11.27.2009

Some traditions are worth bringing back...

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Growing up, the day after Thanksgiving was almost more exciting than Thanksgiving itself. For us it was not Black Friday it was "COOKIE DAY". This was the day mom gave us each a mixing bowl and recipe and we made huge amounts of cookie dough. She would always bake some but most of it was frozen for those last minute..."Mom, I need 2 dozen cookies for school tomorrow"...moments. This was when we could still take home-made treats to school ( wow, does that show my age or what?). It was also the day mom made carmels. Home-made, melt in your mouth carmels. I looked forward to this day all year! The carmels became treats for our teachers and friends for Christmas. Mom would crochet a small stocking and fill it with the carmels for each person. When I got old enough, Mom taught me how to make her carmels. This was a supremely big deal for me. As we grew older and moved out on our own, cookie day became a thing of the past.

This year I decided to re-institute the tradition of cookie day. So this morning, everyone descended upon my house and the mass chaos of making cookies began. We made chocolate chip, peanut-butter, oatmeal raisin, chocolate, sugar cookies and snickerdoodles. After the kids went home and it was just the grow-ups left I made the carmels. Luckily mom was here so I was able to ask as I went. It has been years since I have made them. But they turned out great. I have even been working on the stockings to go with them.

It was a blast! I plan to make this a yearly event again. I hope that my kids look forward to cookie day, in the years to come, as much as I did growing up.

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