Finding Baking Inspiration in a Box of 1940’s Christmas Ornaments
Shiny Brite
When my friend Kyle surprised me with a gift of beautiful boxes of gold Shiny Brite Christmas ornaments she’d inherited, knowing I’d love them, I was grateful and thrilled.
I remembered Shiny Brite’s packaged in cellophane and cardboard boxes that my parents bought in the 1950’s, but these boxes were different. All sturdy cardboard with a cover design filled with ornaments.
And featured front and center is Uncle Sam, enthusiastically shaking hands and giving a pat on the back to Santa. The words ‘American Made’ are just below them and the name Max Eckardt appears at the bottom right corner of the box.
Max Eckardt was a German immigrant who started the Shiny Brite company in New York in 1937.
Shiny Brite’s were proudly made in the USA, a selling point during WWII, as previous to this many glass ornaments were imported from Germany.
They were mass produced in a process that started with unadorned glass bulbs supplied by the Corning company that were then hand decorated and machine lacquered in Eckardt’s factories.
— Jesse Yount, 2021 for Atomic Ranch
The ornaments I received are from the 1940’s and I am touched by the history they carry.
To read more about the history of Shiny Brite, I’ve attached the link to the Atomic Ranch article: Here and more on Shiny Brite from Antique Trader: Here
Sugar Cookies + Shiny Brite
As I often do, I turned to my friend
’s terrific book, American Cookie and made a sugar cookie named for her daughter. Kathleen’s Sugar Cookies are crisp and buttery and perfect with no decoration at all.But I was all-in on decorating, so armed with an array of colorful sanding sugars and possibly too much enthusiasm — I wanted them to scream “Christmas” — I got to work.
Just go lighter on the decorating sugar if you prefer less sweet and crunch.
Here’s Anne’s RECIPE and you can also find her here on Substack at
It was a lot of fun really going to town with color on these and other Christmas cookies. I still have half of the dough in my freezer for later use. The recipe makes five dozen two-inch cookies.
My Christmas Tree
Recently,
put out a call asking readers of her wonderful newsletter what was a gift they’d given themselves in 2023. I’d just purchased a 4-foot artificial flocked spruce to displays my Shiny Brite’s on, so that’s what I sent Maddie.You can see what other readers had to say here: The Gifts you Gave Yourself in 2023. Thanks, Maddie!
A friend told me my tree (which is perched on my bar cart in an attempt to keep it up and away from the cat) looks “glamorous”. I really liked this description, it has a very “Nora Charles—Thin Man Christmas Party” vibe.
FANTASY:
REALITY:
However, the resident “Glamour Puss” continues to plot….
THIS WEEK ON SUBSTACK
My friend
wrote this wonderful post about brisket for Hanukkah, and ends the piece on a poignant note. Click below to read the full article.
LOOKING FOR HOLIDAY GIFTS? 🎁
If you’re looking for holiday stocking stuffers, a $5 Monthly Gift subscription to TTK, or a 20% off Yearly Gift Subscription (until Jan.1, 2024) might be just the thing for your food-loving family and friends — or, for you. ✨
Thanks to Anne Byrne for sharing her recipe and Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate.
Jolene
I love your tree, Jolene, in all its "Shiny Brightness." I remember those ornaments well...we had them on our trees for years, always careful not to break any. The cookies are amazing. You are so artistic! 🎄
Oh, II LOVE this. I remember these boxes as a very young child, along with packets of tinsel ribbon.
I even remember stringing popcorn and making construction paper chains to go around the tree. Pretty sure we only did the popcorn once - my mother was not a patient woman. ;) And every year you would take out the ornaments and hope these shiny balls were still intact. They shattered like the dickens if you dropped one. Thanks for the links! Sharing multiple places.