I’m sharing the secret behind a family favorite cookie recipe, and making traditions with the youngest members of the family. This is a Hallmark Life is a Special Occasion story.
The holiday season, especially, seems to be prime time for sharing family recipes. Loved ones gather together, over food, and before the end of the day someone is saying “Those were so good! Can I have the recipe?”
My late Aunt Dee used to bring the best cookies to our holiday celebrations. They were round sugar cookies with a thin, white icing and decorated with green leaves and red hot holly berries. We all loved them, but my sister Kathy was the biggest fan. Every holiday she would ask my Aunt for the recipe and every holiday my Aunt would deny her request, saying “It’s a secret family recipe”.
Finally, after many years of my sister begging, my aunt responded… “Listen… when you get married and are starting traditions of your own, I’ll share the recipe with you.”
Kathy was so excited. She stopped asking for the cookie recipe and instead, looked forward to receiving the recipe on her wedding day.
Several years passed by and my sisters wedding day finally arrived.
I recall sitting with my sister before the wedding, when my Aunt Dee walked in the room.
“Kathy, I have a special present for you!”
She handed Kathy a beautifully wrapped box, adorned with a giant bow. We were anxious as ever to see what was inside.
As Kathy slowly untied the bow and began to unwrap the paper, my aunt silently watched from the corner with a smile spreading across her face.
The lid to the box came off, the tissue paper was pushed aside, and my sister started laughing uncontrollably, with tears springing from the corner of her eyes.
My aunt Dee was laughing just as hard.
I was so curious and finally pushed my way over to my sisters side to peek in the box. When I looked down I saw…
A roll of Pillsbury slice and bake cookies.
A carton of canned vanilla frosting
And red hots.
This “secret family recipe” that we had all longed for over the years was about as simple of a recipe as you could get! My aunt had no idea when she first brought these cookies to a family gathering that they would be all anyone would talk about when it came to recipes for years to come!
You see, sometimes family recipes are less about the recipe and more about the memories surrounding those recipes.
They are about the moments shared, the traditions made, and the love passed on.
My Aunt Dee has since passed away, but her memory lives on through the Pillsbury cookie creations that remain on our table, each and every holiday.
Holiday traditions don’t have to be complicated. They can be as simple as getting two friends together to “Bake Like an Elf”. Hallmark can help launch these traditions with their Bake Like an Elf kit and many other fun and simple gifts that help bring traditions to life. I hope you enjoy building your own traditions this holiday season – full of fun, laughter and love!
Disclosure: A special thanks to my friends at Hallmark for sponsoring this post. All opinions expressed are my own. For special discounts, product offerings and news about Hallmark, feel free to sign up for their newsletter. Thanks for supporting brands that help Dine & Dish to be possible.
Kristen,
Love this story. From a girl that struggles in the baking department, I love that Pillsbury came through. Love the girls’ aprons. Where did you get them? So cute. Have a great holiday weekend and a safe trip home!
jackie
Gotta love Pillsbury! The aprons are also from Hallmark! They are perfect for wearing during the holidays, aren’t they?
Happy Thanksgiving to you, Jackie!
Oh, I just love this! There were many family recipes that turned out to be very similar to that in our family. Isn’t it a relief to know we don’t have to try so darn hard? LOVE this post!! xo
It definitely is!! 🙂 Thanks, Amy! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
What a great story! I love memories like that one. The girls look adorable in those aprons too!
I do too, Mary. And thank you! I’m pretty biased but think they are pretty darn cute too!
How cute is this post! And those girls! And those aprons! And the secret recipe–too funny and awesome!
🙂 We still laugh about it today! Thanks, Katrina!
What a couple of cuties! How fun!!!
Thanks so much 🙂
What a beautiful story, Kristen! The girls look like they are having so much fun! I bet you did too capturing these moments. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I did – and eating the cookies was an added bonus!
I absolutely love this story. Made me smile for a very long time. Thank you!
Awww thanks Sue! Thanks for reading and commenting!
Ahhh I love it!! Jen Farley and I were chatting the other day how there were a couple recipes in our families that we found out later in life were box mixes. One is a cake my mom always made for christmas breakfast – box cake, box pudding mix and she was saying how defeated she felt when she found out this famous recipe of her grandma’s was box mixes as well. I just love this story of yours! And I can’t believe how big Leah is getting!
I bet we all have stories like this… 🙂 Too funny!
And I know. She needs to stop growing, stat!
that was so funny. I kept thinking that you shouldn’t share this recipe with us if it was that important to your aunt, but was also very curious to see it. I really laughed when I found out it was Pillsbury cookie dough. My kids prefer that to homemade dough. Love this story.
Hahaha! I imagine Aunt Dee smiling down on us every time we eat her “secret” cookies 🙂
Love those aprons. Cookie maker and cookie taker. How funny! Tell Leah they look beautiful and so does she!
They are cute, aren’t they?
I’ll be sure to pass your compliment on to Leah! Love you!
What a wonderful story Kristen! It really says that the traditions are special because they are traditions, not for any other reason.
Exactly, Toni! As Amy said above, it’s nice to know we don’t have to try so darn hard all the time!
So cute, I can’t stand it!!
Thanks, Julie 🙂 I may be biased but I think they are pretty darn cute too!
I guessed what was in the box! I believe that Pillsbury makes the best sugar cookies out there!
They are so good – and so easy!!
I LOVE this story!!! Also, those refrigerated sugar cookies are my favorite. There’s just something about them that no “from scratch” recipe seems to capture.
Love your aunt’s glorious sense of humor – I can just imagine your sister opening that package! Family memories are the best!
Just had to tell you that I was so inspired by your post that I had to find the baking kit! Since my hometown Hallmark didn’t carry it, we ended up finding it in the Mall of America (where you can find about anything!), can’t wait to use it with my kids. Love those plates you are using too!!