Baking those yummy Christmas treats

Diana Behrens, 71, of the Olivia/Port Alto area, has made baked goods and candy most of her life, giving her culinary efforts to family and friends for 50 years.

The holidays usually have Behrens in a baking frenzy.

The tradition began during her childhood in Virginia when her mother made goodies for the holidays for her nine children.

"We did not have lights on our tree, but we strung popcorn and made construction paper chains, and we always, always had sweets for Christmas," Behrens said.

Behrens remembered this tradition when she and her husband, Will, had their first of three sons. Her repertoire then included five different types of cookies and also candies and cakes.

"I have never missed baking during Christmas. And now, I bake while using my walker. I kept wearing out the tennis balls in the back of it, so my husband put wheels on the back," she said.

Eventually, Behrens' baked goods were given to neighbors as gifts and were sold at the Point Comfort United Methodist Church's "Country Store."

"I enjoy everything about baking. My daughter-in-laws come to help me bake. I have served Sunday dinner for years and I serve something sweet for dessert each time," she said.

Her recipes originally were passed down from her mother, but Behrens gathered others from newspapers, church cookbooks and neighbors.

"I probably have 100 recipes in the drawers, but I do not cook all of them for Christmas. I come up with my own recipes, but now that I have been baking for so long, I do not use a recipe. I don't measure. I just throw something in the pot from trial and error," she said.

Behrens is a baker who does not eat many sweets.

"I do not test my sugar during the holidays," said Behrens, who is not diabetic, "but I know I get enough sugar to last the holidays just from tasting while baking."

Behrens especially enjoys baking for her church. She said all of the women in the congregation bake to their hearts content for church events. This year, Behrens made buttermilk pies, banana nut cakes, sour cream cakes, chocolate covered peanuts, chocolate covered pecans and lots of chicken broth for the dumplings, all sold at the country store.

"I kinda got tired over the years. I am an old woman. The baking is supposed to slow down, but it hasn't," she said. "But it's Christmas, and you know you are supposed to eat and eat."

Her favorite item to bake is banana nut cake, which everyone likes, by the way. She also sends care packages to relatives filled with cookies, candy and "a little bit of everything."

In the candy department, Behrens makes old-fashioned fudge, but not divinity, one sweet she admits she is not good at. This year, Behrens attempted to make sea foam candy like she did when she lived with her parents. This time, she used the microwave to make it, with what she calls "the new generation method" since she is used to boiling mixtures on the stove.

"When we whipped the mixture in with the eggs, it was not light and foamy like it should be. It hardened, but it tasted good," she said. "I usually do everything the hard way."

Behrens has found that baking is a way to make memories that she not only has from her own childhood, but that she has made with her children and grandchildren.

"We always go to Christmas Eve service and then everyone comes to my home to have hot chocolate and cookies. My sons are not bakers, but eaters," she said with a laugh. "I baked with the grandchildren for the while, but they are grown up now."

Being responsible for full appetites and smiles after a Sunday or Christmas dinner compares to nothing else when it comes to cooking, Behrens said.

"I get so happy. I tell my husband, ‘I am glad everybody is gone, but wasn't it a wonderful time,'" she said.