It’s official. The holiday season is upon us, which means many of us will be gathering for family dinners and celebrations in honor of our unique traditions and customs. In celebration of food traditions during the holiday season, AF staff will share their most fondest memories involving food, holidays, and best of all, friends and family!
Starting out this week, Laura Ford shares with us her annual family tradition of baking cookies… (Mmm, you can almost smell the cookies!)
Written by Laura Ford
My favorite food tradition is definitely family cookie baking day! Early December, on a Saturday, we get the extended family together (kids/grand kids, parents, cousin, aunt, sister, old friends, and new friends) to kick off the holiday season. We make the first Christmas cookies of the year – about 75 dozen pressed butter cookies. We use my Granny’s recipe (she passed away more than 40 years ago). The shapes and type of press are subjects of great debate every year. I’m a traditionalist and use Granny’s vintage Mirro spritz cookie press, and only with the Christmas tree shape.
I can’t remember a time when my family didn’t bake cookies together. I have photos of my children as toddlers sprinkling sugar on pressed cookies. Now those kids are in college, and they’re starting to invite their friends to join us too.
Before Christmas arrives, everyone in the family makes several other kinds of cookies and candy for the Christmas trays and as gifts to share. It’s definitely a family tradition to bake and to eat these goodies together!
Granny’s Butter Cookie Recipe 1 c. butter 2/3 c. sugar 1 egg 2 1/2 c. flour 1/8 t. salt 1 t. vanilla
Soften butter and mix with sugar until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla and salt. Stir in flour a cup at a time. Dough will be very stiff and hard to mix. Pack dough into cookie press and carefully press out cookies into desired shapes on ungreased cookie sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugar before baking. Bake 10 mins at 400 degrees F.