Christmas memories

I am furiously baking this week to get ready for Christmas dinners, cookie exchanges, and playdates this weekend. As I went through my cookie recipes, I found a beloved recipe from my grandmother. This recipe brings back memories of visiting my gramma's house when I was very little. She seemed to always have homemade cookies on hand for my sister and I to munch on, and there was a window seat in her living room which we would open up to find toys to play with. Her old little bungalow home had a screened-in porch, and we would sit out there playing board games and reading Little Golden Books that I swear she had gotten when my dad was a boy.

After making a batch of my gramma's cookies, I bite into one, close my eyes, and picture myself sitting at her dining room table. The cookie even tastes like her house. This special taste is something I want future generations to be familiar with and even love themselves, so I cherish this recipe. I don't know where she originally got it from, but I remember watching my gramma make these cookies for the first time. I was very skeptical that they would taste good. The reason? The recipe calls for sour cream. Sour cream? Really? Ugh! At least that was my first reaction. But they actually taste really good, and as I said, now I think they taste like gramma's house.

So, as a Christmas gift to all of you, I am sharing my gramma's special cookie recipe with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Bean

Gramma Alice's Sour Cream Cookies

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup softened butter or shortening

1 egg

1 cup candied fruit slices, cut into small pieces

1 cup sour cream (do not use fat free, this will affect how the cookie sets)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 1/2 cups flour

small bowl of sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut candies into small pieces and roll in sugar bowl. Cream together 2 cups of sugar and the butter. Add eggs and candies. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Add dry ingredients and sour cream to candies mixture. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Do not brown.