Squirrels, turtle soup and… orange cookies?

Refreshing is the word most people use to describe Sarah Gerwig-Moore’s zesty, sweet orange cookies that have been passed down through five generations.

Gerwig-Moore’s family came across their signature orange cookie recipe in a cookbook nestled between recipes for turtle soup and squirrel. Granny Gerwig’s family disregarded the turtles and squirrels in favor of the orange cookie recipe still found in the cookbook.

“I have seen the recipe book that my great grandmother Granny Gerwig gave to my dad when he went to college which is a funny thing to give to an 18 year-old boy,” she said.

Gerwig-Moore’s father never took to baking cookies, but she and her mother kept up the tradition. With her own family she likes to experiment with the traditional recipe, including an addition of tangerine juice and zest.

Orange cookies aren’t just a delicious way to pass the time according to Gerwig-Moore, “It’s a way to kind-of call people into the family who have gone on before us.”

Despite not spending that much time with Granny Gerwig before her death, Sarah recalls the times where stories of Granny and her cookbook brought the family together.

When asked where she sees her family and the recipe in 30 years, Sarah says she hopes her sons are still making orange cookies with their families, and adding twists of their own.

After all, she says, “There’s just something sacred about orange cookies.”

Just in case you were wondering how to make some orange cookies of your own, you’re out of luck. Sarah says, “I bring them to occasions but I’ve never shared the recipe.”

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