Years ago, I watched my Nonnie knead dough made of gooey batter. Her roller pin was long and heavy for a little girl, but her aged hands helped me roll the dough with precision. Years have passed, most recipes not recorded, but memories remain. I can still see the array of Christmas cookies always ready for little fingers to nibble on. There was an enormous dark closet that held foot-high honey dolls. Chewy biscottis, cherry-pieced cookies with lemon frosting, mincemeat confections, and many more Italian cookies were freshly-baked. My grandmother passed on her love and skill for baking to my mother who shared her talents with me. I shared my love of baking chocolate chip cookies with my daughter who joins my sister and me as we bake with my 3-year-old granddaughter. I usually shy away from rolling dough, but this year I thought I would try to make sugar cookies for my 3-year-old granddaughter. I left a box with the family when I traveled to Virginia for my newly-built home pre-settlement walkthrough. I found a Christmas video in Sierra's Google Photos album. She seemed to like Grandma's recipe for anise-flavored chocolate chip cookies, a variation on my Nonnie's chocolate chip Italian cookies.
Christmas confectionslOvingly made asObligatory musts forKris Kringle whoIrresistiblyEats every bite and leaves aSpecial thank you
©CV, 2020
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I now move over to Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers with recollections of every bite of Christmas cookies I taste-tested these past few days. I plan to enjoy baking the other batches yet to come.
Cookies are good any time of the year, but somehow at Christmas they are especially tasty. You have made me hungry, Carol. I think before tomorrow's storm begins I will go to the store. I am hungry for some ricotta cheese cookies.
ReplyDeleteNow, those cookies sound delicious. Could you send me the recipe, Bob?
DeleteDefinitely.
DeleteSo kind of you, Bob.
DeleteA thoroughly delicious Slice, Carol - I can see little you with Nonnie, rolling out the dough. Isn't it an amazing gift to pass this love on to granddaughters? Really the most priceless ingredient of all is moments spent sharing the baking (or the reading, or any beloved activity) together.
ReplyDeleteFran, tonight my husband and son joined me to decorate the sugar cookie cutouts while I was watching a Hallmark movie. We had fun thinking about which cookies Sierra would like to try: the angel, snowman, or candy cane.
DeleteThe sweetness of the cookies and cookie making is strong in your words. I like how the cookie making threads the generations together from far past to the current youngest ones.
ReplyDeleteTerje, I set a new record tonight. I was able to wrangle my husband into decorating some of the sugar cookie cutouts. My son always enjoys assisting with cookie making but not my husband. This was first and an enjoyable one.
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