Great Traditions to be Passed Down

This past weekend was the 3rd International Fair and Wine Tasting that took place at the AAS Clubhouse in Chicago. One of the items that usually sells out the fastest are the home-made German cookies. Last year I did a little trial and error, teaching myself (with a recipe from my best german recipes) to make classic Hazelnut Macaroons. The 2nd attempt was good enough to contribute to the cookie pile, but it is still just amateur hour compared to the magnificent cookies that my grandpa used to make. Here's the video… you can see for yourself why I think I'll focus my energy back in the studio making dirndls, haha!





My Grandpa started learning his trade at the tender age of 11 and throughout the years received multiple awards for his baking (and I would call it artwork). Now 90 years old, he doesn't do anymore baking, but those who know him and tasted his cookies, especially his macaronnen, still crave just a little taste.

Grandpa Jacob's famous Macaronnen

Traditions like baking family cookie recipes and making classic German dinners can unfortunately be lost. I encourage anyone who still has the ability to learn from the older generation about the traditions to do so, because it would be such a shame to loose them. I've spent a lot of time learning the craft of creating traditional Donauschwaben trachten, but in doing so, I didn't put enough (or really any) time learning my grandfather's craft. However… as seen in the above video… I don't think it's quite my calling, but it never hurts to learn from the best.


Now I'd like to hear from you! What kind of family traditions do you carry on? Which traditions do you wish you would have learned? Write your thoughts in the comments and let's get a conversation going… maybe we can even swap some recipes!

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