Grandma Coble’s Sugar Cookies aka Aunt Barbara’s Sugar Cookies
“Here, you’ve got to try one of Grandma Coble’s sugar cookies. They’re really special.” This was my introduction to the Coble clan. Gary and I got married June 26, 1989, and went to the Coble Family Reunion in July. The sugar cookies were different from any I had tasted before and were very memorable.
Everyone in the family speaks very highly of these cookies and they evoke tons of memories. What makes these cookies a bit different from most sugar cookies are the ingredients of lard and sour milk. Lard in sugar cookies results in a softer texture and rich flavor. Lest you be concerned about lard being very unhealthy, it is actually considered to be a bit healthier than shortening or butter; of course, none of these are considered to be health foods. As long as the sugar cookies remain a special treat, you should be just fine. As for sour milk, it is simply the addition of vinegar to the milk. It is used as a “leavening agent and flavor enhancer.” It also produces a fluffier baked good.
A form of sugar cookies can be found in many cultures, but the sugar cookies that we love today actually originated in Pennsylvania in the 1700s. This explains why lard was the choice rather than shortening since shortening wasn’t even a thing until the early 1900s; Crisco was created in 1911.
Since our focus this month is on a Family Recipe, Gary made Grandma Coble’s sugar cookies and they were outstanding.
While the cookies are attributed to Anna Mae Coble, she gave credit to Aunt Barbara. Barbara Ann Coble was born in 1858 to John H. Coble and Elizabeth Gingrich. She lived her whole life in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Barbara Ann Coble was the aunt of John Ira Coble, Sr. who was the husband of Anna Mae. Now it is very likely that Barbara Ann got the recipe from her Aunt Barbara Coble who was born in 1825. This Aunt Barbara is the aunt of both John Ira Coble and Anna Mae Meckley Coble because Barbara married Isaac Meckley who was the great granduncle of Anna Mae. There is another Barbara who is the grandmother of Barbara (1825). She is Barbara Long who was born in 1768 and married John Hoffer.
The Coble and Meckley sides connect through Matthias Hoffer (1718) and Anna Marie Wohlweider (1727) who were married in 1745. Matthias and Anna Marie had three sons. Their son John Hoffer married Barbara Long and they had a daughter, Elizabeth who married Christian Coble. Barbara was their daughter.
Another son of Matthias and Anna Marie was named Matthias. He married Veronica Holderman, and they had a daughter they also named Elizabeth. This Elizabeth married Melchoir Meckley and they had a son Isaac Meckley who married Barbara Coble as well as a son, Samuel who married Mary Ann Brestle. Anna Mae Meckley Coble was descended from Samuel and Mary Ann.
The first Matthias Hoffer was born in 1718 in Basle, Switzerland and emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1743. His wife Anna Marie was born in Pennsylvania. So…Mathias and Anna Marie are Gary’s 6th great grandparents on his dad’s maternal side and his 5th great grandparents on his dad’s paternal side.
Now, back to sugar cookies, it is entirely possible that Gary’s ancestors were at the forefront of the modern-day sugar cookies as they were living in Pennsylvania in the 1700s and the legendary Coble family sugar cookies go back at least as far as Aunt Barbara.
This is my niece’s first time to help make sugar cookies and also her first time to eat them. Start them young with building special family memories.