Cookies- My Little Bit of Artistic Expression

     I have a little hobby I really enjoy, baking cookies. I have a secret family recipe that I use. I suppose anyone that bought a can of Calumet Baking Powder back in 1948 may be using the very same recipe. My grandma copied down the recipe and used it for 50 some years. My mom and dad used the same sugar cookie recipe for years as well.
     Every holiday we would make the appropriate cookies-hearts at Valentine's Day, frosted colored eggs at Easter, and stockings, snowmen, stars, candy canes, and Christmas trees at Christmas. My repertoire has grown considerably over the years. I also do jack o'lanterns and ghosts at Halloween, turkeys and fall colored leaves for Thanksgiving, and shamrocks (clubs) for St. Patrick's Day.
     I enjoy the whole process; from mixing the dough, rolling it, cutting out the cookies, baking them, making up the frosting, and applying it. I find it relaxing and soothing. It connects me to my past and keeps me calm here in the present. I have made these cookies with my niece, my friends' children and my younger siblings. I hope they will make these cookies in the future.
     My mother-in-law was the one who introduced me to a way to use my favorite hobby in a volunteer capacity. Our local chapter of the Red Cross has had people from our county baking cookies once a month for a local veteran's facility since the late 1940s. It is such a privilege to be able to do something I enjoy in a volunteer capacity that allows me to show at least a bit of the enormous gratitude I feel towards our veterans.
     I just finished my batch of 5 dozen cookies that I have now packaged for my husband to deliver for me tomorrow. I made cookies shaped like ice cream cones and tried out new flavors for the various ice creams. It seems like a good idea for a summer cookie!