Advent Calendar: Christmas Food Memories

Baking from scratch has always been one of my passions. Cut-out sugar Christmas cookies were always high on the list. I had a large collection of cookie cutters, the good ones that were metal and cut through the dough very nicely. I loved to make cookies when I still lived with my parents and continued that once I was married and had children.

It was Christmas tradition to make and decorate the sugar cookies with my children. Over the years we lived in two different houses but neither had a kitchen with much space. Thus, we had tv trays set up for cookies to cool and for decorating. When they were small, the cookies were, shall we say, interesting. But it was fun to see their grandparents ooh and ah over whatever the children presented to them. The mess was something else. Who knew sprinkles and icing could end up everywhere! My daughter has taken over the family baking in recent years. She always made what we called 6 layer bars for my mother.


An enjoyable outgrowth of the Christmas cookie experience came when my oldest son, Jim, asked for the sugar cookie recipe to use in making cookies with his family. I have posted it here in case you want to join in on the Warren Sugar Cookie Tradition

Sugar Cookies
6 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups butter (4 sticks at room temp)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar

Mix dry ingredients together, add butter, then eggs. Much of the mixing of this thick dough will need to be done by hand.

Chill in 2-3 separate balls wrapped in plastic wrap. Remove one just when you are ready to roll it out.

Roll out on floured pastry cloth or board to 1/8 inch thickness and cut out the cookies.

Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes; bottoms can brown too fast but this can be helped by using only cooled down cookie sheets.

Let cool and have fun decorating.