Rebecca's Christmas Cut-Out Cookies

I love this story from the Chicken Soup for the Soul Cookbook. And I know you will, too.

For 20 years, my daughter-in-law, Rebecca Russell Cannon, birth mother of seven, stepmother of three, grandmother to several, has been affectionately crowned Mother Christmas because of her annual Christmas Cookie Party. As early as October people begin asking for the date - they would never want to miss their favourite party of the season. To an assortment of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends, she sets the tone for a joyous holiday.

Rebecca has a large well-appointed kitchen with a huge round table that seats 12, plus a breakfast bar with extra stools and plenty of standing room too.

At her Christmas gathering, Becky happily mixes, cuts, bakes, cools, stacks and dispenses sugar cookies in the shapes of Christmas. Delighted guests of all ages are encouraged to dig into the frosting pots, the candy sprinkles, and the shredded coconut to design their own creations.

Cookie frostings are not limited to primary colours like holly green and berry red - paper plate palettes cover the spectrum: mauve, sage green and blue for bulging socks; silvery pearl for shining stars; chimney grey for Santa's boots; brick red for his suit; yellow for an angel's hair. And there is pure white and skin pink for the Baby Jesus cookies.

Her party is wonderful fun. The level of conversation between preschoolers, teenagers and grandparents is charming and civil. Everyone is a child in such a setting. Everyone is an artist. Everyone is a success as inevitable exclamations of approval erupt over every finished cookie.

Everyone is a bit of a philosopher about The Season, too. People eat as they go, sip cider or milk and take home their own prized plateful. Oh, yes, the annual cookie party is an enormous nuisance. Yes, it's an incredible mess! Certainly Becky is exhausted...but she's exhilarated by love, too.

How can one measure the worth of this kind of mothering? It bonds not only one family, but in-laws, neighbours, first cousins once removed and near-strangers seeking heart-shelter in such a home. As a pebble falling in a pool, the ripples from her devotion travel farther than Becky will ever know. As the grandmother (and her proud mother-in-law), I do so testify.

Rebecca's Christmas Cut-Out Cookies

(Makes approximately four dozen cookies)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) butter or margarine
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond flavouring
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together thoroughly the powdered sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and almond flavouring.

2. Add the flour, soda and cream of tartar and mix thoroughly. Form into 2 large patties, wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll out the dough on a floured cloth to 1/2 inch thickness. Bake 7 to 10 minutes. When cool, frost with butter frosting.

Butter Frosting
Ingredients
4 cups powdered sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Milk, as needed to make a spreading consistency
Food colouring, as desired.

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, butter and vanilla. Beat together, adding enough milk to make a spreadable consistency.

2. Place frosting in different bowls and add food colouring as desired.