Christmas cookie tradition involves whole family

Every year around Christmas, the women, and even a few boys, of Sun City resident Linda Dungey’s family merge to bake holiday cookies.

Dungey said, “My sister, Joan, and her friend, Debby, started baking cookies for Christmas forty-two years ago. They were both teachers, and after school for several days, they would get together and bake cookies in the evening. The tradition grew to include family members. Later, an annual date was set to help with the planning. It is scheduled for the first Saturday in December. We have only skipped one, 2020.”

This year, on Saturday, December 7, ten moms and daughters and seven grandchildren got together to make these Christmas treats.

Dungey shared, “The youngest is five. Watching the young apprentices sift flour, measure, and unwrap all the candy like Hershey’s kisses or Rolos has been a joy. They learn to roll the dough into a ball. And, of course, they have a blast with their cousins.”

Some prework was done before the big day. The dough that must be refrigerated for a few hours before baking is made at home and kept cool. Any essentials are acquired: sprinkles, chocolate, and jam. The family creates an impressive variety of cookies.

Dungey said, “We make about twenty different cookies. We have about twenty-five different recipes that we have kept over the years. The recipes have been doubled. They are kept in a little special box. My sister is the keeper of the box. We start the day early with some coffee and coffeecake and then start baking at 8:30. The moms will pull a recipe from the box, sometimes at random or a favorite.”

The baker focuses on one recipe, and some women make sweet treats that don’t require baking, like fudge, while their cookies are in the oven.

“Everyone gets a share of the cookies. They are divided into rows for each baker to take home. We do have our little taste testers who make sure they are good enough. They are also able to decorate the cookies with small decorations. Their little hands can place the small decorations on the cookies,” Dungey said.

Any available grandchildren come, including some grandsons.

“The older the kids get, the more difficult it is for them to participate,” Dungey said. “They are in so many activities. The new moms have brought the babies with them on baking day.”

The cookies are done by 2 or 3 p.m. But this hasn’t always been the case. The bakers have become efficient over the years.

The final act of the day is to package their goodies. The assortment of cookies is placed in cookie tins or containers, ready for the rest of the month.

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