Holiday Traditions

The mouthwatering aroma of butter cookies wafting from the oven while we mixed, baked and decorated hundreds of Christmas cookies is one of my favorite childhood memories.  My older sisters kept  the tally as the sheets were pulled from the oven—a thousand or more???  Rolled, sliced, formed and dropped cookies covered every inch of available counter space and table.  Baking Christmas goodies and sharing them with our friends and family is a tradition that I have passed on to my children!   

Traditions are like glue.  They help to bind people together providing a basic human need--a sense of belonging.  They provide a venue to teach values and build a sense of identity and security.  So if you are looking to start a family tradition or making memories--baking  is fun, easy, and tasty too!  

Jewel swirls, cream cheese cookies,  pecan shorts, donuts and cinnamon rolls are a few of my favorites that we make during the holidays. Cream cheese cookies were one of my mother’s specialties. They are a type of kolacky (or kolache--coming from my Czech and Slovak heritage, they are a pastry that holds a dollop of fruit.) My children were always excited when Grandma arrived with a box of these pastries when she visited. 

With only four ingredients it a simple pastry to master—here is the recipe!

     1 cup of butter, softened

     1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened

     2 Tablespoons powdered sugar

     2 cups flour

     Prepared filling (apricot, raspberry, cheese, poppyseed etc.)

Have the butter and cream cheese at room temperature. Cream together the butter, cheese and sugar using an electric mixer until it is light and fluffy. Stir in the flour until combined.  Gather into a ball and refrigerate for two hours.

Roll out on a surface dusted with confectioners sugar to a uniform thickness of 3/16", cut into circles and place on a cookie sheet.

 



Use your thumb to make a dent in the middle of each cookie. Fill with a dollop of filling and sprinkle with strusel* if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until light brown on the bottom.

*Strusel Recipe

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Or, place the ingredients in a bowl and work ingredients together using a fork or your fingers.



More Reading....

5 Reasons to Observe Family Traditions

http://parentingteens.about.com/od/familylife/a/familytradition.htm

Do Kids Get the Importance of Family Traditions?

http://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/family-traditions/kids-understand-importance-of-family-traditions.htm

Family Traditions: The Ties That Bind

http://www.genealogy.com/9_famtrd.html