When my second son was in junior high in the mid-80s, we moved from one Chicago suburb to another. One of his good friends was a recent transplant from Michigan, a girl named Sonya, whose mother, Myra, not only gave me baking tips, she gifted me with a subscription to a magazine for cake decorators that, sadly, is no longer published. Sonya came over once to help me do some baking, and from memory she put these cookies together. The recipe, hand-printed by her in my private recipe binder, was taught to her by her Polish grandmother. I asked her what they were called, and she said she didn't know, she just always called them "jelly cookies." Because I have four other recipes with that title, I decided to rename them "Fragiles," pronounced the way Ralphie's father does when he reads the shipping label on the box holding his beloved lamp in "A Christmas Story." If you make them any larger than bite-size, you'll know exactly why I've given them that name. These cookies have a crisp shell and sandy texture and are best eaten (or given as gifts) the day they are made. —betteirene
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