Traditions

The one thing I enjoy most about baking is the feeling of connecting with traditions. Many of my recipes were passed down from relatives. My recipe for buns is the same one my mother used throughout my entire childhood. I always feel a connection when I bake buns. It’s a nice feeling to know I’m keeping the tradition alive. 

I feel the same way about Christmas cookies. I grew up eating these cookies every Christmas and I knew one day that I would make them for my children. I have a few from my mom that I make every year. Lately I’ve wanted to branch out a bit more. I got the recipe for cream cookies from my aunt (and the icing recipe too). I made some last year and I tried again this year. I think they came out much better this year. 

My aunt always added coconut to some of her cookies. But since I’m not a fan of coconut I left that part out (but I kept it on the recipe card for sentimental reasons). They don’t taste exactly how I remember them. I don’t know if it’s because I used shortening and maybe she used lard. Or maybe you can replicate a memory or the feeling of the love that came out of that kitchen. I guess we’ll never really know. But my kids really love these cookies and they are going to grow up thinking that they are supposed to taste this way. And that’s a fine tradition to leave them.

On the other side of my family, I wanted to try some traditional Scottish shortbread. Last year I searched online for authentic recipes but I didn’t find anything that I really liked. Then I remembered that when my family and I took my grandparents to Scotland to visit where my grandpa grew up and reconnect with relatives, my mom got a recipe for shortbread from a relative there. So instead of relying on an internet stranger, I asked my mom for that recipe and tried it out. 

There were a few hiccups. I didn’t read the recipe right and didn’t add nearly enough flour so I was left wondering why the dough was so wet and I couldn’t roll it out! Once I got that corrected, I had trouble getting it into the cake pan. And it took a long time to bake and I still don’t know for sure if it was done completely in the middle. Next time I will just make the finger cookies. It was a lot easier to shape and to bake. 

 

Today I am baking buns. I might make a few more Christmas cookies, we’ll see how the day goes. I have a few more recipes to get through before Christmas.