I don't think Grandma Ina made special Christmas cookies. She didn’t exactly say that, but she remarked to my dad that Bertha had brought frosted ginger cookies to the Christmas Eve dinner, and her tone suggests that she thought it superfluous. I think Ina’s goal was to provide a hearty meal for those in attendance at her Christmas party.
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| Sister Nina with husband Jerry & their three children, 1966 |
My mother baked traditional Christmas cookies, though. Back in the day, on the first Saturday in December, my sister Nina would arrive at our house with her children – one child, then two, then three – and she and Mother would spend the day baking cookies and decorating them. Mother mixed, cut, shaped, and baked, while Nina meticulously decorated.
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| The Christmas Eve buffet, 1966 |
To tell you the truth, I don’t have the patience for it. To me, it’s sort of a waste to spend five minutes on a cookie that will be devoured in one bite. As a youngster, I wasn’t good at it (and I never became good at it), so I took care of the kids and helped with the meals. Despite my negativity on the subject, I still remember cookie baking day as a lot of fun.
And believe me – it was a project! The cut-out sugar cookies were baked first and painstakingly decorated. It was time-consuming! While Nina continued to decorate the sugar cookies, Mother would mix the Spritz cookies and press them through her manual cookie press. I can see her now. It was hard work! It had to be a labor of love.
And then, when you’d think they’d had enough, Mother would say, “I think I’ll bake a batch of Scotch shortbread.” And she did! And that took us to suppertime. Today, I would order pizza, but take-out of any sort was not available in that time and place. I don’t remember what we had for supper.
The
cookies were then stored on the service porch in roasting pans
and Dutch ovens.
Plates of them were delivered to friends and neighbors, and trays were set out on the dessert table on Christmas Eve. Even so, they lasted well beyond
Christmas, and Mother continued to enjoy them.
I miss the traditional goodies if only for their appearance, and every year I think that I’ll re-enact this Christmas tradition, but I guess I’d just rather do something else. It’s the memory of togetherness that has stayed with me. KW
4 comments:
Joanne bakes cookies and makes all sorts of desserts for our use and for giving to friends. It is a labor of love and brightens the time.
Yes, baking does brighten the time. And the aroma of baking is a part of Christmas. And baking is something that we can also do after Christmas when we might need a brightener.
Cookies are an integral my Christmas and somehow I can't seem to stop. Usually at least five or six kinds, depending on time and my mood. Also some candies although I've never had luck with the kind where you use a candy thermometer. I remember Nina coming to bake--I must have been there a time or two when they were at work.
I know you have cookie-eaters during the holidays and perhaps other places to share them, Chris. If I did, I would bake for sure. I'm thinking of freezing cookie dough for baking at the farmhouse.
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