Calling all bakers with grandmas

My fondest memories of my grandmother are sitting with her in the kitchen eating the best fresh out of the oven cookies I have ever had. She was such a committed baker that she had two ovens! She passed some many years ago but whenever I bake, I feel a connection. In honor of her and as a way to bring together my far flung family, I have declared December 15th the National Celia Nash Memorial Cookie Bake Day.

It is for anyone who likes cookies and wants to make a connection with the legacy of love expressed in sharing baked goods. To participate, make a batch of cookies on December 15th to share with someone else, a neighbor, a friend, your spouse or your children. If you don't like to bake, or can't, buy some cookies to share. So please, join us and spread the word.

For me, this day is an opportunity to connect at least in spirit with my grandmother, my aunts, my cousins and friends who are scattered across the country.

In my house, we will be making strictly no-bake cookies. That's because our oven is too quirky to do large batches of cookies well. I let each kid pick their own recipe and they each get a turn in the kitchen. That helps reduce the level of arguing and ensures that we will have a strong variety of cookies. The only problem we habitually run into is an ever growing list of people to give cookies to and the kids inevitably get tired of cooking before we've made enough.