Cookbook Inheritance

A few years back, my maternal grandmother gifted me a few of her old church cookbooks from the 1970s. The best part about these cookbooks? There are recipes from my great-grandmother, who I never met, in them. My grandmother knows that I love to cook and bake and thought that I would be able to put them to good use. 

I hope I have made her proud. 




It started with her chocolate chip cookie recipe. You see, these old cookbooks were sometimes incomplete when it came to the instructions. It is almost as if there was an unwritten code among the contributors to leave out a specific detail about their recipe so as to not give away every family secret. For the cookies there was quite a range of cooking times given. With each batch I made, I adjusted the time a little until I got it right. And just about the time when I had the recipe perfected, just happened to be engaged and planning a wedding. 

One day I came up with the idea to give away homemade chocolate chip cookies as our wedding favors. I concocted a plan for Aaron and I bake all the cookies ourselves as a thank you to our guests. It took a few weekends to make 400+ cookies and we had to borrow freezer space from the restaurant that Aaron worked for at the time. But, we did it! And the guests loved them. What's better? All of my great-grandmother's living children were in attendance and were touched deeply by the gesture. 




Then, I started baking her banana bread recipe. This one was tricky - because she did not include a cook time in the instructions. It took many attempts of trial and error before I finally figured it out. Many mushy loaves that tasted delicious but the center was a little too gooey. And I decided to add my own secret ingredient, as a nod to those sly ladies from the original cookbooks. 


I have made this recipe countless times. And now, even though my husband does the majority of the cooking in our house, this one remains mine. Sacred. And, it gets rave reviews whenever shared with others. I am happy to pass on that joy that I know my great-grandmother gifted to so many. 


I have heard countless stories over the years about the food they cooked and served. The hours spent in her home and at her table which have imprinted fond recollections in so many hearts and minds. I would love to leave a legacy as rich as hers. 

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