Do you having baking traditions in your family? Is there one thing that you always bake together during a holiday? Is there one recipe that has been handed down from generation to generation? Have you shared those traditions and recipes with anyone?

This is a subject that really hits home for me because I lost some of our family recipes recently. It made me think about what happens to a recipe if no one knows about it or cares about where it goes. Nothing happens to it. It is lost to the world and may never be found again. What a truly tragic end for a great recipe (especially a baking recipe!). A wonderful cookie, pie, or cake is never made again. I really love sweets so this truly brings a tear to my eye!

A recipe is a gift. A gift of love. A gift of time and effort. A gift that can keep on giving because each time you make it, you enjoy it again. It is not only a gift from the person who created the recipe but also a gift from the person who gave it to you. Treasure those gifts and share them. A recipe and story shared is worth more than one just sitting in your recipe box. Perhaps you are waiting for just the right person or time to share it. I have been guilty of that one myself. But a recipe that isn't shared is nothing but a piece of paper in box. It means nothing to anyone but you unless it is shared with someone else.

So how do you make sure your recipes and baking traditions are not lost?

Write them down. Of course your recipes are already written down in some form or another. But what about the funny family story or family baking tradition that goes with it? Make sure that story gets written down too.

Make sure someone in your family knows that this recipe and this family baking tradition are important to you. Make sure that they know you want it to be passed on in the family. No one will know how important it is to you unless you tell them. (So speak up!)

And last but not least, your baking assignment (should you choose to accept it) is to share one of your baking recipes (and the story that goes with it) this week with someone. Who knows, you may just start a baking tradition for that person and their family. And what better way is there to honor the gift of that recipe?

Happy Baking!