Grandma Isabelle's Christmas Cookies

When I was small, the grand ordeal of Christmas consisted of a series of rituals. The season kicked off with a day of decoration: dusting off the familiar old Santa statues and china snowmen and finding the perfect place for them; arranging the massive nativity set just-so, with tiny fake Christmas trees and a soft carpet of glittery wool snow. A whole evening was reserved for the tree—always a real one, tall as the ceiling. My brothers and I each have our box of ornaments, many with hand-scribbled names, dates, and notes to accompany the memories they represented. 

My mom likely remembers these days differently—pure chaos and noise and likely screaming at some points. But her allowing us to be so involved sealed a sacred sense of tradition in my trove of Christmas memories.

My favorite ritual of all, though, was always the cookie making. Pulling out Great Grandma Isabelle's cookbook, an album of hand-written and typed notecards, I'd help Mom collect the ingredients from the pantry. A bucket of lard and lots of flour for the dough. Powdered sugar and vanilla for the icing. With the massive mixing bowl whirring away, we'd start to pick out our favorite cookie cutters. After rolling out pile after pile of thick, thick dough—capturing tiny stars and Rudolphs and one "Gigem Aggies" sign—we'd get to the last bit, which Mom would save for Santa. She'd set our grubby little hands into the dough, one by one, fingers all close together and thumb sticking outward. She'd cut around them to make a mitten. After they were baked, we'd ice the cookies in the spirited talent of sugar-crazed toddlers. I'd paint my mitten red, Joshua would paint his blue, Ellis yellow. When the two youngest came around, we pulled out green and sometimes used white. And on Christmas Eve, we'd set our five little mittens on a plate for Santa—who could never, ever finish them all. 

Grandma Isabelle's Christmas Cookies

Ingredients for cookies:

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 lb. lard

1 tablespoon butter

4 eggs

1 cup milk

3 teaspoons vanilla or anise (I recommend vanilla)

8 cups of flour

6 teaspoons of baking powder

1 teaspoon salt 

Ingredients for frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar 

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Milk 

Food coloring

Method for cookies: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees 

2. Cream lard, butter, and sugar. Add eggs and cream very well. 

3. Mix seven cups of flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to mixture.

4. Add milk and vanilla or anise. Mix well. 

5. Roll it out and cut with cookie cutters until all of the dough is used. Use one cup of flour to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin. 

6. Put on a greased pan and bake for ten to twelve minutes. 

Method for frosting:

1. Mix powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of milk. Stir. 

2. Add milk in, 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency (thick, not drizzly). 

3. Put into separate bowls, and add food coloring to each bowl 

4. Once cookies are cool, frost cookies. 

5. Enjoy, and save some for Santa.