Have you ever talked to someone on the phone and 20 minutes later were sure you could be best friends if only you didn’t live 1500 miles apart?
That’s how I felt the first time I spoke with my guest today.
It was a few years ago when I first “met” Liz Curtis Higgs via phone. Within minutes we connected over our love of all things Scottish, and she was appropriately intrigued to find out my mother’s maiden name is Sinclair – a fine Highlander clan.
I hung up the phone and declared right then and there, that I would be a Liz Curtis Higgs’ fan for life.
Then, when I got to meet her in person this past year at She Speaks, I had to stop myself from begging her to be my friend. I tried to play it cool, so I’m pretty sure she couldn’t tell how awestruck I was.
I think many people feel that way about Liz. She is funny, authentic, brilliant and as kind as can be. Plus, she loves Jesus like nobody’s business.
You are going to love Liz’s story about her grandmother. And keep reading for a special giveaway of two of Liz’s books, plus an invitation to two special events she’s hosting this month.
Here’s Liz:
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My grandmother was tiny, and in her last years, quite frail. Her posture was stooped, her steps halting, and her voice never rose above a whisper.
Even so, her eyes were bright, and her spirit more so. She smelled of baby powder, wafting from the folds of her floral print dresses. And oh, could she make a fine batch of cookies, especially at Christmastime.
I was a girl when she taught me how to bake “ginger cookies,” as she called them. We stood side by side in front of a low counter covered in red linoleum—old school even back then.
Rather then a gingerbread man, Grandma preferred a simple bell shaped cutter. No raisins, icing, or sugar sprinkles on top. She liked her cookies sweet and simple.
Grandma knew the recipe by heart, but I didn’t trust my memory and so wrote down her instructions. Fifty years later the same lined card—stained with butter and molasses—still lives in my wooden recipe box.
Each Christmas I assemble the ingredients and try to recreate the taste and scent I remember from my childhood—soft and thick, like sugar cookies, yet a rich brown in color and full of flavor. Rolling and cutting is my favorite part, though I usually get carried away with the flour and end up dusting the entire kitchen.
Minutes after the first batch slides into the oven, a spicy aroma fills the house—cinnamon, ginger, molasses. People begin appearing at the kitchen door, hopeful expressions on their faces.
At last the cookies are cool enough to eat. With one bite, I’m eight years old again, sinking my teeth into a memory that never grows old.
Grandma’s Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark molasses
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions:
Boil first 7 ingredients on the stove until the butter is melted and mixture is boiling rapidly.
Remove from heat. Add baking soda dissolved in a little warm water.
Cool dough for a few minutes.
Add egg, flour, and baking powder while stirring.
Place dough, still in saucepan, in refrigerator for one hour.
Roll dough 1/2” thick onto lightly floured surface.
Use cookie cutters to cut dough into shapes.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes in the middle of the oven.
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What a beautiful memory! Thank you Liz for sharing it with us today.
Liz also has two books to share with two people who comment on my blog today. The books are “A Wreath of Snow” and “The Girl’s Still Got it”. To enter, please leave a comment with your favorite Christmas food (sweet or savory) or drink. The contest will close tonight around 8 p.m. and I’ll announce the two winners tomorrow.
Liz also wants to extend an invitation to join her for two special Christmas Events:
Liz’s Livestream Event tomorrow.
Women of Christmas Study on Liz’s blog
Liz Curtis Higgs is the author of 30 books, including A Wreath of Snow: A Victorian Christmas Novella and The Girl’s Still Got It: Take a Walk with Ruth and the God Who Rocked Her World. On December 14 join Liz for a Livestream event at 12noon ET, “Live from Lizzie’s Kitchen: Let’s Bake Scottish Shortbread for the Holidays!” And every Wednesday this December check out her Bible Study Blog on “The Women of Christmas: Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna.”
Discover more about Liz’s historical fiction here:
Website: http://www.MyScottishHeart.com
Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/MyScottishHeart
Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/MyScottishHeart
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/lizcurtishiggs/a-victorian-visit-to-stirling-scotland/
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Congratulations to the following winners from yesterday’s giveaway
Lois J., posting a comment at 5 am (MST)
Stephanie H., posting a comment at 6:44 am
Deb, posting a comment at 9:02 pm
Gail, posting a comment at 10:24 am
I’ve sent you each a personal email. And thanks to everyone for sharing your wonderful Christmas moments.
As soon as I read this I had to share with my daughter. I have so many wonderful memories with all of my girls in the kitchen but especially with my second daughter who has always enjoyed being in the kitchen.
I am so grateful for this recipe! Ginger snaps are my favorite cookie and I can’t wait to try this soft version! My favorite Christmas treat is a chocolate-covered citrus biscotti that my husband makes on Christmas Eve. With young kids in the house, Christmas morning starts early and these are the perfect accompaniment to all the coffee we drink that day!
Made these ginger cookies today. They are so simple, and SO GOOD!!! Thanks again!
What a wonderful memory and recipe! Thank you for sharing it
I have a card that looks similar from my childhood neighbor, who was like a grandma to me… It is so special & treasured 
My grandmother Thelma made the best jam cake, only at Christmas. I stood on a little step stool to reach the counter so I could carefully help meAsure the sugar, flour and blackberry jam. Ever so patiently Granny watched and encourage me as I struggled to “level off” the measuring cups of flour and sugar. Then the jam was a little trickier to get just right. Oh was that the best to lick that spoon when I finished measuring. I thoughtr the caramel icing would finish cooking. Granny didn’t allow me to handle the hot icing but she did allow me to savor every lick of that spoon. I had the privilege in later years to make Jam Cake for my dad at Christmas. It seemed an eternity after making the cake a couple of days before Christmas waiting to indulge in a slice of sweet bliss. Now I get to make it for my children and they have to wait. It’s my husband who stands guard waiting for the Covented spoon though. How bless I have been to have a
Grandmother and mother who shared their love of cooking and showed by example how to share that gift with others.
My favorite Christmas drink is egg nog. That recipe card brought back fond memories of my Grandma Ethel. Some of the cards I have from her look similar, especially the hand writing. Blessings, Susan Fryman
My favorite Christmas food…sausage balls! They take me back to all the Christmases of my childhood when we had them Christmas morning after opening our presents!
Growing up, we always had sugar cookies with frosting. However, due to celiac disease and dairy issues with many in the family, that is no longer an option. In all reality,it hasn’t been very missed. It is one less hustle and bustle to take care of. Now, we drink hot chocolate and apple cider out of Christmas mugs. Less stress and less clean up:)
Ahh, Christmas, just days away….let the baking begin! My favorite sweet is mini pecan pies. I can eat them for breakfast, and dessert all day. Many blessings to you all this Christmas season.
As I read Liz’s story about her grandmother and baking ginger cookies, it took me back to my childhood and baking ginger cookies with my grandmother. I still have the recipe in her handwriting and make them about once a year. Grandmother’s recipe makes about 600 cookies so you are baking all day and the house smells so good. The recipe also calls for lard. Several of us have tried other shortenings but always go back to the lard, they taste so good. Another thing – it calls for “flour enough to make a stiff dough” but I have that down to a 5 lb. bag of flour. Guess I’ll have to make another batch of Grandma’s Ginger Cookies soon!
I love waking up early in the morning and drinking a cup of coffee (or 4) while I read your blog. This story makes my heart feel cozy. I am going to bake these cookies tomorrow night. Making cookies reminds me of my mom. I remember making cookies so often with her as a little kid. I remember her teaching me how to crack eggs, how to measure four and scoop off the remaining with a knife and spooning it onto the cookie sheet…and of course eating the dough. Last Christmas, my husband and I were anxiously awaiting the birth of our first baby. We now have a baby girl who is going to turn one December 30th. I can’t wait to start our family tradition of making ginger cookies at Christmas time. I’m going to start this Friday and probably two more times before Christmas!
I too am Scottish and one of my fondest Christmas memories was going to my great aunt Ida and Uncle John’s house for goodies and presents. They were brother and sister and never had children and they were what today would be considered poor, but they scrimped and saved and shopped all year looking for the most treasured presents for their five great nieces and nephews. On Christmas Day, they would also put out a spread of small finger sandwiches and candy and cookies that would rival the best homes. They always had cookies and treats but they went over the top at Christmas. I still remember how their faces lit up and how they chuckled when we tore through the gifts. They loved us unconditionally and treated us like royalty with great love and joy.
I love mulled cider and my daddy’s potato rolls with apple butter!
What wonderful memories this story brought forth. Thank you Liz for sharing your Grandmother’s recipe. My Mother has been gone now for 2 years but her memory will remain forever. She was always in the kitchen “puttering” around, but oh, the delicious aromas that would come from the kitchen from her “puttering” at Christmas time. She loved to bake. When I was small I remember she and 2 of her sisters getting together for the day and making fruitcakes. Such a wonderful process. Another wonderful recipe was for Mince Meat Pie—not raisin pie, but the real pie that actually had meat in it. A special treat was to be able to have a slice of this delicious pie, warmed up, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, for supper on a Sunday evening. Oh the memories you have brought to mind. Thanks again for sharing and for reminding all of us that we can share Christ’s love through our everyday tasks.
Thank you SO much for the ginger cookie recipe! And what a sweet memory! I LOVE ginger cookies and they are my favorite foods of the holidays. My favorite memory of Christmas foods, though, is a similar one to Liz. I used to get to make sugar cookies with my Aunt Addie. To this day, I can’t make or eat sugar cookies without thinking of the times we shared! Sweet times!
My favorite foods at Christmas are turkey, cornbread dressing & cheesy potatoes! Yum!!!
My favorite holiday treat are peanut butter balls – they are just sweet enough to satisfy a major sweet attack and they are feeling so you don’t eat too many at once. I make them each Christmas and usually end up making them several times during the holidays because they seem to disappear quickly. Thanks for sharing the new recipe…I can’t wait to try it.
Still propped against the pillows,the early morning quiet, hot coffee–I could almost taste the warm cookies! Christmas morning means sausage and egg casserole baking while we open presents.
Loved the grandmother story.
I have my grandmother’s metal recipe box full of recipes in her handwriting, something I cherish greatly. (Even though I don’t cook. LOL) My favorite Christmas food is peppermint balls that my sister makes. I could eat the entire batch right by myself.
Christmas sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles! Will try the Ginger cookies with the grands this year, they sound yummy! Thank you and Merry Christmas!
the cookies sound wonderful
This time of year always makes me reflect on traditions and memories. I remember that my mom always made a fruit cake with graham crackers as the base, and she would store it tightly wrapped in plastic wrap back in the graham cracker box…she was always thrifty, and it was a big deal to buy all of the stuff that goes into fruit cake. If you received one, you knew you were dearly loved and appreciated. She taught me to love by giving.
I know what you mean about Liz Curtis Higgs, she oozes personality and her love for Jesus in every one of her newsletters. I hope someday to meet her.
My favorite Christmas food is my mom’s Chipped Beef Gravy over biscuits on Christmas morning. My mom started the tradition when I was very small and with my dad in the military, the money didn’t stretch to far. What started as a cost saving meal became a wonderful family tradition. My sister, brother and all their grown kids all serve the same thing every Christmas morning.
May you have a blessed day! I would love to be entered to win a book by Liz.
Cindy W.
I love pecan pie bars that I make…
Very soon it may be those ginger cookies! ;0)
Until I get around to trying the recipe though, my favorite holiday treat will remain old fashioned sugar cookies with plenty of frosting and sprinkles.
My favorite this year are Molasses Crinkles cookies. They are so incredibly yummy and I make them especially for my middle son, Jacob.
I think Liz’s cookies could become my new favorite! I love gingerbread; chocolate is divine, but there’s just something special about gingerbread at Christmas. I had the pleasure of seeing Liz in Kansas City last month at the Women of Faith Convention. I so identified with her past and was thankful to hear her testimony. Thank you, Liz, for your God-given honesty and courage, and for encouraging me to share the love of our Lord and Savior! (And thank you for the cookie recipe, too! )
I loved the story and the recipe. Molasses cookies happen to be one of my favorites and I have already made them twice this year.
My favorite Christmas food is Ambrosia. Just three ingredients- oranges, coconut and maraschino cherries. It tastes delicious, but it brings back Christmas memories of my mother making her mother’s favorite. Now I make it for my children.
I love Liz’s story and the copy of the recipe card is priceless. I have one that looks like that but it is my Grandmothers recipe for Elderberry pie! Thank you for making me remember some special times I spent with my Grandmother! Blessings!
Baking cookies!! I love to bake and now so does my 8 year old,Katie. We will have to try the ginger cookies. They sound so yummy and we don’t have a recipe like that. Thanks for sharing!
Growing up, my favorite Christmas food was the gingerbread cookies that my aunt made and shared during the holiday season. She passed away a number of years ago, so now I make them and mail a batch to my uncle who lives several states away.
Liz has her ginger cookies; I have homemade noodles. Like Liz, I stood next to my Scottish grandmother learning to make noodles. Not only did I learn how to make them, but I learned the gift of patience as she cut them — by hand — pencil thin. To this day, I don’t cut them nearly thin enough, but I am blessed to have had those blessed moments to spend with my grandma.
Our favorite Christmas Cookies are Grandma’s Butter Cookies. I have memories of making those with my Grandma and my siblings. We always had Christmas at Grandma’s, so the cookies would be there and you were allowed to snack on them before dinner. Often there wasn’t any left for dessert!
As a young girl I remember all the Christmas cookies my mom would bake. I always looked forward to my hot tea and cookies. Still do! My grandson is 8 and loves to help in the kitchen. Well this weekend we will be making the “Ginger Bread Cookies”. Thank you for sharing your family recipe!
I am really excited to try the Ginger Cookies! I tend to think of a special Christmas treat as Fudge. It was the only time it was ever made growing up and until 2 years ago, when my sweet granddaughter asked if Grammy could make fudge at her birthday party! So, of course I did and now that has become a special tradition.
I so appreciate sharing ideas!
Woops! I meant to “make fudge FOR her birthday party”.
When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to make green Christmas tree cookies with her cookie press. The flavor of those cookies is one of my earliest Christmas memories. Grandmama went Home to Jesus four years ago, and her beloved cookie press was one of the treasures I inherited. Finding her recipe was a challenge, but after adding some cream cheese and almond extract to a basic spritz recipe, we are all enjoying cookies that taste just like Grandmama’s.
My favorite Christmas treat has to be Peanut Butter Balls or wait is it Hungarian Ice Box Cookies. Either way fond memories of making them with my Mom who passed away earlier this year.
My favorite Christmas treats are anything dipped in chocolate. My husbands dear old grandmother has a tradition of making all kinds of things which are coated in chocolate. Anything from pretzels, marshmallows, peanut butter balls and nuts are all included.
I love so many different foods at Christmas that it is hard to choose one. One of my most favorite is the homemade candy- peanut butter roll. Not the “potato candy” kind, but the one my mom makes with cream fondant and a thick layer of peanut butter all rolled up and sliced. A few slices could send you into a sugar coma. I’ll have to admit, though that there have been times that I wish I could sit down with the whole roll and just nibble till the whole thing was gone!
I love, love, love peanut butter blossoms, at least that’s what we called them in our house. You know, the peanut butter cookies with the hershey kiss in the middle. Another favorite food that we never had growing up but since my introduction to Ohio Living are Buckeyes! I guess I have a sweet spot for chocolate and peanut butter
What a sweet story! When my Grandmother was alive
I loved her special rolls! I could eat a basket full at one sitting!
I still haven’t found rolls like hers anywhere!
I have a bayberry candle from my great grandmother.
It is in an old Avon glass container. I open it and smell it once a while
carrying me back to Great Grandmother’s couch sitting beside her as a little girl enjoying hours of conversation! Merry Christmas to all!
Our favorite Christmas food is ham!!! We have our big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve so Christmas morning is relaxed and full of good left overs. Half way through opening gifts, I bring out the left over ham, fry it up in a cast iron skillet, throw in some bisquits and warm cheese grits made the day before. We all can’t wait to dig into a great but simple Christmas breakfast (or brunch on some occasions!)
Thank you for sharing this memory! My favorite Christmas “food” was my gradmother’s boiled custard! It’s egg nog with no spices but lots of sugar and eggs! It was heaven in a glass to me! I loved being with her in the kitchen while she made a batch!
My mom used to make these great cheesy shrimp appetizers and now I make them for my family on Christmas eve or friends on Christmas day.
I am so anxious to try out this new recipe! Thank you!
My favorite Christmas food are sugar cookies! I remember rolling out the dough & cutting them with our kids when they were little. They are all adults now with kids of their own, making memories.
Hmm–it would have to be my grandmother’s “accidental” (she had to change a recipe she intended to use due to lack of ingredients, and the results were awesome!!) bar cookie recipe that has been handed down to me. She called them Teenage Teasers, and they are soo yummy! The finely ground pecans used can be difficult to find these days, but they always remind me of her. Come to think of it, I need to ask my dad to scan her original recipe, in her writing, before the paper degrades too much.
Many blessings!
Carissa in eastern Iowa
Carmel popcorn!! My mom makes it every year and mails it 1500 miles to me. Christmas wouldn’t be the same without that tradition.
Thanks for sharing this memory. I too have a Gingerbread recipe handed down from my grandmother. The entire recipe is in rhyme.
My favorite Christmas food? Tamales! Not traditional for most folks, but as a Texas girl, it’s our Christmas Eve meal. Love ‘em!
This brings back memories of being the kitchen with my grandmother. I loved EVERYTHING she made – she was a fantastic cook. But we always did cover dishes at Christmas (large family) so hard to pick one thing. Around our house though, it has to be sausage balls. Even though they’re grown and out of the house it’s the first request. My husband’s grandfather was first generation Scotch here (and still spoke Gaelic) so we were very interested in researching his ancestry. Can’t wait to try the cookie recipe.
Christmas memories – cooking with grandma……SWEET
I love memories.
But this reminded me when I was young. My paternal Grandmother always had spice cookies in her cookie jar and kept them soft by putting a slice of bread in the cookie jar, replacing it when the the bread got hard. They were the best dunking cookies.
I loved this story and it brings back so many memories of my mother’s sugar cookies. My mother has passed and I regret never making these cookies. I’m planning to start this tradition again with my grown daughter and future dauther-in-law. Thank you so much for your mission.
Thank you. I write this with tears in my eyes. My fondest memories are in the kitchen with my Grandmother. I miss her so much this time of year. My daughters and I have from the time they were little baked together for the holidays or sometimes just because
. Thank you for the sweet reminder of what is important in this life. Many blessings to you!
My favorite Christmas treat is peanut butter balls, affectionately dubbed “Reese’s Peanut Butter Balls”! I have made them every Christmas since 1974. They are always a hit, and I have passed the recipe on numerous times.
I love Liz too. I was going through some bad health isssues and read some of her books and enjoyed laughing again. My memory is popcorn balls.
My favorite Christmas drink is my grandmother’s punch. Such a simple recipe, but it gets raves from everyone in my family. She always served it for our big family celebration on Christmas Eve in one of her fancy punch bowls (she had 3). Thinking I might start a new tradition and make punch for my family this Christmas Eve. My little ones will feel so very special to use the “good” punch bowl (one of hers) and cups for a Christmas treat.
Do we have to choose just one favorite food? I love chocolate crinkles…chocolate cookies dipped in powdered sugar that taste kind of like a brownie. But I also like my co-worker’s peanut butter balls. She makes a special stash for me each year at Christmas, and it’s embarrassing how quickly I eat them all. Mom’s Christmas dinner…turkey, dumplings, mashed potatoes, baked corn, green bean casserole…is also a favorite. Now I’m starving! LOL!
Peffernuesse – recipe from a friend. Wonderful with hot drink.
I love Liz Curtis Higgs, but I didn’t realize she writes historical fiction. Gonna check that out! My favorite Christmas treat is potato candy. Mom would make it for me and my six siblings every year for Christmas Eve. It’s a cheap and easy candy made from a boiled potato, powdered sugar and peanut butter. It’s so rich and delicious. But sadly, my husband and children don’t like it. And several of my sibs have diabetes. So there won’t be any potato candy at our celebration this year.
I love the picture of the recipe card. I have a similar one with the recipe for my grandma’s molasses cookies. She laughed when I asked her to walk me step by step through the process of making them because mine never turn out as yummy as hers. That afternoon in her kitchen is a memory I will always cherish. Love Liz’s books! I have several well read ones (some with tear stains) in my collection.
Isn’t God’s timing perfect – I have been talking to my husband about making ginger cookies for the past two days. The smell in the house is exactly what I’m after. Thanks so much for the “little push” to follow through on my thoughts. I loved this post!
Cookies – but I don’t which is my favorite! My mom’s sugar cookies are the best (especially the bits of dough we sneak) and the magic mint cookies (chocolate, brownie-like with melted Andes mint on top) I made last year won best cookie at a party -they were sooooo good.
Mincemeat cookies! Mom only baked them at Christmas time and I loved them. Unfortunately, my children and hubby didn’t share my enthusiasm so I haven’t baked them in years….because I would eat them all!!
Maybe I’ll whip up a batch this year and share them with neighbors. I’ll might find a new shared love (for mincemeat) with one of them.
Thank you, Glynnis, for sharing with us via your blog. What a blessing!
My Granny was my favorite person growing up. I would spend weekends and school breaks, and whenever I was sick with her. When she got older and I had moved away, I came home to help her pack her belongings, because she was moving into an assisted living apartment. I remember helping pack up the pots and pans that she had cooked many meals in, and still did. I was cleaning up a cupboard and I opened a drawer and it was full of pieces of paper and reciepe cards. All in my Granny’s handwriting. I regret now that I didn’t grab them all up and take them home with me. One of my sister in laws ended up with them. But I still have the memories in my heart. I was named after my Granny, and so is my daughter. I now have a granddaughter and her name for me will be “Granny”
Loved the recipe. Simple yet filled with so much memories for you. My memories are not as sweet (my mom had to work) but I had other sweet memories with my family. We used to sleep christmas eve under the christmas tree after we played a game together and had popcorn and sweet tea. Life was simple. We’ve made this holiday so complicated. I want to bring back simplicity and JESUS. The reason for this season.
Merry Christmas!!!!!
Thank you Liz! I have “The Girl’s Still Got It” and it is WONDERFUL! You are an amazing lady. Thanks for letting God minister to me through you. My grandma made many different cookies and candies during Christmas time. She would keep them out all the time. So any time we visited (which was often) they were waiting! I think my favorite if Christmas food it fudge!
My favorite drink at Christmas time is 7 up, it reminds me of being a kid, I think it was the first soda I ever had. Favorite food is my sister’s fudge. It took her years but she recreated our great-grandmother’s fudge recipe, which has been great for my grandparents to have all over again.
What perfect timing. I am keeping my grandkids this weekend and wanted to do something special with them that could become a tradition. Then I sign on this morning and find this recipe. I love the smell of anything ginger. And a new tradition has begun.
Thank you so much. I plan on making three cards. One for me to grow older with and one for each of the grandkids to have special memories when I leave this earth.
Thanks for sharing Liz with us and Merry Christmas to all!
My favorite food at Christmas is pancakes and sausage on Christmas morning. It brings back memories of waking up on Christmas morning and running into the living room to find all kinds of goodies under the tree. Mom made pancakes for breakfast before we bundled up and headed to Grandma’s for our Christmas celebration there. I would go to my cousin’s house and ooh and aaah over what she got for Christmas while telling her about all my wonderful presents at home.
My favorite Christmas food….is more of an event….my Grandmother used to be the queen of the kitchen. Every year she would produce all sorts of wonders from that tiny space. Each year she made a batch of everyone’s favorties….which is no mean trick with 20 or so family members…then she would start in on a few new recipies. When she died Mom took up the mantel….but she stuck to our favorites. When my Dad suddenly died Mom couldn’t quite handle the tradition on her own and started what is now a much beloved family event. Each December she gathers her grandkids….8 boys, 2 girls between the ages of 25 and 12…and they all make the cookies together. What a mess, but oh what fun. I love the Flour Fling more and more each year….and don’t particularly care if all those boys make edible cookies or not. It is the doing of it that is important…being together and making memories.
A special cheesecake with a raspberry topping is my favorite Christmas food. We rarely ever have cheesecake in the house throughout the year, so this is very special.
All of my grandchildren have Liz’s children’s books (with wonderful Christian messages), illustrated by my good friend Nancy Munger Anderson. I was thrilled to hear Liz speak a number of years ago. She is great!
I bake cookies with my granddaughter all through the year. It is our thing. I don’t know what I would call my favorite. I think it is the joy of being in the kitchen with her. She is now eight and we have been baking together since before she could see over the counter.
I love Christmas cookies! I love baking them, and unfortunately, eating them! They fill the home with such wonderful aromas, welcoming and comforting! I think my favorites are Russian Tea Cakes, and Chocolate chip!
And I LOVE Liz! She is such an exciting author and speaker!
Blessings!
Sue
Snickerdoodles bring the same kinds of memories to mind….
Growing up, we were all pumpkin pie fans. My daddy could eat a whole pie himself. So when I find a recipe for pumpkin pie cake. .I couldn’t resist. It could not be yummier, and it has become a tradition! I also love homemade chex mix for snacking when playing games and hanging out over the holidays!
My favorite Christmas Food was the Baked Ham my father made – the smell of cloves, oranges, brown sugar was so heavenly I would just sit by the kitchen table and wait for it to be pulled from the oven. Also the homemade Pierogi’s my Grandma made were so much fun to make pinching the edges with a fork. So many memories and the wonderful smells of Christmas. My favorite time of year.
My favorite food during the holidays are the Christmas cookies! We make a big day (or couple of days) of it and bake together as a family and something about that just makes the cookies taste that much sweeter.
My favorite is sausage balls made with bisquick, sausage & cheese. Very simple but we only make them once a year. My parents only made them once a year and I have continued the tradition. One food that was a tradition as a kid was my grandmother’s lemon fruitcake. I have the pan she baked it in but have never tried making it. Maybe I will be adventurous this year. It was mostly cake with a little fruit and tasted so good but I am sure that came from the love she put into it. Oh how I miss my Mimi and thank you Liz & Glynnis for sharing from your heart!
I love my Aunt’s Red Velvet Cake. When she passed away several years ago I got the recipe from my cousin. It always reminds me of the family Christmas party when I was little. : )
I was a pastor’s wife for 22 years & have many cookie recipes from the different churches we pastored. We always had an open house at Christmas, so from December 1st until that time the kitchen was filled with cookie baking. Fun times that I remember whenever I bake cookies now. I have also passed recipes down to my daughters who bake them with their families!
Christmas is such a Wonderful Time of year… my husband loves my gr 9 butter tarts recipe and all our children have treats we make for the season. Our eldest likes his sugar cookies, the the next son has popcorn balls, our daughter makes sure we make shortbread kisses and her twin brother has lots of nuts and bolts. All the children are grown up but love this tradition of treats for Christmas 1
My favorite Christmas food is the sweets. When I was a little girl, every Christmas my Grandmother would have a card table full of treats that she had made. It even included Chex Mix. Yummy!!
My favorite treat at Christmas is sugar cookies. I just love to make them and eat them. I also love reading Liz’s books. Her bible studies on her blog are the best.
Merry Christmas!
This is not just for Christmas, but for anytime. One of my favorite recipes to prepare and share with neighbors and co-workers is my very own “Flaxseed Cranberry Muffins”. I also developed a gluten-free version. They both include wonderful spices and chopped or shredded apples too. YUM!!!
FLAXSEED CRANBERRY MUFFINS (the Gluten-Free version)
Recipe by: Lynne
1-½ cups Featherlight Flour (1 cup rice flour, 1 cup cornstarch, 1 cup tapioca starch/flour, 1 tbsp. Potato flour, plus 2 tbsp. Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum)
¾ cup Ground Flaxseed Meal
¾ cup Flaxseed Plus Cereal
1 cup Brown Sugar
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Baking Powder
½ tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
2 peeled and chopped or shredded Apples
¼ cup Canola or Flaxseed Oil
1-½ cups Dried Cranberries
¾ cup Milk
2 beaten Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
MIX together flour, flaxseed meal, cereal, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl.
STIR in apples, cranberries.
COMBINE milk, oil beaten eggs and vanilla.
POUR liquid ingredients into dry ingredients.
STIR until ingredients are moistened. DO NOT OVER MIX.
FILL muffin cups ¾ full.
BAKE at 350°F for 15-20 minutes.
YEILD: 15 medium muffins. ENJOY AND SHARE!
these sound amazing! yummmm!
Can’t wait to try … just finished double batch of my momma’s German Honey Cookies, my comfort food!
My mom used to make a banana split dessert for Christmas dinners and that was my FAVORITE!!! I haven’t had it in years. I need to get the recipe and make it.
These cookies sound wonderful. Can’t wait to try them. My favorite Christmas treat is a Dutch tradition called Banket. It is almond paste in a crust. Yum! Nanci D
one of my favorite memories of making homemade chocolate covered Cherries. I made them with my Oldest sister(I was next to the youngest of 6 girls) they were so awesome and fun to make. I remember my Aunt who was originally from Japan was fascinated watching us make homemade candies for Christmas. my youngest daughter and I still carry on the tradition making candy at Christmas.
Glynnis, I agree with everything you said about meeting Liz, I too felt the same way the first time I heard her speek at a Women of Joy Conference in Louisville several years ago. I have been following her ever since! I hope to attend the conference again this year in April.
Thank you, Liz for sharing your recipe and memory of your grandmother! My favorite Christmas food is Gingerbread cookies, I think I have at least 15 different recipes and love them all. I look forward to trying Grandma’s recipe this year. Merry Christmas!
I love this post and the sweet reminder of the handwritten recipes I have from my grandmother and my husband’s grandmother and great aunt. They are something I will always treasure. My favorite is the almond bar recipe.
Our family always looks forward to Christmas morning cinnamon rolls while we open presents.
I too have wonderful cookie-baking memories from my g’ma, “Nanny.” She “passed the baking-baton” to me & I treasure my role as official family Christmas cookie baker. This year I’m giving a Christmas Cookie photo/recipe book to my family along with the traditional tin of cookies! I am so excited. Look forward to giving this recipe a try!
The kids and I always made decorated sugar cookies at Christmas time.
So many wonderful memories. My mother has been gone for 11 years but how I remember baking raisin filled cookies with her using a recipe that the 6th generation in our family is now enjoying – my 9 grandkids. Peace and blessings to you.
all the cookies, doesn’t matter which!
These cookies sound so good. I would love to try them but am not sure if my husband will eat ginger flavored cookies. I am always looking for another Christian author since I love to read. I have heard of Liz but never knew anything about her. Thank you for the introduction. Now I’m ready to start reading her books.
Liz’s description of her grandmother could be a ‘cut and paste’ description of my great grandmother. I was blessed to know and love my great-grandmother as well as my grandmother. I can still picture them sitting on my grandmothers wrap around porch snapping green beans for supper. My great grandmother wore the prairie style sun hat even under the roof of the porch her gnarled hands snapping those beans faster than all of us.
My favorite Christmas smell was my grandmothers savory dressing. After her passing I took up the tradition. The first Christmas I made the dressing I was coming up the steps from the basement from yet another trip to the freezer. I caught a whiff of that familiar smell. At first I cried….. I missed her so much. It was amazing how quickly that smell transported me to all the wonderful memories. I realized then what a powerful presence she will always be in my life…..she was right there with me. Just as she is when the pot I inherited from her wobbles on the burner saying “I’m here and I love you too”.
My favorite cookies were always peanut butter kisses. My mom used to let us help her mix up these sweet peanut butter cookies and roll them in sugar before they were baked. As soon as they came out of the oven, we moved them to cooling racks and she let us put the Hershey’s kisses in the centers. Those little chocolate kisses would start melting, and heaven was reached.
Since I’ve been married my mother-in-law makes homemade hot chocolate using fresh cocoa. It’s incredible and we put whipped cream and candy canes in it for a wonderful peppermint taste. Love the holidays!
Goodness, more things to check out! I love this. I LOVE the anis cookies my mother-in-law makes and the seven layer cookies my mother makes. I also have a slight obsession with chocolate covered pretzels and “nut balls” (I think it is because I am kind of nutty).
Gosh, it is so hard to pinpoint a single favorite food! My Mom’s chicken dressing is one I’ve loved since childhood. My children love for me to make pumpkin pie cake for Thanksgiving and their birthdays which are in Oct/Nov. I also love cheeseball and cornflake candy. After reading Liz’s story about her grandmother and also browsing through the above comments, I have decided that this Mimi needs to start making some cookies or candy or something with her little grandchildren. I know we could have a ball, as they are ages 4, 3 & 2. Thanks for the recipe!
My grandmother and then my mother always made Snickerdoodle cookies at Christmas time. A sweet treat!
Our favorite from my Mom are crescent cookies. They have walnuts in them and are covered in powdered sugar (a little like wedding cookies). My nephew has the recipe down pat, and they were at our family holiday party my sister held last week. We talked about so many different kinds of cookies that our German grandmother made, and we wish we had been smarter and asked for her recipes while she and my Mom were still alive.
I love, love, love Liz!!! I had the honor of going thru her AMAZING “Ruth” Bible Study with her. WOW! I am now going through her Bad Girls series. Liz is so authentic and encouraging. Bless her…and you, Glynnis!
Thanks for sharing the recipe. Homemade yeast rolls are a favorite Christmas food in our family: plain, buttered, or topped with jelly, jam or honey. I learned the basics from my grandmother and aunt over 35 years ago. I improved my own bread baking skills over the years and now my oldest daughter is trying her hand at baking them. Wonderful memories, a wonderful tradition to pass from generation to generation.
One of my favorite Christmas treats is banket, an almond filled pastry. My Grandma always makes it at Christmastime and I have her recipe in her handwriting. So special to me!
I also have special memories of my grandmother’s kitchen. We didn’t get to see her as much as I would have liked as she and my grandfather lived 1000 miles from us. As I look back on my memories of our visits, as I am now a grandma ,I realize how much effort she made for us. There was always something special in her cookie jar, and delicious meals on her table. My Christmas memory though is of the fudge she would make and send to my father (her son-in-law) as a gift. She made it with black walnuts that they would gather from the trees on their farm, so delicious. I have to admit that the fudge was not safe from us kids where my dad put it on top of the refridgerator!
Liz Curtis Higgs is one of my favorite authors. Thanks for the links to her events. I hope I can manage to participate. I love shortbread, too. Will love to see how she does it!
My favorite Christmas treat is fruitcake – but not the traditional kind that everyone hates and regifts! My mother made what she called “Icebox Fruitcake” – a combination of crushed graham crackers, melted marshmallows, raisins, dates and nuts – no candied fruit. Every time I take a bite, I go back to my childhood. My mother has been gone since 1974 but her memories are still very much alive!
We are one of those crazy cross-border/cultural families (McAnear-Smith?!) who just love food. This year, the winner on my list of personal bakes is BREAD. Beautiful, just out of the oven, I made it myself bread. For Christmas I will add some homemade cinnamon buns for breakfast….and while we have the traditional turkey for lunch…it will be the fresh homemade bread that will top the day at the end of the day (with a little homemade jam of my husband’s). Thanks for asking!
We also have a ginger cookie recipe that’s been in our family for at least 4 generations. The recipe itself is called Gingersnaps, but we’ve called them Gingersofts for as long as I can remember. The cookies don’t turn out crunchy like a true gingersnap. They’re soft and chewy and full of Christmas memories. My immediate family is traveling to visit my brother’s family this year, and I’ve got Gingersofts on my list of things to pack!
My favorite Christmas drink is eggnog. And we always have chocolate pecan pie
This is kind of funny timing, this whole last week my husband has said all I want for Christmas is my great grandma’s ginger cookies, well the recipe is written out but there are no measurements and its said boil at the bottom…huh? was my response and he said “yes, she did boil something and then added more stuff and cooled it and then rolled it out!” so I am going to try this recipe tonight! Thank you!
I have many “favorite” Christmas treats but one I recently resurrected was my mom’s Christmas Mincemeat Bars. They are soft, chewy and chock-full of dried fruit with an almond flavored icing. I made up a batch last night for my Christmas party on Saturday. Everyone I share these cookies with loves them.
Christmas Mincemeat Bars
Mix thoroughly …..
1 tbsp. soft butter
1 ½ Cups Brown Sugar (packed)
2 eggs
2 tbsp. molasses
1 tsp. vanilla
Sift together and stir in ….
2 C. sifted Gold Medal flour
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
Stir in ……
3 tbsp. hot water
Then stir in …..
¼ C. almonds sliced
¼ C. seedless raisins (cut in two)
9 oz. pkg. None Such Condensed Mincemeat, broken up with fork
Spread thin in 2 greased 9 x 13 oblong pans. (Dough puffs and fills in holes as it bakes.) Bake until, when touched lightly with finger, no imprint remains.
Spread immediately with mixture of ……
1 ½ C. sifted confectioners’ sugar
About 3 tbsp. hot milk
½ tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. almond flavoring
Cut into squares or diamonds.
Temperature: 400 degrees (Mod. Hot oven)
Time: 12 to 15 minutes
Amount: 6 doz. 1 ½ x 2 cookies.
Thank you! You have taken this above and beyond and I love it!
favorite christmas food memory is the popped corn my great grandma made, wrapped in cellophane baggies, with some curling ribbon to tie the bag closed…such love went into making those baggies each and every year!
I LOVE ginger snaps and this recipe looks so simple to do! I can’t wait to do this with my young daughter and (hopefully) create memories.
Thank you!!
My Favorite was my grandmother’s Chocolate Pie and Banana Pudding.
My favorite memory is frosting sugar cookies with my siblings. We often got more frosting on ourselves than the cookies but we had such fun. As for beverage, my husband and I discovered gluhwein at the Christkindlmarkt in Munich, Germany. It is a spiced, fortified red wine that is served warm–a must in cold MN.
Loved the recipe and story! My favorite food is my husband’s spicy Chex snack mix he makes every Christmas.
I have several cards just like that from my grandmother. My favorite christmas treat is Norweegan pancakes. They are very similar to crepes but even thinner or lighter. It was always our christmas Morning breakfast while I was growing up and I have now started it as a tradition with my family now!!!
CHOCOLATE FUDGE!
Oreo Truffles!
My favorite Christmas treat is the Queen Anne Chocolate Cherry Cordials!
I love all things sweet and chocolate!!!
Others have mentioned so many tasty treats that I wish we could get together for a huge pot luck!
I really like to have White Chocolate Raspberry Cake on Christmas.
Amen!
Dear Glynnis:
I remember our big family get togethers at Nana’s house. Finger foods such as small rolls stuffed with chicken or tuna salad, homemade cookies and brownies. What mattered most was playing with my cousins and singing Christmas carols together. We didn’t exchange presents, yet all of us were present, the best gift of all. Love in Christ, Theresa
I love chocolate chip cookies!
Oh my. I am so going to have to try those Ginger Cookies! I can remember “helping” my mom make her fudge. She only made it at Christmas time. I would watch her melt the butter and syrup and then she sometimes let me stir in the chocolate chips and marshmallows – when I was older and stronger. Then! After she scraped as much of it as she could get out into the greased pan, she would let me lick the spoon and clean out the bowl. Oh YUM! Warm soft gooey chocolate. Wonderful memories.
My daughter and I made and discovered a new favorite this season….Peppermint Chocolate Biscotti…it is wonderful with a glass of milk or cup of coffee. On Christmas morning, we enjoy Cranberry Sausage Quiche and for New Year’s morning I Egg Nog French Toast.
Being of Scottish descent, I would enjoy meeting Liza as she seems to be someone with whom I could share my great love for all things Scottish. I also have the last name of “Scott” which makes me feel more inclined to test out recipes like the gingerbread cookies Liza shared with us. My favorite cookies, Scottish shortbread with a bit of chocolate chips, are one of my favorites for the season. I look forward to reading more about this fabulous cook and author.
My favourite Christmas dessert is
)
naniamo bars.
I work at a gluten free bakery here in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
“Peartree Bakery”
We are making dreams come true
for people who require a gluten – free
diet.
Well… actually “everyone” loves the baking.
The cinnamon buns ….are “heavenly”!
Liz’s writing brought back memories of my grandmother and my Christmas times with her in Winston-Salem, NC. My grandmother’s recipe was Moravian Ginger Cookies, similar taste to Liz’s but paper thin rolled out and cut to shapes. Another was her Moravian Sugar Cake, made with mashed potatoes and flour and brown sugar and cinnamon sprinkled across the top as dough begins to rise. This one has continued to be a Christmas tradition on Christmas morning.
Thanks for the memories!
Cynthia Kratt
Charlotte, North Carolina
Oh, Cynthia!
I grew up as a member of the Moravian Congregation in Lititz, Pennsylvania, so I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE Moravian Sugar Cake! In fact, you’ll find a Lititz recipe in the back of my contemporary romantic comedy, Bookends, released a dozen years ago. And I’m very familiar with those paper-thin Moravian Ginger Cookies, since my sister lives in W-S. We always include a visit to Old Salem when we’re there.
Blessings to you!
Liz
My favorite Christmas cookies are my Grandma’s nutmeg cookies. Black walnuts, buttermilk and nutmeg. My husband doesn’t like them so I always get to eat the whole batch by myself!
That sounds like an old recipe. My mom talks about picking black walnuts as a child and her hands getting filthy. Thanks for sharing this.
My favorite Christmas food is my aunt’s homemade toffee. YUM!!! I have continued the tradition of making it for the entire family. However, this year my husband is unemployed due to his office closing. With a tighter grocery budget, ingredients for the toffee didn’t make the cut.
Somehow Christmas will still be celebrated and we look to the birth of the only One that matters!!!!
I’m so sorry about your husband’s job situation. I’m praying right now that God brings the right position for him, and soon. And that God is your peace when you are worried.
Thanks!!! Prayers for the right job are appreciated more than you know ! God is so good! It’s only a job, and we know that He is in control….always! We are thankful this year for 4 healthy kids, a warm home, family, and a brother that comes home from the mission field in Africa to celebrate Christmas with us.
I love baking with almond, and Christmas wouldn’t be complete without our Iced Marzipan cookies – 2 sugar cookies with apricot jam and marzipan in the middle! A lot of work but so worth it! I hope the recipe gets passed on with our sons!
Oh, How I am a molasses/ginger lover also! Today’s post (with recipe) brought the aroma and taste of warm, chewy cookies to my memory of sitting at the kitchen table with my grandmother, sharing cookies and milk along with a wonderful talk.
I am so excited that I found a rosette iron and will try my hand at making these for this Christmas. I don’t imagine that they will be as beautiful of as my great-grandmother’s powdered sugar-dusted ones.
Date and walnut delights
SO enjoyed reading the many comments on your blog, Glynnis!
To my dear sisters who’ve read my books or heard me speak, heartfelt thanks for being such encouragers in my life. And for new friends, bless you for taking time during this busy season to read my story and/or try my Grandma’s cookies. Happy Christmas to all!
Thank YOU, Liz!! You brought smiles and many warm memories to our hearts.