When I think of Christmas traditions one of the first things I think of is baking with my Nan. She always included me in her baking and would effortlessly float around her kitchen making the most delicious things and make it look so easy. Every time I went to her house there would be something freshly baked, or popped out of the freezer that was baked last week, and it was always yummy and so nurturing. Baking was something I always enjoyed and I knew if I had a family of my own one day I wanted to bake for them too, especially at Christmas. Christmas baking is the time of year you make things that you wouldn’t normally bake, it’s not just banana muffins and zucchini bread (which are equally amazing) but it’s time for tarts and shortbreads and ginger snaps!
So every Christmas I would look up recipes on Pinterest, and try out new baking and it was always fun, but it was never just like my Nan’s. About 6 years ago my Mom and I wanted to take our Christmas baking to the next level, and we also wanted a way to let our Nan and Great Aunt’s special treats live on, so we decided to dig out their recipes and start trying to re-create them every year. The first year we started with my Nan’s delicious raspberry shortbread tarts (traditionally called ‘Maids of Honor’) and after much trial and error we started to be able to make them almost just like her. And thus Christmas baking day became one of our special traditions that we have continued every December. We get the kids involved, and many years they have been a big help as we bake big batches and need lot’s of little hands for help. We ended up making so much every year that it then became a tradition to start giving the baking away. I packaged up an assortment of the treats we made on cute plates with little cards and the kids and I would walk down the street a few days before Christmas and give them our to our neighbours and friends.
Besides the famous tarts some of our favourites we have made are shortbreads, icebox cookies, ginger crinkles, jam filled cookies, chocolate peanut butter balls, and this year we ventured to try an old family recipe for homemade cinnamon sugar donuts. After nearly burning my house down (kidding but not really!) we finally got them just right, and each bite of one we could just taste the memories flooding back! I love having this special tradition with my Mom and kids, and I also love how our dear family member’s recipes are living on and blessing others with hospitality and love. As we continue to do this every year, my hope is that one day my kids will carry on the tradition too and we can keep spreading cheer and making family memories together. Even though she isn’t able to do it anymore, I can still always picture my Nan in the kitchen with her sing song voice, perfectly styled hair and fancy apron, and it brings me so much joy. What special Christmas traditions do you have with your family? No matter how big or small they are all so special in their own way. Merry Christmas every one, I hope you have a beautiful holiday with your family and friends, and I’ll see you next Friday, until then…
stay cozy,
Shelley
