Today is my younger son’s 25th birthday. Will asked for Papaw Sheroan cookies, which are kind of like chess bars: a buttery cake mix crust with a gooey egg, cream cheese, and powdered sugar filling, (topped off after baking with even more powdered sugar). It’s a favorite family recipe and was often served with caution from Papaw Sheroan.
After coughing a bit and licking a swath of sugar from his upper lip, he’d say, “Watch out for that powdered sugar. It gets me every time.”
I mixed up the cookies yesterday afternoon while my nine-month-old granddaughter, Blair, watched from the birthday boy’s 25-year-old high chair. Blair’s dad, my older son, had a fancy plastic high chair when he was a baby. Though it was popular in 1999, it didn’t age well (too many nooks and crannies for drops of pureed baby food to take root). We upgraded to a nicer, more traditional, wooden high chair when Will was born in 2001.
Fast forward 25 years, and that high chair looks good as new.
While perched on the old chair, outfitted now with a new floral seat cover, Blair held a wooden spoon in each hand and clapped them together enthusiastically while I poured the filling onto the crust. Everyone should have a cheering section in the kitchen.
While the cookie bars baked, I handed Blair a clean Tupperware mixing bowl. She put it on her head, and we both laughed. Though she’s too young to try the finished product, I like to think that her joyful giggles added to the tastiness of her uncle’s birthday dessert. I know watching her watching me from the seat where my baby once sat made my day.
12 responses to “Family Recipe”
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Great images here with sound! “Everyone should have a cheering section in the kitchen.” The recipe sounds a bit like the Neiman Marcus cake that is a favorite of ours, although a newcomer to the dessert line up. Blair will have her turn with that tricky powdered sugar—no doubt about it. SWEET!
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Thanks, Trish! I just ate a huge piece of it; and my post-gallbladder body is not quite as fond of it as it used to be… LOL
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Lori, what a sweet, sweet memory to share – – right in the kitchen, the heart of the home and the place where the traditions begin with favorite family recipes…..and high chairs. And Tupperware. Yes, the best toys and gadgets EVER. I feel the happiness and joy just spilling out of that last sentence – – the full circle family tree, where we get to see the little leaves and branches and know that the roots are strong. You have a memorable slice today!
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Thanks, Kim! We had a happy day making those cookies, taking a walk in our neighborhood, and going to the library. I usually babysit over at my son’s house; so it was fun to watch her at my house for a day.
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The kitchen is the center of the house. I am all for cheering anything that comes out of the kitchen. Such great pat memories while making some new ones.
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Thank you! We definitely are having fun making memories with this little one.
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What a sweet remembrance of days gone by. The sweetness of your grandbaby in the high chair that once belonged your own child. This touched my heart. Thank you!
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Thank you, Carrie! I saved so many things that belonged to my sons; and it’s fun to get to see my granddaughter get a little use out of some of it.
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Yes, everyone should have a cheering section in their kitchen! My own children used MY old wooden high chair; however, it did not make it to the grandchildren level! Time gets to wood like puree gets to plastic nooks!
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My granddaughter’s high chair at her house is so fancy I can barely get her out of it! Fortunately, the one we have here is a little more grandmother-friendly.
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Lori,
Love all these family memories and connections. Cheers to a kitchen cheering section!
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Thank you! I’ve been making those cookies for years, but this is the first time I’ve had someone actively cheering me on.
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