Aprons and Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Hearts and Valentine's Day

 Hello,

The word “apron” dates back to the 17th century, but I am sure that a version of it is much older than that. Vermeer’s painting The Milkmaid, from the mid-1600s, depicts a woman wearing an apron and pouring milk from a pitcher creating a cozy, welcoming scene of domestic life. In general, I only wear an apron when dishing up a holiday meal to protect my slightly finer attire, or when I am rolling out sugar cookies on a wintry day as I am apt to become covered in a dusting of flour. Aprons have traditionally been worn to keep our clothes clean but today, with washers and dryers, the ease of washing a tee versus a linen shirt, plus closets with multiple garment choices, the apron has become a bit superfluous. 

Old flour or feed sacks were repurposed as bib-aprons between the 1920s and the 1940s. Sacks of coarsely woven fabric were used for packaging flour, sugar, potatoes, and nuts. Once manufacturers realized that the sacks were being made into aprons, items of clothing, and quilts they began to produce them decorated with floral designs.  Some of the sacks were printed with toy patterns that could be cut out and sewn together. During the 1950s half aprons became popular and have been immortalized by the image of the mother from the sitcom Leave it to Beaver wearing a frilly half apron and pearls while cooking dinner.  The character of Rachel also wore a half-apron on the sitcom Friends when she worked at Central Perk, although I don’t think that ignited any fashion trends in the 1990s.

Rachel’s style of half-aprons takes me back to my childhood. My grandmother had a dear friend that my brother and I affectionately referred to as Aunt Orfie. Aunt Orfie’s house had a large front porch, dark wood trim in all the rooms, and a china cabinet full of her collection of little porcelain shoes. In the cold months, her thermostat was always set to eighty degrees. Aunt Orfie had a sister, Minnie, who sewed pretty half-aprons to raise money for her church. They were made with delicate, feminine fabrics that required ironing.  Some had scalloped pockets or were decorated with rows of rick-rack. My grandmother and mother accumulated a number of these aprons of which I now own two.

My friend Mary Ellen kindly sent me this bib-apron imprinted with a color wheel this past fall so that my clothes would be protected in the kitchen or art studio. It is just as pretty as the half-aprons, but more practical since its length protects my legs. I have begun wearing it when I am teaching art and the children have been quite taken with it. They probably see it as a big improvement to the old corduroy shirt of my son’s that I had been wearing. It now has some splotches of paint that add to its character.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

I substituted one cup of cocoa for one cup of flour in my favorite sugar cookie recipe to make these. They are very good with an ice-cold glass of milk.

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1/2 t. vanilla

1 c. cocoa powder

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 cups flour, plus additional flour to roll out the cookies

Directions

Mix butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla thoroughly. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together; blend into butter mixture. Chill for at least one hour.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the dough 1/8” thick on a lightly floured board. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes. They bake quickly, so take a peek after 4 minutes.

Thanks for reading!

Vicki