Our guest writer this week is Sharon from thesavvygrandma.com. She is a mother of 5, grandmother of 2 and resides in Utah. Welcome!
My Christmas memories revolve around traditions. Most of my favorite memories of Christmas are tied to family traditions. That is what makes the holiday season so special. Traditions and family. I remember each year we would gather together on Christmas Eve and our father would read the “Christmas Story” of Christ’s birth from the Bible. As children, we were so excited for Santa to come that I wonder if we listened very well. In our family we would act out the Christmas Story. We gathered whatever we could find for costumes and a doll or a “real” baby for Jesus. We children took turns each year deciding who would play which part. Some years the children would sing songs and play instruments. It was almost like our own musical, a very special one to us.
Sister Kathy Jensen spoke recently at a Church History function about family traditions. In their family they hang an apple ornament on the Christmas tree with each family member’s name written on it. Apples are added as the family grows. They call the ornaments their “family core.” When the grandchildren visit they run to the tree to find where their apple is hanging. This is a simple tradition but it helps each individual feel special and remembered. Family traditions can add feelings of security and safety as we repeat them each year.
Food is a BIG tradition in our family and recipes have been handed down from my mother to my daughters and sons. Each Christmas my mother made Bon Bon Cookies. It wasn’t Christmas without them. After making them we would hide them in the freezer because we couldn’t keep them around – somehow they disappeared. It is the same in my family. We make them each year and we attempt to hide them in the freezer. Some years we end up making extra batches. Sometimes my hiding place is not found and I feel lucky. This is the one cookie that my sons love to make and volunteer to help. My brothers have even called me for the recipe to make with their families. What is funny to me is that they are not even cookies – more like a delicious Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Christmas just isn’t the same without them!
Bon Bon Cookies
1 Cup peanut butter – crunchy
¼ cup butter (soft) maybe a little more
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup salted peanuts chopped
Chocolate chips for dipping. You can add 1 Tablespoon paraffin wax to keep chocolate set.
Mix well in an electric mixture or by hand.
Roll into balls and place in refrigerator or freezer for about 30 minutes to set.
Melt chocolate chips – I like to use milk and semi-sweet chips.
Dip into chocolate and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
I usually place the cookie sheet full of Bon Bons into the freezer to cool. When frozen, I put them into a Ziploc bag to store in the freezer for future tasting!
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Your post made my mouth water.
Amazing how many memories revolve around food. Thanks for being with us today.
My grandparents had an ornament for each of us too! I loved that!
These bon bons look so delicious!
Wow, those sound and loook delicious! Definitely adding it to all the yummy treats I want to try!
Mom there had better be some saved in the freezer for me!!!