Growing up in the U.S., although my family celebrated Hindu holidays and the winter holiday period was not of particular import to us, I was of course surrounded by all these holiday traditions.  I enjoyed them in an almost anthropological way.  In first grade, I did a show-and-tell about the history and origins of Santa—promptly informing my classmates that Santa was an invention.  My teacher gently admonished me for not doing an “age-appropriate” presentation.  I didn’t totally understand: didn’t we all know it was fake?

When I met my now wife, this anthropological understanding of Christmas quickly melted away (much like the butter in the recipe below).  Her pure love of the holiday season was shaped by growing up in a family that watched Elf annually and took gift-giving very seriously.  They used the time to reflect on the past 12 months: each December saw a new ornament added to the always fresh-cut Christmas tree, symbolizing a core memory of the year.  And one of her favorite moments of gathering together for the season was baking fresh seasonal cookies—a tradition that we quickly took on.  Here’s a recipe for one of our favorite sets of cookies, adapted from Jessica Hulett and Melissa Clark’s recipe on NYT Cooking.

• 2 sticks (1 cup) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 425 grams sugar (about 2 cups)
• 1¾ cups ricotta cheese (15 ounces), preferably fresh
• Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 480 grams all-purpose flour (about 4 cups)
• 10 grams baking soda (2 teaspoons)
• 4 grams fine sea salt (about ¾ teaspoon)
• 450 grams confectioners’ sugar (about 4 cups)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup to ½ cup milk, as needed
• Colored sprinkles

1. Make the Dough: Use an electric mixer to cream 2 sticks butter with sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add ricotta, lemon zest, and 2½ teaspoons vanilla. Beat well. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula. Beat in flour, baking soda and salt. Cover dough, and chill for at least 2 hours.
2. Bake the Cookies: Heat oven to 350 degrees and line several cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick liners. Shape tablespoons of dough into balls. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake until pale golden on the bottom, about 15 minutes. Let cool on wire racks.
3. Make the Icing: Melt remaining tablespoon butter. Whisk confectioners’ sugar to break up any large lumps, then whisk in melted butter, lemon juice, remaining 1½ teaspoons vanilla and enough milk to make a spreadable icing. Spread icing on cooled cookies, decorate with sprinkles, then let set for at least 20 minutes before serving.