Traditions

Our 2015 pick!

For the last 5ish years or so, my oldest child and I have set out to make a lot (and I mean a lot!) of cookies at the holiday time.

But we don't just make cookies, each year, we head out and pick a new cookie magazine to get our recipes from, along with a few standard ones we make each year (like chocolate chip!).

We bake most of the cookies together. Sometimes the other children help. Sometimes my oldest can't be helping. Sometimes I rest and let her mix and stir and roll and cut.

But at the end of a few days work, we have a lot of cookies to eat, and share, and give and distribute. Mostly we bring them to parties. We send some over to neighbors. We send some to work with my husband.


It is a lot of work. We spend a bit of money on baking supplies. But it is all fun. And it's our tradition.

Today, we headed out to the book store, and we picked out magazine for this year. And I can't wait to dive in head first. We'll flip trough it a few times. We'll make a list of the all the ones we want to make. We'll cross a few off the list as we usually pick out about 6 recipes too many. We decide which ones to double, or maybe even triple, and which ones to make just once.

Then it's the shopping list. A massive list of all the things we need: sugar, vanilla, flour, eggs, butter, nuts, extracts of all kind, chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips ... the list is long.

Shopping comes next. We send husband to get some things. We go together to get the rest.

And then the baking.

Last year we had to readjust around her school schedule. This year we will do the same. This year, we will try to bake some cookies early and freeze them. Or mix the dough up and freeze it. Anything to make the task - however fun it is - a bit less daunting. And easier on my back.

This is our tradition. Our thing.

It's not exclusive. We share it with whoever wants to share it with us.

But it's still ours.

Someday I imagine going to her house, and seeing the magazine her and her child picked out and getting a chance to help them mix and stir and roll and cut and back. {note: these are my dreams. I don't know if they her dreams, and I certainly won't push them on her if she chooses to do something else.}

But this is the start of the holiday season for us. And I can't wait to see (and taste) how cookie baking goes this year!