Traditions during the holiday season are a beautiful way for families to celebrate and put their custom spin on traditional holiday celebrations. For some, handing down recipes to kids or grandkids is a special way to keep a piece of loved ones alive. One of my cherished childhood traditions is my Oma coming over to my house at the beginning of December to bake the traditional German Christmas cookies she used to make with my Opa in the bakery they opened together.
My Opa brought these recipes over from Germany when he immigrated to the United States in 1955. My Oma came to America in 1958 after leaving Germany to start over. She met my Opa and they made their living in America by opening a bakery in Raritan, New Jersey. This bakery was widely loved by the entire Raritan community during birthdays, holidays and whenever a sweet craving hit.
When my mom was a child, she helped in the bakery taking orders, decorating cakes and cupcakes, and making sure all of the cookies tasted right. My uncles helped with making doughs and baking bread and pastries. After 30 years in business, sadly mu Opa passed away. My Oma, Mom and uncles decided it wasn’t the same and sold the bakery. However, all of the recipes that my Opa created over the years in Germany and in the bakery would not go unused. Ever since my Opa passed, my Oma would drive to my house to make and test-taste the cookies. This was always a special time for my family because we would spend hours making hundreds of cookies together, and we would also take time to remember my Opa.
Now, my Oma has dementia; this has affected the order of operations a little because she hasn’t been able to drive for a couple years and this makes the timing more difficult but we still carry on with the tradition of baking Christmas necessities every year. The classics like Heidesand, almond horns, spekulatius, spritz cookies and cream cheese pie are always a staple at our Christmas eve celebration. Seeing the original recipes that my Opa used in the bakery is a very special way I can connect with my Opa and I think he would be very proud of the cookies I make every year.