But we realize that we must choose between furthering a malfunctioning traditionalism and cultivating deliberate traditions that we hope will flourish in the hearts of our children. So this year we’re doing things differently. For starters, we will stay where we live rather than trek back to our home state. We love our families, but our days of re-enacting Santa’s frantic house-to-house dash are over. We’re also scaling back on gifts. Our former co-workers and cousins’ second wives are all very nice people, but it’s time to stop the madness. The same goes for our burgeoning card list, with its fine gradations (“Should the Walkers get a card with a picture, or a letter, or just a signature? Would the Goldsteins prefer a Hanukkah card, or something generic?”). This holiday, we are unilaterally disarming. No matter how many acquaintances inundate us with Starbucks gift cards and Pepperidge Farm sampler baskets, we will not retaliate.
Instead, we’re going to make cookies. Sugar cookies and chocolate-chip cookies and gingerbread cookies. We might give some away–but solely on the spur of the moment and without consulting a gift list. While other people throw elbows in last-minute shopping kerfuffles, we’ll be driving through neighborhoods looking at lights. Every night during Advent, we’ve read stories from the Old and New Testaments, and our children have hung handmade ornaments representing these stories. This week they gave a musical recital in a nursing home. And if I can work up the nerve, we may even go caroling.
Will we succeed in making this season mean something to our children besides gifts and harried schedules? I don’t know. But recently we received a solicitation from the Ronald McDonald House, which lodges families of hospitalized children. Our 7-year-old read it, a serious look on his face. Then he announced he was giving them the $50 he’d saved toward a robot. “It makes me feel better when I give to someone else,” he said, “than when someone gives things to me.” Maybe it’s not a matter, after all, of engendering the Christmas spirit out of nothing. Maybe the challenge, with children, is just to keep the trappings of the holidays from squashing the spirit that’s already there.
Well, I’ll say Amen to baking cookies! I’ve had so much fun with that this year, the first time I’ve done a huge cookie baking splurge in many years. And I AM talking huge. I’ve baked well over 120 dozen cookies over 2 1/2 weeks — 8-14 dozen each of 12 different varieties. And the fun thing is getting to share them with about 40 friends and prayer supporters. I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed Advent/Christmas more!
When I’m in Africa, I can make a few of my favorite Christmas cookies, but time constraints, as well as constraints on availability of key ingredients (like brown sugar, molasses, chocolate chips, pecans, almonds, most dried fruits except raisins…) mean that I stick with about the same 3 recipes every year, which gets boring. This year has been a cookie extravaganza, and I’ve enjoyed trying new recipes as well as revisiting many old family favorites (Bourbon balls — yum!! have been the consensus favorite. They disappeared in about 5 minutes from the cookie assortment I took to a gathering last night!)
Anyone up for posting favorite cookie recipes here? I’m always eager to know others’ favorites, and would have fun sharing some of my favorites.
Here’s my Bourbon Ball recipe, since those seem to be the favorite of most of my friends and my brother…
[b]Bourbon Balls — an easy no-bake Christmas treat[/b]
2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup (= 2 oz) bourbon (or you could use rum if you prefer)
2 TBS light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups crushed Nilla Wafers (or Graham Cracker crumbs)
1 cup finely chopped pecans
+ more powdered sugar (about 1/2 cup) for rolling cookies
Sift together cocoa powder & confectioners sugar into a good-sized bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together Bourbon & corn syrup until well mixed, and then stir the bourbon mixture into the cocoa powder mixture.
Crush Nilla wafers (about 1/2 a box — a full box is 3 cups), easiest in a food processor, but you can also stick them in a ziplock bag and smash them with a rolling pin!
Add Nilla wafer crumbs and pecans to bourbon-cocoa mixture and stir well. Mixture will be pretty sticky.
Roll mixture into walnut-sized balls and roll each ball in powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container. The flavor is best if you make them 24-48 hours before serving, but that’s not necessary. They keep well for several weeks.
Makes about 4 dozen 1 inch balls.
(You can use graham crackers instead of Nilla wafers, but having made both, I’ve discovered I like the flavor with Nilla wafers better)