Family Traditions

Normally, I only blog about recipes I make or events that I attend, but today was a very special occasion. My Aunt Polly turned 50 and PaPa turned 80 (they share the same birthday)! Everyone celebrated in Abilene- I was really sad that Jeremy and I couldn’t be there. Hopefully, we’ll make it for 81, since we’ll be a short drive away in Oklahoma City!

PaPa has always been very special to me- and I think it’s safe to say he’s pretty special to all my cousins, too. Growing up, we couldn’t wait to go check the cows with him and do all kinds of other tasks on his ranch. We were pretty much up for whatever PaPa wanted to do! We spent several weeks with my PaPa and MaMa every summer when I was little- those are some of my most special memories.

My grandmother was a fabulous cook and we also loved helping her out in the kitchen. She made a wonderful chocolate cake with a 7- minute icing- I’ve never had one like it. I can remember helping her put the icing on one when I was a little girl and telling her that I wanted her to make my wedding cake! My grandmother passed away when I was in high school and words can’t describe how much we all miss her!

To celebrate PaPa and Aunt Polly’s birthday, my family made a chocolate cake with white icing and sugar cookies- both my MaMa’s recipes. PaPa loves cookies that are a little bit burned- kind of weird, I know. But it can actually work to your advantage. Whenever we make cookies and they get a little too done (maybe because we forgot to check on them), we just say- those are for PaPa. Here are some Moore family recipes and a few pictures from the birthday festivities. Don’t worry if your cookies get a little brown- you can say they are for PaPa, too!

Happy Birthday PaPa and Aunt Polly!!!

THE cake

sugar cookies

My Dad and Uncle Randy

Making the sugar cookies

Dad, PaPa, Randy, and Polly

MaMa & PaPa’s Sugar Cookies

1 cup sugar
½ cup butter
½ cup oil
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp cream of tartar
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 cups flour

In large bowl mix sugar, butter, oil, egg and vanilla until creamy.

In medium bowl, mix dry ingredients.

Add dry ingredients to sugar mixture and mix well. Chill dough 15 to 20 minutes.

Roll dough into balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Flatten balls with a glass dipped in sugar
Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes. (for Papa we baked for almost 15 minutes – on the verge of being burned!!)