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The 97 Year Old Cookie Queen
Are Christmas cookies the secret to living a long life?
There is sweat dripping down the nape of my neck as I bite into my third Christmas cookie. It’s 9:00 a.m. on the fourth of July and I am sitting at my Grandma’s kitchen table while she scurries around pulling Christmas cookies from the oven. She’s already on her third batch for the day.
Yeah, you read that right.
My grandma is baking Christmas cookies on the fourth of July.
The house smells of heavenly cinnamon and sugar and a cloud of powdered sugar comes from her kitchen. It’s a magical holiday scene, except for me sweating at the kitchen table. But in the summertime at the lake, you don’t escape the humidity even at 9:00 a.m.
Why make Christmas cookies in July? Because July is when my grandma makes her first batch for the season. On this particular day, I am her designated cookie tester. My two teenagers won’t be up for a few more hours. I’m all she’s got.
She needs a designated tester because while she bakes between 15–20 different types of Christmas cookies she won’t eat a single one. She prefers wine, cheese, and bread. If she’s going to have dessert, it’s going to be ice cream. Ice cream! This is what we should be eating on the fourth of July. But not in my family. In my family, it’s Christmas cookies in…
