The Milwaukee area is full of holiday traditions, from the downtown holiday lights display to the performances of The Nutcracker by the Milwaukee Ballet and A Christmas Carol at the Milwaukee Rep. Another holiday season tradition resides on the kitchen shelves of thousands in the Milwaukee area: We Energies' annual cookie book.
This year’s edition adds a new spin: the cookie recipes come from notable Milwaukeeans and Milwaukee natives, like screenwriter David Zucker. Zucker and his brother Jerry, along with Jim Abrahams, were responsible for classic comedy movies like Airplane! and The Naked Gun.
Zucker's recipe is called, "Charlotte Zucker's Mandelbread," named for his mother. He describes mandlebread as a kind of "Jewish biscotti," and it's a cookie that brings back a lot of good memories. After leaving for college and eventually moving to L.A., the cookie was often a part of his welcome back home. "When we would come home, she'd have mandlebread baked and fresh long johns," says Zucker.
The cookie book itself has deep roots at We Energies, and the first book was created in 1928. "Apparently way back when we did have economists, home economists, that worked for the company. And back then they would teach customers how to use their new fangled appliances," Cathy Schulze, a spokesperson for We Energies. "So as goodwill gesture around the holidays, they came up with a book of recipes that they would give to customers so that they could bake and try out their new appliances."
