I don't have many traditions anymore at Christmas, since the kids are grown and gone. But the one that I still carry on for the whole family is the baking of Grandma's sugar cookies. I usually only make them at Christmas. And I am the only family member to make them. So the pressure is on for December 24th! I have been making them every year I've been married and probably before that, but I can't remember that far back!
These are not just your run-of-the-mill sugar cookies! Grandma's recipe goes back over 100 years when it was passed on to her from my great-grandma. Over the years I've tried tweaking it, but have gone back to using real buttermilk now. Everything else is just as it was then. Grandma gave me tips over the years like only work the dough as little as possible. The dough needs to refrigerate overnight. And just use the bare minimum of flour. Since they have to be cut, that is a very important rule.
A fb friend posted about how she was "channeling" her grandma as she was baking today. I thought of that. How interesting! I looked at the cookies differently! I thought about the star cookie cutter that was Grandma's too. It must be 80 years old and still in perfect shape. I thought about the glass sugar shakers that either she or I bought many, many years ago. Still just fine! It shows they cost $.10! Thinking of those things made the baking so much more fun!
The other important part of this tradition is trying to remember who likes only sugar sprinkled and who likes only icing. I divide the cookies to my different family members and try to remember who likes what. For instance, my husband only likes them iced. For the family sugar-cookie connoisseurs, we just like the sprinkled sugar. Mostly, each family likes a combination, so I can't lose! Over the years, I have added the red hots. But I cannot break with the different shapes. Most of the cutters I have had since I was first married. And I have to make sure I have the ones for Santa to eat!
Anyway, this cookie-baking tradition was made more special today by thinking of my grandma and mom making these before me. I am so grateful this year to be healed of my broken leg and able to keep the tradition alive.
Merry Christmas to all!
