Essie's Christmas Cookies

Essie huffed loudly, brushing a long strand of hair out of her face. She had been slaving in the hot kitchen for over an hour, and she was no closer to having her grandma’s perfect gingerbread cookies than she had been when she started. She picked up her phone defeatedly, shooting a text to her mom.

‘Mom?’ She sent. ‘How much molasses did Grandma Natty use in her gingerbread cookies?’

Her mom responded almost immediately. ‘Half a cup, if she wanted them chewy!’

Essie groaned quietly. She’d used a full cup in her last batches. She sent a quick thank you text to her mom, and dumped her latest failure into the garbage bin. 

She measured out the ingredients carefully, trying to remember them off the top of her head. Ugh, curse her grandma for never writing down the full recipe!

Six cups of flour.. Add in the sugar, ginger, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves.. Then add in all of the wet ingredients, right? Essie was pretty sure that was the next step. She poured in the water, vanilla extract, molasses, and the egg, and beat them together using her grandma’s old hand mixer. 

She finished mixing it, and examined it closely. This looked promising! She scooped up a small piece of dough with her pointer finger, popping it into her mouth. Mm.. This batch tasted so much better than all of the other ones had. Essie flattened the dough onto the large pans and made sure to press a fork into them, just like her grandma always did. She then carefully slid them into the oven. She set the kitchen timer for ten minutes, trying not to get her hopes up too high. 

She snuggled into her plush couch, covering herself with her favorite heated blanket and picking up the book she had been reading recently. She slowly got absorbed into the story once again, completely forgetting about the cookies in the oven. Ten minutes later, she was shaken out of her reverie by the oven beeping loudly. She stood up from the couch, sniffing at the air. 

“Oh my God..” Essie breathed out.

It smelled so amazing! Suddenly, she was wrapped up in warm memories; her grandmother lifting her up onto the kitchen counter to watch the cookies being decorated, her grandad always stealing one as soon as they were out of the oven, her younger cousins and sisters trying as hard as they could to snatch one too. She wiped a small, lone tear off of her cheek, and pulled a red and green oven mitt onto her left hand. She grabbed onto the hot pan, setting it down on top of her oven and taking off the oven mitt. 

Essie then began preparing her grandma’s famous vanilla frosting. She used a small plastic spatula to scoop the frosting into a piping bag, resisting the urge to take a small taste. She waited for the cookies to cool down completely, and then put large swirls of vanilla frosting on top of each one. She then lightly dusted them with green and red sugar sprinkles, and picked out the ugliest one. She hesitated, and then took a small bite.

“Mmm,” Her eyes widened and she licked frosting off of her lips. 

It was incredible! It tasted just like her grandma’s cookies, and Essie knew that her mother was going to be very proud of her. She grinned to herself, and then gently packed them into a tupperware container. She made sure to take her time; she didn’t want to mess the cookies up now! She slid them into the highest cupboard, making sure to hide them where her roommate would never think to look. 

The next day, Essie woke up at seven in the morning. She always woke up early on Christmas, and she was super excited this year. 

She hopped out of bed and took a quick, cold shower, then got dressed in her Christmas outfit. She was wearing her favorite ugly Christmas sweater, with a pair of her mom’s high waisted jeans. She brushed her teeth and hair, and gingerly carried her cookies to the car. She buckled them into the front seat, not taking any chances. She stopped for a coffee at Starbucks on the way, and then drove the rest of the way to her mother’s house. She pulled into her driveway, and stepped out of the car. She put her mask up over her nose, and hurried up the walkway to the front door. 

Essie quietly set down the tin of cookies and four meticulously wrapped presents, then rang the doorbell. She jogged back to the car, and watched as her mom opened her front door. Her mom gasped when she saw the presents, and smiled up at her oldest daughter. Essie giggled, and motioned towards the gifts.

“Open them up!”

She watched her mom unwrap her gifts, and immediately knew which one was her favorite. 

“A foot massager?” She gasped. “Oh, Essie, thank you so much!”

Essie nodded excitedly, smiling at her.

“You’re welcome! Now try the cookies! They’re Grandma Natty’s!”

Her mom opened the tupperware container up, taking a large bite out of the one on top.

“Oh. My. God.” Crumbs fell out of her mouth as she spoke. “These are so good! They’re just like your grandma’s!”

Essie’s chest swelled with pride. She grinned.

“Thank you, Mama! It took a long time, but I finally got them just like hers used to be!”

Her mom smiled softly at her, and their eyes both welled up with tears.

“Oh, Essie.. Your grandma would be so proud of you.”

Essie choked up a little, nodding. She wiped away her tears, and said goodbye to her mother. She watched her carry her presents back into her house, and then drove off. She waved until her mom’s house was out of sight, making sure she could be seen. She smiled at herself in the rearview mirror, and then focused back on the road. It had been a successful Christmas holiday.