A Dash of Cinnamon, A Pinch of the Past, A Shred of the Fu
by:
Kristin Johnson
Close your eyes and remember December, the smell of cinnamon in your mother's or grandmother's room
and the warm scent of dough baking in the oven. Imagine opening the kitchen appliance
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 bimanual 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 shredded nuts," once
written
on a yellowing page, are as important to memorise as the dates of the American Revolution. They are a tangible reminder of love, care and craft in any society, but particularly in America, wherever
encouragement to eat bags of unnaturally sugared store-bought Christmas sweets leave folk sugar-craving, guilty, physically and showing emotion
empty Christmas cookies are the opposite of this trend. They represent home, family, comfort, joy, and tradition.
It's a miraculous event once
generations gather about the stove to spend a day together, acquiring 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 once
you were my age? Did Santa Claus visit you?"
Mother, father, grandmother, and gramps can share with children the family history and everyday moments in the past, such as, "Your grandma ready-made a mistake and measured one cup of walnuts once
the formula 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 re-experiencing 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 just 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 another pre-Christian civilizations. Christian religions consecrated these symbols of worship of the harvest gods by adding a "J" on the top to mark the breads as offerings to Christ Christ. Ancient European folks ate cake
at Winter Cosmic time
feasts. Once
you bake cake
and Springerle, you're active in a tradition that endures.
In that spirit, here is a formula for booming cookie-making:
Start with 1 family, 1 kitchen, and a box of recipes. Add an uninterrupted period of time. Deduct phone calls, televisions, or any another distractions. For better 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 do the angels sing, for the happiness of world is their feast. Let us taste our blessings with each bite as we share the institution of our admired ones. Amen."
Sprinkle with laughter. Add amusing family stories with a lavish hand. Fold in 1 cup patience and understanding, alloyed with 1 gallon vernal enthusiasm and a pinch of baking know-how. Eat your mistakes with joy. Bake fondly
and well. Enjoy warm, delicious, Christmas miracle cookie-baking memories for years to come!
Copyright Kristin Johnson.
Kristin Johnson is co-author of the “highly recommended” Geographic area Book Review pick, Christmas Cookies Are For Giving: Stories, Recipes and Tips for Devising Heartwarming Gifts (ISBN: 0-9723473-9-9). A downloadablemedia kit is accessible at our Web site, www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com, or e-mail the publisher (info@tyrpublishing.com) to obtain a written
media kit and sample copy of the book. Much articles accessible at http://www.bakingchristmascookies.com.
kristin@poemsforyou.com
