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September 2007

Main Nibbles / Cookies, Cake & Pastry / Cookies & Brownies

Minnie Beasley’s Almond Lace Cookies

Delicate Lace Cookies Are A Special Treat

CAPSULE REPORT: Lace cookies are difficult to make—they’re fragile, and require a deft hand. As a result, only intrepid cookie makers take them on, and tend to make them their “specialty.” Great Aunt Minnie Beasley was one such specialist, and fortunately she inspired successive generations to carry on the tradition. These are lovely cookies; your guests will acknowledge that they are eating something special.

• Overview
• Flavors
• Serving Suggestions
• Buy Online

Harmon Beasley Canon’s Great Aunt Minnie made a mean cookie. No, she’s not that Mrs. Beasley of the eponymous mail order cookie company. Great Aunt Minnie’s product is a delicate gourmet confection that would probably not be appreciated by the hordes of kids who get baskets of Mrs. Beasley’s Cookies.

But step into the world of the other Mrs. Beasley, Minnie Beasley, and you’re in for a special treat. Lace cookies are a Southern specialty (Lady Bird Johnson was known for her recipe). Great Aunt Minnie lived with Harmon Canon’s family during his boyhood in Memphis. As Harmon relates, “She blessed us with a wealth of wisdom and love as well as giving us this wonderful recipe.” When Harmon and his wife, Leslie, moved from Memphis to Denver in 2003, they launched an artisan business founded on the recipe that has been a family holiday favorite for almost half a century. The good news is, you can have them year-round.

Minnie’s specialty is a rolled lace cookie with almonds. The delicate flutes are hand-made with love, care and the finest ingredients, just as Great Aunt Minnie made them. Following success with Denver-area retailers, the Canons decided to offer their products to retailers nationwide, and direct-to-consumers via their website.

Flavors

The original lace cookie is a buttery almond confection with caramel notes that melts in the mouth. The slivered almonds have been baked to pliancy, such that anyone’s great aunt or elder friend can munch away to her delight. You certainly can see these cookies being served at tea parties in Memphis, enjoyed by fine ladies in hats and white gloves (but the rest of us can dig into a box with gusto). Since the introduction of the original flavor, the company has introduced a variation enrobed in dark chocolate, showing that even if it isn’t broke, you can fix it and make it even better! The chocolate variety is also available year-round.

Serving Suggestions

Enjoy Minnie Beasley’s Cookies:

• With your favorite comfort beverage: tea, coffee, hot chocolate or milk
• With a glass of sherry or sweet wine
• On an assorted dessert or cookie plate
• With ice cream, frozen yogurt or sorbet
• With fruit salad or fruit compote
• As a garnish with other desserts—mousse, pudding, etc.

The cookie shown below is shown roughly actual size, about five inches. The cookies can be frozen if they aren’t consumed within a few weeks, but one would have to be on a serious diet to resist consuming the box (sharing with worthy friends and loved ones, of course).

If you didn’t have a Great Aunt Minnie of your own, you’ll be glad that Harmon Canon is sharing a bit of his.