It's the Tiny Things - A page from my Grandmother's cookbook

A gift of Christmas past ✨🌙

Tiny Things is a weekly moment of something that delighted me. Each week, I share one small thing – because life is really made of the little moments. I’d love to hear yours in the comments.

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Circa 1952

My grandmother was a creative force. She crocheted, beaded, baked elaborate 3D cakes, sewed, crafted holiday ornaments – and so much more. Creating was how she spent her days.

By the time I was three, we had moved away from her in New York because of my dad’s job. But she never wanted us to forget her. She always sent us packages – boxes filled with homemade goodness and love.

Every Christmas, a huge box would arrive, packed with tins. One tin for each family member, filled with our favorite cookies. She knew exactly which ones we loved most.

A childhood favorite. They had an M & M in the center.

After she passed away, I found a binder filled with her recipes. She had clipped them from magazines, taped them onto paper, and reinforced the pages with those little ring protectors once they started to fall out.

Every holiday season, I take that book down from the shelf. I turn the pages slowly. I imagine all the times she stood in her kitchen doing the same, surrounded by the soft shine of the pearl tiles lining the walls. For a moment, I’m back there with her.

Since my first apartment – my junior year of college – I’ve carried on her tradition. My family has never lived in the same city as me, but each holiday, I gift her cookies. Even when I feel short on time, I find it.

It feels like a magical thread connecting her to me, and to my family. A - “remember when”. I crave that first bite of a snowball cookie when the powdered sugar hits your tongue. I love saving the Hershey’s Kiss on a peanut butter blossom for last.

For the past three years, I’ve dreamed of turning these family recipes into a baking book. Each holiday season, I work on illustrating them. I never quite find the time to finish a full Christmas cookie book (with all that extra time around the holidays). And then the season passes, and the magic gets tucked back onto the bookshelf.

This week, I carved out a little time and finished one of those recipe illustrations. I will post it below in case you find the time to bake up some holiday cookies.

I always love when one of my cookies hit. On occasion, I make a new friend. Or my husband asks to skim some to gift to a business associate. We will receive an emotional email about how the cookie took them back to being a kid again. And how it was the best gift.

How many of you grew up eating Peanut Butter Blossoms? 🍪✨

Until Next Time 🌙 ✨
Kim

P.S. Please leave a Tiny Thing below!

P.S.S. This is my grandma and me on Christmas. I was 9 months old. She always wore a wig on special occasions.