by Christine Keck
Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. I love the lights and the songs and everything else that comes with the holiday season. We have many traditions in my family. My favorite is baking Christmas cookies. Ever since I can remember my mom and nana have spent the entire month of December baking different types of cookies and putting trays together for family, friends, and coworkers. When I was young, after my mom got home from work she would turn on the radio to whichever station had Christmas music playing and turn on the oven. We would bake together for a few hours every night. We would make chocolate chip and butter cookies. Those were her specialty. My nana’s were biscotti. Maybe a week before Christmas her and my grandmother would start putting trays together. We would spend the Saturday before Christmas delivering cookies to friends we didn’t get to see that often and would take the time and visit with them. It was one of the most enjoyable days because every single one of these people were considered family whether they were blood or not and I enjoyed being around them.
Things have changed since that first year that I started helping with the baking. Both my mom and grandmother have passed away and I am left to continue the tradition on my own. People have asked me since their passing why I still continue with the tradition when it is so much work. My answer is always the same. It is what they would have wanted and what they would have done. While it makes me sad to do it alone, I relish in the memories of these two women and the memories we made together. Baking the cookies and putting the trays together is something that makes me happy because I still get to see people that I don’t always get to see, like my mom and nana’s friends. And it makes me feel close to them because this was something the three of us enjoyed doing and enjoyed doing together. I have so many memories of my nana teaching how to make her cookies and it makes me smile when people tell me that my cookies taste like hers. And while l make some of the same cookies they did, I have added a few of my own and made the tradition my own.
That was the true magic of the season. Mother, daughter, grandmother carrying on the tradition together. I invite everyone to share a family tradition or a memory that you have of this time of year. Every family has different traditions but what that all have in common is it always means something special to the family. I leave you with one of my cookie recipes that my family has made for more than fifty years. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season.
Nut Crescents
½ lb butter
½ cup confectioners sugar
2 cups flour
½ cup chopped nuts
1 tsp vanilla
- Roll into balls and bake at 325 for 20 minutes
- Roll in confectioner sugar when cooled
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