Close your eyes and remember December, the smell of cinnamon in your mother's or grandmother's kitchen and the warm scent of dough baking in the oven. Imagine opening the oven door and, with assistance, taking out the heated cookie sheet. Devour the cookies, small works of art, with your eyes: Fudge Brownies, Gingerbread, Nut Rolls, Painted Cookies, Sugar Cookies... With each bite, taste your childhood and family history. You can trace your blood and traditions not by DNA, genealogies and family heirlooms, but by recipes given from one generation to the next, like oral histories handed down in clans before recorded fact caught on.
Scholars once sniffed at "women's lore," but the notations of "1 dash nutmeg" and "1 cup chopped nuts," when handwritten on a yellowing page, are as important to memorize as the dates of the American Revolution. They are a tangible reminder of love, care and craft in any society, but particularly in America, where encouragement to eat bags of artificially sweetened store-bought Christmas sweets leave people sugar-craving, guilty, physically and emotionally empty Christmas cookies are the opposite of this trend. They represent home, family, comfort, joy, and tradition.
It's a miraculous event when generations gather around the stove to spend a day together, getting their hands dirty and sharing of themselves. It is miraculous because those memories are irreplaceable. It's miraculous because children get curious and ask, for example, "Why are the Christmas cookies German? What was Christmas like when you were my age? Did Santa Claus visit you?"
Mother, father, grandmother, and grandfather can share with children the family history and everyday moments in the past, such as, "Your grandmother made a mistake and measured one cup of walnuts when the recipe called for half a cup. But the cookies tasted better, so to this day we always use 1 cup of walnuts in the recipe." By reliving these rare glimpses of a life you may have forgotten, you honor and celebrate yourself as well as your family. Christmas cookies themselves transmit and record history and tradition.
In addition, Christmas cookies are a thread to Christmas past, not only our past, but long past. The word cookie came about thanks to Dutch settlers in North America during the 1700s to 1900s. Koek is Dutch for cake, so koekje, later cookie in English, means "little cake." Christmas cookies like German Springerle continue the custom of serving Christmas baked goods started by the Romans, Teutonic/Germanic tribes, and other pre-Christian civilizations. Christian religions sanctified these symbols of worship of the harvest gods by adding a "J" on the top to mark the breads as offerings to Jesus Christ. Ancient European peoples ate gingerbread at Winter Solstice feasts. When you bake gingerbread and Springerle, you're participating in a tradition that endures.
In that spirit, here is a recipe for successful cookie-making:
Start with 1 family, 1 kitchen, and a box of recipes. Add an uninterrupted period of time. Subtract phone calls, televisions, or any other distractions. For best results, add the Prayer Before Baking from CHRISTMAS COOKIES ARE FOR GIVING:
“God bless this mixture with the sweetest and tastiest ingredients: joy, faith, family, friendship, love, and health. Let the scent of this holiday offering rise to Heaven and make the angels sing, for the happiness of mankind is their feast. Let us taste our blessings with each bite as we share the company of our loved ones. Amen."
Sprinkle with laughter. Add amusing family stories with a lavish hand. Fold in 1 cup patience and understanding, blended with 1 gallon youthful enthusiasm and a pinch of baking know-how. Eat your mistakes with joy. Bake lovingly and well. Enjoy warm, delicious, Christmas miracle cookie-baking memories for years to come!
Copyright Kristin Johnson.
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A Dash of Cinnamon,
A Pinch of the Past,
A Smidgen of the Future
By Kristin Johnson
In seed time learn,
in harvest teach,
in winter enjoy.
- William Blake
HELP DISASTER VICTIMS THROUGH
About The Author: Kristin Johnson is co-author of the “highly recommended” Midwest Book Review pick, Christmas Cookies Are For Giving: Stories, Recipes and Tips for Making Heartwarming Gifts (ISBN: 0-9723473-9-9).
A downloadablemedia kit is available at our Web site, www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com, or e-mail the publisher (info@tyrpublishing.com) to receive a printed media kit and sample copy of the book. More articles available at http://www.bakingchristmascookies.com.
Visit 'Family Christmas Ideas' and learn how to start your own Christmas family tradition this year http://familychristmasideas.homestead.com/
Slow down your life a bit and enjoy delicious meals with your family. Find out how at 'Family Crock Pot Recipes' http://familycrockpotrecipes.com.
How To Make Painted Christmas Cookies
By Sherry Frewerd
Who doesn't love the smell of fresh baked Christmas cookies? Part of the fun of Christmas for many folks is baking and decorating Christmas cookies. If you like to decorate sugar cookies during the holidays then you may enjoy letting your inner artist come out this year. How about trying your hand at painting your Christmas cookies this year? While at first glance they may seem difficult to accomplish, painting Christmas cookies is easy enough for children to help with.
Christmas cookie paint is actually a simple mix of egg yolk, water, and food coloring. After you've rolled out the dough and cut the shape you want, just paint on some playful designs, and bake your cookies as always. A couple of techniques can be used to place the designs on the dough. You can paint freehand or take a smaller cookie cutter and gently imprint or press the design to paint.
Making the paint is easy. Use one egg yolk for every two colors you plan on using. Add ¼ teaspoon water, and beat with a fork until smooth. Divide the yolk mixture into two cups and stir enough food coloring in to make your desired shades. Keep in mind that the paint will dry out fast, so keep it covered when you're not using it. Stir in a little water to keep the paint a consistency that you can work with.
Easy Painted Christmas Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
Egg Yolk Paint
Cream butter at medium speed and gradually add sugar, beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each egg. Add milk and vanilla, and mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, and soda; add flour mixture to creamed mixture, stirring until blended. Your dough will be soft. Shape dough into 2 balls; wrap each in waxed paper or plastic wrap and chill for 4 hours. Work with half of dough at a time; store remainder in refrigerator. Roll dough to 1/8 inch thick on floured board or waxed paper; cut with 2 ½ to 3 inch cookie cutters and carefully transfer cut cookies to lightly greased cookie sheets. Paint various designs on cookies using a small art brush and our Egg Yolk Paint. Bake at 375F for 6-8 minutes; cook on wire rack. Makes about 5 dozen.
Easy Egg Yolk Paint
1 egg, beaten
¼ tsp water
Food coloring
Combine egg yolk and water; stir well. Divide mixture evenly into 2 cups; tint as you desire with food coloring. Keep your paint covered until ready to use. If paint thickens, add a few drops of water and stir well. Makes about 1 ½ tablespoons. Prepare this recipe for every 2 colors of paint you want to use.
Painting Christmas cookies is so much fun that you might decide to start a new family tradition. Create these pretty cookies to give away as special gifts or use as tree ornaments. This is a great holiday activity for older kids to make Christmas gifts for Mom and Dad too. If you decide to make painted Christmas cookies as ornaments, just cut a small hole in the top of the cookies before you bake them. Thread colorful cord or ribbon through the hole after the cookies have cooled. Have fun and use your imagination!
