ROUSES_Winter2022_Magazine Pages Web

TEA COOKIES It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and that means it’s also time for christmas cookies ! The holiday issue of our magazine is always my favorite each year, so it’s only fitting that I talk

CANDIED PECANS My mom got a recipe for candied pecans from her mother-in-law when she was first married. Every Christmas the sight of these pecans was met with both joy and dread. Joy,

about my favorite holiday tradition in its pages. My favorite holiday tradition is when my mom, sister, uncle, his girlfriend and I help my Maw Maw Beulah make her famous old fashioned Christmas tea cookies every December. We have been doing this for as long as I can remember, and each year we easily make anywhere from 500 to 1,000 cookies in a weekend. The process usually takes one or two days, and we make everything from scratch. The recipe is a family secret — I hope to pass it along to my son in the future. We start by making the dough, then we roll it out to cut all the Christmas shapes. The cookies go into the oven for about 8 minutes, and then must dry for a few hours before frosting. Once we have rolled out all the dough and are done baking, we make a bunch of different colors of frosting for decorating. We spend a few hours frosting and decorating all the cookies, then leave them to dry overnight. The next day we make sure everything is completely dry and start putting together containers to give out. Everyone in the family lines up to get their container of cookies each year, and we honestly care more about the cookies than the presents. I love eating mine with a cup of coffee — another little tradition I enjoy right up until Christmas, since these cookies have a shelf-life of a few weeks. – Harley Breaux, Marketing Coordinator

because the sheer pleasure of eating these is indescribable. Dread, because once you start eating them, you just can’t stop. Lucky for us, she only made them at Christmas so we were able to rationalize eating as much as we wanted, knowing it would be a whole year before we had them again.

– Nancy Besson, Graphic Designer

EGG ROLLS & PHO One of my favorite holiday traditions is having a family meal on Christmas Day with my dad’s side of the family. My Maw Maw always makes a large spread of food including egg rolls, chicken pho, fixings for spring rolls, fried rice and other dishes. The spread is a little different every year, but it always tastes amazing. You can learn more about my Maw Maw’s tradition on page 74.

– Peyton Finch, Design Intern

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