My Father Loved My Homemade Cookies

Baking is how I honor his memory at Christmas

Once I enrolled in my first home economics (now called family and consumer sciences) foods class in seventh grade, I officially became the Christmas cookie baker in my family.

After many years have passed, my role has remained unchanged. And this role has caused me to have fond memories.

Here are special thoughts involving cookie baking and my father’s.

Happy Recollections

The enjoyment I discovered baking Christmas cookies grew from first my foods class. When most kids were outside riding their bikes and hanging out with neighborhood friends, I spent my first Christmas Eve baking a delicious batch of chocolate chip cookies for my family.

From the very first tray of cookies that I pulled out of the oven and placed on a cooling rack on the kitchen counter, something always remained the same. Even though my freshly baked cookies were too hot to touch, my father always managed to grab big handfuls to pop into his mouth. He always gave unending compliments about how good my cookies were as he ate them as fast as I baked them.

My father’s simple encouragement motivated me to bake more, learn new cookie techniques, and strive for perfection in the kitchen. (So, it came as no surprise when I became a home economics teacher during the earlier part of my career.)

During my early years as a cookie baker, I learned the value of preparing a variety of cookies in large quantities at Christmas time. My father’s appetite for my delicious treats drove me to do so. I realized, too, that having lots of cookies available for guests who visited our homemade baking in bulk is a reasonable thing to do.

Back then, my mother purchased two huge Tupperware containers that allowed me to store dozens and rows of the Christmas cookies I baked. Our kitchen was very small in the home I grew up in so these two cookie containers were placed on top of the refrigerator. Images of my father reaching up high for these very large plastic bins to grab huge handfuls of cookies at a time became etched in my memory each time I saw him enjoy them throughout the holiday season. He was the reason why my cookies did not last very long at our house.

Once I went off to college, my mother had all the ingredients waiting for me in the kitchen when I came home for Christmas. I knew the routine. I mixed as many recipes as I could and baked all the cookies. Still, my fathers large hands were quick to grab them as soon as I pulled them out of the oven. And the memories continue.

My father expected my freshly baked cookies when I moved into my own home. He would simply call and ask me

“are the cookies ready yet?”

That was my cue to pack some hot cookies for him and my mother to take to them or have them ready for him to pick up. As always, my father’s large hands would reach for whatever I gave him to grab handfuls of my cookies to enjoy as soon as he received them.

Skill, organization, and practice taught me to preserve the huge assortment of cookies I baked before Christmas in the freezer. Not only did I continue sharing my cookies with my father and the rest of my family, but it was also my tradition to carefully place my cookies in festive boxes and share them with others. And my father always complimented this gesture and let me know it was a good thing to do.

It’s A Simple Gesture

As we approach the Christmas season, this will be the second year without my father due to his death. There are many things that I miss about him. But, during this time of the year, I miss his large hands grabbing handfuls of my cookies to enjoy. I miss the compliments that he gave me about how tasty he thought they were. I miss him asking me when the cookies would be ready, I miss him telling me much he liked my cookies, and I miss him telling me how it was a nice thing to share them with others.

As I write this story with blurry eyes filled with tears, I am happy that my Christmas tradition continues.

I have spent many days mixing and baking a huge assortment of cookies. And they are almost ready. My daughter will fill several festive boxes with my cookies. On Christmas Eve, my daughter and mother will fill the hands of others with these boxes of cookies. My father’s remaining siblings (Uncle Skippy, Aunt Queen Esther, and Aunt Mary), and other relatives, friends, and neighbors will receive a simple yet special gift.

For the second year, this is how I will honor the memory of my father. I will give others my homemade cookies that he loved so much. In doing so, my daughter will continue to learn that giving to others is an honorable act of service.

What cherished Christmas family memories do you have? I invite you to share them in the comment section of this story.

Thank you for reading this inspiring family story. If you enjoyed reading about my father, here is another story that honors his life.

Here is my golden ticket that helps me accomplish my mission.

Dr. Deborah M. Vereen is a retired Teacher and School Administrator. Her website is www.Drdeborahmvereen.com and her YouTube Channel is

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