When you think of any holiday it is most likely that along with it you think of the traditions that come along with them. Across different cultures and families these traditions vary wildly, but one thing that is almost guaranteed in these traditions is that food is involved in some way or another.
In my family we make krumkake and lefse around Christmas time. We also have different recipes that have been passed down and adapted from generation to generation. They bring me comfort because they have been around for as long as I have been going to family gatherings (which has been my entire life).
These foods often spread holiday cheer, but the most cheerful of all has to be the sweets that come along with these festive meals.
Many of these traditions and recipes are passed down from our elders. This is why Hasa has decided to decorate cookies. Not only is it festive for any holiday, but it is something that our staff has done in the past years. However, with this batch I think we out did ourselves.
WIth Valentine’s day coming up a lot of our staff decided it would be fun to frost their cookies with pink frosting. However, other staff members got a little more creative. We as a staff realized that with food dye, frosting and sprinkles, any design is possible. Though some designs were abstract they were all cute nonetheless.
The staff also realized that cookies would make the perfect gift. So, some of the staff decorated cookies for some of the Tiger Yearbook staff next door. There was also a special cookie made for Ron the hall monitor that had his name written on it with sprinkles.
The only problem with our plan is the mess that it involves. The food dye that we used stained many hands and leaked everywhere. Not only that, but frosting and long hair is not a good mix.
Overall, decorating cookies is a low risk way to build community and relationships with the ending product being both delicious and cute. As a staff we are glad to revisit one of our past tries even with the mess involved not only because of the tasty product, but because of the joy that these sweet treats spread. Maybe, just maybe this will become an Ahlahasa tradition, but only time will tell.
