Christmas Baking Traditions

I remember Mom baking these cookies when I was a child (many years ago!), and all of the family getting together to decorate them.  We’d play Christmas music, and decorate dozens of cookies.  The first 10 or so cookies always were decorated with great care.  By the time we were finished decorating, the final cookies looked a little weird.  If friends were visiting, they’d help.  It was always fun, and we’d all laugh and sample what we made.

Now I have children.  We continue to decorate cookies, and there have been some pretty wild ones invented.  Mom gets new cookie cutters, and we spend a lot of time trying to figure out what some of them were actually supposed to be!  When the cookies are all decorated (20 dozen usually), we give most of them away to family and friends.

When I was first married, my sisters and I would get together to bake and throw flour around.  We’d all bake a few recipes, and then make cookie and bread trays to give to our friends.  Now, Mom, I and all three of my sisters get together every year to bake, and we put everything together one afternoon, and fill dozens of cookie trays to give away.

We start at Halloween by looking through recipes from magazines, then decide who makes which recipe.  We always have the tried and true recipes we make every year, but try to add new ones.  We spend the next month baking cookies, candies and breads.  Every one of us has a different talent, and we go with our strengths.  I can bake quick breads and chocolate fudge.  Grandma does all of the roll out cookies, and our traditional Christmas cookies.  She also makes the best peanut butter fudge!  My sister Jeannie can make spritz cookies like there is no tomorrow.  None of the rest of us can get the spritz gun to work!  Susie is the queen of making cookies that take lots of time!  Connie can make lemonade and cake mix cookies in her sleep.

This is a tradition that I hope my children continue, and enjoy as much as we do.  Passing down family recipes through the generations is very important.  If you have a special family tradition that you’d like to share, please feel free to comment!  Merry Christmas-and we’ll have a reindeer cookie for you!

Grandma Beckman’s Christmas Cookies

1 cup sugar                           1/2 cup shortening
1 egg                                     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract      1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon baking soda        3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Cream the sugar and the shortening.  Add the egg, vanilla and lemon. Add the sour cream.   Mix the flour, baking soda and baking powder alternately with the sugar mixture.  Roll out and cut with a cookie cutter.  Bake at 350 degrees until done.  Decorate when cool.