“Grandmother’s Cookies,” photograph by Felecia R. Weber, OntheWingofaDove.com

At Grandmother’s House

There are many childhood memories that I recall and revisit every year as I prepare for the holidays.  I’ve always had a sweet tooth, and thanks to my Grandmother, I have enjoyed baking throughout the years.  So, it is no surprise that one of my favorite holiday memories, is going to my Grandmother’s house to bake her Italian Christmas Cookies.

As I’ve mentioned in past writings, it was always a special treat for me when my parents, sisters, and I would load into the car and drive the half hour or so distance to my Grandmother’s house.  Visiting Grandmother was special any time of the year, but especially during the holiday season.  Grandmother would have been up hours before we’d arrived.  She’d likely have had a few cups of her Red Rose tea, and the mixer, cookie sheets, rolling pin, bowls and other baking paraphernalia set out and ready to use.  Our ingredients in hand, we’d get started right away and the kitchen would soon be filled with the warmth and delightfully sugared scents that only Grandmother’s Italian Christmas Cookies could produce.

I loved the patient way my Grandmother would instruct me on how to execute each step, from measuring out each ingredient precisely, to making certain the color of the glaze was just the right shade.  Grandmother preferred delicate, pastel colors, which to me made her cookies all the more special.  She was full of little tips, like putting a piece of bread in the container that the cookies are stored in to keep them moist; as well as practical lessons, like how to make our own cookies cutters out of a brown paper bag if we didn’t have the right shape on hand.  In fact, it took me years to actually buy real cookie cutters, as I preferred Grandmother’s method so much better.

To this day, I look forward to  baking my Grandmother’s Italian Christmas Cookies every year.  I set aside an entire day to bake and decorate them.  I start early in the morning, just like we did when baking with Grandmother.  I play our collection of Christmas songs and sing along, laugh and sometimes tear up on my favorite carols.  I keep my teapot simmering on the stove and refill my cup of Red Rose tea whenever it is empty.  Indeed, the hours go by quickly; before I know it, I am preparing my final batch of glaze.  I can still here Grandmother’s voice guiding  me saying, “Remember, Felecia, these cookies are delicate, like little works of art, handle them carefully.”

As we did when I was a little girl, I give most of the cookies that I bake away as gifts to family members and close friends.  While I do handle them carefully when I pack them into tins, I find myself adhering to my Grandmother’s advice for more than the cookies these days.  To me, memories are gifts as well.  Like my Grandmother’s cookies, they are delicate and need to be handled with care.  For it is the time, enjoyment and love that goes into each gift that makes them special.

May your Christmas memories always be handled with care, and enjoyed in a way that makes your holiday season all that it is meant to be.

Felecia

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