My grandmother was an amazing baker, and even though in the short time that I knew her she only baked at Christmas time, there were telltale signs of a lifetime past spent baking.
There was the wood-fired clay oven that sat under a tarp next to her home, and then there were the stories…
My grandmother’s baking was just a part of Christmas as the church on the hill on Christmas morning.
The smell of freshly baked loaves of cakes and bread is like a nostalgic embrace, could this perhaps be the reason I’m hooked on baking?
Baking is a cathartic exercise for me, especially around Christmas when it bears more meaning.
The first cookies I baked for the season were these Italian wedding cookies; it has many other names – Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cakes or polvorones, I call them Happy Christmas cookies.

Delicate, crumbly and rich, with a nutty buttery flavour, and dusted in powdered sugar, you can’t help but think of snow…
They’re truly perfect for the holidays, and smell divine while baking.
There are many variations to this cookie and perhaps why there are so many names for it. This version uses very few ingredients; ground almonds, butter, flour and powdered sugar.
Kept in an airtight container they’ll last for about a week, although they might not last that long… if you know what I mean ☺

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Happy Christmas Cookies
INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ cups softened butter (I used Earth Balance Soy-Free Spread)
• ¾ cup confectioner’s sugar

(use organic, non-bone-char-filtered for vegan option)

• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups ground almonds (I used Trader Joe’s ‘just almond meal’)
• 4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
• Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325F (160C)
2. Cream butter in mixing bowl
3. Gradually add confectioner’s sugar and salt, beat until light and fluffy
4. Add ground almonds and vanilla extract and mix
5. Blend in flour and mix until well combined
6. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
7. Shape dough into balls, place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.
8. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Do not let it brown
9. Cool lightly, then dust with more powdered sugar
10. Enjoy

I don’t think we really had any Christmas traditions growing up.
There were those Christmases at my grandma’s when I was little; joyous and precious moments that has forever shaped what Christmas means to me. I do consider those tradition.

Last weekend when we were putting up the Christmas decorations, I realized that it’s become somewhat of a tradition – somewhere along the way I’d picked up some traditions of my own.
The tree usually goes up on the first weekend in December; we brought the boxes of decorations up from storage over the weekend.

The fun is in getting everyone to corporate, deciding what goes where, and the memories that comes with a few special ornaments.
And I, I’m always on hand with snacks; I made Italian wedding cookies, the unofficial cookie of Christmas – I’m not sure why they’re called wedding cookies.
I’m in charge of music too, I love Christmas songs, especially the hymns I used to sing when I was a child.
I had Enya’s ‘And Winter Came’ album playing and every time ‘O Come O Come Emmanuel’ came on, we sang along reminiscently.
It’s one of my very favourite Christmas songs
And as the wonderful smell of cookies filled our tiny space, with soothing music playing in the background as we hung ornaments on the old tree I knew that this was a tradition I hoped to keep.

I love Christmas! This is my favourite time of the year.
I used to send out Christmas cards every year, and then two years ago I stopped.
I miss sending out cards, my dad used to order cards from UNICEF and we’d stay up all night addressing them.
This year I’ve decided to bring the tradition back; I’m sending out a card to anyone who wants one.
I’ve seen a few people do this on their blogs, and thought it was a brilliant idea.
Just fill out the form below with your mailing address (I promise to guard it with my life!) and just sit back, wait a few days, check your mailbox… and viola… a Christmas card with a special note!
It’s okay if you don’t celebrate Christmas; just tell me what holiday you celebrate.

The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York was on repeat on my way to work this morning.
It’s one of my all time favourite Christmas songs; I feel it’s a nice balance to all those Santa and reindeer songs.
It’s a fun slightly inappropriate song reminding us that life goes on even at Christmas.
And life isn’t always pretty, especially around the holidays – because that’s usually when you reminisce and perhaps remember some not so fun times past.

My mom and I were talking about Christmases past last night, in an attempt to recollect our Christmas experiences and perhaps create new traditions; we dredged up some unpleasant memories.
They say you can’t have the sweet without the sour.
My earliest memories of Christmas are also of my grandmother; I spent my earliest Christmases with her till she passed away.
I remember the church services, having to dress up and the food – my grandmother baked a lot during the holidays, she used to make individual cakes for us that we got to design.
There was so much joy and merriment then, one year my brother Sam had a party for the kids in the neighbourhood.
I don’t think we’ve been that collectively happy ever again.

Christmas changed when we moved away, and during my parents’ tumultuous final years together, the holidays took on a transient nature.
Our time together felt temporary, the celebrations seemed fleeting, even friends that came into our lives were passing through.
I took a while, years would go by before that giddy childhood feeling came back.
I took the happiest memories, and added on newer ones, – it’s a little like collecting Christmas ornaments…
Some are special than others, and those are the ones you keep for years to come.