The Atkins Boys' Favorite Christmas Cookies

Pomanders

Carl's mother never failed to make molasses cookies for Christmas. Her recipe is in "The Larkin Housewives' Cook Book" dated 1923, the year she was married. They are plain brown undecorated cookies but, to her, they were special. That means they are special to Carl as well.

A festive cookie recipe called Pomanders came along much later and immediately became part of the younger Atkins family's Christmas cookie tradition. When Scott married and moved to Atlanta, he didn't always make it home for Christmas. One year, on a whim, his mother packaged up a batch of Pomanders and mailed them along with his other gifts. Feedback arrived that Scott opened the cookies and exclaimed, "NOW, it's Christmas!" Needless to say, he has had Pomanders every Christmas since then. Because they're special to Scott, they are also special to Greg. The two youngest Atkins boys receive a batch of Pomanders every year on December 3, Greg's birthday, for both of them to enjoy till Christmas arrives.

Here for your enjoyment are the recipes for the Atkins Boys' favorite Christmas cookies:

SOFT MOLASSES COOKIES

Cream one and one-half cups brown sugar and one cup lard. Add two eggs and one cup molasses; beat well. Sift together five cups bread flour, one teaspoon soda, one tablespoon ground ginger, one teaspoon salt; add to other ingredients. Now add one cup boiling water very gradually and beat well. Drop by the spoonful onto greased baking sheets and bake in hot oven. Note: Crisco is an adequate substitute for lard.

POMANDERS

1 cup chocolate chips
½ cup sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
¼ cup water
2 ½ cups finely crushed vanilla wafers
1 cup pecans or walnuts, finely chopped
1 tsp. orange extract
Red and green sugar crystals

Melt chocolate chips. Stir in sugar and corn syrup. Blend in water. Combine vanilla wafers and nuts. Add to chocolate chip mixture along with orange extract. Mix well. Form into 1-inch balls. Roll in colored sugars. Makes approximately 4 ½ dozen. These keep for 3 to 4 weeks in a tightly covered container. Add apple or orange slices to the container if cookies begin to dry out.

Merry Christmas from the Atkins Boys! May Santa always bring your favorite cookies.

The Atkins Elves

Every Christmas, the mantel in Scott and Greg's house is miraculously decorated while they are at work and school.

Every year, it looks the same. Santa of the Forest, cross-stitched for Greg by his Grammy when he was a little boy, takes pride of place with white twinkle lights and fresh evergreen boughs beneath.

Every year, little antique elves nestle among the lights and greenery. These elves are very special. Carl's mother loved elves and these are the elves she bought and treasured. They are not special because they are fancy and ornate. They are special because they belonged to Mary Alice Ulbrich Atkins and we are reminded of her when they take their places on the mantel every year.

It was a huge surprise a few weeks ago to find a picture of our head elf on the front page of the AJC Homefinder section accompanied by a headline that read "Vintage and Modern Trend in Designer's Decorations." It seems that one of Mary Alice's elves was patterned after a character in an obscure children's book – something we never knew.

A disaster occurred last week. The elves were missing. They were not in the drawer where they are placed every year. They were not among any of the decorations stored in the attic. They were not with the wrapping paper and ribbon. They were not with the spare bulbs or candles for the windows. They were nowhere to be found although Carl remembered bringing them home in a brown paper bag. The mantel was not going to be the same this year and it just didn't feel right.

When finally told the elves were M.I.A., Scott remembered putting them in a brown bag from Ingles and either giving them to Carl or bringing them back himself but, before heading out to do a little shopping, he decided to take one last look. Lo and behold, he found not only the elves but also the Christmas pickle. Christmas is going to be just fine for the Atkins Boys this year in spite of the fact that the two older ones seem to have faulty memories. And Merry Christmas to you, Mary Alice. Your elves are back where they belong.

Family Traditions

GREG FINDS THE PICKLE

Without meaning to, every family develops traditions. They aren't limited to any particular time of the year or special occasions.

Family traditions can last for unbelievable lengths of time as long as someone likes to talk about their own memories and stories they've heard from older family members. In our family, that someone is me - Sarah Anne Burns Atkins.Not all traditions are heartwarming. Some are downright silly.

For instance, my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles were likely to say, without warning, "Twelve o'clock, Wheeler Thomas," and burst into laughter. When I was old enough to notice, I finally asked who Wheeler Thomas was. As it turns out, no one knew and that's what was so funny. My Uncle Virgil had suddenly sat up in bed in the middle of the night, made this statement, and promptly went back to sleep. Aunt Milly told on him and he swore he did not know anyone named Wheeler Thomas.

Other traditions come from our heritage. The now-oldest Atkins boy, Carl, has a German heritage from the Ulbrich family who came to America in the late 1870s. Although his family didn't practice it, one German tradition is hanging a pickle ornament on the Christmas tree. The person who finds it gets an extra gift. This became part of our Christmas tradition when we unexpectedly found such an ornament one year. It was actually made in Germany.

The other part of this tradition at our house is that the same person, miraculously, always finds the pickle – Greg. It started when he was very small and continues. A calamity almost occurred last year when he couldn't find it. It seems that the traditional ornament didn't make it out of the attic and some enterprising person hung a real pickle on the tree. Suddenly, Greg was in a pickle! It took a lot of coaching for the Atkins family to continue this particular tradition. Although he is now 21 years old, Greg goes along with it. He'd never want to be responsible for ending a family tradition that he can tell his own children about someday. Especially since he'll, undoubtedly, inherit the Atkins family pickle.

Happy Twenty-First Birthday, Greg!

Gregory Michael Atkins is now 21 years old. He is officially no longer a boy.

This is a good time to look back at things our friends and family have learned from Greg:

. Being good is not too hard.

. Learn to entertain others by doing creative things – like climbing through coat hangers.

. Be brave enough to wear your Grammy's knee boots while playing Zorro. (Could this be an inherited trait similar to the famous red tights episode from the past?)

. Plan ahead. Like starting a business called G&G Pizza. (Greg & Grammy's Pizza – you do the cooking and I'll take the money.)

. Make up a word now and then. Things can get really exigut in the Atkins family.

. Do things with Dad. You'll never regret it.

. Picking herbs makes your pockets smell like pizza.

. Compliments about food will bring you an unending supply of good stuff.

. Your grandparents' friends are funny - especially when they give you advice.

. Don't try to keep a secret from your parents. They have radar. And so do Cops.

It seems impossible that Greg has reached this milestone when, just yesterday, he looked like the picture you see here. An only child and an only grandson, just like his Dad. Carrier of the Atkins family name. He is our future. What could be more special?