By: Ayla Valone

Cooking for the holidays is always something to look forward to. Many families have their own traditions and ideas when it comes to their Christmas dinner and deserts. Need any tips or ideas for your holiday cooking this year?

The Squire talked to Mrs. Alexander about her own holiday traditions and tips about cooking. She explained to us that she has multiple family dinners on the two days leading up to December 25, along with the Christmas holiday. She mentioned she prefers to make pies because of her love of baking, calling it her “art form.” She gets some of her recipes from family, along with looking up recipes and modifying them online. The Squire asked if she had any tips for cooking this holiday, she replied, “Set a timer; a lot of times you get busy around the holidays trying to manage the people coming in and their visiting, setting the table, finishing up stuff, and it’s really easy to walk away and forget that you have something in the oven or something on the stove top, so just make sure you set a timer so you can keep track.”

In my family, we have our own tradition of giving away cookie trays. We enjoy doing this because it brings joy to us seeing our friends and families face when they receive them. It makes Christmas just a bit jollier. My family and I make at least 13 different kinds of cookies for each tray. Some cookies that I make are:

• Mounds Bars
• Cake Cookies
• Spritz
• Huggs
• Buckeye Brownie Bars
• Gingerbread Cookies
• Sugar Cookies
• Snowballs
• Snickerdoodles
• Peanut butter Blossoms
• Oreo Balls
• Pecan Cups
• Peanut butter Balls

One of the simplest recipes on that list would be the snickerdoodles. To make snickerdoodles is to start by mixing 2 3/4 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, and 2 tsp cream of tartar. Set aside. Cream together 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1 cup butter softened. Then add 2 eggs and 1 tsp of vanilla and blend well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Mix together a small cup of sugar and cinnamon, roll the dough into the mixture and put on a baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. There you have it, soft and chewy snickerdoodles.

Overall, cooking during the holidays gives a special feeling to us all. I think we can all agree that food at this time is a real treat. We all have our own traditions, and it’s interesting to see how other people celebrate their holidays. If you don’t have very many traditions, maybe this is the year to start and try some new things.