Roots and Recipe Final Draft

Mom's Homemade Lemon Bars



As the month of December rolled around you could smell in the air the sweet tangy lemons and chocolate being melted in the kitchen.  I instantly knew that it was Christmas time.  For the last five years of my life my mom has been baking lemon bars and other cookies for Christmas.  Throughout the years of her cooking I can never figure out how she can bake so many cookies in one night.  She at least bakes seven different cookies each year.  But I personally enjoy the rich creamy lemon bars. 

As I come down the stair's into the kitchen I watch from the counter which is covered in layers of cookies.  I watch as her hand whisk's the lemon juice into the cream cheese.  Looking into the bowl, the tangy scent rises into the air filling the house with the delightful smell.  As my mom carefully grates the bright yellow lemon's I watched as the juice sprayed the counter with each of her delicate strokes.  As she turns on the electric blender she did not even realize I was watching her cook.  As she turn's the blender off, and sets it down she look's up and smiles.  I help her put the pan into the oven.  I take the whisk off the counter and lick off the lemony goodness.  It was a burst of flavor, from the sour lemon to the sweet cream cheese.

I ask " why do we make cookies for Christmas?"

She responded with " well I wanted to make something for my family and friends so I decided to make cookies because i like to bake, and they all looked really good in the cook book."

"How come we don't make these cookies more often?" I asked.

"Well they are a lot of work and time consuming."

 

When the oven timer went off she picked up her blue oven mits and opened the oven.  When the oven was opened the cookies were raised and creamy looking.  When my mom placed the pan on the stove she sprinkled some powered sugar on top to give it that one final touch.  The crust was golden brown and the top filling was sun kissed yellow.  We let the cookies cool for twenty minutes to let everything harden and settle down.  As my mom cuts the lemon bars into twenty-four bite size squares a memory flashes to my mind of the first time I tried my moms lemon bar I was eight years old and I wanted to help my mom in the kitchen but I was to little to help mix the ingredients, and I tried to eat some of the cookie that she had already made.  She let me help with making the chocolate chip cookies.  I turned around to watch her make the lemon bars for the first time.  She was right, I would be to small to help her it was a lot of work.  As I take my cookie it seems as if I was biting into a lemony pillow.  With the salty crunchy bottom, and the rich creamy light lemon filling  stuck on my lips I take another bite.  Even though the cookies are not apart of our culture, they are a family tradition that will carry on throughout the years to come.