It isn't Christmas

My daughter Angela is decorating the lst batch, while Buster patiently waits for his sample....


Christmas hasn't arrived til the sugar cookies are made. The mingle of pine , lemon sugar cookies, and the brisk seasonal air (It has been brisk, here recently in NC, we were down to 22 this weekend).

I swear my brother actually sighs, when he eats one...he says it isn't Christmas til he's had a cookie.
Every year, Mom would include us in the baking tradition, we made cookies, to give away and some for the house, i think we damaged some, so we could have extra.
I can see the wax paper with beads of confectionery sugared glaze with nonpareil rainbow dots,
red n' green sugar and jimmies. My favorite one to make was the ornament shaped cookie, unlimited design possibilities.

My kids both love this family tradition as does my husband. One year, i was delayed making them and i found them all in the kitchen looking for the recipe. Once the dough is chilled the
Christmas music is put on and the elves began. Everyone has their area, to roll out the dough and get their sheet ready. Once they are done, our beagle, Buster, comes to the kitchen and lays under the table, for his "lemon bone"...it is tradition, we give him one, with no icing.
He is a ham; he waits patiently and persists on camping out, around our feet, hoping we will embellish him with a few more. It will not be any different this year, either....


It is a family recipe and I swear my Mom added lemon extract to the sugar cookies, long before Martha did, but i can't prove it. I can only say, be brave when you make the cookies and add a bit more extract. You will be glad you did!