Sweet Holiday Traditions

No doubt this is my favorite time of year for all things homemade but the cookies definitely take the cake.🎄🍪🍰 (A little baking humor…I couldn’t resist)!

Holiday traditions always make our season complete; a huge tree covered with ornaments, each having a story or special meaning to them. Tons of white lights and handmade bows throughout the house, a candle in every window and of course, music. The Osmond Family Christmas album is always the first to play followed by John Denver and the Muppets. The biggest tradition of them all though? Baking!

Then…

Holiday baking has always been a must in my family. My mom loved to bake, year-round, but Christmas time, oh my, … Christmas time always meant those ever so special homemade cookies; the kinds she only made once a year. Now, I’m from a family of 6; Mom, Dad, and 4 cookie obsessed kids and each year we would tell our mom that she didn’t have to make so many cookies if she didn’t have the time … just as long as she still made ‘our’ favorite.😉 Being a mom of 4, mind you, meant she was annually baking up a monstrous amount of the treats since there were always at least 1 or 2 favorites from each of us.

Now…

Fast forward to today…and I’m the one with the family saying “it’s ok to cut back, Mom, just make sure you still make…’insert favorite cookie type here‘!”😂 Truthfully…I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Each of my family members has a favorite so it’s always a full day in the kitchen with the oven working overtime, baking up a smorgasbord of sweet delights. Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, shortbread, chocolate mint chip, pignoli nut (which isn’t a nut at all, by the way, it’s a seed. But these are made with almond paste so unfortunately, they are not the cookie of choice for my nut allergy friends), coconut macaroon, sugar, and chocolate chip meringue; not to mention almond bark and peppermint bark. Holiday candy is an annual tradition for us as well. (All of these recipes and more coming soon in the Sweets & Treats/Cookies category on the Food Lovers tab).

As my kids have grown, they now join me in the kitchen for the baking festivities which is a dream come true. So, my friends, these are the staples and the traditions in my family and Christmas time just wouldn’t be the same without them.❤️🎄🍪🌟

What about you and yours? Do you have holiday traditions or a favorite cookie variety?

Chat Soon…