The following article was submitted by Therese Horstketter, an Adult Services Associate at the Manitowoc Public Library.
Hello and Happy Holidays!
Christmas music is playing in stores, lights are twinkling, and many lists are being made and crossed off. There’s the Naughty or Nice List, the Gift List, and, of course, the Food List.
Many families strictly follow the same food and dessert and snack menus every year during Holiday Season. Then, there are the folks who decide what they’re up for each year and have a different feast accordingly. This year, our family may be having tacos and beef roast. By the time Christmas rolls around, it may be a totally different line-up! Personally, we adjust main dishes each holiday, but we keep those favorite desserts or cookies. Those tend to stay consistent and expected from year-to-year.
For Christmas, my desserts tend to be pecan pie for my husband, gingerbread cake for my son, and cookies for me—plus a little of the other two, of course. I make my granny’s (from my mom’s side) peanut butter cookies with the crossed-fork top, my own favorite chocolate chip recipe, and Amish sugar cookies, updated from my husband’s mom’s recipe.
I’ve never been part of a family tradition to get together and bake a lot of things to share, so everyone pretty much has their baking done by me.
But, I do have memorable moments—like the year I was pretty much at my wit’s end with my sugar cookie dough. I finally threw a good chunk of it at the nearest wall. My husband, of great patience, now makes these cookies annually instead of me.
One year, I did manage to create jumping deer cut-out cookies. I frosted them and put a cinnamon candy on the nose of each. I took about a dozen of them, along with some brown sprinkles for the “fur” and set my three- or four-year old son in his booster seat at our dining room table with this own dish of sprinkles. We practiced on one or two cookies. I knew this was going to involve eating some of the sprinkles. I was a few feet away, working on more cookies. We chatted while we worked, but I didn’t go to look at his creation—I just wanted to see the finished product. About twenty minutes later, he called to me to say that he was done. All the deer had nice brown sprinkle “fur”. And every one of them had their heads bitten off. Right down to the neck. Ultimately, the cinnamon candies were too much to resist! There was a moment of surprise, probably a bit of annoyance, and then shoulder-shaking laughter as my son sat there, just beaming about the great job he did. Needless to say, our little family ate the rest of those cookies and I am sorry that I didn’t take a picture before we did.
Speaking of taking pictures . . .
You can share a picture of your own creation and maybe win a prize!
Therese Horstketter
Since it was popular last year, MPL is presenting a Holiday Bake-Off contest again this year! Send in a photo of your holiday dessert creation, from cakes and cookies to candy creations to towering dessert delights. These goodies can be for any holiday you celebrate around this time of year. Include your name, age group, and phone number. NO faces included in the photos, please! Photos need to arrive between today and January 7. We will post the photos to Facebook on January 10th and the ones with the most overall reactions will win. Categories are by age, including Youth (0-12), Teen (13-17), and Adult (18 and up).
Please email your photos to thorstketter@manitowoc.org
While you’re working on these treats, do you have a favorite bit of holiday nostalgia that pops to mind that you’d like to share? Email these recollections and traditions to tgadzinski@manitowoc.org and we’ll get them posted to Facebook.
So now, with all you have to do at this time of year, we’re hoping you will find a smidgen of time to share a bit with us. I am so looking forward to seeing your creations!
Wishing you all a beautiful Holiday, wherever and however and whoever you share it with.
Enjoy your cherished memories, new traditions, and a happy start to the New Year!
