Christmas Traditions - Cookie Baking Day

For nearly 30 years (sorry, my research is sorely lacking on this post!), my family has held a Christmas Cookie baking day at my parent's house on the day after Thanksgiving.  This started out the year my mom's dad died, to help give my grandma something to look forward to during the holiday season.

30 years ago would make me....well, younger.  I was still a kid, perhaps a teen.  In any case, the cookie baking thing became an annual thing that has continued to this day!  When I got married, and even before, my wife joined in on the tradition.  Now we have the two little precious darlings (one of whom turns 13 this year! Oh MY!) and they are already to the age that I and my siblings were when the whole cookie baking thing started.  My sister, Kimberly, also has two children who participate in the festivities. I'm hoping they all continue the tradition in some way when we are all gone! 

One year, on our 25th anniversary of Cookie Baking Day, we made 25 double or triple batches of cookies!  That, my friends, is a lot of cookies. It was then our job to EAT all those cookies.  Just my immediate family's share filled a chest freezer.

That, my friends, is a lot of cookies.

In recent years, we have moved the cookie baking day to the Saturday after Thanksgiving, which gives my family a chance to visit Dianne's family in Kansas for Thanksgiving.  We have also seriously scaled down the number of cookies being made. My mom has limited each of us to 3 kinds of cookies, though I'm pretty sure she breaks her own rule.  Maybe next year we'll sneak and extra one in!  It's hard to develop new cookies and still meet the demand for the favorites from previous years.

In fact, our cookie baking usually begins on Saturday morning by everyone asking, "did somebody make such-and-such cookies?"  Little cheers go up when a favorite is listed, and there is always some disappointment when favorites are missing.  Each year I declare to my wife that we need to schedule in making some of these favorites at home, but we really never do.  You'd have to actually BE at home in order for that to work out.

I don't even have external Christmas lights out (yet - fingers crossed) this year!  This is a major bummer.  Also, I missed my first posting day yesterday in over 9 months.  I'm kind of bummed about that one.   I know when you look at these pictures, you are going to want some of these cookies.  YOU ARE IN LUCK!!!  If you are in the St. Louis area, there is in fact a very easy way to get some of these for yourself.  Details will be at the bottom of the post, after all the pictures!  I'll see you down at the bottom...

 

This is my sister's kids Emily (left) and Benjamin (right), waiting somewhat patiently to decorate either some Spritz cookies, or Sugar Cut-Out cookies.  I can't remember which. Emily has inherited the drama gene.

 

At last! Decorating the Cut-Out Sugar Cookies. It is the BEST recipe ever, and was carefully handed down in my family...it came from an old Betty Crocker cookbook, and is called "Mary's Sugar Cookies."  Recently, after doing some cookie research, I discovered that in a couple of more recent versions of the cookbook, the recipe is back, but just called "Sugar Cookies."  Why they "hid" such a great recipe under such a boring name, I'll never understand. That's my daughter Rachel on the left, Emily (niece), and Benjamin. My sister, Kimberly's, torso is in the back.  Oh, we also have matching aprons. True story.

 

Mashing sugar into the "Delicious Cookies." And yes, they are delicious. Very.  That's my mom on the left, Benjamin, Emily and Rachel again.

 

We saved the "icing" step for several of the cookies until the end and did it in one big production step.  That's my wife, Dianne, on the left, sister Kimberly, and my daughter Rebecca on the right.  Rebecca made all the icing this year!  Aren't those cookies pretty!  You probably want some, don't you?

 

Finally, at the end of cookie baking day, we get a picture of the participants. For some reason, there are more people present at the end, when the cookies are baked already, than at the beginning. Curious.  Notice, we have matching aprons.  We're cool like that.  Here's the cast list:  (back row) Benjamin, Emily, Rachel (youngest daughter), Rebecca (oldest daughter), my dad.  (front row) My mom, Kimberly (sister), Mark (brother-in-law), Dianne (wife), and Gregg (self - as in "me").

Now, the moment you have been waiting for - instructions on how to snag these cookies for yourself without all the work, or need for matching aprons...though you are free to make an apron for yourself!

For the past number of years (remember, my research is lacking on this post) some of the women at our church have organized a Christmas Cookie walk.  It has become quite large!  They fill nearly half the gym with cookies, the other half with gifts and decorations.  This year, the Cookie Walk is tomorrow, December 13th, as follows:

Saturday, December 13 from 9:00 AM - noon at Christ Memorial Lutheran Church, 5252 South Lindbergh, 63126 in St. Louis Missouri. We are in the old Target store next to Ronnies plaza.  Incredible Pizza is one of our tenants!  Come and select from our huge array of festive Christmas cookies for just $8/per pound. All homemade-thousands of delicious festive Christmas cookies. No mess, no fuss! Just walk down the aisle and take your pick.

Here are just a couple of shots from the 2007 edition of the cookie walk (click to enlarge) that highlight two of the cookie tables.  I know, you are drooling.  Come buy some cookies! 

 

As if that is not enough, our Men's Club operates a Christmas Tree lot (open until the trees are gone every day of the week from 10AM until 9 PM) near the front of our property along Lindbergh. You can get your cookies AND your Christmas Tree in one stop! How much more helpful can I possibly be for you? This year, the Men's Club GREATLY benefited our award-winning musicals and all other events in our church by donating many thousands of dollars for additional wireless microphones.  Please come support this group!  As a bonus, myself and my wife, as well as our two kids will be working in the Christmas Tree lot tomorrow morning from 10 AM - noon!  We'd be delighted to sell you a tree, or garland, or a wreath (live and artificial, both)! We'd even be delighted to just talk, so come on by and meet the "One Dad's Life" family!  I hope to see you there.  Come introduce yourself.

Remember, we're talking COOKIES. Cookies that have no calories if you didn't make them!

Comments

[Teresa]

Mmmmmm. Coo-kies!!!

[Kim]

Yum! I love the aprons!

[Sam]

Wow, that's a heck of a lot of cookies!!! Love the matching aprons too. And if I lived near you, I'd definitely be at the Cookie Walk, but unfortunately I am a few thousand miles away!! ;-)

[Courtney]

Oh we used to do this, but our family bakes HORRIBLE sugar cookies. Thankfully for all involved- we ended the tradition a few years ago.

Love the aprons!

[Gregg's Mom]

Our first year for Cookie baking was in 1976. The day after thanksgiving would have been your grandparents 45th wedding anniversary. I was thinking of what to do with Grandma on her first anniversary with out Grandpa. We did the cookies. It snowed,lots, we had Christmas music on, the floor was a mess from all the sugar that rolled off the trays, but it was so much fun, we did it every year since.