Another Topic Answered...

Holiday Desserts...



Mmmmmmmmmmmm.....



I won't even try to deny it... I have a sweet tooth. And the holidays are my downfall... Well, Christmas to be exact. I can easily get through Valentine's Day with chocolate flowing all about... Easter~ the tiny little plastic eggs filled with sweet treats~ no problem... Halloween~ a little harder to get through~ merely because of all the varieties of sweet candies available~ but I can manage to pull out what little will power I have to resist... Thanksgiving~ a little indulgence in a slice of pie~ but not that much of a temptation...



Christmas rolls around~ and any will power I may claim to possess, disappears... Cookies... Christmas cookies... Specifically the Grandmas' cookies~ my Grandmas (plural)... It wouldn't be so bad if it was just the one Grandma that was the sensational baker~ but there are two...

And one of them lives in the same house...



(ALARM BELLS SOUNDING)

My dad's mom, my "regular" Grandma, comes down to visit at Christmas time. And with her comes homemade fudge~ still hanging onto a bit of the sugar grains, to make the fudge not quite melt in your hand- but definitely melt in your mouth... The moment it hits your tongue- the sweet granular chocolate melts, and bliss! Oh- and it doesn't end there... Chocolate chip cookies~ of course, laden full of chocolate chips and tons of nuts... Sinfully sweet... And my favorite~ the sugar cookies... Perfectly made... The cookie itself isn't super sweet, just enough to distinguish it from a bland dough... And so soft~ the way sugar cookies should be made... But the frosting~ in fun, bright and often festive colors~ sweet and perfect... I remember making these cookies on special occasions as a little girl... Mixing the ingredients... Rolling the dough out thin enough so that you didn't end up with a super thick cookie... Stamping out fun shapes~ whichever the season warranted~ and Grandma had shapes for all the different seasons. Christmas tress, stars, snowmen, hearts, eggs, bunnies~ you name it~ she had it... Watching through the oven door as they baked... Waiting as patiently as possible as they cooled enough to be able to frost them... Spoons, knives, forks, piping bags~ they were all tools used to put icing on the cookies... Followed by any type of candy that could be imagined. Sprinkles of all colors, shapes and sizes... Red hots, licorice, chocolate pieces, nuts, coconut... You name it it could go on the cookie... And these treasures~ that I remember so fondly from my childhood appear every Christmas in my Grandma's hands as she comes through the door...

My other Grandma who bakes is my step-mom's mom~ Grandma Maggie... This is the one who lives in the same house. And while I don't have the fond memories of having baked with her as a child~ the cookies are still a wonderful treat... All sorts of German cookies... Oh my goodness... Jelly rolls, walnut cookies, "snails" (a walnut cookie with a poppy seed type filling dusted in powdered sugar), spice cookies, pound cakes with cherries and brandy, chocolate chip oatmeal, fruit cake, window jam cookies... The list goes on and on... Sweet confections to tempt me~ and make me crumble to my knees as I give in... It wouldn't be so bad normally... But come the first part of December~ the house begins to smell~ the sounds of the older machines begin... Cookies are being crafted~ as only a true master of one's art could create... Thankfully~ as of now, the supply of cookies I am allowed to nibble on has dwindled to nought... And I refuse to open the tin containers they are kept in~ because even though I have been given free leave to open them, as soon as I do my favorites, the "snails" will quickly cease to exist... And I would hate to be the reason nobody else gets to taste these delectable treats (because the copious amounts made are given to family members all around southern California~ although I don't think they quite treasure them as much as I do)...

I do hope though~ that one day the masters will pass along their secrets~ so that the sinfully sweet treats that I so treasure won't be lost forever...