Every good cook has one, but I like the old fashioned kind – the ones that hold 3×5 cards. I inherited the recipe boxes of my grandmothers, which were mainly interesting for sentimental reasons, since they weren’t fancy or expensive. But written recipe collections are a good way to hand down family recipes to future generations, they are like the food stories of our previous generation, and of our own memories.

During Advent, while we bring out the family recipe box to consult for decisions on which cookies to bake, or how to make a certain entree for Christmas dinner, why not be mindful of how we pass down “recipes” to the future generations? Some are healthy and delicious with good memories, some we find out to be bad for our family health and we must throw those aside, we find new ones to add as we discover better ways to handle life’s situations, and there are the ones that are precious to us, tried and true through generations.

Which recipes are your favorites and why? What are the Christian recipes for the coming year? The ones for prayer or setting goals? The ones for forgiving and for acts of kindness? If you don’t have a recipe box, why not create one this Christmas… both of the spiritual and the physical kinds?

During this devotional time share some homebaked cookies, talk about some of your favorite Christmas memories as a family. Give thanks for all you have and seek for more understanding from the Father’s store of wisdom. Invite Christ to come and enjoy your family time, and recognize His presence, today.

Our favorite, quick and easy cooky recipe:

Magic Cookie Bars

* Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter or margarine
* 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
* 1 (14 oz.) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
* 1(6 oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate morsels
* 3 1/2 oz.(1 can)flaked coconut
* 1 cup chopped nuts (I like walnuts)

Method

(1) Preheat oven to 350 F. In 13×9 in. baking pan, melt butter
(2) Sprinkle crumbs over butter;pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumbs.
(3) Top evenly with layer of coconut, then chocolate morsels, then nuts; press down gently.
(4) Bake 25 to 30 minutes til lightly browned. Cool thoroughly before cutting into bars.
These store well if you can keep them long enough!

Martha Stewart keepsake recipe cards PDF

The recipes I seem to value the most are my holiday meal and cookie recipes. I’ve made those available on this Christmas site.
Holiday recipes | Christmas Cookies 1,2,3.