans on a cookie sheet (if frozen, place in 325 degree oven for 5 minutes, until warm). Beat egg whites, sugar, melted margarine and salt. Pour over nuts. Bake in 325 degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool on wax paper and store in closed container.

Thomas McKay, President St. Mary's County Commissioners
Chocolate Dream Bars

"The Chocolate Dream Bars is a McKay family favorite of sister Ruth Ann. He hopes everyone enjoys the bars as much as the McKay family has over the years."

Ingredients
1 c. flour
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter

Topping

2 T. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2, 7 oz. packages chocolate chips
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix flour and sugar. Work in butter to the consistency of pie crust. Put in buttered pan (8x16).  Bake in moderate oven 350 degrees until slightly brown. Prepare the following topping:
Mix in order given. Pour and spread evenly over baked mixture. Bake in moderate oven for 20 minutes or until browned. When cool cut in bars. Makes 48.

Kenny Dement, St. Mary's County Commissioner
Conga Squares

Ingredients
11/2 Sticks Margarine
1 Box light brown sugar
3 eggs
2 3/4 c. sifted self-rising flour
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 c nuts
1 pkg. (6 oz.)Nestles chocolate morsels
Melt margarine. Add sugar, slightly beat eggs, flour, vanilla, nuts and nestles. Bake in large pan at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes.

Tom Mattingly, St. Mary's County Commissioner
Sand Tart

"This is from a family recipe that is over 100 years old."
Ingredients
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
4 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder

Cream the sugar with the butter (not margarine) until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and add the sifted flour mixed with the baking powder. Chill the mixture at least 2 hours. Grease your cookie sheet. Remove from refrigeration and roll portions of dough to paper thin, cut with cutter and place on cookie sheet. Brush each cookie with canned milk. Place a walnut on top of each cookie. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 375 to 400 degrees until lightly brown be careful not to burn.

Dan Raley, St. Mary's County Commissioner
Molasses Sugar Cookies

"This recipe is quite old and originally came from my mother in law, Virginia Jarboe."

3/4 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. molasses
1 egg
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
Cream shortening and sugar. Add molasses and egg and beat well. Sift together flour, soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt and add to first mixture. Mix well. Chill. Form in 1" balls, roll in granulated sugar and place on greased cookie sheet 2 in. apart. Bake in 375 degree oven 8-10 min. In some newer recipes they place a chocolate kiss in the center of the hot cookie when it comes out of the oven.